E Good Faith Effort to Sell

Policy

If the value of a customer’s non-liquid resources is the only reason he or she does not qualify for ALTCS, the resources may be excluded on the condition that the customer or the legal representative completes all of the following:

·         Completes and signs an Agreement to Sell Property (DE-165); and

NOTE      If the resource is jointly owned, all owners must sign the DE-165.

·         Shows that he or she is making reasonable efforts to sell the resource.

A DE-165 must be completed even if the customer can prove that reasonable efforts to sell the property began before the application date.

More than one non-liquid resource may be conditionally excluded, but a separate Agreement To Sell Property (DE-165) must be completed for each resource and reasonable efforts to sell must be reviewed separately for each conditionally excluded resource.

NOTE          The conditional exclusion can only be applied to property titled to a trust if no one has the legal ability to sell the property if it is removed from the trust.  For example, this could happen when the trust beneficiary is incompetent and the trustee cannot legally sell the property if it is removed from the trust.

1)    When the Conditional Exclusion Begins

The conditional exclusion starts the earlier of the following:

·         The  month the Agreement to Sell Property (DE-165) is completed and signed by all owners; or

·         The month the customer began reasonable efforts to sell the resource if there has been no break in the efforts to sell.  The customer must provide proof of the date reasonable efforts began, the types of reasonable efforts made, and proof that efforts to sell the property were made throughout the entire period before the DE-165 was signed.  If reasonable efforts to sell stopped for longer than one week, the customer must have good cause (see #3 below).

2)    Reasonable Efforts to Sell

To make a reasonable effort, the customer must take all necessary steps to sell the resource.  Reasonable efforts include all of the following:

·         Unless he or she has good cause, the customer must take all of the following actions within 30 days of getting notice that AHCCCS has accepted the DE-165:

o   List the property with an agent; or begin to advertise it in at least one of the newspapers, shoppers guides or other local media where the resource is located;

o   Place a “For Sale” sign on the property, if allowed;

o   Begin to hold open houses or otherwise show the property to interested parties on a continuing basis; or

o   Use any other suitable methods like posting notices on community bulletin boards or issuing fliers.

·         Except for gaps of not more than one week, the customer must make continuous efforts to sell the property by listing it with an agent or by trying to  sell it himself;

·         Sell the property for as much as possible;

·         Ask no more than the highest current market value (CMV) estimated by a knowledgeable unbiased third party; and

·         Accept any reasonable offer to buy the property. An offer is reasonable if it is at least two-thirds of the estimated CMV unless the owner proves otherwise. The burden of proof rests on the owner to prove that a rejected offer was not reasonable.

3)    Good Cause for Not Maintaining Continuous Efforts to Sell

When reasonable efforts to sell the resource are not made for more than a week, the customer must be given a chance to provide proof of good cause for not maintaining continuous efforts to sell the resource.  Good cause exists when circumstances beyond the customer’s control prevent him or her from making reasonable efforts to sell.

For example, good cause exists when the customer stops efforts to sell to accept a legitimate offer to buy the property, but then the buyer does not complete the purchase.

4)    Failure to Establish Good Cause

If there is a gap of more than one week in the customer’s efforts to sell the resource and the customer is unable to prove good cause, the conditional exclusion of the resource no longer applies.  The value of the resource is counted when determining resource eligibility.  If the customer loses ALTCS benefits because of the value of the resource, the customer must prove that he or she has restarted reasonable efforts to sell before the resource can be conditionally excluded again.  The conditional exclusion can be reapplied in the month following the month reasonable efforts to sell are restarted.

5)    Ending the Conditional Exclusion

The conditional exclusion ends at the earliest of the following times:

·         The resource is sold;

·         The customer stops reasonable efforts to sell without good cause;

·         The customer’s provides a written request to cancel the agreement; or

·         The total value of the customer’s countable resources plus the value of the conditionally excluded resource falls below the resource limit.

Definitions

Proof

Proof of reasonable efforts to sell the resource may include the following:

·         Copies of listing agreements with real estate agencies;

·         Telephone call to the real estate agency confirming the property is currently listed with then for sale;

·         Dated advertisements showing the resource is for sale;

·         Contracts to advertise or copies of ads showing the resource for sale;

·         A photograph of the “For Sale” sign on the resource;

·         Copies of fliers or posted notices; or

·         Any other evidence of reasonable efforts to sell the resource.

Legal Authority