Utah Real Estate Investors Association

There has been a big push for landlords to look into short-term rentals (think, Air BnB) as opposed to longer-term (monthly or yearly) typical rentals. The reason for the push is that renting a property nightly can bring in much more per month—even including vacancies. It has become almost an entirely new real estate investing technique.

While a great way to make additional rents, there are things that you should understand before jumping in with short-term rentals. The first is legality. All rental properties are regulated by the city in which they are located. You will also see county or state-wide regulations. But typically, state laws govern the relationship between landlords and tenants and other larger matters. In most jurisdictions, the specifics of what types of rental properties are allowed are done at the city level.

This city-sponsored legislation arises because cities are charged with protecting neighborhoods and the “look and feel” of their respective cities. And they have a lot of authority on rentals. Most cities require landlords to register ALL their rentals properties, pay a licensing fee and make determinations as to how many unrelated tenants can live in a give property. If you are
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What Happens When The Feds Put A Tax Lien On Your Property?

The Federal Government does not play around when you owe them money.

Are there some strategies to deploy if you get caught in this fix?

With any tax debt comes an awkward and unwelcome house guest: A federal tax lien.

This tax lien exists as a matter of federal law, even if you only owe the IRS one dollar. For many people, it has no impact at all on their lives. But for a small percentage of taxpayers, it can have a massive impact.

Let’s explore what this tax lien means for you, and briefly discuss some potential solutions to dealing with it.

Before we really get started, there’s one important distinction that needs to be made. Usually, there’s no public record of a tax lien. It’s not possible for anybody to find out about it... usually.

Unfortunately, under certain conditions, especially if you owe more than $10,000, the IRS may file a written notice with the county clerk about the tax lien, putti
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Hopefully you now have a solid understanding of how title works and is transferred. When you submit your purchase contract to the title company, you’ll get the Property Report (PR) back (we discussed this in our first Keys to Title Article last month). The PR will list any problems there might be. Normally, these problems would require the sellers to fix them. But in real estate investing circles, typically the investor will at least help the sellers out in getting these resolved.

Death of an owner: If one of the titled owners (that means a person who is actually listed on county land records as an owner) has died and either there is no surviving joint tenant or the owners are tenants-in-common, then the deceased owner is not able to transfer his ownership by way of a deed. Remember, that deeds need to be signed under notary, and if the person is dead, he can’t sign. The easiest way to resolve this problem is for the deceased person’s estate to be probated. Probate is a court action where a judge can appoint a personal representative of the estate who has the legal authority to sign on behalf of the dead person.

If the deceased has a will, that does not matter. All wills must also b
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“Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.” - Langston Coleman

Prior to the economic fallout from 2020’s happenings, the typical American small business only had 28 days’ worth of cash reserves on hand.

Meaning, the average small business in this country couldn’t survive for a full month if revenue were suddenly turned off. As a result, Congress had to prop up small businesses through programs such as the EIDL and PPP loans that you’re sick of hearing about by now.

As the economy rebounds strongly, it’s a good time to set aside a business emergency fund for your business to tide you over during the next period of economic upheaval. This isn’t doom and gloom thinking, it’s simply the reality of the business cycle: There will be another recession at some unknown point in the future.

You Need To Know How Much Is Enough
In many ways, your business eme
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"We do not remember days, we remember moments.” - Cesare Pavese

One of the most confusing and misunderstood components of modern life is an individual’s credit score. A simple Google search reveals billions of websites and posts, all sharing information -- some of which is accurate, and some of which is just plain wrong.

At its core, it’s simply a number that tries to represent the likelihood that you will pay back money that you borrow. Because banks and lending institutions use credit scores as a key component in their determination to lend money, it’s also a key element for individuals with nefarious plans – stealing a person’s identity allows your credit worthiness to also be stolen and used by the crooks.

Unlike, for example, annual income, FICO scores represent long-term action (or inaction) on the part of the consumer, so while the actual number can be “managed,” to an extent, it tends to be a pretty good representation of how well a person repays debts.

