Author: PoP Sponsor (a)

This column is written by D.C. Realtor and resident Sean Forschler.  Licensed in DC, MD & VA, he has been in the business since 2001 and currently works at RLAH Real Estate. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Last week, I described what a co-operative (co-op) is and gave some examples of how it differs from condominium ownership. To recap, it’s a corporation that provides housing for its members as evidenced by shares of stock or other documents.

This week I am going to explain the “underlying mortgage,” a.k.a. “blanket mortgage,” a.k.a. corporate mortgage indebtedness. From here on out, I’ll refer to this large loan as the UM.

In the UM, the land and building are used as collateral. Each residential unit will take on a piece of the loan payment based on their par value. This generally corresponds to the size or square footage of the unit. Therefore, the larger the unit, the higher the piece of this UM the resident is responsible for and vice versa.

The payment of the UM is part of the monthly co-op fee. Therefore the co-op fee is generally comprised of maintenance of the building and grounds, the unit’s portion of taxes and portion of this UM payment.

This is why many co-ops seem to have very high monthly fees but keep in mind that the taxes will pretty much remain stable, unlike a condo, and interest on the UM is tax deductible.

Now, not all co-ops have this UM payment as the UM has been paid off.

When purchasing a co-op, you must take into account the unit’s total remaining balance of the UM. Below is an example of how to calculate how much would need to be financed in order to purchase a co-op with a UM: (more…)

By Washington D.C. Criminal Defense Attorney Shawn Sukumar with Price Benowitz, LLP.

An annual audit revealed that enrollment fraud is increasingly common at a Washington, D.C. high school.

At the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, an acclaimed public school, public residency records point to fraud. According to Hanseul Kang, State Superintendent of Education, the agency that oversees both public schools and charter schools in the District, specific concerns were discovered in public records that were connected to some students’ parents regarding whether they were residents of the District.

Tuition at the school is more than $12,000 for non-residents. By misstating their residence, families can avoid the tuition fee.

Residency fraud has been a persistent problem for many years. It is common for Maryland and Virginia students to attend D.C. public and charter schools, which are funded by D.C. taxpayers.

This practice is illegal and takes away seats from students who live in D.C.. Eligibility is done annually every Spring, with residency proven by utility bills or signed leases.

It is easy to game the system and fake residency, or to use a friend or relative’s address who live in the city. It is also hard to prove residency when there are complicated custody arrangements or situations involving undocumented immigrants.

But public officials have not done anything to fix the problems; in some cases, they are also the perpetrators. Enforcement is not uniform, and it could take years for the District to recover money owed to them for the waived tuition.

In the past five years, 182 fraud cases have been reported to the AG’s office, but only 39 of these cases have been resolved in a settlement or enforcement.

Out of the six current cases in Superior Court, four involve a school employee. Of those cases that were settled, only 20% of the money has been repaid from the families ordered to pay because of court proceedings. (more…)

By Louisiana Personal Injury Attorney J. Price McNamara with the Law Offices of Price McNamara.

Provisions included in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act signed into law in late 2016 will provide individuals financially impacted by the rain and flooding that occurred across the state of Louisiana in August 2016.

The changes, which were championed by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, will allow individuals who suffered losses related to their homes, vehicles and other personal property which were not otherwise reimbursed by insurance coverage or Federal grants, to deduct those losses by amending their 2016 tax return.

Previously, deductions for losses like this were allowed, but they were capped at 10 percent of a filer’s income.

“Provisions like this will provide thousands of Louisianans with financial benefits related to losses that the either were not covered for from an insurance standpoint, or that the insurance company declined to pay out,” said J. Price McNamara, a Louisiana Flood Damage Claim attorney with the Law Offices of Price McNamara in Baton Rouge. “I have represented clients in matters related to this flood and even know individuals with insurance coverage that still had losses they were unable to recover. This change will allow them a chance to be made completely whole.” (more…)

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Original Hamilton-Burr Dueling Pistols on Rare Public Display

The original pistols used in the infamous 1804 duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr are now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.

The rare public showing represents the first time the pistols have been on public display in the Washington area.

They are featured in the exhibition “Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon,” along with mail, portraits and postage and revenue stamps reflective of Hamilton’s life and career as the first U.S. treasury secretary.

The full exhibition remains on view through next March. Its opening coincides with the June opening of the hit Broadway play, Hamilton: An American Musical, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The original dueling pistols used by Hamilton, former secretary of the treasury and retired two-star general, and Vice President Aaron Burr in the duel that resulted in Hamilton’s death are on loan to the museum from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Hamilton was born on the British Caribbean island of Nevis in 1755, deserted by his father at age 11 and raised by his mother who died when he was 13. Shortly after his arrival in New York in 1772, long-simmering tensions between Great Britain and its North American colonies erupted into open war.

An orphan with few influential connections, Hamilton saw the American Revolution as an opportunity for rapid social advancement. He committed to the revolution and decided he and America would sink or swim together.

In a scene that is scarcely imaginable today, on July 11, 1804, Burr killed Hamilton in a duel. Burr had lost the U.S. presidential election of 1800 and the New York governor’s race of 1804. He blamed Hamilton’s outspoken opposition for both losses — especially a letter attributed to Hamilton and published in the Albany Register that referred to Burr as “despicable.” Burr then issued the challenge to a duel, which was set for a location outside New York City in nearby New Jersey.

In the 215 years since his untimely death at 39 in the duel with Burr, Hamilton has become an American icon. Stamps, money, movies, television miniseries, and now a hit Broadway musical, commemorate his meteoric rise and his sweeping vision for America’s future.

This weekly column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Kalorama resident Jeffrey Tanck. He can be reached at [email protected].

And we’re back for the final segment on being a Do-it-Yourself Landlord.

At this point you’ve gotten all of your required licenses, identified and vetted a great tenant, signed a lease and are ready to start collecting rent.

In DC, Landlords can only charge tenants a security deposit equal to or less than one month’s rent. This deposit must be placed in a separate interest bearing account and you should notify your tenant of the name and location of the financial institution that is holding the funds.

For leases 12 months or longer the interest earned is to be provided to the tenant upon return of their security deposit, which must occur within 45 days of the tenants leaving. If you’re not planning on returning the deposit due to non-payment or damage to the property, you are still required to inform the tenant in writing of the status of their deposit within the 45-day time frame.

You also need to decide how you would like your tenant to pay you every month.

Thankfully, “There’s an app for that!” Venmo and Paypal are great ways to receive money and they create an easily accessible record of the transaction. You can also ask your tenants to set up an auto-pay with their bank into your account. Checks are also an option — but are increasingly rare. (more…)