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Mortgage relief eligibility – who’s eligible for mortgage refinancing?

27 Mar
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Faced with a new wave of foreclosures and ever shrinking house prices, something that makes people who financed their homes less inclined to pay them on due date, Obama administration has come with another plan to “save the market”.

Now people can refinance their mortgage in order to adjust their monthly payments and mortgage principal to their current situation and to their house price. However, not everyone is eligible. Read below the criteria to be eligible (source):

  • must prove to be unemployed and drawing unemployment insurance benefits
  • must prove he/she lives in the property
  • can’t be delinquent on monthly payments for more than 90 days
  • loan must have been made prior to Jan 1st, 2009
  • loan balance must not be more than $729,750
  • first mortgage can’t be more than 97.75% of property value after refinancing
  • monthly payment can’t be more than 31% of debtor’s income

It’s clear that not everyone will be eligible. Actually, only those who have unemployment insurance will be.

In order to compensate the banks, the plan aims to subsidize the refinanced mortgages.

 
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Postado em Crisis, Mortgage

 

Real estate tax deduction

02 Mar
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IRS has some rules for federal income tax deductions on real estate. You can see them here. Below are some of the conditions:

  • Local, state or foreign taxes on property can be deductible
  • Taxes must be uniform on all of the property and over the assessed value
  • Local benefits taxes are not deductible (such as taxes for road and sewage maintenance and others), except when they are for maintenance and repair

Other itemized items for tax deductions that may apply to you must also be visited. See the following:

  • Home mortgage interest may be deducted. See Topic 504.
  • Business use of own home can be deducted. See Topic 509.

Remember to file your income tax (or file for an extension) up to April 15th.

 
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Postado em Tax deduction

 

Tax credit for move up and repeat home buyers

09 Feb
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Single people and married couples who have resided in the same house for at least five consecutive years of the last eight years prior to the purchase are eligible for the federal move up home buyers tax credit.

The credit does not require that you purchase a house that’s more expensive that your current one. Just be aware that for a married couple to be eligible, both husband and wife must have lived in the same house each.

The deadline for the tax credit is April 30rd, which means you must have your new house on contract by this date. The tax credit is 10% of the value of the house up to US$ 6,500 and does not apply for houses over US$ 800,000. That means, any house priced below US$ 65,000 will get a 10% tax credit and a house priced between US$ 65,000 and US$ 800,000 will get a US$ 6,500 tax credit.

More info on HeraldNet and Federal Housing Tax Credit.

 
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Postado em Tax credit, United States

 

Nearly 3 million people lost their homes in the United States in 2009

19 Jan
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Reflecting the downturn, the number of evictions in the United States reached 2.8 million in 2009, the highest recorded since the beginning of the series in 2005, according to data from RealtyTrac. The result represents an increase of 21% compared to 2008 and more than double the number in 2007.

The study also shows that 2.21% of all properties in the United States (one in 45) received at least one eviction last year, compared to the rate of 1.84% in 2008, 1.03% in 2007 and 0.58% in 2006.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, James Saccacio (RealtyTrac – Chief) said that a huge wave of real estate loans should occur and many of them end up in eviction in 2010.

 
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Postado em Eviction, United States, Wall Street Journal

 

Property prices in Tampa (Central Florida) increases

18 Dec
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The demand for housing in Tampa has been great, and entrepreneurs have responded to this demand by adding to the area, 20,000 homes during the past year. The recently completed Suncoast Parkway, a toll road for 43 miles, encouraged new developments in the northeast of Tampa.

The price index of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) to Tampa-St. Petesburg during the past 12 months increased by approximately 20%.

The story is the same in Orlando, where they were generated about 18,000 jobs last year, according to the BLS, the same occurring in the travel and hospitality that also experienced high growth. The price of homes in Orlando increased by 18.6% during the past year.

 
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Postado em Florida, OFHEO, Suncoast Parkway, Tampa, United States