- ITEMS OF INTEREST -


Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Bill

Foreclosure Info 

US Congress Moves a Step Closer Towards Amending Tax Code to Relieve Those in Foreclosure As the Ways and Means Committee Approves Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Bill

WASHINGTON - The House Committee on Ways and Means unanimously approved H.R. 3648, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, today in response to some of the tax issues that have arisen as a result of problems in the subprime mortgage market. 

Under current law, debt forgiven following mortgage foreclosure or renegotiation is considered income for tax purposes, resulting in tax liability for individuals and families.

The legislation advanced by the Committee today would provide relief to those families by permanently excluding debt forgiven under these circumstances from tax liability. The bill would also help would-be homeowners secure their investments through a long-term extension of the tax deduction for private mortgage insurance, and would ease restrictions for qualifying as housing cooperative corporations. 

Finally, the bipartisan bill would tighten requirements taxpayers must meet to exclude gain from the sale of certain homes that have been used as a vacation home or rental property. 

 


REALTORS BEWARE - CLICK SCAM STOMPER


This is awesome

A picture began circulating in November. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "Picture of the Decade." It won't be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.


The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie! Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr.Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Centerin Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.


During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his fingerwas grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr.Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life."


LittleSamuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture. She said, "The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or anillness, it's about a little person." Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome...incredible.... you may want to pass it on. The world needs to see this!  




Only 21 Weeks Old

                                              Isn´t God Awesome!!!!!


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Property Tax Reform

Special Session on Property Tax Reform

 

Here is what we believe FAR and Realtors should be pressing their Legislators to do while reforming Florida´s broken property tax system:

 

1)      Address the lock-in effect.  Whether it´s by allowing limited portability (limited by amount, time, or both) to homeowners who want to move, or proposing to phase out Save Our Homes, the Legislature needs to address the pent-up demand of citizens who want to change their lifestyles and be allowed the freedom to move but know it´s not in their best interest to do so.  If portability is the response, it needs to occur immediately and should be retroactive, so that the real estate market that is already on life support not be completely killed leading to up to a vote of the people.

2)      Call a special election to make the necessary changes to Florida´s Constitution.  Florida´s real estate market has been suffering from backbreaking insurance rates and an unfair property tax system.  Many of the changes that will likely be made will necessitate constitutional amendments that require voter approval ? and November 2008 is too long to wait.  To get our economy going, FAR proposes a special election in late summer of 2007.

3)      Be careful with doubling the homestead exemption.  Realtors would support exempting a higher portion of a home´s value if coupled with comprehensive tax reform.  But simply doubling the homestead exemption would redistribute the burden onto other property classes, give relief in most cases to those who need it the least, and severely jeopardize the budgets of fiscally constrained cities and counties.  FAR is receptive to expanding the homestead exemption to a percentage-based system, as long as Save Our Homes is phased out as well.

4)      Assess property based on its "present use", not "highest and best use".  Property assessment is a complicated matter in Florida, but many commercial properties are being taxed out of business simply because of what their property has the potential to become.  That´s not fair and needs to be addressed.

5)      Apply exemption amounts or millage rollback years to offer significant savings and future revenue caps, but don´t cripple local governments´ ability to protect citizens.   Realtors believe that local government property tax revenue has exploded in recent years and that cuts can be made and still offer necessary services.  We also believe that raising revenue in the future should be capped so that abnormal property value increases don´t cause the problem again in the future.

6)      Place a reasonable 10% cap on yearly assessments for non-homesteaded property.  Commercial property owners have suffered yearly property assessment increases of 20, 30, and 50 percent over the last 5 years.  These increases keep economic expansion from occurring, confound business opportunities, and are likely to cripple new hiring plans, according to recent surveys.  This proposed cap would ensure business owners that taxes would not catch them unawares, while allaying many of the problems that occur because of Save Our Homes.

7)      Cap yearly impact fee increases and limit them to a percentage of the overall project cost.  Impact fees in many areas of Florida are reaching dangerously high levels ? affecting affordable housing and limiting development opportunities.  Several local governments have already made plans to raise impact fees due to proposed cuts by the Legislature, though impact fees are supposed to be levied due to the cost of providing necessary infrastructure, not based on how much revenue is lost elsewhere.  In order to prevent skyrocketing impact fees, the Legislature should consider reasonable limits to impact fee increases, and limit them overall to a certain percentage of the project cost.


