Last year, you may recall the Passage of Public Act 96 of 2008, which enables home sellers to retain 2 principal resident exemptions for property still on the market after the seller has moved elsewhere in the state. To obtain the exemption, home sellers need to submit the “Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption Form #4640". The form is available on the
Michigan Department of Treasury Web site.
Click Here to Download Form.Public Act 96 of 2008 enables a person who has established a new principal residence to retain a Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) on property previously exempt as the owner’s principal residence that is not occupied and for sale by submitting a Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption Form #4640. The conditional rescission allows an owner to receive a PRE on his or her new property and on previously exempted property simultaneously if certain criteria are met:
• the property is not occupied,
• the property is for sale
• the property is not leased
• the property is not used for any business or commercial purpose
*The opportunity to apply and qualify for a conditional rescission begins for the 2008 tax year and is not retroactive to previous tax years.
To qualify for the conditional rescission in 2008, Form #4640 must be submitted to the assessor of the local unit of government where the property is located on or before May 1, 2009. The Board of Review has no authority with regard to a conditional rescission and cannot institute a conditional rescission on behalf of an owner if a deadline is missed or for previous tax years. An owner must annually submit Form #4640 on or before May 1st to verify to the assessor that the property for which the PRE is retained is not occupied, is for sale, is not leased, and is not used for any business or commercial purpose.
If you have any questions regarding conditional rescissions, please feel free to contact the Homeowner’s Principal Residence Exemption Unit, at (517) 636-4320, or P.O. Box 30440 Lansing, MI 48909.
Last week, MAR held an open lottery for brokers to win a free registration to the seventh annual Broker Summit being held April 22-23 at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth. Over 200 brokers entered the lottery, and 10 names were chosen to attend the event. Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to the following members who won the opportunity to attend this MAR event for free:
Rebecca Cunningham, Red Carpet Keim Monarch Realty & Investment, LLC
Detroit
Brinda Devine, The Towne Realty Group
Oak Park
Peter Ewasek, Red Dot Realty
Northville
Jon Gordon, Prudential Snyder & Co, REALTORS
Ann Arbor
Claudella Jones, ClaudellaJones.com
Ann Arbor
Sue Koeman, Maxwell Real Estate
Saugatuck
David Kwekel, Dave Kwekel Development LLC
Byron Center
Oscar Rhoton, Metro Realty Group, Inc.
Romulus
Michael Thompson, First Choice Real Estate Associates
Coldwater
Kenneth West, West State Wide Real Estate
Crystal Falls
The Broker Summit is an event not to be missed by brokers, leaders and managers in the industry. There is still time to attend, online registration is open until this Friday, April 17 and is only $149. For speaker and session information, and to register visit the
MAR Broker Summit Web site.
Register Today!
By: Brian F. Westrin, J.D., Manager of Legal Affairs
As many of you know, MAR has been working on a voluntary and confidential testing program aimed at Fair Housing education and compliance. The program is founded on a growing partnership with the various Fair Housing Centers across Michigan, fostering trust and the development of educational materials to fight housing discrimination. In conjunction with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, MAR set out to create a checklist approach to the most common misconceptions about fair housing law. I’d like to take the time to provide you with the
MAR Fair Housing Checklist as a reference for you when working with any customer or client.
Hopefully you will find this checklist helpful during this Fair Housing Month. It is our hope that this approach might be used as a daily reminder to keep fair housing compliance a year-round concentration. MAR believes that this checklist approach is helpful to get members thinking about where fair housing violations can evolve from. It is the hope of MAR and the Fair Housing Centers that we can continue to bring sound educational tools to the membership.
Download the MAR Fair Housing Checklist
If you know a full-time college junior or senior whose academic major is related to real estate, suggest that they apply for the Michigan Association of REALTORS® Scholarship Trust (MARST). Students can earn up to $2,000 per year.
MARST administers two scholarship programs, the Russel A. Pointer and the Barney Harkins Scholarship and Educational Fund. Scholarships are awarded annually to undergraduate students whose academic major is related to real estate, and are aimed at encouraging and supporting outstanding, highly-motivated students to specialize in the study of real estate.
Applications must be completed and submitted by July 1, 2009 for the following academic year. Incomplete applications will not be considered. MARST does not discriminate for or against any applicant on the basis of race, creed, religion, national origin, age, sex, handicap or employment status. Visit the
MARST Web site for more information.
With the help of McClelland & Anderson, we are taking the most commonly asked questions from our legal hotline and putting them in e-news. We will be featuring a different question each issue.
QUESTION: I am a REALTOR® representing a seller in the sale of a vacant parcel of land that is zoned residential. An agent representing a buyer has requested a seller disclosure statement. The buyer’s agent claims that a seller’s disclosure statement is required for the sale of all properties that are zoned residential. Is this true?
ANSWER: NO. The Seller Disclosure Act applies only to the transfer of not less than 1 or more than 4 residential dwelling units.
Take 10% off your entire order at the Realtor.org Store!
The Realtor.org Store has everything you need to enhance your knowledge of the real estate industry. From DVD's to books and brochures, The National Association of REALTORS® provides you with a plethora of resources that cannot be found anywhere else. Above all, the store provides convenient ways to place orders. Visit the store online and make your purchases with the click of a mouse, or simply call and order your product over the phone. Both ways will result in fast shipping, and the option to return.
The Michigan Association of REALTORS® wants to help you save money on the tools you need. As a MAR member, you are entitled to 10 percent off your entire REALTOR.org Store purchase. Simple type in the promotional code Mi2 and the amount will automatically will be discounted. You can also apply the promotional code to phone and fax orders. It really is that easy to save money, and with this simplicity, there is no reason not to use the code and save!