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The following information was compiled and copied from the the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) website: http://www.occ.gov.
 As part of a consent order with federal bank regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (independent bureaus of the U.S. Department of the Treasury), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, fourteen mortgage servicers and their affiliates are identifying customers who were part of a foreclosure action on their primary residence during the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.
The Independent Foreclosure Review is providing homeowners the opportunity to request an independent review of their foreclosure process. If the review finds that financial injury occurred as a result of errors, misrepresentations or other deficiencies in the servicer’s foreclosure process, the customer may receive compensation or other remedy.
Borrowers may also visit www.IndependentForeclosureReview.com for more information about the review and claim process. Assistance with the form and answers to questions about the process are available at 1-888-952-9105, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET) and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET). Requests for review must be received by April 30, 2012.
Watch out for scams - there is only one Independent Foreclosure Review. Beware of anyone who asks you to pay a fee for any foreclosure review service, such as completing the Request for Review Form.
For additional information, visit the following links:
 Did you or someone you know just receive a 1099-C form from their previous mortgage company after a short sale? If you owed more on your house than what you sold it for through a short sale, the excess amount of the loan balance above the sales price may be forgiven by the lender. The forgiven amount is considered cancellation of debt (COD) income for federal income tax purposes. As an example: Your current mortgage balance is $200k. You execute a short sale and sell the house for $150k. You still owe the bank $50k. This $50k may be forgiven by your lender. If it is forgiven, the forgiven amount is considered income for your tax filing purposes. But there is some good news.
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows taxpayers to exclude the income from the discharge of debt as long as the property sold in the short sale was their primary residence. The act applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through end of 2012. Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately). For additional info, please visit the IRS website: Ten facts for Mortgage Debt Forgiveness.
You still have to report the forgiven debt as income on your personal tax return but you must file IRS form 982 to exclude this as part of your income. As always, consult a certified tax professional to seek advise for your particular situation.
A holiday present from the Congress hidden in the Payroll Tax Bill
In the haste to create an Payroll Tax Cut bill that would allow the passage of funding bill that would keep the government running and protect the payroll tax cut, not too many of us noticed that Title IV of HR 3630 is all about increasing guarantee fees charged by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA for packaging MBS’s to lenders.
IMMAAG thanks a Colorado originator and broker company owner, Don Opeka for his heads up on this quiet little “tax”.
The GSE’s charge an upfront and an on-going guarantee fee for packaging securities. These fees help cover the costs associated with the process and provide some modest amount of “insurance” when pools don’t perform well. The average upfront fees have ranged from 5 basis points (bps) in 2007 to 10 bps in 2010, or about $100 to $200 per $200,000; while the on-gong fees have gone from an average of 17 bps in 2007 to 14 bps in 2010. These guarantee fees are charged to protect the GSEs’ income statement and provide some degree of profit on their MBS activity.
House bill (HR-3630) which was passed to keep the government funded provides for an incremental “minimum” guarantee fee of 10 bps to be added to all MBS’s offered by the GSE’s. It also provides a mandated similar increase in FHA annual guarantee fees of no less than 10 bps on the remaining balances.
A major difference between these new “guarantee” fees and the historic guarantee fees is that the money generated will be deposited directly in the Treasury. It will be part of the general fund and become available only as directed under future appropriations acts. So, the bill may call them guarantee fess, but they guarantee nothing except that homeowners ultimately will bear this new, non-trapnsparent tax increase. And, the only contributor to the funds will be homeowners or prospective homeowners who have mortgages. Yes, the fees are paid by the lenders, but we know that the fees will be covered ultimately by the overall cost of a mortgage. Unlike property taxes which at least are tied to the community, these taxes stay at the Federal level without any specifically designated use.
The mandated minimum 10 bps increase more than doubles the average upfront guarantee fee that already exists and according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 2011 guarantee fee report issue in September 2011 the minor impact of the HARP volume should not require this or any other material increase to maintain the soundness of the guarantee program. The 10 bps is a 71% increase on the 2010 average fee of 14 bps for on-going fees and occurs during a time when the portfolios are getting stronger and performing better.
