Erica O'Leary

When I select a qualified intermediary to handle my 1031 tax deferred exchange, what safeguards can I take to insure that my money will be safe in their hands? The answer to this question is an important one since your investment property equity can be a substantial part of your overall wealth. Most qualified intermediaries are reputable, honest and ethical, but like all businesses it only takes one or two making newspaper headlines to cast doubt on an entire industry.

Some of the questions that you ask a qualified intermediary before you make your choice should include the following:

1. Will my money be placed in a segregated account rather than a pooled account with other exchanger's money? You want your funds placed in a separate account which is FDIC insured up to the legal limit per depositor rather than a pooled account which will contain all the combined funds from all of the exchange clients. You will want a separate account set up using your taxpayer ID number.

2. Does the QI carry a Fidelity Bond and E&O insurance? A fidelity bond helps cover the loss a QI may suffer due to a dishonest act by one of its Employees. Errors & Omission or professional liability insurance protects against claims that something was handled incorrectly. In both cases these types of insurance policies will go a long way in enabling the QI to have the resources to protect your money.

3. What kind of internal processes and audit controls does the QI have in place? Will you receive an account statement or have access to an online account? Bankers Exchange Services is wholly owned by Bay Commercial Bank with branches in the East Bay and Southern California. Because we are bank owned we fall under the very strict regulations that govern our bank.

4. What is the technical ability of the staff employed by the QI? You want to work with someone who can answer your questions in a clear and concise way and explain the process simply. Bankers Exchange Services has highly trained professionals to assist you, including two certified exchange specialists® and an advisory attorney on staff. With the help of your tax advisor we can guide you effortlessly through the process and save you thousands of tax dollars.

Remember there is no substitute for effective tax planning! We at Bankers Exchange Services are committed to helping you achieve your wealth building goals. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspect of a 1031 exchange give us a call at (877) 989-1031.

An article posted in the money section of MSN.com titled, “Could Your Bank be the Next to Fail?” caught my eye this week. The article summarized the recent seizure of IndyMac Bank by the FDIC and offered ways to protect yourself. The author also noted it was difficult for the average consumer to do research on which banks may be in trouble. That is certainly true, but only because most consumers don’t know where to look. The FDIC’s website is one of the best resources for this research. It’s surprisingly easy to navigate, and offers explanations of most of the terms and data shown. One of the best data points to examine is the “Tier One Capital ratio.” Tier One Capital is the ratio used by regulators as an overall indicator of the financial well-being and stability of a bank. The higher the Tier One Ratio, the more likely a bank will be able to handle a greater-than-average withdrawal of deposits and/or problems with assets such as real estate loans. In contrast, a lower Tier One Ratio is a strong indicator of trouble; in which case, the FDIC steps in. The regulators start to pay attention when banks Tier One Ratio slips below 6%. Speaking of the FDIC stepping in…To many consumers, this seems to be a sign of complete disaster. Fortunately, thanks to the FDIC insurance, it’s not. However, one of the ways you can protect yourself against loss is to have a better understanding of how FDIC deposit insurance works before you open accounts. The FDIC insures deposits of up to $100,000.00. Until recently, anyone wanting to deposit more than $100,000.00 and have it completely insured had to open individual accounts with several different banking institutions and/or utilize different account ownership types to achieve greater levels of insurance coverage. While this is the safe approach, it is time consuming and can be tedious to have multiple banking relationships. At the present, banks like Bay Commercial Bank in Walnut Creek, California are a member of CDARS®, Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service. Using the CDARS® service, you can access up to $30 million in FDIC protection on your CD investments. “One bank, one rate and one statement”. A single statement is sent out detailing all of the CD investments. As with most certificates of deposit, CDARS® offers various maturity options to choose from. CDARS® is not right for everyone and not all banks offer the service. However, between FDIC deposit insurance and the newer CDARS®, most consumers can put aside concerns about losing funds on deposit in banks. In closing, let’s go back to the excellent resources offered on the FDIC’s website. If you want to know how your bank is doing, if you want to know the earnings history, the capital base, information regarding the level of past due loans, the number of employees or other interesting characteristics, this site is for you. As lenders, we often say “know your borrower”; as clients, you may want to say ‘know your bank”. If after all your research efforts are exhausted and you still have questions, give the CEO of your bank a call (what a novel concept). By: George Guarini, CEO Bay Commercial Bank (925) 476-1800

We have dug our way out of the "sandbox" and "cached" in!!! Its official if you type Walnut Creek 1031 Exchange or Oakland 1031 Exchange into a Google search you will see Bankers Exchange Services in the No. 1 spot! Yesterday BES was buried deep in the pages of Google and today we arrived on top. Thanks go out to Patrick Schwerdtfeger with Tactial Execution who spent a lot of time and energy re-building the BES website. Patrick taught us the importance of blogging and using key words throughout our site to optimize visibility. With so many people using the internet these days to shop for products and services it is of paramount importance to show up on the first page of a Google search. When we all committed to undertaking the task of improving our website with more content, blogging and using primary keyword phrases, Patrick told us to be patient. He said we wouldn't be #1 over night, but if we consistently added fresh content to our site over time Google would reward us. Patrick was diligent about submitting our URL and sitemap and we were all rewarded for our efforts this morning when we typed Walnut Creek 1031 Exchange into a Google search and saw the fruits of our labor. The entire process of rebuilding the site, adding additional content and regular blogging paid off in just about 4 months with a top spot on Google. You don't have to be tech savvy to improve your website visibility, you just need to know the steps to take. Patrick wrote a book called Making Yourself Useful, Marketing in the 21st Century, he also offers 52 weeks of FREE business coaching tips. If you need help making your website more robust, get in touch with Patrick. If you have 1031 Exchange questions give Bankers Exchange Services in Walnut Creek a call at (877) 989-1031.