The Quill – April 2016

MARCH RIDDLE

The Annual Spring Photo Contest is here!

Click here to submit your guess for how many pieces of candy are in this jar.  The customer with the closest guess will win the jar and ALL of its contents.  Good luck!

Changes to FIRPTA Rules Regarding Withholdings

In December of 2015, legislation was enacted making changes to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980  (FIRPTA).   These changes went into effect on February 16, 2016.  For those unfamiliar with FIRPTA, the law applies to certain transactions where Foreign Nationals are selling real estate.  Under some circumstances, the Settlement Agent must withhold a portion of the Seller’s proceeds and remit the funds to the Federal Government.  This is a very important law to closers of real estate transactions because failing to follow the rules imposes a financial obligation on the settlement agent to pay the amount that should have been withheld!

The law changes the amount of withholdings related to qualifying sales by Foreign Nationals from 10% to 15% for sales of property after February 16, 2016 that are greater than $1,000,000.00.  Sales of property acquired by a Foreign National after February 16, 2016 as a primary residence for less than $1M are still subject to the 10% withholding.  It’s important that closers understand that you have an obligation to remit the withholdings to the Federal Government unless the exception applies to the transaction. The exception applies to transactions that involve a purchase price of $300,000 or less in which the Buyer (“transferee” per the statute) intends to reside at the property.  Failure to pay the withholding properly makes the Closer financial liable for the amount that should have been withheld.

For more information, take a look at Internal Revenue Service Pub 519.  You can also click on this link to read a Bulletin about the subject provided to us courtesy of North American Title.

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The Quill Tip – Save the Date

Mark May 11, 2016 on your calendar.  On that date, the NC Closing Attorney Best Practices Task Force will be conducting an important and educational webinar.  This webinar will be underwritten by RELANC.  This will be great training for Attorneys and Paralegals alike.  

Visit this website for additional details about the webinar and other great information about Best Practices in general.  

http://www.ncclosingattorneybestpractices.org/ 

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Meet the Family
Tiffany Storm

We are happy to introduce you to our newest family member here at Barristers Title. We are pleased to announce that Tiffany Storms has joined our Customer Care Team.

After graduating from UNC-Charlotte in December of 2014 with a BA in Mathematics, Tiffany joined a commercial restate company whose overall goal was to provide excellent customer service support to the property management division and to their tenants. That dedication to customer service is still strong in her and she enjoys being a part of the Barristers Team.

Her main objective is looking up prior policies and being a enthusiastic voice on the other end of the phone when you call our offices.

In her spare time Tiffany enjoys being outside, reading and art.

Click here to view bios for the entire Barristers Title staff..