In late December, President Bush signed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which provides tax help for homeowners facing foreclosure or who sell their homes in a short sale. Before the enactment of this Congressional bill, if the value of your home declined and your bank or lender forgave a portion of your mortgage debt, the tax code treated the amount forgiven as income that could be taxed.

Under the new IRS rule, taxpayers can exclude up to $2 million of mortgage debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009 on their principal residence. However, the limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return. According to an IRS spokesperson, mortgage debt reduced through restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, both qualify for the tax exclusion. (more…)

Florida’s Attorney General recently unveiled legislation to combat mortgage “foreclosure rescue” scams. At the same time, he cautioned senior citizens about scams associated with reverse mortgages. This type of home equity loan is frequently abused by con artists and scammers.

Reverse mortgage loans are popular options for senior citizens because they offer a cash source which can help meet unexpected medical expenses, supplement social security and provide a better standard of living. Reverse mortgages are a special form of home loan that allow homeowners who are 62 and older to borrow against their home equity without having to repay the money until the home is sold or the borrower passes away or moves out permanently. When the home is sold, lenders recover their principal plus interest. (more…)

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Foreclosures and bankruptcy because of foreclosure is on the rise rise nationally. Experts say that it could last for years. A recently released report rates foreclosure risk for 381 metropolitan areas, finding that the risk of foreclosure has jumped 22 percent from January 2007, and 9 percent from three months ago.

In the wake of recent speculation that the United States economy may be entering a recession - or is already in one - the report stressed that defaults continued rising for almost 2 years after the end of the last recession in 2001.

Also aggravating the problem are drops in existing home prices, a situation in which many mortgage borrowers find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. It then becomes more difficult for them to maintain their house payments if they run into any problems, because they can’t borrow against their home.

(more…)

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Mortgages typically fall into two classes; simple interest and compound interest: “Simple interest” means that interest is not paid on interest. With “compound interest” mortgages, interest is paid on interest.

Borrowers can avoid confusion if they understand that a “simple-interest mortgage” is one that accrues interest daily, and should be managed differently than monthly accrual mortgages. With a daily accrual mortgage, every day that borrowers delay their payment results in the accrual of another day of interest. (more…)

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The recent cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve has resulted in a rush by homeowners across the country to refinance their mortgages at today’s lower rates. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages now carry an average interest rate of 5.57 percent, down from 5.75 percent.

The Fed’s action was a response to worrisome economic and credit market developments that also have been pushing mortgage rates lower in recent months. Mortgage experts say that a mortgage is deemed “refinanceable” if it is 0.40 percentage point above current average mortgage rates. And the recent drops in mortgage rates have made up to 7 million mortgages, or more than 70 percent of U.S. mortgages, eligible for refinancing. (more…)

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This one-of-a-kind lakefront lot is truly unique within the Malone Bay community. It is one of the most desirable, if not the most desirable lot among the few remaining properties with waterfront access to W. Kerr Scott Lake.

Malone Bay features 18 lots at W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir. 14 are Lakefront and meet private dock requirements. This is a gated community with Lots ranging from 2.3+- acres to 6.8+- acres On the Hwy 421 side of the lake just off South Minton Road, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

Main Channel Views.
300 feet of waterfront.
Dock with boat slip and 2 jet ski slips.

2.86 acres.

MLS Number: 51155
List Price: $359,000
Lot Size: 2.86 ac.
Apx Acreage: 2.86
Type: Waterfront
Area: Area 2
Suitable Use: Residential

Topography: Rolling
Utilities: Underground Utilities
Road Frontage: Private Road
Restrictions: yes
Water/Sewer: Public Water
Miscellaneous: 1-5 Acres
Location: Malone Way

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The economic stimulus plan recently announced Congress and the White House includes provisions that specifically address the mortgage crisis. It aims to make getting a mortgage easier and cheaper in high-cost markets, to facilitate refinancing and to prevent foreclosures.

The package proposes lifting the dollar amount of loans that are eligible for purchase by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which currently guarantee a secondary market for loans of less than $417,000. The stimulus package proposes raising that cap to $625,000 for twelve months in order to make it easier for buyers to get or refinance mortgages - especially in high-cost locales like Manhattan and South Florida.

The National Association of Realtors recently projected that a higher loan limit, which the organization and other industry trade groups have been lobbying for, would boost home sales by nearly 350,000 a year. It would also reduce the average period of time a home sits on the market by a month and a half, and lift prices by two or three percentage points. (more…)

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With the recent Fed rate cut, interest rates are at an historic low. Consumers who typically spend more than their income should utilize this phenomena as a gift. Burdened with heavy debt, homeowners should pay down their credit cards and refinance their mortgages as fast as they can.

When the Fed dropped the recommended rate that federally insured banks borrow from each other, the situation impacted consumers immediately in a number of ways. First, short-term borrowing rates immediately improved on credit cards, equity lines of credit, car loans — most all forms of consumer credit.

