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taxes: It is that time of year again… Todd, why did my payments go up on my mortgage? - 02/20/11 10:55 AM


Every year, at about this time, I start to get calls from people that their mortgage payments have increased. They call yelling at me saying “Todd, you remember at the closing table both you and the escrow officer insured us that this was a fixed rate mortgage, how come are payments have risen?”
Well, there are 4 parts to your mortgage, principal, interest, taxes and insurance. The first two principal and interest are fixed and those are what you agreed to when you signed the loan, they will be fixed for the entire 30 years and will never change.
… (12 comments)

taxes: Make sure you update the IRS and state on amount you receive at close or you could be audited and fined! - 05/15/10 11:41 PM
  Last year I sold a listing in Sexton Mountain neighborhood that was being sold because of a divorce. Now, the fact that it was a divorce is partially what lead to the problem that I got the call on today. You see this couple had equity in their home, they had owned their home 23 years and had never refinanced, so they really weren’t hit by the local slide in real estate sales prices.
Well, at close all the proceeds went in to an escrow account for them to fight it out in court who got what and for how … (18 comments)

taxes: Cash for Clunkers – Home Edition? - 10/11/09 10:01 PM

The government seems to think the cash for clunkers was a huge success, because so many people took advantage of it. They gave people who traded in their older, non efficient cars (which they destroyed) and gave them $4,500 to get a new car with better gas mileage.
Now, in some cases, these cars were perfectly good cars, they ran great, got less than perfect gas mileage, but they ran well. These cars, instead of being crushed, could have been used for parts for other cars of the same model, could have been given to women who had left … (14 comments)

taxes: My family has to cut back, maybe you should do the same thing! - 07/10/09 11:33 PM

Mark MacKenzie wrote a great article the other day that was about how local governments are finding their budgets are being cut because the house values are dropping.

My comment slowly became its own post.

You see the problem with government in the past 50 years or so is that they can’t seem to budget as a family would budget. When my family doesn’t make enough money because I didn’t sell as many houses one month or the houses I sold were at the lower end of the market, my family cuts back, we decide what we need … (21 comments)

taxes: What does that say about you as a city? - 09/03/08 12:30 AM
Have you ever heard the statement, "You are so ugly that your mommy would have to tie a steak around your neck to even get the dog to play with you"? Well, can a city, or a part of a city, be that way?
You know as an agent we can't steer our clients to certain parts of a city, but what about the city trying to steer people to that part of the city? Well, the City of Portland has just such an area. The Lents area of Portland, for the longest time, was really not a desirable place to … (7 comments)

taxes: Maybe we should issue the homeless cell phones - 01/01/08 01:33 AM
Portland has become a place for the homeless to come. The city embraces them, and even is willing to drive hard working mom and pop stores out in order to help the homeless. We have something called dignity village here that is a homeless camp, is on public land, and doesn't have to be up to code.
The question I have for this community is if one of these tents, with FREE electricity and FREE water supplied by the city, should burn down, who do they think they are going to sue if someone should get hurt?
 I do think … (21 comments)

taxes: Oregon’s Measure 49 Passes (What does this mean to land owners?) - 11/07/07 01:18 PM
A few years ago, Oregon land owners were up in arms about the state's and county's rights to take the land they had bought and changed the land use laws on an owner and not pay them fair compensation if the property lost value due to that change.
Measure 37 that gave land owners the right to use the property that was in place when they bought the property, or get compensated by the state for the value that was lost by the change in land use.
Last night was time for another debate and another fire fight about land use … (7 comments)

taxes: Being a jerk of a neighbor can back fire! - 09/11/07 05:53 PM
My sister and brother-in-law built this beautiful home next to... well, calling him a jerk would be nice!
He has an easement on my sisters property for his drive way. Well when I came over the other day to pick up a dryer in my trailer, the only way I could turn around was use his driveway.
Well this "JERK", while I was inside getting the dryer told my wife she had to get out of the car and clean up the tire marks on his driveway! I had no idea this had happened until I came out with the dryer … (8 comments)

taxes: Beaverton Oregon Real Estate Investing: Using the IRS 1031 exchange to your benefit - 04/12/07 09:37 PM
What is a 1031 exchange and why do I need it? If you an investor and don't know the answer to these questions, then pay attention, it could save you thousands on your taxes.
A 1031 exchange is a way for you to sell a property that has had a capital gains increase since you bought it, then you can take the equity from that property and apply it to a investment property of equal or greater value, without having to pay tax on the capital gains until you sell the property. The key is the property has to be of … (4 comments)

taxes: Control you own future with your retirement - 04/11/07 10:19 AM
One of the best ways to control your retirement is contributing to your 401K every year. The only problem is the maximum you can contribute per year is $14,000. But there is a way to get almost unlimited money contributed to your retirement and get the money tax free at the time of retirement.
The first thing you need to do is transfer your money to a self controlled IRA. Then you can buy fixer properties with your IRA, fix up the property with IRA money and then when you sell the property all the money is given back to the … (0 comments)

taxes: Buy a home, Get a mortgage, Get tax relief - It's that easy - 03/27/07 01:14 AM
Now you own a home and all the benefits that come along with it. One of those benefits is the mortgage tax deduction on your state and federal taxes. Every dime you pay in interest on you mortgage is a deduction off your gross income on your taxes and can mean a tax savings of thousands of dollars.
Most people don't realize on $200,000 loan at 6% in the first year you pay almost $12,000 in interest on your mortgage. If you took that $12,000 and deducted it from you gross income, would that help you year end tax bill to … (0 comments)

taxes: The Tax Man Cometh - 02/12/07 03:18 AM
So you are thinking of selling you home and you are worried about the tax implications. Well worry no more! The current tax law for the sale of your primary residence, after May 6, 1997, states that you can have up to $500,000 in capital gains for a married couple and $250,000 for a single person. So unless you are single and paid only $10,000 for your home and plan to sell it for $300,000 you don't have too much to worry about.One of the requirements of this tax law is that you must have lived in that home at lease … (0 comments)

 
Helping Families Home is a blog set up to help families find that perfect home for them. I have a family and I understand how hard it can be to find a home that everyone is happy with. Let me help you find that home and help your family home.


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