Jackson & Campbell P.C. Update
	January 9, 2007
	Dear Real Estate Professional: DC: Legislation dealing with substantial, building-wide repairs and renovations requiring all tenants to vacate. A condition precedent is a determination by the Rent Administrator in consultation with the Chief Tenant Advocate that the owner's application "is in the best interest of each tenant considering ... the overall impact of relocation on the tenant". Additionally, the Rent Administrator SHALL rescind the approval of the application upon determining that the housing provider has failed to comply with the particular subsection (query: if renovations are already underway, and there is a technical non-compliance, how is the construction "undone" and why is the Rent Administrator deprived of discretion? The Chief Tenant Advocate is Johanna Shreve at 202-442-8947 and the Acting Rent Administrator is Keith Anderson at 202-442-4337. DC Law16-0140 DC: Tax Sales: Listing of Sales. The list of tax sales is recorded at the DC Recorder of Deeds, once a year, in a large document. The instrument numbers for the years since the inception of the new Chapter 13A are as follows: 2001074038, 2002104896, 2003112892, 2004122532, 2005115568 2006116518. If you are a subscriber to the ROD website, you can download and print these 100+ page documents for just $2 per document (not per page). Every title abstract should reference whether the property has been the subject of a tax sale. Federal/DC: The First-time D.C. Homebuyer credit has been resuscitated. It originally expired at the end of 2005, but has been retroactively reinstated with an expiration of December 31, 2007. The law provides for a tax credit (as opposed to a deduction) of up to $5000, but decreases after a single person reaches income of $70,000 or joint-filers reach $110,000. IRS Form 8859 needs to be filed with the annual return. For more information from Congresswoman Holmes Norton's website, click here . Federal/DC: For mortgages originating during 2007, PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is now deductible, just like mortgage interest for single people with AGI of $50,000 or less and joint-filers whose income is less than $100,000. DC: Retroactive Homestead Assessments Almost Rectified: Emergency Legislation has passed that prevents Office of Tax and Revenue from retroactively assessing a homesteader who sells to someone who does not qualify for the homestead deduction. Prior to this correction, OTR had been assessing the property at the non-homestead rate back to the beginning of the half year of the sale. There will be more clean-up of the statute in the permanent version, but the temporary version (which expires on March 19, 2007) is a welcome relief to the constituents and to the title industry. Title professionals should be vigilant that the seller is not overcharged for these assessments. DC Act16-0573 DC: Homestead Deduction, Tax Cap, and Lower Income Abatement: Increased for tax year 2006 to $60,000. If the tax cap is in effect for a property, $22,000 is deducted from the assessed value to achieve the same effect (of $60,000.00). The tax cap is now at 10%, reduced from 12%. The Lower Income Abatement Program (that eliminates taxes for 5 years and exempts property from Recordation Tax) used to apply to properties valued at $250,000 or less. Now the measure is 80% of the median sale price of homes in the District for the prior year. DC: Condo Conversion Fee Legislation is repealed. The repeal pertained to the revisions made to the vacancy exemptions and conversion fees. First, vacancy exemptions had a 90 day shelf-life, necessitating reapplication for the exemption. Second, the emergency act attempted to close a perceived loophole on exemptions from conversion fees. A16-0533 repealed A16-477 MD/Montgomery County: County Transfer Office has clarified that deeds that are taxable are based on the "total full cash value of the property" which does not mean the phased-in value, homestead tax credit value or similar. Exceptions can be made only by approval of Tim Jones or Scott Foncannon. DC: Real Estate Agents Take Note: The D.C. Register has announced proposed new rules on a) the Seller's Disclosure Statement which adds an instruction section and expands upon specific subject areas and b) requires real estate offices to have an actual presence, i.e. to have a phone desk, and files (as opposed to post office box or answering services). Anyone who wishes to comment or testify should take note. Click here to find DC Register dated December, 22, 2006 DC: Court holds that real estate agent is not liable for deficiencies of a home inspector that the agent had recommended. Carlton v. Winter DC: Repeal of "Dower-Like" requirement. DC Council has passed legislation eliminating the need for non-titled resident spouses and domestic partners to sign deeds of trust. The Mayor signed off on the legislation on 12/29/06 and the Act has been sent for Congressional Review. Act 16-626 DC: More assistance to lower-income home-buyers. In addition to HPAP, remember the DC's implementation of the American Dream Downpayment Initiative which provides first-time buyers with interest-free loans of up to $10,000.00, with no payments due while the owner resides in the home. Eligibility is the same as for HPAP (1 person: $40,600 plus approximately $5000 for each additional person in the household). The DC Department of Housing and Community Development has no current information on its website, but you can inquire by calling 202-442-7200 or contacting Housing Counseling Services at 202-667-7006. DC: Mechanic's Lien Form: DC OTR and DC ROD continue to review the proposed Mechanic's Lien Form to determine whether it can be posted on the ROD's website in lieu of the current form which does not comply with the new statute. DC: Attorneys who operate title companies, real estate agencies, etc. should take note. DC Bar Rule of Professional Conduct 5.7 , effective February 1, 2007 is entirely new. VA: Gov. Kaine indicates he will introduce legislation to permit local governments exempt up to 10% of a homes value from real estate taxes. This would require an amendment to the Virginia Constitution, which would need to approved by the General Assembly and then subject to a voter referendum (and we thought tweaking DC laws was problematic). VA: New Property Disclosure Procedures: The Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act has been recently amended. Among other things, the Disclosure and Disclaimer forms, which have been modified to comply with the Act, must contain a representation of the owner that there are no pending enforcement actions pursuant to the Uniform Statewide Building Code that affect the safe, decent, and sanitary living conditions of the property of which the owner has been notified in writing by the applicable locality.The official forms must be used now and failure to use the current forms may furnish a buyer the means to cancel - without penalty - an otherwise contingency-free contract. Two links to the forms are found here, and here . DC: DC Land Title Association: President's reception tonight (January 9, 2007) at 6:30 p.m. at the Washington Hilton. Please feel free to circulate this newsletter to others in the industry, both within and outside your office. The contents of this Update are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice or as a substitute for consultation with a qualified attorney. Moreover, the mailing hereof is not intended to create nor does it constitute an attorney-client relationship. Sincerely, Roy L. Kaufmann of the Real Property and Asset Management Group Jackson & Campbell P.C. email: rkaufmann@jackscamp.com voice: (202) 457-1600 web: http://www.JacksCamp.com

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