columbus REIA real estate investors association februrary 2011 newsletter

STEVE ZEHALA, Executive Director

Columbus Reia Thursday FEB-10 5.30pm

Gordy’s -Westerville Upstairs

PROPERTY TAX VALUATION REDUCTIONS REVEALED! ARE YOUR PROPERTY TAXES TOO HIGH? Does the county have your property assessed at a number that is no-where close to being the right number for your property? Well, if your property taxes are too high I've got a secret for you............. the County is not going to lower it unless you make them! Now it's not all that hard.... But they don't go out of their way to make learning the process easy....... and unfortunately they won't be holding any free seminars to show you how to reduce your property taxes.... Imagine that! However, today is your lucky day ....Come join Steve Zehala as we walk through the magical mystery tour better known as a property valuation complaint on Thursday, February 10, 2011 at Gordys restau-rant on the second floor and you are invited! AHH PROPERTY TAXES THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING! As all real estate property owners know, property taxes are a never ending gift that we keep giving to our government. Like clockwork come hell or high water a tax bill will show up in your mailbox in January and June letting you know that a harsh deadline is approaching and that you had better send your money in or all hell's going to break loose. But don't sweat too hard as the County has made every effort to make sure that there are numerous ways for you to pay them year-round...but oops.... They're not quite as enthusiastic about letting you fight your taxes year-round however.... And you have to know the process! YES I KNOW IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE..... But the folks who are

from the government and are here to help us are not quite as helpful when it comes to reducing our taxes as they are about collecting our taxes. In fact they kind of sneakily go out of their way to add a few pitfalls and traps and other exciting hoops for you to jump through if you should decide that they are overcharging you...... and oh yeah they only give you until March 31 to get this done ! Ouch. Yes, Amazingly getting your property taxes reduced is not quite as easy as returning a Christmas gift that doesn't fit to Kohls. OH, AND BY THE WAY THEY'RE HAPPY TO LET YOU OVERPAY … so if it turns out that they are over-charging you because your valuation is too high... Well they will just keep overcharging you from now until the end of time… Unless you do something about it. They just don't quite have that same attitude as you likely have when a customer overpays you.... They make you do something about it! Ouch. SO EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD.. And come join me as I dive into the property valuation complaint process and how you can get your property taxes at the level that is fair and just. Most of us don't normally ask for much but we would like a fair process when the government is charging us more than our fair share. Steve Zehala

UPCOMING EVENTS: FEB-2011 MEETING DETAILS: Fighting Property Taxes &

Winning! Presented By Steve Zehala

Executive Director, ColumbusREIA Thurs, FEB-10, 2010 5.30pm

Where: Gordy’s in Westerville ———————————————

FOCUS GROUP MEETINGS: ———————————————

J. T. Keiderling Short Sales Focus Group

Wednesday 2/9/2011 6pm Urban Coffee, 7838 Olentangy

——————————————— Scott Emerick- Landlording/

Thursday 2/24/11, 6:00 pm Panera -Mill Run Hilliard

——————————————— Steve Zehala- Real Estate For Breakfast-Mastermind Group

2/22/11, 7am-9am Cup of Joes– Bexley

——————————————— Register for any event at:

ColumbusREIA.com

January 2011 Register for All Events at www.ColumbusREIA.com

2 YOUR PATH TO REAL ESTATE INVESTING SUCCESS

Real Estate Investors Association of Columbus • www.ColumbusReia.com 458 N. Cassady Ave • Bexley, Ohio 43209 • Phone 614-258-1000 • Fax: 614-737-5304, 24 x 7 • Email: [email protected] • To become a member of Columbus REIA please visit our website at www.columbusreia.com

“A Hit to The Gut that No One Seems to

Mind” From The Trenches,

Steve Zehala If someone came off to the street punched you in the gut and held a gun to your head

and told you that they were going to take money from you for the rest of your life you'd probably be a little unhappy. Amazingly, something similar to that happens to us every single day of our lives yet we seem to not pay much attention to it. I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of folks that you know spend a great deal more time planning their next vacation than they do figuring out how they can save themselves money paying taxes. Why is that? Because it's so darn complicated! When looking at ways to save money on taxes it takes effort. I don’t think there's any question that the people who rely on their income from taxes think of ways to make it more complicated and difficult for people to get out of paying those taxes. It's just human nature that folks who work for the government want keep their jobs and never want to have to worry about losing their jobs just like anybody else. So, they scheme and figure out ways to make it easier for them to collect taxes and harder for the people to avoid it. It's as simple as that. Did you know that gov-ernment entities go to conventions where they meet with govern-ment officials from other parts of the country to learn how to in-crease revenue? Yes they do that and it's kind of frightening to think about isn't it? Examples of making it difficult are never ending... I'm not sure when it happened but one of the most brilliant ideas ever to come out from the folks who collect taxes is when they started to force employers to withhold taxes and send it in during the year. Think about this. Once withholding taxes was started people would still get their check with a little bit of it missing every time and probably didn't notice it all that much. Contrast that with what happened prior to withholding when you would pay a huge lump sum in the oncoming year that would likely infu-riate you and would often catch people without having the money to pay it. The withholding tax idea was brilliant on somebody's part (assuming your a government tax advocate) to make sure that the pushback and anger from taxes reduced, that the government gets their money interest-free throughout the year, and greatly reduced collection issues. These folks mean business!

