Real Estate Appraisal for Your Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Appraisal

Having to file for bankruptcy is a sobering experience. It can be fraught with confusion and embarrassment and an unsettling feeling of “now what?” You may not have seen this coming as you worked hard and planned for your stable future. No doubt a number of factors got you into this difficult position but you have responsibly decided that a bankruptcy is the best way for you to move forward for yourself and your loved ones. The thought of losing your home may be causing you sleepless nights, and the details of it all may have you feeling as if you’re in a maze. We are here to offer you qualified and professional help and will do our best to make this understandable and manageable for you.

Every state has a homestead exemption that protects equity in your home. In Oregon that amount is $40,000, and for a married couple it is $50,000. While some states allow you to double the homestead exemption, Oregon does not, and caps it at the $50,000. This covers real property (including condominiums), or floating, manufactured or mobile homes. Depending on where you live, there are other considerations. If you are located outside of town or city limits, you may protect up to 160 acres. If your homestead is located within town or city limits, you may protect up to 1 city block.

To take advantage of this exemption, the property must be occupied by the owner, owner’s spouse, parent, or child. However, if you are not living in your home but you intend to sell it or your absence is temporary and you plan to move back in, you can still use the exemption. As you would expect, there are other aspects to this law that your attorney will go over with you.

You may want to sell your home, either by choice, or by necessity. Factors to consider will be possible liens or judgments to satisfy your creditor(s). I will do a full and professional appraisal of your property that you and your attorneys will be able to safely use into your decision making. We will work with you and your attorney directly, to shorten the process for you. We are confident that we will be more cost-effective than any other professional appraisers you may speak with.

To read more about bankruptcy appraisals, see Bankruptcy Appraisals.

Call Nathan anytime at 503.349.3765 to get started and to get all of your questions answered. We look forward to talking with you and putting your mind at ease. Constant worrying isn’t good for anyone. We want to help you get through to the next stage of your life. Call.

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Real Estate Appraisal for your Divorce

A divorce is never – or very rarely – a happy thing. The emotions that went into deciding to take this life-changing step can be overwhelming. And it can often seem that once you have made that momentous decision the procedures and details that follow are crushing. You will need help, and we can offer some.

If you own your own home, what to do with it will undoubtedly be at the top of your list. Are you keeping it or is your spouse? Are you selling it? Is one of you going to buy the other out? When you walk around it and think about when you bought it and decorated it and made the improvements and put up the holiday decorations and entertained and maybe raised your children and played with your pets do you think the memories are going to sink you? This is where I can help. I’m not a marriage counselor or a therapist but I do know Portland area real estate and I’m going to do my best to show and explain to you that a house is real property and has a real market value, and we’re going to sit down and treat the house just that way. We are only going to look at this asset in terms of its monetary value, and that will allow you to see it dispassionately.

I will do a full and professional appraisal that you and your spouse, or you and your attorneys will be able to factor into your decision making. If you can look at the details in black and white it might help to take the raw emotions out of this part of your negotiations. It will also give you the appraisal that you need should you decide to put the house on the market. You and your real estate agent will knowledgeably list the house at a price that it deserves.

To read more about real estate divorce appraisals, please just click here Divorce Appraisals.

I don’t take sides, and my one goal is to get you where you want to be. Call Nathan anytime at 503.349.3765 to get started and to get all of your questions answered. We look forward to talking with you and putting your mind at rest. We want to help you get through to the next stage of your life.

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Nathan Bernhardt

Bernhardt Appraisal

Portland, Oregon

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Home Appraisal and Estate Planning

Congratulations on deciding to get your estate planning taken care of. This is one of the most responsible things that you can do as an adult. As you know, you want to make sure that everything in your estate is valued properly. It’s not enough to say, “Well, I paid $250,000 for my home twelve years ago, and I guess the price went up, so I’ll put it at $300,000.” You could be right, or you could be wrong. Think of it as the same as a gold necklace. You paid $750 for it a few years ago, and you’ve heard that the price of gold has gone up, so you’ll call it an even $1,000. Again, you could be right, or you could be wrong. Should the IRS come calling, you want to be right. A professional appraisal will provide you with backup and support in case of an audit.

First, to put your mind and wallet at ease, the costs of appraisals are deductible expenses on estate tax returns and sometimes in estate planning, as well. Secondly, often the appraiser can assist your attorney in actually structuring your estate plan so that it will maximize your tax benefits by providing a strictly “value” point of view.

The appraisal that we do for you has another long-term benefit, as well. It will provide a benchmark for the value of your real estate so that subsequent appraisals will illustrate the movement in value.

What Exactly Is an Estate Plan?

Good question! Each estate plan is as unique as the individual who creates the plan. Your plan is a collection of legal documents drafted and executed with the guidance of a qualified estate planning attorney. The foundation of any estate plan is a Last Will and Testament which will provide instructions for the distribution of your assets upon your death; however, an estate plan can do much more than simply provide for the division of your assets when you die. Your plan may also include trusts, advanced directives relating to healthcare, and financial powers of attorney just to name a few additional options. Your personal legacy can also be incorporated into your estate plan through incentives to children and grandchildren that encourage them to strive for personal growth and academic achievement. It can be as boiler-plate or creative as you would like it to be.

An appraisal is an important document to have. Here are a few of the reasons you might want or need one.

• Estate Planning
• Sale to a relative
• Sale to a non-relative
• Dividing your estate among your heirs/beneficiaries
• Prior to listing your house for sale
• Partial interest, typically for income property
• Gifts and gift trusts
• Federal or state tax returns
• Determining the basis for capital gains tax

Aside from you, the people who will want this appraisal are attorneys, accountants and enrolled agents, trustees, executors and administrators. Have one done, get the copies made, and you’re ready for all requests.

Bernhardt Appraisal will simplify the appraisal process for you. Our number one concern is getting the job done right, and making it as easy for you as possible. To read more about estate planning, please just click here Estate Planning.

Please visit our website to see how important a professional real estate appraisal will be for you, now and in the future. Call Nathan anytime at 503.349.3765 to get started and to get all of your questions answered. We look forward to talking with you and putting your mind at rest.

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Recently built Eugene apartments sell for $43.1 million

Recently built Eugene apartments sell for $43.1 million:

The Riverwalk Apartments, one of Eugene’s newest and most expensive apartment complexes, has sold for $43.1 million, according to a Portland commercial real estate broker. HFO Investment Real Estate on Tuesday said it sold the 272-apartment complex at Goodpasture Island Road and Alexander Loop to a Danville, Calif. firm — Green Leaf Riverwalk.