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mortgage: Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 – Who does it help? - 01/22/08 06:36 PM
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 will save some homeowners facing short-sales or foreclosures from paying federal taxes on the forgiven debt.   There are very specific requirements:
The mortgage is for the homeowners principal residence.  The relief does not apply to any debt forgiveness for any vacation or investment home.
Forgiveness is only for the "acquisition indebtedness" of the principal residence.  Acquisition Indebtedness is defined as "the debt used to acquire, construct or rehabilitate the home". 
No relief is available for cash-out mortgages whether the cash-out takes the form of a refinanced first mortgage, a second mortgage, a home equity line of credit … (2 comments)

mortgage: EVALUATE YOUR BUYER'S LENDER AS A VALUE-ADDED SERVICE - 07/31/07 07:57 PM
There have been a number of blogs about non-performing lenders, incompetent loan officers, bad loan programs (or at least a derth of buyer education regarding the pros and cons of those programs) and useless approval letters with the end result being a call for LEGISLATIVE ACTION.  Are you kidding me? You want the same people who created Truth-In-Lending, - a flawed piece of consumer-protectionism - to fix the problem?
I am going boldly as to suggest a more immediate and proactive approach.  EVALUATE YOUR BUYER'S LENDER AS A VALUE-ADDED SERVICE.  Before I throw out the concept in its entirety, let's review … (8 comments)

mortgage: A SELLER CREDIT IS A BETTER OPTION THAN A LOW OFFER - 07/25/07 11:46 AM
As housing inventory and interest rates increase, it is time to dust off an age-old tool:  seller credits.  While seller credits have typically been used to assist first-time homebuyers, they are equally effective in the higher price ranges.
I live and work in the East Bay area of Northern California where a "starter" home can easily cost $500,000 and a 3 Bdrm, 2 bath home in a good school district is $750,000 or more, therefore it is a good market to demonstrate the benefits of a seller credit versus a low offer at any price range.  The best way to make my … (6 comments)