Property taxes are just like the rest.... The folks whose rely on property taxes are no different than any-body we've already discussed. Human nature would dictate that they would not want to see people get their taxes reduced as it might be considered a threat to their future. And this is the case. As such the powers that be have put together a system in getting your property taxes reduced that are less than ideal from a tax-payer standpoint. There's just no question that the folks in charge of tax collection have a vested interest in making it uneasy for us to get them reduced. A dog chasing his tail... Since the beginning of time it's always been the government ver-sus the people. Just a quick glance through the Bible and you'll see numerous indications that the people back then had the same problems we have today and had about as much love for the gov-ernment as we do. Glance through any history book and you will see time after time the conflict repeats itself. It appears to be a

never ending cycle of people forming a government to take care of basic needs then the government becomes a monster and continues to grow until the people get mad, some sort of revolution a revolt takes place, rinse repeat. Government is an entity that wants to protect itself and grow just like any other entity would.... And I think our government has got that just about per-fected! The frog in the warm water...

The folks in government realize they can’t just go out and do what they want but that they have to be slow, subtle, and secretive to keep things from being noticed. If they go about their business this way they know the general public is likely not paying atten-tion and won't get riled up. In my mind the store that comes to mind is the old parable of the frog in the water. You've probably all heard the story where the frog jumps into a pan of lukewarm water for a bath and then the water is slowly but surely heated up. Well as the frog enjoys his warm bath he fall half-asleep and be-fore he knows it the water is boiling and he is cooked. This is the exact model of what the tax folks do to us. Slowly but surely the heat is turned up and nobody notices. 1% here, 2% there, a tax that was supposed to expire doesn't expire. And before you know it you're boiling in high property taxes and there's nothing you can do about it. Now I don't believe this is because Americans are lazy, or just too damn busy. Most folks are out there working their rear ends off, they have priorities and spending time with their kids, churches, and other social activities in they don't want to have to always be taking on the government. It's also not a real warm and fuzzy to know that the government has unlimited funds to use against those who fight taxes. You know it's just those "Public Servants" (aka The Ruling Class) protecting us right?

FROM THE TRENCHES, Steve Zehala, Columbus REIA Executive Director

“Anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as

possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patri-otic duty to increase one's taxes.” Judge Learned Hand (Famous US

Supreme Court Judge)



Private Real Estate Consulting, Problem Solving, & Negotiating Don’t Take a Knife to a Gun Fight! Don’t go to war alone!

Do you need help negotiating a creative deal? Need forms & Paperwork? Need Help?

Have you found a good deal but have no money?

Do you want somebody to look over your shoulder to make sure you’re not making a bad deal?

Are you having real estate related problems– with no one to turn to? Are you upside down & want to escape with your credit ?

We have done hundreds of deals, been attacked, sued, ambushed by TV crews, hosed, abused, lied to, been evicted & evicted & hundreds, fore-closed & been foreclosed, inspected, hit by bottles of ripple, threatened by Attorneys, buyers, sellers, closing agents, chased by pit bulls, attacked by fleas, roaches, the IRS, the City, the tax auditor, the Sign police, Section-8 inspectors, drug dealers, Liberals & more! We rarely back down and we almost always win! For us it’s fun and it’s all a part of the business!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF HELP AND THE MASTERMIND. If we don't know the answer we likely now someone who does!

Sometimes just ONE missing piece of information WILL change your life!

Call or e-mail Steve Zehala at:614-258-1000 or [email protected] For simple reasonable Fee or Deal based assistance! We have been there!

