HomeSeller: Friday, February 17, 2023

ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE Consult estate planner if Dad wants to avoid probate

Q: My 84-year-old father is a widower. All he really owns is his house, which is free and clear, and a Teamsters pension plan. He’s in good health now, but who knows about the future. My two brothers and I have talked, and we think it would be best for him to put my name on the title to his house. That way, if something happens to him, the house would auto matically become ours without having to go through a probate, which is what he really wants. How do we go about trans ferring title? Do we need a lawyer or can we do it ourselves?

A: Throughout my now lengthy career, I’ve gotten calls with questions like this several times per month on a consis tent basis. Once I figure out what they’re trying to do, I have the same response. I refer them to an estate planning attor ney who can give them all the available options and the good and bad of each. It is seldom, if ever, in the best interest of a parent to put their home in the name of a child as an estate planning vehicle. Here’s why.

The mechanics of transferring title to the house is easy, but first let’s stop and talk about this.

I presume the reason you want to “put my name on title” is that if or when your father dies, you would know what he wanted done with the property and distribute it to your siblings. Right?

To accomplish this purpose, all you have to do is be put on title as a joint tenant. Joint tenancy is a way two or more people can hold property. When one joint tenant dies, that person’s ownership interest automatically, instantly, passes to the surviving owners. The interest can not be conveyed to someone else through a will, trust or the laws of intestacy that apply to people who die without a will.

Having demonstrated how easy it is, I’d strongly advise your father and your brothers not to do it.

There are a number of reasons why your father should go about planning his estate in a more conventional manner.

Years ago it was common for people to put either their oldest child, or nearest child, on title to their house and their bank account. Then, if the parents became disabled or died, their bank account and home would automatically go to that child.

This worked fine in the days of primogenitor, when the oldest male child got all of the stuff anyway. But it didn’t work so well once parents decided to leave some of their stuff to people other than their oldest son, like the other kids, or when the parents later decided to change their estate plan and couldn’t without the kid signing off on the deed.

It especially didn’t work well when the parents trusted that their kid would voluntarily distribute the stuff where the parents had wanted it to go. Particularly when, after their death, the darn kid who got the stuff suddenly had amnesia with regard to his parent’s wishes.

And it really didn’t work when California’s Proposition 13 went into effect, causing reassessments of property taxes when property is conveyed in certain ways.

And it really, really didn’t work when the kid with the stuff found out that once he got the stuff, there could be expensive gift tax consequences to giving it away to his brothers and sisters.

I hope your dad will read this and get the point.

Probate has become a dirty word, mostly due to people trying to sell living trusts to people who don’t really need them. Probate is an efficient and pretty economical way to dispose of estates of relatively minimal value if it is handled properly.

In any event, if your dad really wants to avoid probate, there are myriad ways to do so. He simply needs to see an estate planning attorney.

Tim Jones is a real estate attorney in Fairfield. If you have any real estate questions you would like to have answered in this column, you can send an email to AllThingsRealEstate@TJones-Law.com.

Tim Jones

Real estate transactions

These are the local homes sold recently, provided by California Resource of Lodi. The company can be reached at 209.365.6663 or CalResource@aol.com.

BENICIA

TOTAL SALES: 1

LOWEST AMOUNT: $742,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $742,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $742,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $742,000

156 Chelsea Hills Drive - $742,000

01-12-23 [4 Bdrms - 2236 SqFt - 1972

YrBlt]

DIXON

TOTAL SALES: 2

LOWEST AMOUNT: $511,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $705,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $608,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $608,000

1345 Austin Drive - $705,000

01-10-23 [4 Bdrms - 1837 SqFt - 1994

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-15-07,

$475,000

1130 Dawson Drive - $511,000

01-13-23 [3 Bdrms - 1596 SqFt - 1985

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 09-19-22,

$574,000

FAIRFIELD

TOTAL SALES: 12

LOWEST AMOUNT: $50,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $800,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $560,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $497,958