So, one can only conclude the purpose of this new tax is to find yet a new source of funds, provide no transparency in doing so, make the GSE’s less competitive and give the largest lenders a better chance to portfolio loans and create a private market to replace, not just supplement the GSEs’ liquidity role. That may be a supportable objective, but it seems the appropriations process is not the place to introduce it and the clandestine approach violates the committed to “transparency” we hear so much about.
Reprinted from IMMAAG
Act Fast for Mortgage Bail-Out
By Kathy Kristof | Jun 21, 2011
moneywatch.com
 Consumer advocates are famous for saying that if an offer seems too good to be true, it is and you should avoid it. Just this once, ignore that advice.
If you’re a homeowner struggling to make mortgage payments because you are unemployed or underemployed, the federal government has just launched a program to help. The Emergency Homeowner Loan Program, or EHLP, will provide zero-interest loans of up to $50,000 to pay your mortgage, property tax and insurance bills for up to two years.
The program will essentially subsidize your mortgage payments, allowing you to pay just 31% of your income or $150, whichever is greater. EHLP will pay the balance. Homeowners can receive this help for up to 24 months, or until they run through the maximum EHLP loan amount of $50,000.
No payments are due on the 5-year term of these loans as long as the borrower continues to meet the program requirements. Better yet, if you do meet all the conditions of the program, your loan will be forgiven in 20% increments each year, essentially turning the loan into grant over five years.
But you’ve got to act fast. Homeowners only have until July 22, 2011 to submit pre-screening applications for this money. There is $1 billion available. When the money is spent, the program is over, says Ruth Susswein, deputy director for national priorities at Consumer Action.
“Because this is being done in such a rush and the offer is so good, it seems like you’re hitting every warning sign that this is a scam,” Susswein said. “But in this rare case, it happens to be true. There is help out there. But you have to act fast to get it.”
The just-launched Emergency Homeowner Loan Program is just the latest in a series of government programs aimed at easing the national housing crisis that left roughly 10% of the nation’s homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments. Where previous programs offered to “modify” loans for those who had been subjected to deceptive predatory loans, help was needed for homeowners who had simply lost jobs and were struggling to make ends meet, Susswein says.
Last year, the government moved to provide about $2 billion in help to homeowners in states that had been hardest hit by unemployment and sliding home prices, including Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada. However, homeowners in the states that didn’t qualify for these “hardest-hit” funds were left high and dry. EHLP was designed to fill the gap by providing funds for homeowners in the remaining 32 states, she says.
Who qualifies
To qualify for the EHLP program you must live in one of the 32 states affected by the program and have experienced at least a 15% decline in income due to a job loss or serious illness, leaving you at risk of losing your home.
Those 32 states are: Alaska, Arkansas,Colorado, connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
If you are at risk of losing your home, but live in a state that doesn’t qualify for EHLP, you may still be able to get help, but it would be through a different program. (More on that below.)
What you should do now
If you are in one the 32 states that qualify for the EHLP program, go to www.findehlp.org or call 855-346-3345. Be patient. The website appears to be overwhelmed, so it’s loading exceptionally slowly. When I called the phone line earlier today, the phone operators were also “helping other customers.”
The best time to get through to the web site may well be in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. (By the way, be careful of typos in the web address. The above link will get you to a site offered by NeighborWorks America. If you mistype the address as “findhelp,” you’ll get a commercial site that is not affiliated with this program.)
If your state is not listed here, it’s likely among the “hardest-hit” states and offers help through the hardest-hit program, which is operated on a state-by-state basis. You can find your state’s hardest-hit program here.
You will need to fill out the relevant applications and gather documents, including recent mortgage statements; a written notice from your employer, showing your termination or cut in pay; a notice from your lender, saying you’re at risk of foreclosure; tax returns for the past two years; citizenship documents (such as a passport or birth certificate); and documentation of current income, such as a pay stub.
Hurry. And good luck.
Read more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/devil-details/act-fast-for-mortgage-bail-out/4803/#ixzz1S5uvsFyj
Tax agency hikes standard rate for deducting driving costs
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Higher gas prices prompted the IRS to make an unusual midyear hike to the standard mileage rate used to deduct the cost of business-related driving, the tax agency said Thursday.
The rate will jump to 55.5 cents per mile for travel in July through December, a 4.5 cent hike from 51 cents a mile for driving in January through June.
The rate for driving for medical purposes or for a job-required move also rose, to 23.5 cents for the second half of the year, from 19 cents in the first six months of 2011.
