Sunwest Trust, Inc.

Sunwest Trust, Inc. is proud to announce that July has been our biggest month ever in terms of setting up new accounts. We surpassed our previous record that was set in April 2007 by a large margin. Sunwest Trust now services over $900 million in assets and provides services to over 14,000 individuals and companies.

We are also proud to announce the hiring of three new employees that we have added to our hardworking staff. Casey Love is a recent graduate of the University of New Mexico, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education with a minor in English. Casey is our newest addition to our IRA Department. Natalie Rodriguez is a California native who has lived in Albuquerque for eight years now. Natalie has nine years experience in the escrow and title businesses and has become an outstanding addition to our Escrow Servicing Department. Sandra McBride is also a California native who is now working full-time as a Customer Service Representative. She is attending school part time to get a bachelor’s degree in Business.

Last, we have re-launched our website, www.sunwesttrust.com, in a joint effort with Best Online Results. Best Online Results is a company that specializes in web optimization and internet PR. With the new site, we hope to strengthen our online presence by transitioning to overcome the traditional Dot Com barrier and become more of a Dot Community that will provide more of an interactive Hub for our clients.

On Thursday July 10, Sunwest Trust, Inc. hosted a Title Company Appreciation Reception at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque. The cost of admission to the reception was a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Albuquerque Area Firefighters Random Acts Program. The program’s mission is to give back to the community by providing “Random Acts” of kindness to those who need a helping hand. The program accepts many other kinds of donations beside non-perishable food items, such as washing machines, dish washers, tools, furniture, etc. The items are collected by the Random Acts program and distributed to families in need. Some of the families have had all of their belongings lost in fires, but some are just families going through tough times.

Sunwest Trust, with the help of employees from Albuquerque area title companies raised several hundred dollars worth of non-perishable food items for the program. Attendees of the reception enjoyed Hors dóeurvres, cocktails and the chance to win door prizes, which included a portable DVD player, iPods and professional car detailing by Haute Details of Albuquerque.

Terry White, CEO of Sunwest Trust, was pleased with the turnout, but hopes to make the next event even better. If you want to help out the Random Acts Program, you can contact Michael Trujillo at trujillo4jesus@yahoo.com. 

We just added two new videos on our Website.  The videos answer frequently asked questions about Real Estate Contracts.  The first video is about what to expect when you are buying using a Real Estate Contract and the second video deals with what to expect when you are the seller on a Real Estate Contract.  Both videos are very informative and give valuable information about seller financing. 

You can find the videos by going to our Website, www.sunwesttrust.com.   Next, go to the “escrow servicing” section of our Website and scroll the bottom, where you will find a link for Videos.  We will be adding more videos soon.  Make sure to check our Website periodically to see more informational videos as they are added.

On July 10, 2008, Sunwest Trust will host a Title Company Appreciation Reception for all employees of local title companies at the Embassy Suites La Ventana Banquet room in Albuquerque. Local firefighters will be in attendance to receive a donation from Sunwest Trust on behalf of the Albuquerque Fire Department.

Cocktails and Hors d’Oeuvres will be served from 5-7:00 PM. Door prizes will be awarded to lucky attendees. Please RSVP by July 1, 2008.

The “checkbook controlled” LLC seems to be all the rage on the Internet these days. Many web-sites would lead you to believe that Retirement Planning independence is just a few quick steps away. Other sites may lead you to believe that the IRA LLC is the only way to have a self-directed IRA. However, this simply is not true. An IRA owned LLC can be a very useful tool if used in a responsible way, but in the wrong hands, it can create bigger problems than you ever could have imagined.

The self-directed IRA isn’t for everyone. True, it can earn you high yields on your investments if used properly, but it can also get you into trouble if you don’t know what you doing. This holds even truer for the IRA LLC because the custodian never sees any of your transactions and having the LLC’s checkbook at your disposal can lead to some problems.
 

If you choose to use an IRA LLC, here are some tips that will make your jump into this investment arena a little easier:

KNOW THE RULES REGARDING DISQUALIFIED PARTIES AND PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS:

There are lots of rules regarding who are disqualified parties and what is considered to be a prohibited transaction. Make sure you review these rules with your CPA or Tax Attorney to ensure that you understand them and how they will affect the operation of your LLC.

DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE:

There are hundreds of companies on the Internet who claim to offer the service of setting up an IRA LLC. Many are reputable companies who sell a quality product, but there are some that may get you into trouble. No matter which company you decide to use to set up your LLC, make sure you have thoroughly researched their company and that you feel comfortable with them setting up your LLC. Speak with a CPA or Tax Attorney who has extensive knowledge of how to set up an IRA LLC and have them look over the paperwork and give you their expert opinion.

BEWARE OF COMPANIES THAT TELL YOU THE IRA LLC IS THE ONLY WAY TO SELF-DIRECT YOUR IRA:

These companies make their money by setting up these IRA LLCs and will often fail to mention that you don’t need an LLC to have a self-directed IRA. Again, speak with your CPA or a Tax Attorney to decide if owning an LLC is really the best thing for your situation.

KEEP GOOD RECORDS:

It is the manager’s responsibility to keep record of your LLC’s transactions and make sure that the LLC is adhering to its operating agreement. This includes making sure that your LLC is not involved in prohibited transaction.

Remember: your IRA is your retirement money. The last thing you want to do is something that may put your IRA in jeopardy. Do your research, follow the rules and when in doubt, consult your CPA or a Tax Attorney.

We’ve been receiving a lot of questions about how to fill out the new IRA account paperwork. If you have questions, the best thing to do is click on the “help” button on our website. The “help” button can be found by clicking on “setup new IRA account”, this will bring you to a disclaimer page. Once you have read and clicked that you agree on the disclaimer page, you will be taken to another page that has setup packages for the four different types of IRAs that we offer. If you scroll down the page, you will see a button labeled “help”. This button will take you to a link that explains every blank that you will find on the account application, hold harmless agreement, fee disclosure and transfer form. If you still have questions after following along with these tips, please feel free to contact us by phone. One of our customer service representatives will be happy to help you fill out your paperwork.

We are proud to present our Real Estate Contract DVD, which is the first in our series of informational DVDs. The DVD is the perfect tool for explaining how a Real Estate Contract works. With the current Real Estate market, seller financing is becoming more prevalent and it’s important for both the buyer and seller to understand how a Real Estate Contract works. The DVD answers questions on everything from the initial setup, to what happens in the case of default. If you would be interested in getting one of our new DVDs free of charge, contact Sunwest Trust at (505) 237-2225. The videos will also soon be available to view at our website, Sunwesttrust.com.

Our new employee directory is now complete and available to view on our website. Here at Sunwest Trust, we pride ourselves on customer service. Our new employee directory offers you the opportunity to put a face with those friendly voices that you hear over the phone.