358 East Alaska Avenue - $77,500

01-10-23 [4 Bdrms - 1468 SqFt - 1968

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 07-05-19,

$379,000

2252 Benet Court - $525,000

01-11-23 [3 Bdrms - 1198 SqFt - 1973

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 06-20-22,

$410,000

2540 Chuck Hammond Drive -

$765,000 01-11-23 [4 Bdrms - 3059 SqFt - 2013

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 12-15-15,

$573,000

1828 Cresthaven Court - $800,000

01-09-23 [5 Bdrms - 3197 SqFt - 2005

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 12-27-10,

$380,000

210 Del Luz Court - $268,000

01-09-23 [2 Bdrms - 1000 SqFt - 1974

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-28-16, $85,000

2274 Fremont Court - $439,000

01-12-23 [4 Bdrms - 1380 SqFt - 1973

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-11-12, $144,500

2809 Miller Court - $580,000

01-11-23 [3 Bdrms - 1638 SqFt - 1977

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 01-14-05,

$455,000

370 Rockhurst Court - $644,000

01-12-23 [4 Bdrms - 1894 SqFt - 1976

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 05-03-18,

$430,000

3868 Rollingwood Drive - $687,000

01-11-23 [4 Bdrms - 2608 SqFt - 1992

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-10-20, $582,000

4948 Silverado Drive - $600,000

01-11-23 [4 Bdrms - 1434 SqFt - 1982

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 04-22-15, $393,000

4912 Springwood Circle - $540,000

01-12-23 [4 Bdrms - 1820 SqFt - 1990

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 00/1990, $200,000

2356 Twain Court - $50,000

01-09-23 [3 Bdrms - 1438 SqFt - 1974

YrBlt],

RIO VISTA

01-13-23 [2 Bdrms - 1066 SqFt - 1979

YrBlt]

325 Larkspur Drive - $565,000

01-09-23 [4 Bdrms - 2006 SqFt - 1987

YrBlt]

7885 North Locke Road - $925,000

01-13-23 [3 Bdrms - 1493 SqFt - 1950

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 08-04-15, $125,000

670 Marshall Road - $515,000

01-09-23 [4 Bdrms - 1698 SqFt - 1978

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 01-09-18, $399,000

VALLEJO

TOTAL SALES: 13

LOWEST AMOUNT: $150,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $629,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $485,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $459,038

501 Britannia Drive - $620,000

01-11-23 [4 Bdrms - 2301 SqFt - 1987

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 11-16-20, $618,000

148 Calhoun Street - $150,000

01-10-23 [3 Bdrms - 988 SqFt - 1978

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 05-11-99, $59,000

Pay attention to these details when shopping for a garbage disposal

THE WASHINGTON POST

A garbage disposal is hardly a glamorous item, but there are reasons to pore over its details the same way you do with any other kitchen appliance, lest you wind up with a shrieky, leaky or clog-generat ing device. These tips about garbage disposal features, cost, installation and maintenance will help ensure you purchase a product that fits your needs and will last for years.

SUISUN CITY

84 Calhoun Street - $395,000

01-12-23 [3 Bdrms - 1152 SqFt - 1980

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-24-08, $115,000

129 Candy Drive - $417,000

01-09-23 [4 Bdrms - 1391 SqFt - 1977

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 02-06-06, $440,000

107 El Campo Court - $299,500

01-13-23 [3 Bdrms - 1468 SqFt - 1954

YrBlt]

118 Fairmont Avenue - $550,000

01-13-23 [4 Bdrms - 2107 SqFt - 1937

YrBlt]

159 Farallon Drive - $610,000

01-13-23 [3 Bdrms - 1514 SqFt - 1974

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 10-01-18, $409,000

340 Haviture Way - $580,000

01-13-23 [3 Bdrms -

VACAVILLE

SqFt - 1988

Previous Sale: 09-21-11, $44,000 335 Pepper Drive - $387,000 01-12-23 [3 Bdrms - 1885 SqFt - 1958

