Inter-County Title Co.

05/18/2023

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🥳 Three days left!! Join us this Saturday for an unforgettable Notary Meetup, where inspiration meets expertise! Get ready to elevate your game with two…

05/09/2023

Summit 2023!

05/05/2023

What Is An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)?

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a small dwelling on the same grounds as, or attached to, a single-family house. For example, it could be an apartment over the garage, a basement apartment, or a stand-alone house in the backyard. An ADU can be used to house a family member or for additional income through rent.

Pros and cons:

Pros of ADUs:
ADUs can provide extra income in the form of rent.
ADUs may add value to your property.
ADUs add more space, such as a workshop or a guest suite.

Cons of ADUs:
An ADU might take up space that otherwise would be used for another purpose (storage, garage, etc.)
An ADU that is used as a rental will require maintenance.
An ADU costs money to build, may increase property taxes, and utilities will add to monthly expenses.

05/03/2023

Mark your calendar! Fun events happening in El Dorado County.

El Dorado County is one of the most diverse, beautiful places you’ll ever visit. Sierra scenery is nothing short of spectacular, spanning across more than 1800 square miles with elevations ranging from just a few feet to more than 10,000 feet above sea level.

05/02/2023

ChatGTP

Everyone is talking about it but, are you using it?

How has it benefited you and your business? I'd love to hear your success stories and inspire others to try it.

How to use ChatGPT
It’s easy to use the free version of ChatGPT. You need to sign up for an account with OpenAI, which involves fetching a confirmation code from your email; from there, click through and provide your name and phone number. OpenAI will warn you that the free version of ChatGPT is “a free research preview.” For the Plus version, you’ll see an “upgrade to Plus” button on the left side of the home page.
For businesses, ChatGPT can also write and debug code, as well as create reports, presentations, emails and websites. In general, ChatGPT can draft the kind of prose you’d likely use for work (“Write an email accepting an invitation to speak at a cybersecurity conference.”). ChatGPT can answer questions (“What are similar books to [xyz]?”) as well. Microsoft showed off these features in its announcement that OpenAI is coming to Word and some other parts of the 365 business suite.

04/28/2023

Real Estate FUN FACT FRIDAY!

IT'S ALL IN THE NUMBERS..........

Avoid the nines when setting a price:

It’s a trend that began in the 1880s but remains strong to this day — pricing an item at $19.99 instead of $20 is supposed to create the illusion of a bargain. However, times have changed and most buyers start their search for a property online.

Pricing a property at $499,000 instead of $500,000 can hurt your listing. When filters are applied, it means that you’ll miss out on buyers who are searching for properties listed at $500,000 or above. Meanwhile, a property listed at $500,000 will show for buyers looking on either side of the price range.

Consider using fours and sevens instead:

On the subject of pricing psychology, using unrounded and less common numbers like 4 and 7 tells a buyer that you’ve put real thought into the price, and can suggest that they have less wiggle room in negotiations. If you want better offers, think about setting your price at $444,000 or $447,000 instead of $450,000!

Lucky and unlucky numbers in real estate:

Continuing with our number theme, house numbers and pricing can have a surprisingly large impact on the amount of interest a property gets. In many Asian cultures, most notably Chinese, the number four is considered unlucky while the number eight is considered particularly lucky. This cultural quirk can even extend to a property with a house number of 31 or 22, because the sum of the individual numbers is four.

04/24/2023

Creative Financing is making its way back...

Let's take a look at All-Inclusive Deed of Trust:

An all-inclusive deed of trust (AITD) is employed when there is a mortgage that includes in its balance an underlying mortgage. This scenario happens when a preexisting loan is absorbed into a new loan made by a property’s seller: rather than having two distinct, separate mortgages, the “wraparound” mortgage includes both. These loans are financed by the property’s seller in order to help the buyer complete the purchase. An AITD wraps around this loan and is typically recorded at the close of escrow, with a Grant Deed conveying full title to the buyer, with Title Insurance issued. Sellers are responsible for payment on the underlying loan. Their equity position on the Note is the difference between what is owed from the buyer to the seller, and what is owed from the seller to the underlying lender. The AITD is a junior trust deed that is subordinate to the underlying trust deed.

One example of a situation in which an AITD might be issued: say there is an existing mortgage of $100,000 at 6% interest, and that a second mortgage could be arranged for $50,000 at 10% interest. Instead of obtaining that second mortgage, the borrower arranges for an all-inclusive deed of trust for a combined loan amount of $150,000 at 8% interest. The first mortgage remains intact, but the borrower pays the wraparound lender on the wraparound, and the wraparound lender remits the payment on the first mortgage to the initial lender.

One of the benefits of having an AITD is that it is more flexible and allows the borrower to negotiate all of its terms. This includes payment amount, interest rate, maturity date, late chargers and prepayment penalty. AITDs also allow buyers who cannot come up with large down payments, or who might have unusual credit history, to be able to go through the loan process. The buyer does not need to qualify for a loan with a lender, and closing costs are generally minimal. However, there are some precautions that buyers must take in regards to wraparound loans. Interest rates are typically higher on the underlying loan, in order to profit the seller. Also, an underlying lender might enforce the “acceleration clause,” or “due on sale” clause, and require the underlying loan to be paid in full.

The bottom line is that being able to buy a house quickly through an AITD may be very appealing, but buyers must make sure they fully understand the potential benefits AND implications before entering into a transaction.

This article is for informational purposes and does not contain or convey legal advice. The information herein should not be used or relied upon in regard to any particular facts or circumstances without first consulting a lawyer.

04/21/2023

Real Estate Fun Fact Friday!

Think twice before giving a knife as a housewarming gift. 😲

Did you know....

It’s Bad Luck to Give a Knife as a Housewarming Gift

Superstition says that if you give a knife as a gift, you risk severing the friendship. The best way to give a knife as a housewarming gift is to tape a penny to the blade. This way, the recipient can take off the penny and hand it back to the giver. That way, they’re paying you for the knife, and it’s not technically a gift!

04/21/2023

We are proud to announce the opening of our El Dorado Hills office located in the Town Center! Please welcome the dynamic duo Rebecca Nichols and Jennifer Tunison.

04/02/2021

We hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!

04/01/2021

There's nothing quite like springtime in El Dorado County!