“This year’s increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a press release. “We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers.”
The announcement came the same day the International Energy Agency said it will tap emergency reserves of crude oil; after the IEA’s announcement, crude-oil futures prices plunged. Read more about the IEA tapping oil reserves.
Read blog on three reasons why oil-reserve release is bad news.
Generally the IRS adjusts the mileage rate once a year, though the tax agency made a similar midyear change in 2008, pushing the rate then to 58.5 cents a mile, an 8 cent hike from 50.5 cents in the first half of that year. In 2010, the mileage rate was just 50 cents, down from 55 cents in 2009.
 Reuters
A gallon of regular unleaded gas costs $3.61 on average nationwide, up from $2.74 a year ago, though that varies widely by state, according to a daily report from AAA, the travel group. In California, Connecticut, Illinois and New York, for example, a gallon averages between $3.80 and $3.90. In Alaska and Hawaii it tops $4. See the report on AAA’s site.
Taxpayers can choose to keep track of their precise expenses or use the standard mileage rate when calculating their business costs.
The standard mileage deduction is limited to companies using four or fewer vehicles. For larger companies ineligible to take the deduction, the IRS standard mileage figure is widely used as a benchmark in setting reimbursement rates for employees’ driving expenses.
To determine the mileage rate, the IRS hires an independent researcher to analyze driving costs, including fuel prices, car maintenance and registration.
The mileage rate for deducting driving costs related to charitable work is 14 cents a mile, as it has been for years. That rate is set by the U.S. Congress.
Andrea Coombes is MarketWatch's personal finance editor, based in San Francisco.
HUD announced today that it will increase the annual mortgage insurance premium by 0.25% on all 30 yr and 15 yr loans. The upfront MIP will remain unchanged at 1.0 percent. The new annual premium will be effective for all loans with case numbers on or after April 18, 2011. Below are examples and the impact of the change. The end result is an increase in overall payment for the borrower.
The full mortgagee letter pertaining to the increase can be found on HUD's website: FHA Mortgagee Letter 11-10.
Homestead Exemption and Property Tax help:
Following are very important homestead exemption and property valuation assessment dispute information. I hope that the information I provide is useful. I am proving links to homestead exemption info per county. Most of Metro Atlanta counties are listed. Some web links may be broken due to county website updates. Please contact me and I will help you track down the proper websites and updated links.
What is homestead and what is needed to apply?
Homestead is a property tax reduction program, intended to keep taxes lower on owner-occupied homes.
In order to receive homestead exemption, you must present proof of ownership, complete a homestead application and provide the social security number of all owners. You must be listed as the owner on county tax records.
Who qualifies?
Those who own and occupy the property as their primary residence as of January 1 of the year for which application is made.
When should you apply?
You must apply by March 1 to receive credit on the current year tax bill. Applications received after March 1 will be processed for the following year.
Are there any special homestead exemptions?
Yes, for blind, disabled or paraplegic veterans, senior citizens and some people in military service. If all owners do not occupy the property, a partial homestead exemption may be given.
How often must I file?
Once, unless a form is mailed to you by the Assessor. If you receive an application, it is important that you complete it and return it to the address on the form.
Where can I file?
You should receive an application in the mail by February 1. If you do not receive an application in the mail, contact your county tax commissioner’s office for an application and for any additional questions.
The property valuation assessment dispute starts first with the filing of a “Taxpayer’s Return of Real Property”. Obtain the form, write in your estimated “Fair Market Value” and mail it to your county's tax assessor’s office. Upon reviewing the submitted return, your county's tax assessor’s office will either agree or disagree with your “fair market value”. If they do not accept your stated value, they will issue a “Notice of Change of Assessment”. This notice will inform you of the valuation the county will use to calculate your tax for the current tax year. If you disagree with this value, you will then have the right to appeal. Instructions on how to appeal will be included with the notice. If they accept your valuation, the “Notice of Change of Assessment” will not be issued and taxes will be adjusted based on the fair market value you submitted. Below are the links to the “Taxpayer’s Return of Real Property” by county.