Horsepower: A garbage dispos al’s job is to grind food waste into pieces small enough to pass through your plumbing. The most important choice you will make is the motor’s horsepower (hp). Horsepower equals grinding power and ranges from 1 3 to one hp. Take into account your family’s size, how often you cook, how much food waste you generate and how often you will use the disposal. Though economical, a 1⁄3-hp unit will probably fail quickly, says Bob Harrah, general manager at SAK Electric Plumbing in Arizona. Most households are well served by a 1 2 – or 3 4-hp motor. Large families and home chefs may want to consider a one-hp unit.

Size: The higher the horsepower, the larger the grinding chamber, both in depth and diameter. You want to buy a disposal that fits into the cabinet space under your kitchen sink. If you are replacing a disposal, measure the length of the existing one or measure from the cabinet bottom to the sink, says Aaron Mulder, a journeyman plumber and co-owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing in San Antonio. If space is an issue, consider compact models that have just as much horsepower.

Noise: Garbage disposals are not quiet appliances. The stronger the unit, the louder it will be. Manufacturers are now producing models with sound insulation jackets, claiming to cut noise by up to 60% over

ADOBE STOCK

Hire a plumber to install the disposal if you don’t know how to seal pipes and other joints.

standard disposers, but serenity comes at a price. A one-hp unit with sound-reduction technology may cost twice as much as its uninsulated counterpart. “It’s personal preference. Some people don’t care about noise, and others are really bothered by it,” Mulder says.

Cost: A basic 1 3-hp model can cost less than $100, while a one-hp unit with sound-seal technology could be as much as $750. On average, a quality disposal will cost between $150 and $250. Experts advise sticking to tried-and-true brands such as InSinkErator or Moen. A standard installation typically runs from $125 to $325. Many home improvement stores offer professional installation services, and some plumbers will give you a deal on installation if you purchase the disposal from them.

Installation: Doug Greene of Signature Properties in Philadelphia

See Disposal, Page 6

Lower interest rates, prices bring buyers back to the housing market

TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY

As mortgage rates rose at a brisk pace last year while prices in North Texas were still at record highs, Harshal Bauskar’s family had to put a pause on their home search last summer.

Like many buyers across the country, they struggled to find a property that fit within their budget and were hopeful that prices and rates would come down.

But finally in January, they found the perfect deal and purchased a home in McKinney in the mid-$600,000s with an interest rate in the 5% range.

“We waited some time, and then we got the best one,” Bauskar said, adding that buying such a big and beautiful home was a “dream come true” for him, especially being his first home purchase in the U.S.

The Bauskars took advantage of a slowing market in which home prices – while still up from a year ago – have fallen from month to month. Mortgage rates have also declined just enough to have an impact on buyers’ budgets but still noticeably higher than their record low in January 2021.

Real estate agents around North Texas say they have seen an influx of interested buyers walk through houses and make deals in January compared to the second half of last year, motivated by the changes in the market and the end of the holiday season. Buyers are also seeing more incentives from sellers in deals, which was almost unheard of when competition was at its peak.

About 6,600 homes went under contract in January, up from just over 4,729 homes in December, according to data from Realtor associations compiled by the Texas Real Estate Research

Center at Texas A&M University. Bauskar, 35, works remotely in information technology for a financial services firm and has been renting in the U.S. for 12 years after moving from India. He moved his family from Boston last July after a friend recommended North Texas, attracted to to the region for its larger homes for the price and the warm weather.

The family hoped to buy a home around Frisco or McKinney. They looked at homes for a few days after their move, but held off until November when prices and rates were finally a bit lower.

The Bauskars were among multiple bidders on the home.