American heroes fight taxes... Now I'm a confirmed Libertarian who only believes in govern-ment for very limited and specific purposes and I also believe that folks who fight taxes are heroes. Simple as that. I believe there is no amount of money that would ever satisfy any government unless the people push back. With out the pushback they would tax for ever with out end. So the folks who are out there pushing government back holding them in check taking bullets on our behalf are true American heroes and thank goodness for them so that our children might be able to enjoy what we had from this incredible country. The property tax game is no exception.. If you want to see how exciting your life can become go down to some government building and when you don't get the kind of customer service that you think you should be getting start letting everybody know that they work for you and you demand better service. I'm pretty sure they keep a special file for guys like that and that bad things happen to that adventure seeking person. So believe it or not the property tax game is the same as all the other tax games in this country the people who collect the tax want to keep it and want to make it as difficult as they can (without the public noticing) for folks to fight them. It never ceases to amaze me as I prospect for properties to purchase older folks who are paying two or three times the amount of taxes they should be pay-ing just because the process of fighting it is too mysterious or difficult for them to attempt. We frequently see situations where people's houses are appraised for three times the actual value. In some parts of town where values of fallen into the $25,000 range older folks with free and clear properties are paying taxes on an $80,000 assessed value. Ouch. Somebody who should be paying five or $600 a year could be paying close to $1500 or more. So how do they play this property tax game? Oh let me count the ways. Let's just take standard voting for ex-ample. Did you know or were you aware that if you own property in another city in which you do not reside you cannot vote on property tax issues there. Let's just take an example of if you lived in Westerville Ohio but owned property in Columbus Ohio. Let's say Columbus wanted to increase property taxes which would affect property you own, let's just say they wanted to dou-ble it. Well since you don't live in Columbus you can't vote there. Sounds kind of like taxation without representation doesn't it? But, just like the frog in the warm water nobody seems to notice this or care. Now imagine that you own a bunch of property in a condominium complex and a majority vote is needed to increase your condominium fees but when you inquire about how you vote they tell you we've decided that were not going to let you vote, but we will let you pay if they go up. How would you react to that? Amazing isn't it. More fun and games.. Some other cool tactics uses are using taxpayer money to hire lawyers to combat you, putting extreme limits on what you can do and when you can do it, making you jump through hoops that are really even related to what you're trying to do, and numerous other fun and exciting things they make us do, "Because they

can". Believe it or not I like my kids more than the government.. And because of this flawed benevolent streak that I have for my kids I decided I'm going to do everything that I can to save money for our family's future which includes getting any kind of tax re-ductions that I can. It Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the rubber is going to hit the road in the government is going to have to face the music that they can't keep spending more than they take in. When this magical event will happen is beyond me, in fact I think it's quite possible it will never happen resulting in bankruptcy. In the meantime I believe we need to do everything we can to save every penny we earned to prepare for that day. Property tax is low hanging fruit.. GAME ON! Now believe it or not playing the property game a.k.a. “Getting Your Property Taxes Reduced” is one of the easier things that you can do to save money on taxes. Although they make it appear that it's difficult and may have set forth in numerous rules to try to get you to conclude that it's not worth your time this is abso-lutely not the case. The problem is you need to learn the rules of the game and use those rules to your advantage. We have been doing this for years have talked to numerous folks and their are fantastic methods that you can use and save money on taxes go-ing forward for a long long time. Steve Zehala This column reflects the Opinion of Steve Zehala. Steve is a real estate investor has done hundreds of deals since 1984 and live and works in Bexley OH where he resides with his wife and 3 kids. You can properties they have at Ohiohouselist.com. If you are interested in purchasing Steve's tried and true forms email him. If you have any questions, comment, or ideas feel free to reach me at: 614-258-1000, or email him at [email protected] ã PDI Trust 2010



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Ronald Reagan Quotes: “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no responsibility at the

other. “ “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's

very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.” “And I have to point out that government doesn't tax to get the money it needs, government always needs the

money it gets.”



This month I decided to give eve-ryone a peek behind the curtain. The following is a portion of the script I use when presenting in front of small groups. Everyone is always talking about bank lending drying up, lack of working capital, etc, etc. We are all familiar with the expression “Everyone talks

about the weather but no one does anything about it”, well here is your chance to do something about it. Learn it, natu-ralize it, and USE it. How to Earn Higher than Market Yield Tax Free The New York Times reports that while the recession has forced many Americans to delay retirement, the hardest hit are those already retired in search of work. 6.6 million Americans age 65 or older have lost their jobs in the recession, 61% more than the 4.1 million unemployed in this age group in 2000. There are more Americans age 65 and over working then anytime in history. Add to that an-other 500,000 seniors that need to work but can’t find work Statistics from AARPs Public Policy Institute reveal that the unemployed older workers, on average, take 40% longer than the general unemployed to find work…. 36.5 weeks on aver-age. This, of course, raises several unpleasant questions not the least of these is “after spending the last 40 years gainfully employed and diligently saving for my retirement, why am I in this predicament? A number of explanations are available, including the general ebb and flow of any economic system, rampant inflation in the late seventies, Black Monday, Octo-ber 19, 1987, histories largest single stock market crash. Job changes and perhaps not being quite as diligent as we thought certainly play a role. The blow that made people sit-up and take notice is the current recession. With the hit the stock, bond and real estate markets have taken, thousands of people have seen their retirement savings evaporate and many see no way to bring them back in time for their retire-ment. The true danger lies in the temptation to take on additional risk in the form of go-go stocks and lower grade bonds. This is not a wise path to follow; anyone within 10 years of retire-ment must conserve their base capital and not incur further heavy losses. These times call for cool heads and strategic investment planning to solve the age old investment conun-

