Fannie/Freddie Rule Change Will Speed Short Sales

One of the most frustrating thing about short sales is that they can take forever. The reason for this is because the lender needs permission from the borrower to short sell the house, and this can take quite a while because of bureaucracy and the sheer volume of these requests. As of last March, more than 40% of short sales in California ended up falling through because of the long timeline for completing the sale (I can’t find similar information nationwide, but I assume these type of problems are pretty much universal).

In an effort to encourage more short sales, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the conservator for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, has introduced some rule changes that will hopefully speed up the short sale process. The new rules will require lenders to respond to requests for short sales within 30 days and issue a yes or no decision within 60 days of the short sale request. If after 30 days the request is still being reviewed, the lender must provide weekly status updates.

This is a positive development. A few days ago information was released that showed that for the first time ever, short sales outpaced foreclosure sales in a month. I’ve discussed this at length in the past, but short sales are preferable to foreclosures in almost every way. Short sales are less harmful to the borrower than foreclosures, less harmful to the community than foreclosures, and ultimately cost the lender less money than foreclosures.

Whatever can be done to encourage short sales in lieu of foreclosures should be done. This is a common sense decision from the FHFA that costs nothing. Hopefully with the faster response times we will continue to see an increase in short sales.

Reprinted from Michael Kraus, Total Mortgage Services.

Check out all unique Homes and Cabins in the Mt Hood area by property type:

• Mt Hood Cabins (Private and Forest Service Leased Land)
• Mt Hood WaterFront homes and cabins
• Mt Hood Golfcourse homes
• Mt Hood Foreslosures
• Mt Hood Condominiums
• Mt Hood View Properties
• Mt Hood Homes on Acreage

Interest Rates are excellent and Home Prices are affordable, a winning combinationto to buy in 2012. When looking to buy Mt. Hood Real Estate come to MtHoodRealEstate.net

Energy Efficincy Tool-New Digital Thermostat

Automatic thermostats can lower your monthly utility costs while conveniently regulating your comfort by adjusting temperatures on your heating and cooling systems. These can be particularly effective in homes with zoned systems where you live in one area during the day but sleep in a different zone.

There are programmable thermostats available at home improvement stores that can make the adjustments for specific times during the day and specific days of the week. They'll allow you to override the setting when needed without tampering with the programming. They'll even remind you to change your filter.

An exciting development is the Wi-Fi enabled thermostat that allows adjustments from any Internet connection such as computer or Smartphone. Imagine how convenient it can be to change your temperature from the car before you get home.

Reasonably priced under $100 for most models, it makes it easy to recapture the cost of the thermostat quickly. Most of the thermostats are designed for do-it-yourselfers; however, you can always have a heating and cooling professional install it for you.

I have one just like this one and it is really nice.

Mt Hood Real Estate For Salein the Villages of Mt Hood includes Welches Oregon Real Estate, Brightwood Oregon Real Estate,Government Camp Oregon Real Estate and Rhododendron Oregon Real Estate plus Mt Hood Lots and Land. It is an excellent time to buy! When Looking for Mt Hood Real Estate come to MtHoodRealEstate.net for the latest Information.

  the latest Information.

MID Limited per Residence

A recent U.S. Tax Court ruling clarified the IRS position that the $1.1 million limit for mortgage interest deduction applies per residence and not per taxpayer as some high-priced homeowners were hoping.

A married homeowner filing jointly can have fullly deductible interest on a mortgage of up to $1,000,000 of acquisition debt and up to an additional $100,000 of home equity debt. If the married couple files separately, each party is limited to deducting the interest on half of those maximum amounts.
The court case came about when two unmarried individuals who owned a home together as joint tenants felt that they were entitled to deduct the interest on $1.1 million of debt each. IRS did not agree with their understanding and neither did the Tax Court. The Court ruled that the limits apply per residence, not per taxpayer even if a home is co-owned by unmarried taxpayers.
The result for the taxpayers in this case was that their deduction was cut in half resulting in much more income tax due. While this situation only affects a few taxpayers, homeowners in this position should have a discussion with their tax professional.
Mt Hood Real Estate For Sale in the Villages of Mt Hood includes Welches Oregon Real Estate, Brightwood Oregon Real Estate,Government Camp Oregon Real Estate and Rhododendron Oregon Real Estate plus Mt Hood Lots and Land.It is an excellent time to buy! When Looking for Mt Hood Real Estate come to MtHoodRealEstate.net for the latest Information.