Now, obviously, there is more to it than that. A FICO score merely represents the number,
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So far is our series on title companies and title insurance, we’ve covered the basics of the title industry and the three types of insurance policies you will encounter in closings. In this article, I will cover holding title to real estate and in the next, common title issues that you’ll see as investors.

Owning real estate is done through recording “deeds” at the county recorders office (where all land records are held). These deeds transfer ownership from one person to the next. A Warranty Deed transfers title, and the seller warrants (guarantees) that the buyer is getting clean, marketable title. This is the kind of deed that title companies use because the title company is searching and insuring that title is clean.

A Special Warranty Deed transfers title, and the seller only guarantees that title is clean from the date the seller first took ownership. So, this one does not guarantee any problems with title before that point. You may see this if people are transferring title but not going through a title company. And finally, a Quit Claim Deed is simply a transfer of ownership with no guarantees at all from the seller. The new owner takes the property simply as it is.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." -Robert Louis Stevenson

In recent years, some cryptocurrency traders have been caught off guard by the surprise tax bill generated from their trading activities. Many others have simply failed to report these transactions to the IRS at all, unaware that they even need to. Those folks in particular are in for a rude awakening someday, as the IRS expands its enforcement against crypto traders.

So, what are your responsibilities as a crypto trader? What if you’re not actively trading these assets, but simply holding them? What records should you be keeping?

Crypto is Taxed as Property
Let’s start with the most important thing you need to understand about crypto, and its relationship with the IRS: The federal government taxes crypto like property.

In other words, the IRS looks at crypto the same way it looks at houses, cars, paintings, even baseball cards. While
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Some things are obviously a sales pitch and a come-on. Unsuspecting taxpayers get hooked into this tantalizing offer every year.

Almost no one qualifies for this program from the IRS. By-the-way, it is unethical for a licensed tax preparer to make this offer.

When I hear commercials on TV or on the radio that promise specific results to people who owe money to the IRS, it really bothers me.

One of the most pervasive advertising schemes you’ll hear repeated over and over again is about only paying “pennies on the dollar” to the IRS.

The reason this one rubs me the wrong way in particular is quite simple: It doesn’t exist.

If you’ve heard this program referenced and have been curious about it, it’s time to set the record straight.

The Truth About “Pennies On The Dollar”

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In my last article I discussed some of the key elements of title like the settlement statement (CD) and the title commitment (PR). Go back and read that article if you haven’t already. In this article I will cover the three types of insurance policies.

There are two policies that protect the new owner and one policy (essentially) for lenders. The two owner policies are the Alta Homeowner’s policy and the Standard policy. The Homeowner’s policy is the default policy provided on almost all retail transactions and covers the most things. It is also more expensive than the Standard. For a complete review of coverage, ask your escrow officer for a sample policy or list of coverages and exclusions.

Some of the important things the Homeowner’s policy covers that the Standard does not are boundary lines (fences and shrubs in the wrong place), adverse possession (when a neighbor encroaches on your property without you knowing it), unrecorded easements (like a right of way or access) and mechanic’s liens. These are the most common problems that you will find affecting your property. So, I do recommend the Homeowner’s policy to protect you. But you can opt for the Standard and add on
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Originally posted on Porch.com

If you’ve ever walked around at an arcade with a couple pocketfuls of game tokens or won similar tokens at a fair to be exchanged for candy and stuffed bears, you already know how cryptocurrencies work. Except cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are digital currencies that can be used to purchase goods and services. Today, there are more than 6,700 types of cryptocurrencies, some better known than others. Traded as commodities on the stock market and known for their volatility, cryptocurrencies have become increasingly mainstream as more people invest in them and trust the blockchain technology employed to secure them. In fact, some people are using their crypto assets to purchase large, expensive items—like houses!

Introduction to Cryptocurrencies

Major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, an
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