Extension??? The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The House and Senate Have both passed the “Fiscal Cliff” deal also called “The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”. It is only waiting on the President’s signature. Politics and opinions aside; included in the Act is the extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act as the bill currently reads(Section 202). Fiscal Cliff Bill.

This will affect what our real estate market looks like this year. If you are considering selling your house through a short sale it sounds like the proposed extension will* give you some incentive to make sure that the short sale is completed this year.

*To determine if you qualify for Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation you should seek the advice of a competent CPA or Tax Attorney.

Short Sale Success

A recent thank you card from a short sale Seller client made me reflect a little bit on the last 5 or so years of helping folks short sale their properties. We just closed this clients short sale. In the same week I was giving keys to a new home to some past short sale Seller clients who I helped sell their house as a short sale a little over 2 years earlier. It is always rewarding to receive thank you notes – it is even more rewarding to see the process come full circle to see past short sale Seller clients buy a new home, be in a much better financial position, and generally in just a better place in their life.

Short sales and being underwater in your house can be mentally taxing as a seller but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Please touch base with me if you are considering a short sale. I would be glad to help in anyway that I can.

Short Sale Fail – A Series on Questionable Things I Run Into With Short Sales: CDPE Disclosure

Short Sale Fail – A Series on Questionable Things I Run Into With Short Sales: CDPE Disclosure

When working with buyers I often run into listing agents forcing the use of forms that leave me wondering how many short sales they have completed and the level of service that they provide to their clients. For instance I was showing a house this past week and the agent included the below form as a document to be included in a contract. It is a CDPE form (Certified Distressed Property Expert – in my opinion little more than a “I paid $500 to get a designation for my business card club”). CDPE has their trained agents using the below form that has more than 1 questionable item on it. For this post I would like to focus on Item #2.

Item 2 States the following. “The seller will receive no cash from this transaction (unless it is a HAFA short sale). Any funds usually due to the seller will be paid to the lender.

This is inaccurate Click HERE  to look at at one of my more recent posts below. I have been able to obtain cash for sellers on more than just HAFA short sales and have the approval letters to reflect it. If your agent is using this form do they know that they MAY be able to negotiate a Seller Incentive paid to you upon closing?

As a Seller you need to know you have a competent agent working for you. You are not guaranteed to recover any money from a short sale as a seller but if you could why wouldn’t you want help with moving expenses, rent at your new place, etc.?

If you as a buyer see a form that has this specific wording on it included in your contract it may be an indicator of the possible rodeo you are about to be a part of. To me it suggests at least a lack of knowledge of the party bringing it to the table.

Call me if you are considering buying or selling a short sale . 208.830.6185

CDPE Form P

Another Wave of Foreclosures?

While we have experienced some leveling in our market the last 3 months there are fears of another wave in foreclosure activity. These fears may be founded as foreclosure starts were up 28% in January and some are of the opinion that we will see foreclosure activity at a greater level in 2012 than we did in 2010.

This new wave of foreclosures is expected to hit borrowers who were not involved in many of the sub-prime mortgages but rather folks with ordinary mortgages that have been effected by the recession.

See Reuters article “Americans brace for next foreclosure wave”.

Short Sale Fail – A Series: Intro

Short Sale Fail – A Series on Questionable Things I Run Into With Short Sales: Intro

  I daily run into behaviors, responses from “experts”, forms required by “experts”, etc. – things that make me scratch my head when I am working with short sales. Not always are these things that I run into worthy of an entire blog post but I figured I would create a series to at least allow for brief posts discussing/presenting these things.

This is a series that I will revisit as time permits that is good information for both Buyers and Sellers in considering the short sale process. Short Sale Fail obviously suggests that I will at the very least bring into question some of the practices, forms, designations, etc. discussed.

Please touch base if you are considering buying or selling as a short sale. 208.830.6185

*This is not to be construed as legal or financial advice and you should seek qualified council regarding any financial or legal questions.