One tip in filling out the Property Tax Return is to search for your tax bill online with the county. The tax bill will contain your Map and parcel ID plus partial legal description of your property. Use this information to complete the Property Tax Return. You do not have to break down your estimated value by “land” and “improvements”. Simply fill out a total estimated value in the “total” section. Remember you must file by March 1. Make sure to mail the return via Certified Mail. Please contact me if you need additional information or clarification. Good luck!
Cobb County:
Property tax Info search: Cobb County Tax Bill Search
Homestead Exemption: Cobb County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Cobb County Real Property Return Forms
Cherokee County:
Property tax Info search: Cherokee County Tax Bill Search
Homestead Exemption: Forms available at county tax commissioner’s office :
2780 Marietta Highway Canton 30114 : 678.493.6400
Real Property Return: Cherokee County Real Property Return Forms
Clayton County:
Property tax Info search: Clayton County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Clayton County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Clayton County Real Property Return Forms
Dekalb County:
Property tax Info search: Dekalb County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Dekalb County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Dekalb County Real Property Return Forms
Fulton County:
Property tax Info search: Fulton County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Fulton County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Fulton County Real Property Return Forms
Forsyth County;
Property tax Info search: Forsyth County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Forsyth County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Forsyth County Real Property Return Forms
Gwinnett County;
Property tax Info search: Gwinnett County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Gwinnett County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Gwinnett County Real Property Return Forms
Hall County;
Property tax Info search: Hall County Tax Bill Search
Homestead: Hall County Homestead Exemption Forms
Real Property Return: Forms available at county tax assessor’s office:
300 Henry Ward Way, Suite 203 Gainesville, GA 30501 : 770.531.6720
Homeland Financial is proud to display the "Lending Integrity" seal of approval. This seal identifies Homeland Financial as meeting the Highest Ethical Lending Standards. Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee NMLS: 150504/162627
Dec. 17, 2010, 7:19 a.m. EST
What the new tax bill means for you
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The new tax bill now on its way to President Obama for his signature will save every American from a number of tax hikes that would have begun Jan. 1 and will add more than a year of benefits for those who are long-term unemployed.
But there are plenty of other tax perks in the bill, most of which extend breaks already in place. Here’s a rundown:
Marginal tax rates
Federal income-tax rates, which were lowered under the Bush tax plans of 2001 and 2003 and scheduled to end Dec. 31, will remain in place through 2012. Had Congress and President Obama not reached a compromise on the tax bill, everyone’s taxes would have risen Jan. 1. That includes an extension of lowered capital-gains taxes for investors.
Unemployment benefits
Long-term unemployment benefits get extended for 13 months.
Estate tax
Among Obama’s concessions to Republicans is a 35% tax levied on an inheritance of $5 million or more. If no estate provision had been passed, wealthy families would have been hit with a 55% tax on an inheritance of $1 million or more beginning Jan. 1, according to the Tax Institute at H&R Block. House Democrats originally balked at the provision, seeking a higher tax on the wealthiest estates.
Social Security tax holiday
The so-called payroll tax holiday stays put too, meaning employees who pay 6.2% in Social Security taxes out of each paycheck will pay just 4.2% for the next year on wages up to $106,800.
Making Work Pay
The “Making Work Pay,” which was part of the 2009 Recovery Act, is set to expire Dec. 31 and will not be renewed. The credit was worth $400 to taxpayers making $75,000 or less ($800 to couples earning under $150,000).
Alternative minimum tax
The alternative minimum tax patch continues into 2011 and the exemptions increase slightly, according to Bankrate.com. For married joint filers, the 2011 threshold is at $74,450; it’s $48,450 for single or head of household taxpayers and $37,225 for married taxpayers filing separate returns.
Tax breaks for families
The $1,000 per child tax credit stays through 2012 rather than reverting to $500 per child. The credits begin to phase out for singles with adjusted gross income of $75,000 and $110,000 for married couples.
The tax credit of up to $3,000 for dependent care for children under 13 sticks too. If the kids are now in college, the $2,500 “American Opportunity Credit” for the first four years is available for anyone with a salary of $90,000 or less.
Marriage penalty relief
Marriage still gets a reprieve. The Bush tax law aimed at fixing the so-called marriage penalty is extended to 2012. Before the 2001 tax changes, married couples got better deductions filing separately rather than in a joint tax return. Since then, the standard deductions for joint filers was double than that for individuals.
