RECENT ARTICLES
Mediation and Arbitration, Not Litigation, Can Settle Many Disputes
Question: At the time that we purchased our new Gilbert home six months ago, our landscaping plan provided for a swimming pool in the backyard. We now have the money to build the swimming pool. Due to an incorrect survey by our homebuilder, however, the boundary wall between our home and our neighbor’s home is in the wrong location. The boundary wall now has to be moved ten feet further into our backyard, and we can now only build a “large bathtub” in our backyard. Our homebuilder has refused to take any responsibility for the loss in value to our home because of the incorrect survey. The purchase contract with the homebuilder requires mediation of any dispute with the home buyer. Will this mediator have specific expertise mediating disputes between homebuilders and homeowners? Answer: Probably not. Most mediators are attorneys or retired judges who usually don’t have expertise in a…
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Tax Probably Owed on Paycheck Protection Program Loan
Question: My husband and I are the owners of a real estate brokerage firm in the East Valley. In June we received a $100,000 loan from our bank under the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) for struggling businesses. We used this $100,000 loan for business expenses, including the salaries of our employees. If we have complied with the PPP requirements, our understanding is that we will never have to pay the $100,000 PPP loan back to our bank. My husband took one accounting course in college, however, and he thinks that, even if we don’t have to pay the $100,000 PPP loan back to the bank, we will have to pay tax on the $100,000 PPP loan. Will there be tax owed by our real estate brokerage firm because of our $100,000 PPP loan? Answer: Probably. Under the terms of the PPP, if you have spent the $100,000 from…
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