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City of Los Angeles 9A Report Information
When selling any residential property in the Incorporated City of Los Angeles, there are three things that will impact a transaction. Click here to learn more about the necessary reports. Click here to download.
City Pre-Sale Inspection Reports Required
Every city has different rules and regulations when selling a residential property. Access our list of cities in the Los Angeles County area by clicking here.
GRANT DEED
A grant deed is an instrument (document) used to transfer title to a home, or other real estate.
California law allows the use of three different types of deeds to convey title to real estate. A grant deed is the middle-level deed because it includes more guarantees of title than a quitclaim deed but few guarantees than a warranty deed. The grant deed is also sometimes known as the special warranty deed.
GRANT DEED INTERSPOUSAL RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP
An Interspousal Grant Deed is a specific type of deed used to transfer title between two married people. This is often used in transactions in which one spouse is transferring title to another as part of a divorce settlement, when a husband or wife wants to add his or her spouse to a title, or when one spouse needs to be taken off a property’s title for legal or financial reasons. For example, if one spouse has poor credit , he or she may need to be removed from title in order to process a refinance.
When title is transferred, transfer tax is assessed by the county and a property may even be reassessed, which can result in higher property taxes . An Interspousal Grant Deed is exempt from transfer tax and does not trigger a reassessment; two solid reasons to use an Interspousal Deed versus another type of transfer deed, which may incur these charges.
HOMESTEAD DECLARATION
Under California law, homeowners are entitled to protection of a certain amount of equity in their home. The amount protected varies depending on the age, marital status, and income of the property owner.
The homestead exemption does not prohibit the sale of the property.
The property can be sold if the sale would produce enough money to:
- Pay all existing liens on the property
- Pay off all mortgages and loans secured by the equity in the home
- Pay the costs of selling the home
- Allow the homeowner to keep equity in the amount protected by the homestead exemption
Rather than prohibiting the sale, the homestead exemption merely ensures that the homeowner receives the amount of the exemption before the creditors are paid from the sale proceeds. The exempt funds received from the voluntary sale of the property remain exempt from debt collection attempts for six months, and can be used to purchase another residence.
Click Here to download the Homestead Declaration.
TRUST CERTIFICATION
When a third party, acting in good faith and for valuable consideration, has no actual knowledge of whether the Trustee of a Trust has the proper powers to act, a Trust Certification given to this third party will fully protected them in their dealings with this Trustee(s) even if no copy of the Trust is provided. (California’s Probate Code, Section 18100.5)
The Trust Certification gives the generalities of the Trust and is completed and signed by all acting Trustees in the presence of a Notary Public, under penalty of perjury.