drum; how do I protect my capital while boosting my earn-ings? Utilizing a well kept secret in the investment world known as the self-directed individual retirement account, individuals can pursue real estate investments through their IRAs. Now, at least several thousand people are supercharging their re-tirement savings by using self-directed IRAs to invest in pri-vate mortgages. IRA investors aren’t looking to back 30 year conventional mortgages; they make loans with terms lasting from a three months to several years to professional investors who buy older outdated houses, redevelop them and sell the updated homes to first time home buyers at a discount. I.R.A. owners normally find borrowers through an informal network of professional real estate investors. I.R.A. owners who would like to take advantage of this op-portunity must first open a self-directed I.R.A. account; this account can be a conventional I.R.A, a Roth I.R.A., Roth 401K, etc. The best way to get information about these ac-counts is contact a custodian that offers self-directed ac-counts. Two examples are Equity Trust of Ohio and Entrust of Houston. Account owners pay an annual custodial fee and transaction fees, depending on asset size and activity. I.R.A. owners typically charge two to three points over the current mort-gage rate, 6% to 8% is usual for the current market. The Wall Street Journal quoted Doug Blackwell of Phoenix as saying “I really don’t trust the stock market right now, and by doing this I can get a great return secured by real estate” Mr. Blackwell set up a self-directed I.R.A. with a $100,000 from other retirement savings so he could fund mortgages. Let me take a moment and put some of your fears to rest, I know some of you are thinking “I don’t have a $100,000 to set up this account. Does that mean I can’t use this strategy to safely increase my retirement savings?” In a word, NO. I have helped people setup these accounts with as little as $25,000, although most investors do have minimum sized accounts they will work with. Equity Trust points out a key benefit of these loans… Protected by Real Estate. If the borrower defaults, the I.R.A. can end up owning the property at a deep discount, since these deals are structured with the property as collateral. Some I.R.A. owners welcome foreclosures because they in-crease their potential returns. No one tracks I.R.A. loan de-faults, but experienced private lenders say it happens rarely. However, it is a good investment when, as Charlie Adams of Houston says, “What’s the worst thing that can happen…your I.R.A. ends up owning a property at 75% of its value.

JT Keiderling, Short Sale Focus Group



From: Remodeling magazine November 2010, Posted on: November 8, 2010 2010–11 Cost vs. Value Report Despite lower construction costs, slumping home resale values pulled the cost-to-value ratio down to its lowest level this decade. The good news is that this may be the bottom. By: Sal Alfano The recession may be over, but the recovery is off to a slow start. Earlier this year many remodelers reported increased inquiries from remodeling prospects, but the economic stall this summer undermined consumer confidence and kept sales from taking off the way everyone hoped they would. It was during this transition between uptick and slowdown that the survey for our 24th annual Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report was in the field, and the results confirm what we have been experiencing: The economy, and with it the remodeling market, is recovering more slowly than expected. This year’s data extends the down-ward trend in the overall cost-to-value ratio that began in 2006. In fact, the slide from 63.8% to 60.0% in cost-recouped is a slightly accelerated decline compared with last year’s 3.5-point drop And it could have been worse. Until this year, the ratio had been driven down mostly by the rub of eroding home prices against construc-tion costs that, on average, had risen slightly, despite reduced demand and fierce competition. That pattern ended this year, with a 10.4% decline in overall average con-struction costs to a level that is mid-way between where costs were in 2006 and 2007. Lower construction costs set the stage for, if not a rebound in the cost-to-value ratio then only a slight decline, but sagging house values pushed the trend downward. In fact, the estimated resale values reported in our survey dropped 15.8% compared with last year, the biggest decline during the last eight years. This reflects the continuing instability in the real estate market, which — despite record-low mortgage rates — has remained sluggish due to continued tight lending practices and uncertainty over foreclo-sures and distressed properties. And while the news isn’t bad everywhere, the overall mood among home buyers and homeowners is guarded and cautious. Top Ten The first 10 spots in the national ranking are occupied by 13 projects (including ties), and it’s a sign of the times that nine of them are exterior replacements. Replacement projects have always performed better in resale value than other types of remodeling projects (see “Replacement vs. Remodeling” chart), partly

because they are among the least expensive projects in our report and partly because they are need-based improvements that both protect a homeowner’s investment and contribute to curb appeal, which is a strong subjective factor among home buyers. This is certainly the case with the top two projects, entry door and new-this-year garage door replacement, which are the two least-expensive projects evaluated in the current price-conscious economy. But the number-three spot is occupied by fiber-cement siding replacement, which comes with an “upscale” price tag that averages $13,382 nationally.

