Like so many things tax related, form 5695 may seem overly complicated to many. We have located some helpful information and sources for those doing it themselves. Even if your accountant does your taxes, you have to know what they … Continue reading
It’s the “Catch-22” syndrome. One of the big things to help the economy is to sell more homes. In order to sell more homes we need better credit. In order to loosen credit we need a better economy. According to … Continue reading
As interest rates climb, many borrowers are being reacquainted with the “rate lock”. This is a procedure that freezes your interest rate while the loan is being processed. Getting that rate fixed can be the difference of affording the home … Continue reading
Many people became first time home-owners encouraged by the First Time Buyer’s Tax Credit. That was great, for them and the market and economy in general. Now tax time is here and they need to collect but unfortunately there is … Continue reading
Sure you bought your vacation home for your enjoyment. Of course you would not want someone else there when you want to use it. And maybe your usage is unpredictable during the season. You can still make money from it! … Continue reading
Citing limited usage and rapidly increasing costs the Board of the California Public Retirement System (CalPERS) has approved the suspension of the program that offered mortgages to it’s members. They say that over the last few years there has been … Continue reading
CoreLogic (a housing data firm) reported Monday that the number of underwater homes (homes which are worth less than their mortgage balance) fell this summer for the third consecutive quarter. This is actually a mixed bag of news, both good … Continue reading
Housing agencies clash over mortgage relief program. The FHA (Federal Housing Agency) says the programs will help avoid foreclosures. The FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) says that if extended to federally backed loans (Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae) it could … Continue reading
‘Mystery shopping’ leads to complaints against 22 lenders. It’s not any secret that getting a loan is a lot harder that is was in the recent past. And considering the lender’s overzealous lending an over-reaction is not really a big … Continue reading
Bank of America says they have met the TARP exit requirements. They say that they have sold enough of their assets to repay the government (you and me) the $45,000,000 (yes, that’s 45 billion dollars) that funded their bail-out! According to … Continue reading