Neighborhood Realty Group LLC

08/24/2021

Oh well

Check out Didno Investigation's new home, he went with a different real estate broker.

08/09/2018

How can this be 😣

11/30/2017

Very touching

03/21/2015

03/09/2012

Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit Standards

Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.

The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.

Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.
However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability.

Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.

Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.”

In contrast to a low of 74 percent reached in mid-2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent LTV.

While credit conditions may have loosened slightly, some potential homebuyers are still struggling with credit requirements. In fact, Capital Economics points out that in November 8 percent of contract cancellations were the result of a potential buyer not qualifying for a loan.

Additionally, Capital Economics says “any improvement in credit conditions won’t be significant enough to generate actual house price gains,” and potential ramifications from the euro-zone pose a threat to future credit availability.

03/07/2012

Gone, but not forgotten: Canceled debt
WASHINGTON – March 6, 2012 – Like former lovers who send you friend requests on Facebook, old debts can come back to haunt you.

But while you can ignore old flames, you can’t dismiss past debts, even if your lender forgave them. Debts that were canceled or forgiven are considered taxable income – something many taxpayers don’t realize until they receive a 1099-C tax from their lenders.

During the Great Recession, lenders wrote off billions of dollars of credit card debts deemed uncollectible. Now, the tax bills on that debt are coming due. The IRS estimates that creditors will send taxpayers 6.4 million 1099-C tax forms this year, up from 3.9 million in 2010.

The appearance of an unexpected tax bill “creates a financial nightmare for people who have already been through financial hell,” says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com.

Fortunately, if unemployment or other financial calamities forced you to default on your debts, there’s a good chance you won’t have to pay the tax bill. You qualify for an exemption from taxes on forgiven debt if:

You filed for bankruptcy. Debts discharged in bankruptcy aren’t taxable, says Jennifer MacMillan, an enrolled agent in Santa Barbara, Calif.

If you receive a 1099-C for a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy, fill out IRS Form 982 and file it with your tax return, Detweiler says. Check box 1a, “Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case.” (Don’t be confused by the term “title 11” – that’s a reference to the section of the U.S. Code covering bankruptcy, not the type of bankruptcy you filed.) On Line 2, list the amount of debt that was discharged.

You were insolvent. If your debts exceeded your assets when the debt was forgiven, some or all of the debt reported on 1099-C is exempt from taxes. This exclusion is also reported on IRS Form 982. You can use a worksheet in IRS Publication 4681.

Your list of debts should include everything you owed when the debt was forgiven, including debts that aren’t dischargeable in bankruptcy, such as student loans. For assets, estimate the fair market value of everything you owned when the debt was written off.

Even if you’re accustomed to doing your own taxes, it may be worthwhile to consult with a professional tax preparer, Detweiler says.

Erroneous tax forms

Complicating matters, a significant number of 1099-Cs issued to taxpayers contain errors, says IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. To comply with Treasury regulations, some lenders issue 1099-Cs for debts they haven’t tried to collect in 36 months, even if they haven’t forgiven them, she says. In other cases, taxpayers have received duplicate 1099-Cs for the same debt, she says.

In her 2010 report to Congress, Olson listed inaccurate reporting of canceled debt as one of the most serious problems facing taxpayers. The problem hasn’t gone away, Olson says, and taxpayers continue to face numerous obstacles when they try to challenge an erroneous 1099-C.

Shelley Cartier, 48, of Austin, recently received a 1099-C for a $6,400 credit card debt that was discharged when she filed for bankruptcy in the early 1990s. The debt was so old that the tax form was addressed to Cartier’s former married name and sent to her mother’s house.

When Cartier contacted the financial institution, she was told it was up to her to prove the debt was discharged. That’s a problem, because Cartier discarded her bankruptcy documents after holding on to them for the period required by law.

With help from her bankruptcy lawyer, Cartier was able to track down a service that she hopes will retrieve the court documents for her bankruptcy filing for $35.

“I don’t know how much time I’ve spent trying to clear this up,” she says.

Fixing the problem

The worst thing you can do when you receive a 1099-C is ignore it. When your lender sends you the form, it also sends a copy to the IRS, which will match the document with information on your tax return.

Contact the lender if you believe the information on the tax form is incorrect, MacMillan says. If your lender won’t revise the form, report the amount on the 1099-C on your tax return and make an adjustment to correct the error. Most tax software programs provide a way to explain the discrepancy.

© Copyright 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., twitter.com/sandyblock

Sign up for Twitter to follow Sandra Block (). Sandra Block is a personal finance reporter for USA TODAY

01/27/2012

Interest rates will stay low, low, low
WASHINGTON – Jan. 26, 2011 – Consumers and businesses can brace for another two years of exceptionally low interest rates after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is likely to keep its rates below 1 percent until late 2014 because of the economy’s continued weakness.

The decision means the era of historically low rates on loans – and savings – that the Fed kicked off at the peak of the financial crisis in late 2008 will run longer unless the economy improves faster than Fed policymakers predict.

The Fed said unemployment would stay near its 8.5 percent level through the end of this year and could still be in the range of 6.7 percent to 7.6 percent at the end of 2014. Housing remains depressed while growth in business investment has slowed, it said.

Meanwhile, inflation is staying below 2 percent.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke left open the possibility that the Fed could do more to fight joblessness, even at the short-term risk of inflation above the bank’s 2 percent annual target.

“There has been some encouraging news recently,” Bernanke said at a press conference. “There are positive signs, no doubt. At the same time, there are mixed signals,” as indicators such as retail sales growth have been disappointing, he said. Policymakers are also worried about Europe’s financial crisis, he said.

The Fed’s moves, and especially its decision to discuss its thinking about rate policy much more publicly than it has in the past, are laden with consequences for savers, borrowers and consumers, said PNC Financial chief economist Stuart Hoffman.

“It means that if you own certificates of deposit and you’ve bemoaned low rates, bad news – you’re going to get that this year, next year and the year after,” Hoffman said. “If you’re a borrower, very low mortgage rates are going to be here for a while. Some people may delay making decisions, but other people will plan for the future” and prepare either to buy or renovate homes, he said.

Bernanke acknowledged that savers are hurt by the low rates. “We realize that low interest rates impose a cost,” he said. “The savers in the economy are dependent on a good economy to get a good return.”

Wall Street reacted favorably to the news, pushing stocks higher and interest rates lower. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 83 points to 12,759.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries, which closed at 2.06 percent Tuesday, dropped as low as 1.91 percent before settling at 1.99 percent.

Most Fed governors think the economy will grow by 2.2 percent to 2.7 percent this year, with unemployment at 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent and core inflation at 1.5 percent to 1.8 percent, the Fed said.

© Copyright 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Tim Mullaney

06/28/2010

Check out Didno Investigation's new home, he went with a different real estate broker.