Harish Nehate of Re/Max Town & Country, who worked with Bauskar, said that situations in which homes get multiple offers were rare in the second half of last year, but they have now returned more frequently as the market got especially busy in the second half of January.

“There’s a lot of movement in the market right now,” Nehate said. “Those $400,000 to $500,000 houses, if they’re priced well based on the subdivision of the city that they are in, they’ll probably get multiple offers.”

Braving the storm

Some buyers in January were so motivated that they were

willing to drive in intense winter weather to look at a house.

Arthur Greenstein of Douglas Elliman Real Estate braved the icy roads with his client Boris Safir and his family, hoping to snag a good deal in Prosper. But they weren’t the only buyers who had the same idea.

Even with the weather, the home had 22 showings by the time Greenstein and Safir went through, after just a few days on the market.

“It was the colder day, the second day of ice, we went out and we drove,” Greenstein said. “And literally, by the time we were leaving, there was another couple already there.”

Safir, a 71-year-old real estate

investor who runs two optical stores, went under contract on the home the week of Feb. 6 for somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million in cash after selling his home in Preston Hollow.

Safir started looking in December but found the homes he was interested in were moving very quickly.

“You make an appointment and next thing you know, it’s under contract,” he said.

Greenstein said that across all price ranges, from $500,000 to $5 million, and all parts of D-FW, there is still a lack of quality properties available despite an overall increase in supply. The home Safir put under contract will still need some work before it’s ready for them to move in.

“New product or homes that are really well done come off of the market right away,” Greenstein said. “There are still bargains to be found on things that need to be fixed up.”

Signs of a busy spring

Realtors expect even more buying activity in the coming spring months, which are traditionally a busy time of the year in the housing market. A further fall of mortgage rates could also motivate buyers. The Mortgage Bankers Association forecasted in January that mortgage rates would fall to 5.2% by the end of this year.

Jasmine Francis, a real estate agent with Compass who focuses on neighborhoods in East Dallas, said that buyer activity was scarce before the new year began, but in January, she hosted an open house in Plano that had 12 groups come through, even after the home sat on the market

TOM FOX/THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS/TNS

Harshal Bauskar, his wife Shital and three children Amayra, middle, Kiaan, right, and Riaan will move into their new four-bedroom, four-bathroom house after closing the deal in the first week of February 2023 in McKinney, Texas.

specializes in flipping houses and outfits each kitchen sink with a new garbage disposal. “I’m a strong proponent of DIY, but if you do the work yourself, you are on the hook if anything goes wrong,” he says. “Take inventory of your skill set. Have you ever done a plumbing project, worked with PVC pipe and understand how to seal pipes and other joints, so there are no leaks? If not, you may want to find a professional plumber.”

Mulder agrees: Although installing a disposal is not a hard job, he says, “you do have to line things up, especially if the new unit is not the same make and model as the older one.” Note that if you are installing a disposal under a kitchen sink that doesn’t have one, you may also need to invest in piping or elec-

Buyers

From Page 5

for about two months.

And the next week, she held an open house in Junius Heights near downtown Dallas that wasn’t quite as active as the one in Plano but had about five groups walk through – more than she would have expected late last year.

Francis said people are excited about mortgage rates moving down, even though they aren’t expected to descend quite back to the 3% rates from a year ago. She expects that will fuel the market going into the spring.

“I think that’s encouraging buyers to get and start looking again,” Francis said. “Sellers are now seeing this energy, so they’re willing to put their home on the market.”

From Page 4 SUBSCRIBE. CALL 707-427-6989.

trical work. (A disposal needs a power source.) And although a pro will cost you, with a plumber, you’ll get an installation warranty and the manufacturer’s warranty.

Jams: Some models tout anti-jamming features such as “reverse grind.” Experts say you don’t need them. Standard models typically come with an Allen wrench and/or a reset button. If your disposal stops running, make sure it’s not jammed before assuming it must be replaced. Unplug it, insert the wrench into a

hole on the bottom of the disposal and manually turn the disposal blades to free the jam. Or you can unplug the unit, stick your hand into the disposal to clear the jam, plug it in, then push the reset button.