Market Snapshot: April 10, 2012

Homes, Cabins & Condominiums: Mt Hood Area (153)

• 102 Active homes and Cabins Currently listed for sale. Includes Single Family Residences, Condos & Cabins. 8 REO/Bank owned homes currently on the market.
• 23 Pending Sales of which 6 properties are REO/Bank Owned.
• 8 Short Sale Pending Sales ( This is a new catagory in RMLS as of this month)
• 27 Homes and cabins sold to date in 2012, with 10 of the Sold Homes REO/Bank owned Foreclosure Sales and 0 Short Sale closings.

Lots and Acreage: Mt Hood Area (153)

• 51 Active land listings in the Mt Hood Area or Villages of Mt Hood
• 2 Pending Sales
• 1 Sold Undeveloped Land Properties to date in 2012

Market Snapshot is a Periodic Peek at Mt Hood Real Estate Market Conditions provided by Blythe Creek.

Mt Hood Real Estate For Sale includes:

• Welches Oregon Real Estate
• Brightwood Oregon Real Estate,
• Government Camp Oregon Real Estate
• Rhododendron Oregon Real Estate
• Mt Hood Lots and Land.
  

March 2012 Closed Home Sales

The Following list of TWELVE homes closed in the month of March in the Villages of Mt Hood from Alder Creek to Government Camp on the Western slopes of Mt Hood. This area includes Welches Oregon Real Estate, Brightwood Oregon Real Estate, Rhododendron Oregon Real Estate and Government Camp Real Estate.

                                March 2012 Home Sales

The Total Home Sales for the month of March 2012 experienced a 200% increase from March 2011.
Check out all unique Homes and Cabins in the Mt Hood area by property type:

• Mt Hood Cabins (Private and Forest Service Leased Land)
• Mt Hood WaterFront homes and cabins
• Mt Hood Golfcourse homes
• Mt Hood Foreslosures
• Mt Hood Condominiums
• Mt Hood View Properties
• Mt Hood Homes on Acreage

Interest Rates are excellent and Home Prices are affordable, a winning combinationto to buy in 2012. When looking to buy Mt. Hood Real Estate come to MtHoodRealEstate.net

Occasionally there are sales posted late. These numbers are as of 4/10/12.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007

The Mortgage Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007 was passed by Congress to avoid additional financial hardship that some homeowners might experience due to a foreclosure or short sale. The law affects mortgage relief that occurs from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2012.

Normally, IRS considers partial or total debt forgiven by a lender to be treated as ordinary income. This not only affects foreclosures but even short sales where only part of the debt is forgiven would trigger additional taxes for the homeowner. There are exceptions that apply such as bankruptcy and insolvency.

The forgiveness is only applicable to taxpayers' principal residence and only acquisition debt used to buy, build or improve the home. The additional cash taken out when refinancing a home will not be eligible for the relief unless it is used for capital improvements.

The lender is required to submit a 1099 form to IRS and provide the homeowner a copy who will file the forgiven amount on Form 982 as part of their 1040 tax return. How this affects your individual situation may differ due to other circumstances and advice from a tax professional is recommended.

Check out all unique Homes and Cabins in the Mt Hood area by property type:

• Mt Hood Cabins (Private and Forest Service Leased Land)
• Mt Hood WaterFront homes and cabins
• Mt Hood Golfcourse homes
• Mt Hood Foreslosures
• Mt Hood Condominiums
• Mt Hood View Properties
• Mt Hood Homes on Acreage

Interest Rates are excellent and Home Prices are affordable, a winning combinationto to buy in 2012. When looking to buy Mt. Hood Real Estate come to MtHoodRealEstate.net