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Still Time to Have Forgiven Mortgage Debt Excluded as Taxable Income

April 3rd, 2012 · Foreclosure, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

BY: ESTHER CHO | dsnews.com

 

“Homeowners who have had mortgage debt forgiven after a foreclosure, modification, or short sale may be able to exclude the canceled debt from their taxable income if they meet specific criteria.

According to Gil Charney, principal analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block, the specific criteria to have forgiven debt excluded are the debt must have been incurred to buy, build or substantially improve the residence, called “acquisition debt, and the property must be the taxpayer’s primary residence.

Also, the exclusion applies only to acquisition debt up to $2 million, or $1 million for married taxpayers filing separately, and cancelled mortgage debt not used to buy, build, or improve a principal residence is not eligible for the exclusion, but may be excludable under a different provision, such as bankruptcy or insolvency, Charney added.

Under the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, the provision is for debt forgiven between 2007 and 2012.

For those considering a short sale, Octavio Nuiry of Realty Trac warns that waiting to do a short sale after December 31, 2012 may lead to tax penalties that could have been avoided for the homeowner unless the bill gets extended.”

Find the full story here…

 

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Housing Crisis to End in 2012 as Banks Loosen Credit Standards

April 3rd, 2012 · Foreclosure, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

BY: KRISTA FRANKS BROCK | dsnews.com

 

“Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.

The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago.

Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.

However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability.

Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.

Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.””

Find the full article here…

 

 

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N.Y. foreclosure lawsuit could slow home seizures

March 31st, 2012 · Foreclosure, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer (msnbc.com)

 

“Bankers struggling to deal with faulty foreclosure paperwork just got hit with another major headache.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, recently tapped by President Obama to head a new task force to investigate mortgage fraud, sued three major U.S. banks Friday, accusing them of using a popular electronic mortgage database to bolster false documents in foreclosure proceedings.

The suit named Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase and MERSCORP, which operates the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS. The system was created in the mid-1990s to track mortgage ownership and is now used by mortgage servicers and insurers, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage companies that own or guarantee more than half of all residential mortgages in the U.S.

“MERS has filed over 13,000 foreclosure actions against New York homeowners listing itself as the plaintiff,” Schneiderman said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. “But in many instances, MERS lacked the legal authority to foreclose and did not own or hold the promissory note, despite saying otherwise in court submissions.”

If successful, Schneiderman’s lawsuit could throw a monkey wrench into foreclosure proceedings across the country. More than 70 million mortgage loans have been registered in the MERS system, rather than in local county clerks’ offices, according to the lawsuit.”

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Why BofA’s latest plan is drawing little protest

March 30th, 2012 · Foreclosure, Litigation, loan modification, News, Real Estate Law, Short Sales, Uncategorized

By Eve Tahmincioglu | msnbc.com

 

“Doesn’t it feel like Bank of America has finally broken us?

Plagued with lawsuits and settlements; uproars over fee hikes; and a recent scathing article in Rolling Stone calling it “moronic and corrupt,” you would think the nation’s biggest bank would be put under asynchrotron, the world’s biggest microscope, by the mere mention of a new approach or plan to help its bottom line or borrowers.

But Friday, when the bank announced an unprecedented plan to become a national landlord to thousands of people who couldn’t afford to pay their mortgages, we heard hardly a whisper of scrutiny.

“I am not a big fan of the way banks in general and BofA in particular have handled the mess they had a huge part in creating,” said George Gombossy, editor of Connecticut Watchdog, a consumer advocacy website, who’s usually pretty vocal about banking practices. “But after saying that,” he added, “I think we ought to let this experiment play out.”

The bank’s plan is basically a flip on the rent-to-buy model that has given countless consumers the means to own their own homes. In Bank of America’s spin on the concept, which it aptly calls “mortgage to lease,” you end up going from homeowner to renter, or basically economically backward. I say backward not because I’m trying to fault the bank’s big idea but because it’s backward based the natural progression toward economic independence our parents taught us, right?

Some banking experts think it’s better than nothing for consumers and for the bank.”

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BofA to offer rentals as foreclosure alternative

March 30th, 2012 · Foreclosure, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

updated 3/23/2012 10:24:40 AM ET

 

“Bank of America says it has begun a pilot program offering some of its mortgage customers who are facing foreclosure a chance to stay in their homes by becoming renters instead of owners.

The “Mortgage to Lease” program, which was launched this week, will be available to fewer than 1,000 BofA customers selected by the bank in test markets in Arizona, Nevada and New York.

Participants will transfer their home’s title to the bank, which will then forgive the outstanding mortgage debt. In exchange, they will be able to lease their home for up to three years at or below the rental market rate. The rent will be less than the participants’ current mortgage payments and customers will not have to pay property taxes or homeowners insurance, the bank said.

“This pilot will help determine whether conversion from homeownership to rental is something our customers, the community and investors will support,” Ron Sturzenegger, legacy asset servicing executive of Bank of America, said in a statement.

Among requirements to qualify for the program, homeowners must have a BofA loan, be behind at least 60 days on payments and be “underwater,” owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

The bank based in Charlotte, N.C., said it will at first own the homes, then sell them to investors. If the program is successful, it could be expanded to include real-estate investors who buy qualifying properties and keep the occupants on as tenants.

