Tag Archives: obama

Not All Sunsets Are Beautiful…

 

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act, however, was only intended to be a temporary solution and is now set to expire at the end of 2012. There is a bill in Congress that would extend it, but it is unclear if it will pass. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited to take advantage of this program.

Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure.

Don’t let time run out on you.  Contact me today and visit my website for more information and FREE reports:

www.FLShortSaleDept.com

Government Tax Credit EXTENDED AND EXPANDED!!

tax_credit

President Obama is expected to sign a bill passed by Congress today extending and expanding the first-time homebuyer tax credit to homes under contract before May 1.

The credit, equal to 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, remains capped at $8,000 for first-time homebuyers, but income limits have been raised.

Congress also approved an expansion of the credit to allow homeowners who have been in a principal residence for at least five of the last eight years to claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they sell that home and buy another.

That will provide an incentive not only for entry level, but move-up buyers — a goal supported by real estate industry groups.

An extension of the existing tax credit — currently set to expire at the end of the month — was controversial, as it will cost an estimated $10.8 billion over 10 years. Critics said most of those who have claimed it would have bought a home anyway.

Earlier this year, former real estate broker Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., introduced a standalone bill that would have raised the ceiling on the tax credit to $15,000 and lifted first-time homebuyer and income restrictions.

In the end, lawmakers who supported an extension of the tax credit were forced to add it as an amendment to a bill extending federal unemployment benefits, HR 3548, to gain passage.

The bill was amended in the Senate last week and approved Wednesday in a unanimous 98-0 vote.

House lawmakers passed the bill today in a 403-12 vote, with all 12 no votes cast by Republicans.

The Obama administration had previously indicated it would support the more limited extension of the homebuyer tax credit included in HR 3548 (see story).

Although income limits for claiming the credit will be raised from $75,000 to $125,000 for individuals and from $125,000 to $225,000 for couples, homes purchases exceeding $800,000 will not be eligible.

Real estate industry groups hailed the extension of the credit as a necessary step to sustain a fragile recovery in housing markets.

“At a time when we are finally starting to see some signs of life in the housing and mortgage markets, extending and expanding the homebuyer tax credit is a critical step to keeping the momentum,” Robert E. Story Jr., chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement. 

Tax Credit Comparison Chart

Tenants in Foreclosed Properties Will Benefit from New Federal Law

Foreclosure NoticeOn May 20 President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. Understandably, primary attention has been paid to the Act’s provisions that are designed to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. But the Act has other beneficiaries as well. One group that will receive particular assistance from this new law is those people who – often in good faith – are renting a property that goes into foreclosure.

Many times renters of residential properties are caught in the middle of a foreclosure situation. Frequently, they will not be aware of the fact that the owner is delinquent. Their first notice of trouble may be the posting of a sale notice on the property. That may only give them a few weeks warning that something is awry. Moreover, they may not know how this might affect them. In some jurisdictions they may be subject to eviction with little advance warning.

Sections 701 – 704 of the larger bill are cited as the “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.” This applies to all federally related loans, which is to say just about every residential loan except seller financing. Section 702 provides that any person or entity who acquires a property through the foreclosure process may give a bona fide tenant not less than a ninety-day notice to vacate the premises. This applies to tenants who are on a periodic tenancy such as the typical month-to-month rental.

If a tenant has a lease that was entered into prior to the notice of foreclosure, then the tenant has the right to occupy the property for the duration of the lease. There is one exception to this. The exception occurs if the foreclosed property is sold to someone who will occupy it as their primary residence. In that case, even if there is a lease, the tenant may be given a ninety-day notice to vacate “effective on the date of sale of the unit to [the owner occupant] purchaser.”

So, if the notice must be at least ninety days, and the termination of the lease is effective the date of sale, that would mean that the notice of termination would be given during the escrow period, not less than ninety days prior to closing. Suppose the escrow “falls out” (e.g. the buyer doesn’t qualify for a loan) during the escrow period. What happens then? The Act is silent on such a possibility, but, presumably, a new ninety-day notice period would be required if there is a subsequent sale to another owner-occupant buyer.

That’s my interpretation. Some bank might have a different one.

The provisions of the Act do not supersede any federal or state subsidized tenancies – or any local provisions – that might provide for even longer notice periods.

For purposes of Section 702, a tenancy is bona fide only if (1) the tenant is not the borrower who has been foreclosed on, (2) the tenancy was created as a result of an “arm’s length” transaction, and (3) the tenancy requires a rental payment that is “not substantially less than fair market rent for the property.”

These provisions are effective immediately and will terminate December 31, 2012.

Source: Bob Hunt