The Federal Tax Credits Blog

Archive for January, 2009

Question: Are there income restrictions on Obama’s new $15,000 tax credit for home buyers?

I think the old one was 75,000 for individuals and 150,000 for couples, is this the same?

Answer: Yes Unfortunately there are same income restrictions as earlier.

Under the new proposal there is talk to raise the tax credit from $7500 to $15000. There is NO mention of removing the income restrictions….

There are many discussion where it has been pointed out that these income restrictions do not make much sense in big cities like NYC, SFO, Chicago, LA etc since cost of living is very high. But the new proposal does not address this.

Hope this helps…

Short sales seen as home market force

The Obama administration is providing incentives to servicers and borrowers to use short sales and other alternatives to foreclosure.

$8000 Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers — Obama’s Package Rolls Out for YOU!

Question: Question about $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers?

I’m a first time home buyer thinking about using a 203k loan to purchase and renovate my first home. (I live in New Orleans by the way) I have a little money saved up, but not as much as i’d like to. I heard the $8000 tax credit was extended to april 2010. My question is, is this something I should really be pressing to take advantage of? in other words, should I be hurrying up to find and go through the process of buying a house even though I would rather save up more of my own money first? I figured that, even with the $8000 credit, I was planning on spending roughly $8000 of my own money for the downpayment, closing costs, etc. So, after the tax credit, it would balance itself out to zero money spent. do you think this is a good idea for me to actively pursue buying a house before I feel that I’m ready to just because of the $8,000 credit?

Answer: If you are being driven only by the tax credit and wouldn’t feel comfortable buying a house now otherwise, perhaps you should go with your gut feeling and wait.
Owning a house and renovating is an expensive and stressful experience.
You are talking yourself out of it and probably rightly so!
Sounds like you have a lot of common sense.
Just wait until you are ready – housing prices are going to rise over the next several years, but it will be slow.

Twin Cities pending real estate sales plummet in June

Twin Cities pending home sales plummeted in June. Signed purchase agreements were down roughly 40 percent compared to a year ago, according to data released Monday.

Tax Credit Extended

If you are one of so many Americans who has fallen victim to the economic recession and is finding it harder and harder to pay your monthly mortgage? If you are, you should make an appointment with a financial advisor who can go over the pros and cons of home loan modification versus FHA refinancing.

There are two options available for homeowners who cannot pay their mortgage loans. They are a loan modification and FHA refinancing. The one you choose depends mainly on who insures your loan. If you don’t know, call your lender and ask. There are three main insurers: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). These companies do not lend you money; they insure it. This means lenders have less of a risk and subsequently will offer you a lower interest rate.

Is there a difference between insurers? Not really. The determining factor is your specific loan and who insures it. There isn’t much difference between a mortgage insured by FHA and a loan insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The insurer only really matters when restructuring enters the picture. Loans insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can participate in the new Making Home Affordable mortgage loan modifications. If the FHA insures the loan, refinancing is available through Hope for Homeowners plan.

With a FHA loan, the homeowner should investigate refinancing. The Hope for Homeowners initiative offers hope to homeowners who have been denied refinancing in the past. Lower property values have disqualified many people from refinancing. When a house loses value, it loses equity. If equity had dropped 20%, homeowners were not eligible for traditional refinancing.

There is a standard procedure for lowering your monthly mortgage payments through a Making Home Affordable loan modification plan. There are incentive payments for both lenders and borrowers that will help lead to favorable loan modification and encourage economic stability. If you have a FHA insured loan, you can get a home modification but not through the Making Home Affordable plan. The programs that deal with FHA loan modifications are not as straight forward, strict and they do not follow the same procedures.

It is not hard to understand the differences between loan modifications and FHA refinancing if you have the right information. Research it and talk to a financial advisor about reducing

Big price gains seen for cheaper homes in 2010

Local Realtor president expects prices to rise 4.5 percent next year, with the largest increases occurring in the lower price range.

Nov 6th: Tax credit extended, FHA with 560 score & super low rates but for how long?