“If this evolves from a pilot into a more broadly based program, we also see potential benefits from helping to stabilize housing prices in the surrounding community and curtail neighborhood blight by keeping a portion of distressed properties off the market,” Sturzenegger said.:

Find the full story here…

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How foreclosures affect buyers and sellers

March 29th, 2012 · Foreclosure, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

By Marcie Geffner, bankrate.com

 

“If anything is certain about the foreclosure crisis, it’s that it isn’t over. That fact has important implications, not only for people losing their homes, but also for those planning to sell or buy a home this year.

As of January, about 3 million properties were in foreclosure, headed that way or already owned by banks, according to CoreLogic, an information, analytics and business services company in Santa Ana, Calif.

Approximately 1.6 million of those homes were believed to be within the so-called shadow inventory, a supply of foreclosure properties not yet listed for sale. It’s a major stumbling block to a housing recovery, says Mark Fleming, chief economist of CoreLogic.

“It puts downward pressure on home prices, which hurts home sales and building activity,” Fleming said in a statement.

Given that prelude, here’s what sellers and buyers can expect.

Price

Foreclosures and short sales have widened the gap between sellers’ and buyers’ perceptions of prices. Sellers “think their home is worth more than it really is” and buyers “think the prices are too high,” says Louis Cammarosano, general manager at HomeGain, a real estate information website in Emeryville, Calif.”

Find the full article here…

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Mortgage rates fall back below 4 percent again

March 29th, 2012 · Foreclosure, loan modification, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

 

“The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell back below 4 percent this week, staying near historic lows.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.99 percent from 4.08 percent last week. Last month, the rate touched 3.87 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage also fell, to 3.23 percent. That’s down from 3.30 percent last week and above the record low of 3.13 percent hit earlier this month.

The low rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable at a time when the housing market is flashing small signs of improvement. Still, most economists say it will take years for the market to fully recover from the housing bust.

January and February made up the best winter for re-sales in five years, when the housing crisis began. And builders are more confident about the market. In February, they requested the most permits to build single-family homes and apartments since October 2008.

An improved job market may also be helping home sales. Employers have added an average 245,000 net jobs per month from December through February. That has helped reduce the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, the lowest level in nearly three years.

Rates rose a bit earlier this month after positive economic news pushed up yields on U.S. Treasury bonds. Mortgage rates then to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.

An improving economic outlook can lead investors to shift money from Treasury bonds to stocks. That pushes up Treasury yields.

Even with signs of improvement in housing, home prices continue to fall. Millions of foreclosures and short sales…”

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Foreclosure review deadline extended

March 29th, 2012 · Foreclosure, News, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

http://baynews9.com:

 

“If you lost your home through foreclosure and think you were unfairly thrown off your property, you now have more time to seek financial compensation.

The federal government has extended the deadline to get a free, independent review of your case.

The deadline was April 30, but now, you have until July 31.

The review is for former homeowners who think they suffered financially because of mistakes in foreclosure actions against them.”

Find the full story here…

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A Winding Path To Foreclosure: Graph

March 26th, 2012 · Commercial Loans, Foreclosure, Litigation, loan modification, News, Real Estate Law, Short Sales, Uncategorized

 

Where it began: 1999…


foreclosure-chart

Click here:  A Winding Path To Foreclosure: Graph

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Recovery? Trying to draw meaning from the chaos of new housing news in Florida

March 12th, 2012 · Foreclosure, loan modification, News, Real Estate Law, Short Sales, Uncategorized

By: Robert Trigaux, Business Columnist | Tampa Bay Times


“Wake up and good morning. So is the Tampa Bay and Florida housing market at a bottom and really ready to start improving? The crystal ball remains murky but there’s no lack of housing activity on both sides of the equation to ponder. For openers:

*  Homebuilder Newland Communities is taking the bet that demand for new housing is ready to rock by taking the mothballs of an Apollo Beach housing community called Waterset that could eventually offer up a whopping 6,700 new homes. As Newland senior vice president Rick Harcrow told Tampa Bay Times real estate reporter Mark Puente this week: “I don’t know any build who isn’t bullish about the spring buying season in 2013.” The project will be one of the biggest in the country since the housing market crashed. Read more here.

* About 12 percent of all Florida homes with a mortgage were in some state of foreclosure in December, making the Sunshine State No. 1 nationwide with the highest foreclosure inventory. So says  a new report from CoreLogic. For the Tampa Bay market in December, CoreLogic says 17 percent of mortgages are 90 days or more overdue (versus 7.3 percent nationally) and 12 percent are already part of the area’s foreclosure inventory (versus just 3.4 percent nationally). Here are more details.

* The diminished but still hefty National Association of Home Builders show is under way this week in Orlando where housing economists are licking their wounds after last year incorrectly calling a bottom top the housing market. This week, economists like NAHB’s David Crowe were more cautious but still predict a 16 percent improvement this year in new home sales and single family starts. Read more from the Wall Street Journal, the AP and get some local convention flavor from the Orlando Sentinel.

* Last but not least, after many months of wrangling, Florida is expected to join a multi-state government agreement today or tomorrow with five major banks worth (depending on various news reports) as little as $25 billion or as much as $37 billion that would focus on banks’ foreclosure abuses and help homeowners whose mortgages are worth more than their homes. The deal would represent the largest government-industry settlement since a multi-state deal with the tobacco industry in 1998, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo Citibank and Ally Financial agreed to the settlement that would lower homeowners’ mortgage principals, refinancing, a reserve account and checks to homeowners.”

Find the full story here…

 

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