2019 - Bushore Church Real Estate

Community Property

BlogrollCalifornia Family Code §852, Church Real Estate, Commingling, Community Property, Dissolution Of Marriage, Family Code §760, Prenuptial Agreement, Separate Property, Transmutation, Wills And Trust

After attending church Council meetings or services, I am often approached and asked questions by individual members. Other than general real estate concerns, the majority of the questions are in the area of estate planning, (Wills and Trust) and how they relate to community property. Although some get the concept of what community property is, when it gets down to it, they really don’t understand how it works and its effects on their estate. What follows is a brief overview of community property, which is the rule of the land […]

Abandoned Personal Property

BlogrollAbandoned, California Civil Code §1993, California Civil Code §658, Church Real Estate, Disposal Of Abandoned Personal Property, Fixture, Personal Property, Reasonable Belief, Trade Fixture

On occasion, a church tenant will vacate the property, (Real Property), either at the end of the rental term or otherwise and leave some of their personal property behind. In most instances, those items are simply forgotten and later collected after being noticed. However, a tenant will often leave behind their personal property simply because they no longer want it. The question then becomes, what to do with the personal property of a commercial type tenant. Personal Property: The California Civil Code simply defines personal property as “every kind of […]

Evicting Church Tenants

BlogrollChurch Real Estate, Commercial Tenant, Eviction, Landlord, Notice To Quit, Rental Agreement, Self-Help, Tenant, Unlawful Detainer

Unfortunately, it sometimes becomes necessary to evict a church tenant. This may result from failing to pay rent, or otherwise not abiding by the terms and conditions of the agreement. Regardless of the reason, the steps for a contested or necessary eviction are the same and must be followed precisely. An eviction or Unlawful Detainer of a church tenant follows the statutes set forth for a commercial tenancy which varies greatly from that of a residential tenancy. Please note that in California, it is the Sheriff’s department that does the […]

Digital Signatures

BlogrollAuthenticity, California Civil Code §1624, Church Real Estate, Digital Signature, Electronic Signature, Original Signature, Party To Be Charged, PKI, Statute Of Frauds, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act

First and Foremost, the use or acceptance of a digital signature shall be at the option of the parties. Under California law, certain types of contracts must be in writing in order to be enforceable. As per the Statute of Frauds and codified by California Civil Code §1624, the following must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged: (i) a contract involving the sale of goods $500 or more; (ii) consideration of marriage; (iii) Contracts by the executor of a will to pay a debt of […]

Restricted Donations

BlogrollAttorney General, Church Real Estate, Deduction, Donation, Donor Funds, Fiduciary Duty, Gift, Internal Revenue Service, Restricted Donation, Tax Exempt

Churches, like all nonprofit organizations, rely upon monetary donations in order to carry out their basic functions. In particular, it is these donations that enable the church to literally keep its lights on. Similar to the article about members taking deductions for the donations they contribute; this article focuses on what the church may do with the funds it receives. Please note that this article does not address fundraising through Bingo or Raffles. Unrestricted Funds: In most instances, a member simply donates funds to be used towards the general operations […]

Removing Fixtures – from a church or otherwise

BlogrollAffixed To Land, California Civil Code §1013, California Civil Code §1025, Church Real Estate, Fixtures, Personal Property Tenant Improvements, Physical Annexation, Security Deposit, Tenant, Trade Fixture

Tenants love to improve the facilities they rent by either painting the walls, installing new carpet, or mounting a video projector and screen for their Sunday service, or otherwise. In most instances, the landlord church has no problem with these improvements. The trouble however, arises at the end of the rental term when the tenant wants to remove their expensive video projector, but the landlord wants it to remain as a fixture attached to the property. If the rental agreement in silent in this regard, who gets the projector and […]

Real Property Fraud

BlogrollChurch Financing, Church Real Estate, Escrow, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Misrepresentation, Mortgage Fraud, Title Transfer, Wire Fraud, Wire Instructions

The information below pertains only to real property as opposed to personal property. As a property owner, you should be diligent in regard to your property and finances. What follows is important information provided by the FB Wire Fraud: All parties to a real estate transaction are potential targets of wire fraud and may lose hundreds of thousands of dollars because they simply relied on the wire instructions received via email, without further verification. If funds are to be wired in conjunction with this real estate transaction, it is strongly […]

Church Financing

BlogrollBridge Loan, Church Bond, Church Financing, Church Loan, Church Real Estate, Down Payment, Endowment, Line of Credit, Seller Financing, Stated Income, Unsecured Loans

Some churches belong to large denominations and have access to funds that are lent through Foundations, Endowments, or other types of funding sources. Regardless of its membership, most churches find it extremely difficult to obtain financing from standard banking institutions. This is generally because most standard banks considering church loans to be too risky based solely on the fact that the loan is based on either the stated income or the equity in their real property, if available. Private Mortgage Companies: Private mortgage type companies, or private lenders, (sometimes referred […]

Clouds on Title (Ownership) to Real Property

BlogrollChain of Title, Church Real Estate, Clear title, Deed, Grandfathered, Grantee, Joint Tenancy, Marketable Title, Right of survivorship, Tenancy in Common, title, Title Insurance

Real Property values will always fluctuate over time, but the one that is often overlooked is the marketability of the Property. Every contract for the conveyance of Real Property contains an implied warranty that the Title will be delivered reasonably free from doubt of hazards to litigation either in fact or law. Although Title need not be perfect, it must not expose the reasonable buyer to the hazards of litigation. One sure way to inhibit your ability to sell your Property is to allow a cloud on the Title to […]

Security Deposits

BlogrollChurch Real Estate, Civil Code Section 1950, Damage, default, Deposit, key money, Landlord, Tenant

Unlike residential security deposits, commercial deposits held to secure a rental agreement can be negotiated between the parties. The laws governing residential property and the handling of security deposits are long and tedious. Commercial tenancies however are much more negotiable in that the parties may mutually agree on any amount to be designated as security. Security Deposit: California Civil Code Section 1950.7 establishes that a commercial landlord may use a security deposit to remedy monetary defaults, to repair damages to the premises caused by a tenant, and to clean the […]

Yearly Archives: 2019