With all of the discussion in the "downturn" in our economy and home prices this article still addresses a few of the tax advantages of home ownership. I personally and professionally believe that home ownership is still a strong investment and with our strong rates for mortgages we should still see home sales for long term investments.
The move now to have the Ypsilanti Automotive Component Holding plant (ACH) reassessed, in this article, may cost the City of Ypsilanti an additional $600,000 to $700,000 in loss. This comes on the heals of a proposal for the City to place an income tax for resident who live in the City as well as those who just work in the City, but have their residence outside of the Ypsilanti City limits.
I briefly addressed the income tax issues in this blog article just over a week ago.
The proposal is calling for a 1% tax on residents of the City and an 1/2% tax on non-residents who work in the City of Ypsilanti. This does not affect Ypsilanti Township residents, which is the majority of the population within the designation of "Ypsilanti". One thing this tax will do is to generate some income from the staff at Eastern Michigan University that work, but do not reside in the City.
Only time will tell how this develops and the City's Website should have current facts as this progresses.
WWJ, our local newsradio station just published an article in their weekly new magazine, RealView relating to real estate and probate. Why is this noteworthy? I was the attorney who was interviewed for the article. If may be found here on their site.
It was a great opportunity to speak to someone and be able to help steer some people in the direction that can help. I would have loved to see some more length to the article but understand that any online news article has to be relatively short in length.
Canton, MI just recently approved the sale of 61 acres of land to Poco, Inc, a local manufacturer of safety construction equipment. The sale is contingent on Poco selling additional land to Sysco, the food distributor, for a plant expansion. This transaction should help the local economy by continuing to allow these two businesses to continue in the local area.
A large pat on the back for Canton making this decision to assist what is a struggling economy now.
Good news for the local tax base, but poor news for Ann Arbor's already slow rental market. New plans have been announced by Education Realty Trust that they will build 896 new rooms on North Campus. The company currently has almost 60 other communities nationwide including several at Michigan State.
Given the makeup of the North Campus this will benefit students in the College of Engineering, School of Art and Design, School of Music, Theatre and Dance and College of Architecture and Urban Planning the most due to the proximity of their classes.
It seems that more & more foreclosure sites just keep popping up to help potential buyers find the homes. With more foreclosures coming on the market and often good deals on them. Yahoo has stepped in to assist people in finding the foreclosures by adding a new foreclosure section on it's site.
On March 27th I wrote a blog piece on how you may be liable for taxes on a loan that is partially forgiven as part of a short sale. Now, I have found an article that details this, but takes a hard approach toward the IRS. This is nothing new for the IRS, they have always taxed forgiven debt--just ask anyone who has ever settled a credit card for less than full value. The following year they received or should have received a 1099 making the forgiven portion income.
Despite this, remember that paying a portion, 15-25%, on the debt next year is very likely better than paying the whole debt this year and losing even more on double mortgage payments if you just haven't been able to sell the "old" house after you had to move for an employment transfer.
Many of the calls to my law office involve assisting potential clients with a review of their mortgage situation when their payments seem to jump up $300-$500 seemingly overnight. This MSNBC report address just such an occurrence. For many, it seems they converted to an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) when they were offered an interest rate or 1-3%. However, now three to five years later the potential clients have neglected to refinance, and now may not be able to since their home may not apprise in the "down" market for what they currently owe. Their first step needs to be a call to their lender's loss mitigation department to see what if any arrangements may be made to restructure their loan if they truly are in a hardship situation.
Despite the 3 day right of rescission on a refinance loan, during which many people could read and review their documents, I find that many claim that they just "didn't know." A good lender will explain the documents to you and ensure you understand, plus may very well provide you with a real estate attorney's name if you request it. One lender that I work with, Toby Riley, believes in ethics and customer service so much he does just that.
One of the largest items that I find for many in foreclosure is that they were not speaking to their lender, or the correct department at the lender. The most important thing when facing foreclosure is to communicate with the lender. This article outlines some good steps, to approach them and negotiate.
Remember, banks DO NOT want to own houses, they want their money back so that can re-loan it and profit again. If you can communicate with the loss mitigation department and work out a situation to extend your mortgage payments there may be a solution. However, you must contact the correct department, be honest and truthful, and follow through on what is asked and what you agree to.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
of the tax advantages of home ownership. I personally and professionally believe that home ownership is still a strong investment and with our strong rates for mortgages we should still see home sales for long term investments. 
may cost the 
November 2007 ballot for vote and just exactly what it is needed for. 
Canton, MI just 
Good news for the local tax base, but poor news for Ann Arbor's already slow rental market. 
It seems that more & more foreclosure sites just keep popping up to help potential buyers find the homes. With more foreclosures coming on the market and often good deals on them. 
credit card for less than full value. The following year they received or should have received a 1099 making the forgiven portion income. 
payments seem to jump up $300-$500 seemingly overnight. 
;)
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