Maintenance: With proper care, a garbage disposal can last some 30 years or more, Mulder says. Still, there are some tricks to avoiding jams, clogged pipes and gross smells caused by bacteria and food buildup. Greene tosses ice cubes and baking soda

into his disposal every week or so to deodorize it. Although in theory tossing an orange or lemon into your disposal makes it smell great, the solid peels are the bane of plumbers, because they can get caught in the unit. Harrah says you should also avoid eggshells, stringy foods (potato peelings, celery or carrot shav-

ings, for example) and grease. (It can get stuck in pipes and eventually cause clogs.) Drain products are another no-no, because the caustic chemicals can damage plastic pipes. Mulder says a green-certified, all-natural enzymatic treatment can be used to dissolve organic material in drain pipes.

SOLANO REAL ESTATE SCENE

Market update for February 2023

December was slow and January was worse. There were only 223 homes sold and closed last month in all of Solano County.

Inventory remains the biggest problem. As of today, the number of active and coming soon listings is sitting at 436. Historically, we see around 500 sales per month in the county.

We had more than 6,000 home sales in Solano County in 2021, while wearing masks and showing houses via Zoom. As I hoped and as my friend, broker Brian Stumbaugh, predicted last month, the phone, thank goodness, has been ringing off the hook at my office since the Niners got knocked off in the NFC championship.

First-time homebuyers are coming out of the woodwork and desperately trying to escape the rent trap. I would estimate based on what is going on in my office this past 30 days, and from what I hear from some of my peers on the mortgage side of the business as well as a bunch of my Realtor friends, there are currently at least 300 prequalified first-time homebuyers looking for a house or condo in Solano County to buy this weekend.

Most of these 300 buyers can only qualify for and afford a home or condo at $600,000 or less and there are currently only 175 homes and condos available in the entire county below $600,000.

Multiple offers are back but keep in mind, most first-time homebuyers

Jim Porter

cannot pay more than the appraised value because most barely have enough funds to cover the required down payment and closing costs.

If you or anyone you know has outgrown their house and needs to move up to a larger home or wants to move down to a retirement type of home, now is the time to call a local, experienced mortgage professional, and after you see the mathematics and the affordability, get your home on the market with a local Realtor, because it will sell if it is priced and marketed right and the buyer will almost always allow you to rent back for a month or even two, giving you a stress-free move into your new home.

Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.

Benchmark year of fragrance with debut of Reminiscent, Rise Up Roses

Once upon a time, The Garden Guy was the executive director of the American Rose Society and its Gardens of the American Rose Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. My fondest memories are the times spent in the area dedicated to heirloom and English roses. The fragrance seemed to permeate the air, drawing you to investigate each and every selection with the nose. This year will be a benchmark in the olfactory experience of roses with the debut of two new series, Reminiscent and

Rise Up, both brought to you by Proven Winners.

The Reminiscent series boasts three colors: coral, crème and pink. They originate with

a breeding team from Serbia that has seemingly done the impossible: capturing the look, fragrance and essence seen in Empress Josephine Bonapar-

te’s Garden, at La Malmaison outside Paris. Yet the roses are a manageable size, carefree from the standpoint of disease, and they have put the joy of fragrance back in the bloom.

My first Reminiscent Coral blossom told me all I needed to know. The blooms are exquisite, with a cupped shape. They made me think they deserved to be painted on canvas like the roses of old. The coral color with a hint of copper is so rare in the garden, and even more beautiful against the dark green foliage. Should you be wondering, they are indeed repeat bloomers.

The Reminiscent Crema, perhaps best compared to a buttermilk color, is slightly smaller than the Coral and the Pink, reaching only 3 feet tall. They all

have a spread of around 2 feet. You will love both the fragrance and the high petal count. The Reminiscent Pink, like the Coral, screams heirloom with its shape and fragrance while reaching around 4 feet tall.

