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Fiscal Cliff ... One Thing I Like a Lot

By
Real Estate Agent with Associate Broker at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Georgia Properties 256152

The deal to avoid the socalled "fiscal cliff" is overall pretty disappointing to me. It's really just kicking the can down the road and indicates the true seriousness of the problem we have in Washington with BOTH parties.

However, the one thing I was happy to see, both from a business and personal point of view, was the extension of the moratorium on "phantom income". To me, it is ridiculous to think that dropping a price constitutes income. It is even more ludicrous to beat people who are already on their last leg over the head even more. It should, in my humble opinion, be dropped permanently since it was a mistake to begin with, but someone has to pay for the "bridge to nowhere".

Thankfully, for another year at least, we can continue to lower the housing inventory through short sales without the potential tax liability to the seller.

Comments (2)

Pat & Steve Pribisko
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland West - Westlake, OH

Ron, good blog.  I agree with you.  I hope, in future negotiation, that there is no talk about eliminating or capping the mortgage interest deduction.

Jan 08, 2013 12:15 AM
Charles Stallions
Charles Stallions Real Estate Services - Pensacola, FL
850-476-4494 - Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Fl.

We all are beginning to like freebies and this one is no different. Whether it is Food Stamps, forgiveness of student loans are letting your house go back because you got a bad deal REALLY, is this the new America I can tell my grandkids about.

I paid off over 100k in student loans, paid too much for the first two houses I ever bought SOLD with no equity, bought new cars (what a rip off to buy new and lose 5k as your driving off the lot. Did all that before 30 but not once did it ever occur to me to walk aways.

Jan 10, 2013 08:41 AM