Second, mortgage interest rates are coming down. If you have an adjustable rate loan, refinance into a low fixed-rate. If you are thinking of buying a home, talk to your mortgage lender and let him or her run your credit report. He or she will tell you whether or not it’s smart to consolidate your credit cards. (more…)

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Reverse mortgages are a significant bright spot in the otherwise dismal mortgage industry marketplace. The HUD says it originated more than 107,000 reverse mortgages in fiscal year 2007. That’s up more than 40 percent from a year earlier. Those numbers are important because the FHA is generally said to insure about 90 percent of all reverse mortgages, also known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.

Under HUD’s plan, lenders can make a claim when a loan has reached 98 percent of its maximum claim amount but is not yet due and payable. Of these assignment claims, only 109 resulted in losses to the FHA. Another 1,500 reverse loans simply went sour. Burns says there have been no “demand claims” from borrowers as a result of lenders who have not fulfilled reverse mortgage obligations. (more…)

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As a weak housing market nudges the foreclosure rate higher, next year is looking promising for investors in distressed real estate. So far, the U.S. housing slump hasn’t produced a bonanza for such investors, but lenders stuck with foreclosed property are becoming more inclined to slash prices or sell properties through auctions, industry experts say. “We’re all going to have to be more creative in the next 12 to 24 months” in selling foreclosed homes, says Chad Neel, president and chief operating officer of Fidelity National Asset Management Solutions, a unit of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. Mr. Neel’s company helps lenders manage and sell foreclosed homes.

In the first half of 2006, REO properties accounted for 3.1% of all U.S. home sales, up from 2.4% two years earlier, according to a study by First American Real Estate Solutions, a unit of First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif. The study found that those homes sold at a median discount of 14% to their estimated value in the first half, compared with 12.5% two years before. The discounts reflect the gap between the actual sale price for the homes and the value estimated by a computer model, which takes into account sales of comparable homes nearby and price trends. It has taken a while for foreclosures to mount. The housing boom of recent years reduced foreclosure rates because most people who fell behind on their loans could refinance or quickly sell their homes for at least enough to pay off the loans. (more…)

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Reverse mortgages are all in the news. Radio and TV ads are produced, paid-for and aired, just to convince our senior population that their financial salvation may lie in a simple “reverse” mortgage. But, are reverse mortgages the panacea, the supreme financial solution, that will cure all ills?

Reverse mortgages represent a small fraction of the mortgage market. But they’re growing fast because of a much touted advantage — they let seniors with small nest eggs tap equity in their homes for cash, without having to repay the loans as long as they stay in the homes. As the oldest baby boomers turn 62 this year, they’re likely to face high-pressure pitches for reverse mortgages. (more…)

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Facing foreclosure, homeowners can still save money, their credit or their house if they act quickly. Even when declaring bankruptcy, avoiding a foreclosure on your credit report can salvage a homeowner’s ability to rebuild credit and buy another house, which makes the struggle against a possible foreclosure well worthwhile.

One thing a beleagured homeowner never should do is to sign over the property title to another company: Some companies promise that after the mortgage is current they will re-sign the property back over to you. This rarely happens. Instead, the company is likely to pull out equity, not make any mortgage payments and allow the property to be foreclosed. You will not be able to save the property from future foreclosures because the property is no longer in your name. (more…)

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In a move unprecedented in the residential mortgage loan industry, Countrywide Financial Corp. has announced that it is modifying terms on their mortgage loans. Also it is taken other steps that has allowed 81,266 struggling mortgage borrowers to remain in their homes last year.

The lender has been under pressure from politicians and regulators to prevent foreclosures where possible. Lenders also often find that they are better off accepting lower monthly payments from a borrower than going through a foreclosure, which typically results in a large loss.

In a further 7,880 cases last year, Countrywide said, it agreed to “short sales,” in which the borrower sells the home for less than the loan balance and the lender agrees not to demand the remaining amount due. (more…)

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$5,850,000

MLS Number: 50913

City: Valle Crucis, NC
Stories: 2
Bedrooms: 4 Baths: 4.5
Area: Boone-Blowing Rock, NC
Year Built: 1990
Plus Five fully furnished 1,400 sq. ft. Rental Cottages. Each built in 1996 on approx. 1/2 acre sites. Current cottage average annual rental income $150,000.

39.4 acres with 360 degree view of Blue Ridge Mountains.

5,200 sq. ft. main house built in 1990 on 1.24 acres.

No restrictions and no zoning offer many other options:

* Family compound
* Corporate retreat
* Religous retreat
* Horse farm / Dude ranch
* Recording studio
* Cottages can be sold separately
* Land can be further subdivided if desired

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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The outlook for anyone interested in buying or selling real estate has been buoyed by the lowest mortgage interest rates in two years. Mortgage rates have hit 5.73 percent on average nationwide for 30 year fixed rate conforming loans and 5.21 percent for 15-year fixed, and about the same for 5-year hybrid adjustables, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Low mortgage rates like these normally are a powerful stimulus for home sales, but there’s a sobering underside to the current declines: They are being caused in part by bond market investors’ fears of a U.S. recession. Investors are putting their money into ultra-safe Treasury bonds, lowering the benchmark 10-year Treasury rates that affect the pricing of long-term mortgage money. (more…)

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