The Rise Up series boasts three unique colors. Lilac Days is an extremely rare color in the world of roses; Ringo is a double yellow with a red eye; and Amberness is a stunning amber around an orange bud. A fourth selection in the pipeline, so to speak, called Emberays, is a glowing orange and yellow maturing to pink. It will be available as a preorder and will hit garden centers next year. These were bred in

See Winter, Page 15

Norman Winter

NORMAN WINTER/TNS

Reminiscent Coral is one of three in the series making their debut this spring.

TIMOTHY D. WOOD/TNS

Rise Up Lilac Days offers one of the best olfactory or fragrance experiences in the garden.

Open House Sat & Sun 12-2PM

764 Shannon Dr. Vacaville

Browns Vly 3BR 2.5BA, ov

2200 sq ft & 6420 sq ft lot. Updated kitchen & baths, Laminate & tile flooring. Separate living & fam rooms. $675,000

ON THE M ARKET

FOR THIS WEEKEND February 18th & 19th

Renee Neuman & Jessie Kelly

REALTORS® DRE#01231287 or 02201727 (707) 249-2702 or 344-5004

Open House Sunday 1-3:30PM 161 Hillview Drive, Vacaville

WOW! Beautiful custom 3bd/2.5ba w/over $200,000 in recent updates/upgrades! New LV T floors thruout living areas, remodeled kitchen, new master bath, new paint, electrical panel, some doors, windows & blinds. New garage door & epoxy floors.

$899,000

Susan Truax & Associate REALTOR® DRE#01146923 (707) 486-2398

Open House Sunday 1-3PM 101 Isle Royale Circle, Vacaville 2BR 2BA on a spacious corner lot w/ private backyard. Kitchen has been updated w/ granite counters & newer appliances. Open floor plan flexible living spaces that can be living & dining or living, dining, & family room or all one big area. $429,000

Robin Stucker & Associate

DRE#01347484 (707) 688-7966

Open House Sat & Sun, 11-1PM

5309 Antiquity Circle

Welcome to your new home featuring 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths over 3000 sq ft., large floor plan of fers room to expand and soak in all Green Valley has to of fer. Unobstructed views off the primary bedroom deck, close to schools, shopping and major roadways. Of fered at $950,000

EPIC

Nancy Price-Branson & Associate

DRE#01426977 (707) 71 8-1989

Solano County Listings: Homes for sale

LOTS & LAND

MOBILE/FLOATING

COMMERCIAL

Winter

From Page 10

Shropshire, England, and they add a totally new dimension to the landscape in that they are mini-climbers reaching 5 feet in height with a spread of 36 inches. All over the rose world and in cottage garden circles everywhere, there will be a cheer of celebration, as the roses will be the perfect size to fit on what I call a Victorian tower. Can you imagine a

tower with Rise Up Amberness surrounded by Unplugged So Blue salvia?

As a horticulturist, I hate to confess that pruning heirlooms or old garden climbing roses has caused me on more than one occasion to do too much thinking, “Should I cut here?” With these mini-climbers, it is much simpler. Just cut back by at least a third, maybe a little more, to a good healthy bud. These roses will all have the same basic requirements, good organic rich soil with plenty of sun. As usual, a bog is not your friend.

The Reminiscent and Rise Up

roses offer one more critically important trait: memories. Your children or grandchildren who grow up with these roses will remember not only the wonderful fragrance in the landscape, but also the time with their family and what their childhood was like.

Norman Winter is a horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @ NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.

the AMERICAN DREAM for everyone!TM

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Broker/Owner

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We can use ANY Bank or Investors Wholesale dept. We are not confined to just one source. Why have 5 banks pull your credit, when we can pull it once and get bids for you from 5 banks??

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