At the start of the month real estate DLT startup Coadjute announced a funding round led by Lloyds Bank, including two other major banks Natwest and Nationwide, and the largest UK property website Rightmove. Since then things have snowballed with two major estate agencies, Foxtons and The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) announcing they will use the platform to digitize the paperwork and communications involved in house sales.
Coadjute is a workflow solution that enables data sharing about a sale between estate agents, conveyancers (lawyers), mortgage brokers and banks. Several UK real estate software suppliers have integrated with the platform.
Meanwhile, TPFG spent five months piloting the solution at 12 branches and found it saved 25 minutes per transaction on average. It is the largest franchised estate agency in the UK, with 930 locations and 16 brands.
Additionally, a large proportion of UK transactions fall through after a sale is agreed. Some estimate the figure at more than 30%. A strong sign is if the transaction stalls with a system like Coadjute’s making it easier for the seller to identify the bottleneck.
“We know that in today’s market, consumers are increasingly anxious about the whole process and by offering access to the Coadjute network, we can help to ease these concerns and offer a level of transparency around the process, whilst speeding up transaction times,” said Adam Noonan, Group Commercial Director TPFG.
“Coadjute’s technology enables everyone in the property transaction a clear view of what is happening and when, thanks to the real-time connection.”
Foxtons also joins
Last week the Negotiator reported that upmarket realtor Foxtons has signed up and is also using the consumer app Home.
“With the help of Home and Coadjute, our buyers and sellers will be able to better manage the cost and admin requirements of moving, while also benefiting from the reduced chance of a fall through,” said Foxtons CEO Guy Gittins.
“Thanks to advanced blockchain technology buyers and sellers can immediately, securely and confidently communicate with their agent, conveyancer or broker, all from one place.”
Last year Coadjute participated in the Bank of England’s Project Meridian to synchronize the change of ownership of a house at HM Land Registry with the payment. Coadjute uses R3’s Corda enterprise blockchain.
The $51.8 million deal to sell and redevelop the coveted 44-acre Idaho Transportation Department property along State Street in Boise narrowly survived two bills in the Idaho Legislature that would have canceled its sale.
The two budget bills, House bills 723 and 726, would have revoked the Department of Administration’s ability to sell the property and directed ITD to instead renovate the State Street campus after a 2022 flood. But after nearly two hours of debate, the Idaho Senate in a 13-16 vote rejected the bills Thursday.
With extensive damage from the flood, ITD chose to sell the property and move the majority of its operations to the former Hewlett-Packard campus at 11311 W. Chinden Blvd. Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, argued that selling the property and moving ITD to the Chinden campus would cost the state more than renovating the State Street property. Even though ITD had followed all the proper rules to sell the property, it would have deprived the state of future potential uses for the 44-acre property, Cook said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, strongly opposed the budget bills and said revoking the deal would conflict with state laws, since developers followed the proper procedure for the deal.
“This is a hill I want to die on if I have to,” Winder said on the floor. “I’m going to fight this tooth and nail because it is so far out of line.”
The Senate votes, for now, kept aloft developers’ dreams to build over 2,000 homes and around 150,000 square feet of commercial space at the site.
But the House, which voted to block the sale, and the Senate will still need to agree on next steps for the ITD budget. All state agencies’ budgets must be approved by lawmakers before they can end the legislative session. The roiling debate on the Senate floor came a day before lawmakers expected to adjourn for the year — all but ensuring that they won’t complete their business on time.
Thousands of State Street homes on the line
The Department of Administration selected the winning bid for the ITD campus from two Idaho-based developers, Hawkins Cos. and The Pacific Cos., and Utah-based FJ Management, in September to redevelop the property.
The property sale has repeatedly come under attack this legislative session, with several bills introduced to renege on a sale that developers thought was a done deal. Brian Huffaker, CEO of Hawkins Cos., previously told the Idaho Statesman that the developers were considering legal action if the state canceled the sale.
