45609 Village Blvd.

Shelby Twp. MI 48315

Tom Kotzian - Team Leader

(586) 532-0500

Looking back at 2012

Fiscal Cliff Bill is Passed

NOTE: Please advise all of your customers and clients to seek professional advice from

their attorney, tax advisor or CPA regarding any of the following material. The information

provided is your personal use only and are not intended as a substitute for legal counsel.

No representations are made, either expressly or impliedly, with respect to these materials

quoted directly from NAR January 2, 2013 by Robert Freedman, Politics & Government.

Under the new agreement, tax rates would remain the same for most households and mortgage cancellation

is extended. The “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” extends current tax rates for all households

earning less than $450,000, and $400 for individual filers. For households earning above these limits, tax

rates would revert to where they were in 2003, when taxes were reduced across the board. That means tax-

payers in the highest bracket would pay taxes on ordinary income at a rate of 39.6%, up from 35%. The

tax rate on capital gains would also remain the same, at 15% for most households, but for those earning

above the $400,000-$450,000 threshold, the rate would rise to 20%. Importantly from NAR’s perspective,

the exclusion from taxes for gains on the sale of a principal residence of up to $500,000 ($250,000 for

individuals) remains in effect, so only home sellers whose income is $450,000 or above and the gain on the

sale of their house is above $500,000 would pay taxes on the excess capital gains at the higher rate

(with corresponding numbers for individual filers). For the vast majority or home sellers, there is no

charge.

The bill also reinstates provisions that phase out personal exemptions and deductions for incomes over

$250,000 for singles and $300,000 for couples. A number of what lawmakers call “extenders” are in the

bill. Extenders keep in place expiring tax provisions. Of most interest to real estate, the bill would extend

mortgage cancellation relief for home owners or sellers who have a portion of their mortgage debt forgiven

by their lender, typically in a short sale or foreclosure sale for sellers and in a modification for owners.

Without the extension, any debt forgiven would be taxable, which for underwater households, represents a

major financial burden. Also extended are deductions for mortgage insurance premiums and for state and

local property taxes, which along with the mortgage interest deduction, are important tax considerations for

home owners and buyers.

Lakeside

Market

Center

Keller Williams Lakeside

2012 Con - Ed, FREE to Agents and Guests

Presented by Jack Waller,

NCI Associates

Keller Williams Lakeside welcomes 52 New and Experienced Agents to our Market Center in

2012. FREE real estate license classes are running daily for interested candidates. We look

forward to another successful year with great Associates and will be working to grow everyone’s

“Profit Share Tree”. I welcome the opportunity to discuss

the benefits of joining our Keller Williams Lakeside Family.

Call today to get your share of the profit.

Tom Kotzian - Team Leader

At Keller Williams Lakeside Market Center

“Agents Are Partners”

2012 Year End Numbers

2012 total profit of $214,577.84 Our office Profit

shared $85,054.05 of company dollar in 2012

with agents.

Volume - $164,146,529.

Closed Units - 1,501

Agents - 160

New recruits - 52

Listings taken - 927

HUD ISSUES RULE ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION/

GENDER IDENTITY

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

has recently issued a rule entitled Equal Access to Housing in HUD

Programs regardless of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

According to a HUD memo, the Rule:

Requires entities assisted by HUD or insured by FHA to make

housing available without regard to actual or perceived

sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

Clarifies that the definition of “family” and “household”,

which identifies HUD’s core programs, includes persons

regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender

identity or marital status.

Prohibits HUD-assisted and HUD-insured entities from

inquiring about an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender

identity for the purpose of determining eligibility or

otherwise making housing available.

Prohibits FHA-approved lenders from basing eligibility

determinations for FHA-insured loans on actual or

perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Federal Fair Housing Laws prohibit discrimination in housing

based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial

status or disability status. State of Michigan Fair Housing Laws

prohibit discrimination based on the characteristic covered in

the federal laws and adds prohibitions in housing based on

marital status or chronological age. Neither federal or state laws

prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or

gender identity. Thirteen local units of government do prohibit

discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation, including,

in the metro Detroit area: Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Ferndale,

Detroit and Huntington Woods.

Words of Wisdom

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines

what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a

person’s imagination.

Don’t tell me how hard you work…tell me how much you got

done.

Wisdom is knowing what to do. Knowledge is knowing how to

do it. Success is doing it.

You must learn from the mistakes of

others. You can’t possibly live long

enough to make them all yourself.

Be concerned with the future. You

will spend the rest of your life in it.

Keller Williams LAKESIDE

Tom Kotzian Team Leader (586) 532-0500

TIGER BASEBALL OUTING

How You Can Work With The Appraiser (Part 2 of a 2 part series) (A continuation of information provided by an appraisal panel workshop at the last MAR Broker Summit)

Three main items (criteria) needed by appraisers of residential property include:

1) Location; 2) Style; 3) Effective Age or Square Footage

Low Appraisal Issues

Only the borrower (buyer) receives a copy of the appraisal report. The appraiser’s client is the lender. If you believe the

appraised value is too low, use a “Rebuttal Form” or a “Reconsideration of Value”.