Since it was added to the survey in 2005, fiber-cement siding replacement has been remarkably stable: it has ranked first every year among projects costing $5,000 or more, and this year showed the smallest cost increase (less than 1%) of any project. The four non-replacement projects in the top 10 also seem to reflect the price-conscious mood of remodeling custom-ers, although to different degrees. Wood deck addition, which tied for fourth with minor kitchen remodel, is not only rela-tively inexpensive, it is almost considered essential rather than discretionary, par-ticularly in neighborhoods where every home has an outdoor living space. Minor kitchen remodel may at first ap-pear to buck the “price is king” trend — at $21,695 nationally, it carries the highest price among projects under $25,000. But it also represents a relatively inexpensive “face-lift” to what is, for most homeown-ers and prospective buyers alike, the most important room in the home. The remaining two projects in the top 10, attic bedroom remodel and basement remodel, are much larger and more ex-pensive undertakings, but they represent good value to homeowners looking for additional space. Both projects add living space and a bathroom within the existing footprint of the home, and both make good use of space that would otherwise be used only for storage. What Now?

Following the economic events of the last two years, housing-related industries have entered uncharted waters. The prospects for new construction are still in flux, and remodeling contractors reported a slow third quarter. But according to the most recent Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from Harvard’s Remodeling Futures Program, spending for remodeling hit a low point in the fourth quarter of 2009 and is expected to grow significantly through the first half of 2011 (see MarketWatch). How much growth occurs and how fast depends on how a variety of issues cur-rently affecting the economy play out in the coming months. But no matter how you look at it, it will be awhile before the remodeling market gets back to where it was in 2007. --Sal Alfano, editorial director, REMODELING.



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New ordinance will jail and fine absentee landowners Posted: 10/27/2010 Columbus Board of REALTORS® Absentee landowners that neglect their residential or commercial properties now face a six month jail sentence and $1000 fine. Passed by Columbus City Council, Monday, Oct. 25, Mayor Michael B. Coleman is expected to sign the Disappearing Real Property Owner ordinance into law by week’s end. The legislation is active 30 days after it is signed by Coleman. “The ordinance strengthens the penalties for the landowner that disregards the standards for our communities,” said Charleta B. Tavares, City of Columbus Council member and Housing Commit-tee chairperson. Under the plan approved by council members, code violations would become first-degree misde-meanors if city officials can't locate a property's owner and a notice mailed to the address in county records comes back as undeliverable. The charge would remain on the books until a person is located. “Initially, we proposed legislation because we were hearing from lots of community members about the vacant houses in the city of Columbus,” said Tavares. “We were looking at other tools within our housing administration to ameliorate the va-cant and abandoned housing situation,” she said.

For more than a year, the Columbus Board of REALTORS® has remained active in the discussion to hold absentee property owners accountable for blighted structures. “We first got engaged in the conversation last year when the original legislation – Vacant Housing Registry Ordinance – was intro-duced,” said Gavin Blair, Columbus Board of REAL-TORS® government affairs director. The initial “ordinance put an undue burden on property owners,” said Blair, by requiring land-owners to “pay an annual fee to register a prop-erty,” as well as report when the building is for sale or rent. “We joined with the Columbus Apartment Associa-tion and the Building Industry Association of Co-lumbus to oppose the initial ordinance because there was no distinction between absentee prop-erty owners and engaged investors,” notes Blair. After scrapping the original legislation in April, the Columbus City Council, Housing Committee started over. This latest strategy is aimed particu-larly at out-of-town and often out-of-state inves-tors who have purchased cheap properties in Co-lumbus with the hope they'll eventually be worth a lot more. “Through collaboration with CBR, Columbus Apart-ment Association, Affordable Housing, Building In-dustry Association, alongside individual REAL-TORS®, neighborhood residents, and various ad-vocacy organizations, we were able to develop a consensus ordinance that was a win for everyone,” Tavares said.

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columbus REIA real estate investors association februrary 2011 newsletter