People ask us about possible lease option agreements to sell and buy properties at Orange County, CA.

California real estate contracts sometimes have OPTIONS granted to lessees and proposed buyers.

A rent-to-own or "LEASE OPTION contract" usually contains an OPTION TO PURCHASE clause. 

Sometimes developers get separate OPTIONS TO PURCHASE on bare land so they can buy and develop at some time in the future.  Adjacent property owners sometimes get a PURCHASE OPTION contract to secure future of neighboring property.

Question is whether any such OPTION TO PURCHASE might be something else – such as a "RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL" – where the buyer/optionee gets a right to buy at unknown price to be offered by another party at some time in the future.  

A purchase offer to sell property on certain terms can usually be revoked by the owner/offeror any time before it is accepted.  

 

An optionor/seller cannot revoke such OPTION TO PURCHASE if it was granted to optionee/buyer with "independent consideration".  

"Independent consideration" means that there must be actual payment or delivery of consideration of some kind (money, motor vehicle, jewelry, etc.) – which needs to be separate and distinct from the payment for the purchase of the property if the option was exercised.

The option agreement must contain essential material terms of the purchase and sale – identities of the buyer and seller, identity of the property, and the purchase price.

How such OPTION TO PURCHASE is exercised in California

"EXERCISE" of the option is usually by the buyer/optionee – and that would be optionee/buyer's acceptance of the offer to sell the property.

The option agreement can specify how the option is to be exercised – examples are "NOTICE OF EXERCISED OPTION" delivered by hand to the owner/optionor, or by fax, or by confirmed receipt email, or by messenger.  If the method is specified in the original option agreement, that must be followed exactly.  If no method is specified, the option can be exercised in any reasonable way that gives the seller/optionor notice that the buyer/optionee is accepting the offer and ready to perform.

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This is for information only and not the providing of legal or tax services.  Be very careful with options in California real estate purchase or lease contract.  If you are a buyer or seller of real estate and getting an agreement with an option, you should consult with an attorney in your state and area and make sure you get that right according to law. 

Professional REALTOR® agent representation and help for Orange County CA property owners, private trust estate representatives, estate administrators, executors and heirs, probate and trust attorneys, estate planners, income tax professionals, public guardians, fiduciaries, investor group managers, bankers, and individuals, with listing and sale of properties at Orange County, CA.

Posted via email from Explore OC Homes

 10,898 Orange County CA properties are in the foreclosure pipeline as of today – February 15, 2012 – after filing of notice of default and prior to trustee auction sale at end of foreclosure.

A recent trend at Orange County Ca real estate is that time from default to foreclosure (average number of days) has been significantly reduced since last year.

California is a non-judicial foreclosure state.  Time to foreclose is the average number of days between the filing of the Notice of Default and the final sale at trustee auction after foreclosure during any specified month.

During January last year 2011, it took average of 338 days for lender/lienholders to complete foreclosures at Orange County – that time frame was reduced to 284 days last month January 2012.

At Irvine CA real estate the time frame from default to foreclosure was 416 days last year during January 2011 – that average time was reduced to 223 days this year during January 2012.

If you are interested to see a list of properties in default at any Orange County CA city and now scheduled for trustee sale auctions after foreclosure, contact us here and let us know your name, email address, and city of your interest for this information.  

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Source of information is ForeClosureRadar.com.   

Professional REALTOR® agent representation and help for Orange County CA property owners, private trust estate representatives, estate administrators, executors and heirs, probate and trust attorneys, estate planners, income tax professionals, conservators, public guardians, fiduciaries, investor group managers, bankers, and individuals, with listing and sale of properties at Orange County, CA.

Posted via email from Explore OC Homes

California New Smoke Free Housing Law for 2012

The  California Smokefree Housing Law (SB 332) went into effect on January 1, 2012 – added Section 1947.5 to the California Civil Code- and gives multifamily property owners and managers the power to prohibit smoking in rental units.

This authorizes a landlord of a residential dwelling to prohibit the smoking of tobacco products on the property, in a dwelling unit, in another interior or exterior area, or on the premises on which the dwelling unit is located.

This new law makes requirements on notices and leases that a landlord who prohibits smoking pursuant to this authority is subject to federal, state, and local requirements governing changes to the terms of a lease or rental agreement for tenants.

California owner/landlords had prior legal authority to prohibit smoking – this new law gives them platform for new programs to enforce smoking bans in multifamily housing communities.  

See Public Health Law and Policy (PHLP) website - with information for property owners and managers who are considering adoption of smoke free policies.

City of Pasadena is even more strict with its smoke free housing law for multi-family units 2012.

The City of Pasadena is leading the California trend and has banned smoking in all multi-family units including condominiums and townhouses, and prohibits smoking in all common areas and inside units.  See the Pasadena city ordinance at "Reduction of Drifting Tobacco Smoke in Multi-Unit Housing."   

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Source of some information is Davis-Stirling.com newsletter, is for information only and is not the providing of legal services. 

Posted via email from Explore OC Homes

About one in three people in California now live in communities where there are homeowner associations, and new California laws impact those people.   

CA Senate Bill 209 – new CA law for 2012 - governing electric vehicle charging stations - restricts homeowners associations from prohibiting or restricting the installation of an electric vehicle charging station, although associations still have jurisdiction over the approval process for such stations.  Owners will be responsible for the maintenance costs associated with charging stations and for any commonly metered electricity.  Owners will also be required to obtain an umbrella liability insurance policy that names the association as an additional insured.

Senate Bill 563 – new CA law for 2012 - new requirements regarding the actions of homeowner association boards between meetings.

• Homeowner associations must notify members at least two days prior to a meeting of the board's executive session. 
• Allows for meeting notifications to be sent electronically to homeowners and permits board meetings to be conducted by teleconference as long as they are conducted in a manner that protects the rights of members.  
• Notices of teleconference meetings must identify a physical location so  members can attend and requires that at least one member of the board be present at the location.  
• Board of homeowner associations are prohibited from conducting a meeting via a series of electronic transmissions, such as email, except to conduct an emergency meeting. 

These news laws are part of the California Civil Code starting at section 1350 re condominium, cooperative and planned unit development communities.  

Posted via email from Explore OC Homes