HR 5830: The FHA Housing Stabilization & Homeownership Retention Act

On April 17, 2008, Rep. Barney Frank introduced in the House a bill that would enable the FHA to refinance home loans at 90% of current market value with the goal of keeping more home owners in their homes. I will track this bill through the House and Senate as ...

Short Sale and Phantom Tax Debt Relief Overview

Lots of questions have arisen from people since President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, whereby in certain circumstances, a homeowner does not have to pay federal income tax on debt forgiven on a loan secured by a qualified principal residence via a short ...

Bush Signs Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act

With a stroke of the pen, President Bush signed into law H.R. 3648, The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, and dramatically changed the lives of homeowners across the country who are facing foreclosure, considering a short sale, negotiating a loan workout, or have done any of these since ...

Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Passed by Senate

UPDATE: President Bush signs HR 3648, The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

It took them close to two and half months, but the U.S. Senate finally got around to passing H.R. 3648, The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. Initially sent to the Senate on ...

Short Sales, Taxes and the IRS

UPDATE: 12/20/2007 - President Bush signs The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

UPDATE: 12/14/2007 - Senate Passes Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Bill

Given the current state of the San Diego real estate market, it is no surprise that the most frequently asked question we get revolves ...

House Passes Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief

Many San Diego homeowners considering a short sale or facing foreclosure got a bit of good news today with the U.S. House of Representatives passing H.R. 3648, The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. The bill addresses the forgiveness of acquisition debt, which is that debt used ...

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief On The Fast Track

Someone lit a fire under Rep. Charles "Charlie" Rangel, which is good news for the San Diego real estate market in general, and many homeowners trying to determine the lesser of two evils, foreclosure or a short sale and the tax liability which goes with it.

Earlier today, the House ...

Short Sale Tax Relief Introduced in Congress

Rep. Charles "Charlie" Rangel , Democrat from New York and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, today introduced  H.R. 3648 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income, and for other purposes.

Currently the tax code requires ...

Short Sales - A Viable Solution?

A frequently heard definition of a short sale goes something like this:

"A short sale occurs when the lender agrees to take less than the full amount required to pay off existing loans in full because the outstanding loan balance is greater than the proceeds realized from the sale of ...