Without these, joint filers with taxable incomes at $57,000 and above would have faced a tax increase in 2011, according to the Tax Institute.
Other breaks
A number of additional energy- and business-related tax credits were also extended or expanded, including popular credits for homeowners who make energy-efficient home improvements or buy energy-efficient new homes.
Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-the-new-tax-bill-means-for-you-2010-12-17
With the current market conditions and the large number of home owners who are facing foreclosure or short sales, this question comes up often, "How long do I have to wait before I can qualify for a mortgage loan after I go through a foreclosure or a short sale?". Fannie Mae, who sets most conventional loan guidelines updated their waiting period guidelines this year. Below is a table showing the various derogatory credit event and the waiting period requirements:
(1) The maximum LTV ratios permitted are the lesser of the LTV ratios in this table or the maximum LTV ratios for the transaction per the Eligibility Matrix.
You can see that the minimum waiting time after a foreclosure is 3 years and for a short sale is 2 years with EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES". So that begs the question, "What is considered Extenuating Circumstances?". Fannie Mae defines it as follows:
"Extenuating circumstances are nonrecurring events that are beyond the borrower’s control that result in a sudden, significant, and prolonged reduction in income or a catastrophic increase in financial obligations".
So a documented loss of job for an extended period of time would be considered an extenuating circumstance but you quiting a job because you hate your boss (although I can understand and sympathize) would not be considered an extenuating circumstance. The important thing in all this is keeping accurate records and documents regrading your extenuating circumstance. Fannie Mae says:
"If a borrower claims that derogatory information is the result of extenuating circumstances, the lender must substantiate the borrower’s claim. Examples of documentation that can be used to support extenuating circumstances include documents that confirm the event (such as a copy of a divorce decree, medical reports or bills, notice of job layoff, job severance papers, etc.) and documents that illustrate factors that contributed to the borrower’s inability to resolve the problems that resulted from the event (such as a copy of insurance papers or claim settlements, property listing agreements, lease agreements, tax returns (covering the periods prior to, during, and after a loss of employment), etc.)".
If you you cannot DOCUMENT your extenuating circumstance, you would have to wait 7 years after a foreclosure or short sale to qualify for a home mortgage loan up to the maximum LTV. For short sales, you can qualify for a new mortgage in a shorter period of time but the maximum LTV is reduced (see chart above).
Also keep in mind that the above guidelines are for conventional loans. FHA has slight different requirements. As of today, FHA has a 3 year wait period. The 3 year wait period can be waived with extenuating circumstances and re-established credit
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 12:19pm EDT
The privately held Duluth, Ga.-based homebuilder put up a message on its website explaining the economy forced it to shut down after more than 40 years in the business.
“The decision to close Bowen Family Homes after 40 plus years in the business has been a difficult one. Unfortunately, the market dynamics of the past few years have made it impossible for us to continue business. If you have a qualified Bowen purchase that is currently in progress, that purchase will be honored.”
The company said customers with questions should contact lead broker Tamra Wade Tamra Wade & Partners of RE/MAX Center at (678) 804-2595.
The company began in 1969 when Rudy Bowen, a former lumber salesman, built a single new home in Gwinnett County.
Over the next five years, the elder Bowen worked up to 50 homes a year. By the mid-1980s, the company needed an edge over its many competitors.
In 1985, Bowen began its own land development efforts, which allowed the company to avoid third-party costs. Soon Bowen was building its own communities and creating an organization that could provide a total home-buying experience.
Careful selection of land for development made Bowen homes popular.
The homebuilder was the fourth-largest in metro Atlanta with 549 homes closed, according to the 2009-2010 Atlanta Business Chronicle Book of Lists. It generated $165 million in revenue in 2008 and had 30 full-time employees.
In a February interview with Atlanta Business Chronicle, Chief Financial Officer Steve Palmer noted the company was almost out of new inventory and only expected to start 150 new homes in 2010 due to the sour housing market. The company had fewer options for bank financing than some of the publicly traded builders in the market, like Pulte (NYSE: PHM) and D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI), Palmer said.
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Christian Pak
Atlanta,
GA
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Address: 3050 Presidential Pkwy Ste 105, Atlanta, GA, 30340
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Consumer advocates are famous for saying that if an offer seems too good to be true, it is and you should avoid it. Just this once, ignore that advice.
;)
;)
;)