“This is about more than the state going back on its word and existing statute and is bigger than one real estate deal,” Huffaker wrote in a statement to the Statesman on Wednesday. “This is about returning 44 acres of premier property to the tax rolls to generate income for Idaho and provide much-needed housing options to a rapidly growing region of our state.”
The deal also allows the state to fully use the Chinden campus, for which the state already spent $110 million to consolidate state agencies, Huffaker said.
Jessica Flynn, CEO of public relations firm Red Sky, representing Hawkins, in a statement said the company expects the construction of the buildout to provide $150 million in salaries and wages and 3,800 local jobs, and expects the development to provide an ongoing $52 million in salaries and wages and 1,300 jobs.
Idaho lawmakers float proposals to cancel ITD sale
The two bills were not the first time this legislative session that lawmakers tried to scrap the sale.
Attempts to mothball the deal were originally spearheaded in January by House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, who introduced a bill to get rid of rules allowing the Department of Administration to manage the sale of state property.
Moyle opposed the sale and said it would deprive the state of property it may need in the future and funnel money to the city’s urban renewal agency, the Capital City Development Corp.
Urban renewal agencies collect increases in property tax revenue within their districts and use that money to fund more projects. Increases in property tax revenue from the development of the ITD campus property, which falls within CCDC’s newest State Street district, would go to CCDC through 2042 when the district expires. The House passed that bill, but senators never moved it forward for a Senate vote.
Documents disclose what developers envision for ‘prime’ ITD site on Boise’s State Street
Can you imagine this busy highway corridor in Boise as a walkable, bikeable neighborhood?
ITD’s former HQ campus in Boise was to get new housing. Then the Legislature stepped in
New ITD headquarters further imperiled by Idaho lawmakers’ efforts to block sale
My paternal grandfather bought a residential plot in 1972 for ₹6 lakh in Delhi. He died in 1991 and the land was inherited by my father. My father built a house on the land in 1995 and gifted the house (and land on which it is built) to me in 2011. I sold the house in September 2023 for ₹5.5 crore. I have purchased a residential flat in Bengaluru this month for ₹3.5 crore. This is my first house purchase (barring the one I was gifted by my father). What is my capital gain tax liability? Can I get tax benefit under section 54F?
—Manuja Sindhu
The proceeds from the sale of your residential house in Delhi for ₹5.5 crore will be subject to taxation as long-term capital gains at a rate of 20%, with the benefit of indexation.
Given that the property was acquired before 2001, the cost of acquisition can be either the original cost of the property or its fair market value as of 1 April 2001, at the option of the taxpayer. Additionally, the fair market value on 1 April 2001 should not surpass the stamp duty value, if available, for the property on the same date. Professional property valuers can assist in determining both the fair market value and stamp duty value needed for calculating the capital gain. The cost of improvement encompasses all capital expenditures incurred for additions or alterations to the capital asset on or after 1 April 2001, whether undertaken by your father or yourself.
To avail exemptions, it’s crucial to understand that the provisions of Section 54 of the Income Tax Act (ITA) are applicable in your case, not Section 54F of the ITA. To be eligible for benefits under Section 54, the following conditions generally need to be met:
The property sold must be a residential property.
The capital gains from the sale of the residential property must be invested in the purchase or construction of another residential property in India.
The new property should be purchased either one year before the sale or two years after the sale of the original property.
If constructing a new residential property, it should be completed within three years from the date of the sale of the original property.
The taxpayer should not own more than one residential house, in addition to the new property being purchased or constructed.
Given that this is your first purchase and all the mentioned conditions are met, you are eligible to claim an exemption under Section 54 of the ITA. Once the capital gain is calculated, you can invest the sale proceeds in the residential flat in Bengaluru. If the entire capital gain amount is invested in the new property, you may qualify for a complete exemption from capital gains tax.
However, it’s important to be aware that there are restrictions on the new property acquired using the capital gains. Specifically, it cannot be sold within three years from the date of acquisition.
Selling the new property within these three years will result in the revocation of the earlier claimed capital gains tax exemption.
Neeraj Agarwala is partner at Nangia Andersen India.
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