Send your comparables directly to the appraiser, not the lender. Unfortunately, many comparables used by Realtors are

not considered real comps under appraisal standards. Credible comps can be taken from outside areas if none are available

locally. Sometimes a prior, newer comparable was missed by the appraiser and can be provided by the Realtor.

FHA Loan

If the low appraisal with the first lender is uploaded to FHA Connection and a case number is assigned to the subject

property, using a different second lender may not help. The first lender puts a “hard stop” on the property once it’s in the

system under the Uniform Appraisal Data Set. Changing lenders won’t change the appraisal. The borrower (buyer)

cannot “value shop” unless they can show a defect in the appraisal was their reason for using a different lender. Appraisers

use a “weighted average” based on the age of the comparable. Properties sold under a land contract can also be used as a

comparable, but the appraiser must determine its “cash equivalency”.

Three Questions To Ask A Lender To Whom You Would Want To Refer a Buyer

1) Can you give me a list of the appraisers most likely to do an appraisal in a city in which I sell a home?

2) In the event we need to do a reconsideration of value, will I be able to review the appraisal?

3) Dodd-Frank calls for the buyer to receive a copy of the full appraisal three days in advance of the

closing. Is this your company policy? If it is, who is going to assist the buyer in understanding it?

Six Questions To Ask An Appraiser When They Call To Set Up an Appointment

1) Where is your office located? 2) How many appraisals do you do in a year? 3) How long have you been actively

appraising residential property in this area? 4) What is your level of licensure with the State of Michigan? 5) Are you a

member of the MLS that services this area? 6) Are you a member of the local association of Realtors serving the area in

which the property is located?

Two Questions To Ask a Cooperating Broker When They Bring You An Offer On One Of Your Listings

1) Are you familiar with the appraisal process the buyer’s lender uses? (see “three questions to ask

lender”) 2) Is the purchaser familiar with the appraisal process that will be involved with the loan?

Four Things To Do When Preparing Information For An Appraiser

1) Provide comparables that “bracket” the subject (above and below in price, above and below in size)

if possible.

2) Provide data to support whether the local market where the home is located is improving, stable

or declining.

3) Comps: If the market is declining, two comparables in the last 90 days must be provided. If the

market is stable or improving, comparables going back 12 months are acceptable.

4) Determine, in your opinion, the condition rating of the property. Remember, few, if any, homes

are a C1. A C5 may have difficulty in underwriting and lenders will not loan on a C6. Provide the

appraiser with information to support your opinion of condition.

Keller Williams Lakeside

Tom Kotzian - Team Leader (586) 532-0500

Scarecrow Festival

Raised $3,000 for Charity!

Cultural Award Winners

for Scarecrow Festival

Shirley Dipple - Kathleen Garden

Sharon Lowe - Marge Hall

Keller Williams Lakeside

Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors Holiday Party

No Split Closings On Short Sale Transactions

Section 9 (a) of RESPA provides: No seller of property purchased with the assistance of a federally related

mortgage loan shall require directly or indirectly, as a condition to selling the property, that title insurance

covering the property be purchased by the buyer from any particular title company.

It is imperative that your buyer(s) understands that if they are paying for the title insurance policy (mortgagee policy),

they may select any title company of their choice unless agreed to differently by contract.

If ‘NO SPLIT CLOSINGS’ means having to use the same title company as the seller, then this requirement would

likely be deemed a violation of Section 9 of RESPA. The following penalty would apply: Any seller who violates

the provisions of subsection (a) shall be liable to the buyer in an amount equal to three times all charges made for

such title insurance. Banks in sales of foreclosed properties may not require buyers to use the banks designated title

Company. Only Lenders may require borrowers to use a specific title company.

Simply stated: If the buyer is paying for the title insurance policy, the seller cannot require that the

buyer purchase the insurance from a particular provider.

Your Rights When Taking Photos by Bert P. Krages II, Attorney-at-Law

The general rule in the U.S. is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want

when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs

(certain exceptions apply like military installations). Absent a specific legal prohibition,

such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs. Examples of

places that are traditionally considered public are streets, sidewalks and public parks.

Property owners may legally prohibit photography on their premises but have no right to

prohibit others from photographing their property from other locations. Whether you need

permission from the property owners to take photographs while on their premises depends

on the circumstances. In most places, you may reasonably assume that taking photographs is

allowed and that your do not need explicit permission. However, this is a judgment call and

you should request permission when the circumstances suggest that the owner is likely to

object. In any case, when a property owner tells you not to take photographs while on the

premises, you are legally obligated to honor the request.

Keller Williams Lakeside

Tom Kotzian—Team Leader (586) 532-0500

Lakeside Market Center

Keller Williams Lakeside

2012 Holiday Office Party

Lake Pointe Chapter

Women’s Council of Realtors 2012 Holiday Party