You may already know that cerebral palsy affects thousands of newborns across America due to medical malpractice or natural causes. But you may be wondering how you would know if your child may seem healthy but is actually developing cerebral palsy in the first couple years of life. When an infant or child endures brain damage they are several symptoms that can can signal to you and your doctors that something may be wrong with your child’s health. In the first few months after being born, an infant with brain damage may show some or all of the following symptoms which may indicate the development of cerebral palsy and other disabilities:

* Lack of alertness

* Constant irritability or fussiness

* Abnormal, high-pitched cry

* Shaking of the arms and legs

* Poor feeding abilities, problems sucking and swallowing

* Low muscle tone Once you child reaches six months of age, it should becomes apparent as to whether he or she is picking up basic movement skills or learning slower than normal. Infants with cerebral palsy develop physically and mentally slower. Simple activities like rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking and talking may prove difficult for your child if they are developing, or already have cerebral palsy. Why Would There be a Delay in Diagnosis? In certain cases, doctors may delay in diagnosing a child with cerebral palsy. This is due in part to the fact that the disability lies in the plasticity of a child’s central nervous system and it’s difficult to determine how able a child is ability to recover from any trauma he or she may have encountered during delivery. It is also hard to tell the amount of brain damage that has occured in the first few months of life.

It has been proven that the brains of very young children can repair themselves easier and faster than those of adults. This is why it is so important that whether your delivery has no complications and your child seems healthy, you see your doctor regularly to have you child’s health checked. Cerebral palsy can only be diagnosed with a complete exam of your child’s current health status. During an exam your child’s motor skills will be analyzed and the doctor will look for abnormal movements, lower than average muscle tone, and other developmental delays.

Claim and counter-claim over Labour’s leaflet

Alistair Darling’s ‘Local Voice’

Thomas Sowell talks about his new book Economic Facts and Fallacies

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law Center – For all the negatives that have been written about loan modifications, and there have been a lot, the option is far and away the best option for struggling homeowners trying to stay in their homes and preserve their credit scores. As property values have plummeted, the possibility of selling or refinancing the home has been erased. That leaves foreclosure, a short sale, or short refinancing as the remaining options outside of a loan modification for homeowners to resolve their issues with their lenders. All of those options do extreme damage to credit scores and stay on the homeowners’ credit report for a minimum of seven years.

A home loan modification is basically a change in the terms of a homeowner’s existing mortgage with the objective of bringing the monthly mortgage payment back in line with the homeowner’s current financial situation. By modifying the existing mortgage, the transition doesn’t affect the credit score of the homeowner. Additionally, the credit score of the homeowner does not carry much weight in the modification process.

A home loan modification’s main feature is normally the alteration of terms on the existing mortgage’s first five years. It’s not unheard of for modifications to alter terms for the life of the mortgage but most of them cover the first five years. It is hoped by all that conditions in the economy, real estate values, and the job market improve enough by that time that homeowners will either be able to sell the property or afford payments at the higher levels that go into effect once the modified rates revert back to their original levels. The modification benefits the lender by keeping the homeowner in place, which results in continued cash flow from the property, and by preventing the property from going into foreclosure and back on to the books of the lender.

As simple as the process has been made to sound here, the negotiation of terms on a mortgage is not in the normal purview of a homeowner. Hiring legal representation is the best way for a homeowner to ensure that will get the best results possible for their personal situation. An attorney will base the negotiation for the loan modification on the homeowner’s total financial picture, including credit card and consumer debt. Where it makes sense, the firm may initiate debt negotiations, along with the home loan modification, on the other debts carried by the homeowner including credit cards, revolving debt, consumer loans, unpaid medical bills, etc.

The law firm will also assist in the drafting of a hardship letter, which details the conditions of the challenges facing the homeowner. Hardships can include an adjustable rate mortgage with payments that have increased to the point where they are out of reach of the homeowner, pay cuts, job losses, illness, or divorce. The hardship letter should also include the homeowners plan for dealing with and getting past the current hardship. From that point negotiations begin, the ultimate prize being the modification.

If you are struggling with your mortgage payments, are behind on payments, and/or facing foreclosure, talk to an attorney’s office that specializes in home loan modifications. The Feldman Law Center has executed over 600 loan modifications and has the experience and knowledge to get the best possible results to address your specific needs. Call them today at (949) 544 8224.

BMO Financial Group Reports Good Second Quarter Results, Earning $800 Million of Net Income

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – 05/25/11) – BMO Financial Group (TSX: BMO – News )(NYSE: BMO – News ) and BMO Bank of Montreal – Second Quarter 2011 Report to Shareholders —————————————————————————- BMO Financial Group Reports Good Second Quarter Results, Earning $800 Million of Net Income Financial Results Highlights: Reported results for the …