Investment and Vacation Real Estate - Orlando, Florida & North Carolina

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Mortgage Workouts, Now Tax-Free for Many Homeowners; Claim Relief on Newly-Revised IRS Form

WASHINGTON — Homeowners whose mortgage debt was partly or entirely forgiven during 2007 may be able to claim special tax relief by filling out newly-revised Form 982 and attaching it to their 2007 federal income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Normally, debt forgiveness results in taxable income. But under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, enacted Dec. 20, taxpayers may exclude debt forgiven on their principal residence if the balance of their loan was less than $2 million. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return. Details are on Form 982 and its instructions, available now on this Web site.

“The new law contains important provisions for struggling homeowners,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff. “We urge people with mortgage problems to take full advantage of the valuable tax relief available.” Complete Story

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act - FAQ's

Source: Internal Revenue Service IRS.gov

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Orlando’s job market ranked 13th-hottest in Bizjournals study

The past year has been a rocky one for the U.S. economy.

The nation has seen 394,000 private-sector jobs slip away since mid-2007, equaling a loss of 7,570 jobs each week. The unemployment rate has shot up a full point during the same span — from 4.7 percent at the halfway point of 2007 to 5.7 percent this year

Orlando, meanwhile, came in at No. 13, with 983,600 private-sector jobs as of June 2008, up 19.4 percent since 2003. complete story

Source: Orlando Business Journal - G. Scott Thomas 

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Florida Foreclosures up 80% from last year

In Florida, one of every 157 units received a filing during October, the nation's third-highest state rate. A total of 54,324 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing during the month, an increase of 13 percent from the previous month and nearly 80 percent from last year.

RealtyTrac counts foreclosures by compiling the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the month. If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property, RealtyTrac counts only the most recent filing. complete story

Source: Reuters.com 

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7.6 Million Borrowers Underwater on Mortgages: Study

A ground-breaking look at negative equity effects among U.S. homeowners, released Friday morning, paints a staggering picture of just how bruised the national housing market really is. The study, conducted by researchers at First American CoreLogic, paints a troubling picture estimating that 7.62 million borrowers in the U.S. are currently underwater on their mortgages — or 18.3 percent of all properties with a mortgage.

There are an additional 2.1 million mortgages that are approaching negative equity, as well, defined as mortgages within 5 percent of being in a negative equity position. Negative-equity and near-negative equity mortgages combined account for over 23 percent of all properties with a mortgage, according to researchers at First American CoreLogic.

Nearly half of all borrowers in Nevada are currently underwater on their mortgages, with an estimated 48 percent of properties with a mortgage upside-down on value. The state was among the most overheated during the recent housing bubble, and has been hit hard as prices struggle to correct. Michigan ranks second in the study, with an estimated 39 percent of mortgages now underwater. Five other states have negative equity shares in excess of 20 percent, according to the study: Florida (29%), Arizona (29%), California (27%), Georgia (23%), and Ohio (22%).

Percentages aside, both California and Florida have by far the most underwater borrowers of any other states: an estimated 1.8 million loans are underwater in California, and another 1.2 million loans are estimated to be underwater in Florida. complete story

Source: Housingware.com - Paul Jackson

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