To see what the State of Florida has to say - Click here



From:
Wilson, Jennifer [Jennifer.Wilson@myfloridahouse.gov]; on behalf of; Hays, Alan [Alan.Hays@myfloridahouse.gov] - hu 6/14/2007 3:28 PM

Dear Ms. Louise:

Thank you for writing to me to express your concerns about the property tax situation in the state of Florida; this has been the most important issue we have faced in recent history. I assure you that we are not taking this lightly and have been listening to many proposals, ideas, and concerns that have been offered to us for the past year.

Many members of the Florida House, including Speaker Rubio and Policy and Budget Council Chairman Sansom, have served at the local level and have had to make the very tough budget decisions our county and city governments are facing. With recent advances in the real estate market, local governments' budgets have increased in response, causing the expansion of local government programs. The downside to this growth is that the associated costs have now reached unsustainable and unsupportable levels. Simply put, Floridians' property taxes have reached a level they can no longer afford.

In Tallahassee, the recent discussions have taken place so as to work out a plan that brings real relief to Floridians while protecting vital services, such as education and public security. I can assure you that

I will vote in favor of tax relief that is going to be most beneficial for Floridians, just as I always have. I, too, am a resident and long-time property owner in Central Florida, and I share your desire for change. Thank you very much for your email.

I appreciate your concern on this matter and please do not hesitate to

contact me with any questions or ideas for tax relief you may have.

Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

D. Alan Hays, DMD
State Representative, District 25

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To: Hays, Alan

Cc: ylouise@cfl.rr.com

Subject: From 'Write Your Representative' Website

Yvonne Louise
(407)925-4742

06/14/07 11:53 AM
To the Honorable D. Alan Hays;

Dear Representative Hays,

We need relief now - not just for our personal needs but also for our clients. I believe that all who live in Florida should be a contributor rather than the full burden to be upon the real residents and property owners. They all receive the same benefits that the property owners pay for - why!

Florida property tax levies have increased 99 percent over the past five years. Realtors understand that the issue is complex and it will be difficult to resolve every issue in one short session. Realtors believe that meaningful tax cuts can be made immediately and that local governments can still deliver essential services. Please consider the following:

* Relief for non-homestead and commercial properties needs to be greater than the approximately 9 percent cut that is being proposed.Commercial property owners have suffered annual tax increases of 20, 30 and even 50 percent over the past five years

* Realtors support the "Super Homestead" exemption that is being proposed as an amendment to the Constitution. We are also pleased that this exemption will increase with inflation, and can be increased by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature if the Constitutional amendment passes.

* Realtors support phasing out Save Our Homes. The Legislature needs to address the pent-up and growing demand of residents who either need to move but can't, or want to move but know it's not in their best interest to do so.

* Commercial property needs to be assessed on its "present use" and not its "highest and best use." There is ample evidence of abuse of highest and best use determinations throughout the state and the unwarranted tax burdens endured by countless commercial and business property owners. If not included in the current reform package, this issue must be addressed the next time the legislature is in session.

* Realtors support putting Constitutional tax reform on the January 29, 2008 presidential preference primary ballot.

The legislature is headed in the right direction, but we need meaningful relief and we need it now.


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Median home price rises to $253,000

(July 10, 2007 - Orlando, FL) The median price of a home purchased in Orlando in June of this year increased to $253,000, a 1.61 percent increase over June 2006´s median price of $249,000. (Last month, the median price rose to $250,000 after experiencing a drop in April to $242,100.) In addition the latest data revealed that inventory growth slowed from 1,028 in May to 460 in June.

The number of sales in the Orlando area declined by 49.63 percent in June 2007 when compared to June of last year (1,431 to 2,841). The number of sales that took place in June 2007 also declined over the number of sales that occurred in May 2007 (1,745).

Year-to-date sales for 2007 (9,495 through June) are down by 37.59 percent over the same period in 2006 (15,214). The Orlando Housing Affordability Index and the First-time Homebuyers Affordability Index both dipped in June: the prior from 89.0 percent in May to 83.8 percent in Juneand the latter from 63.3 percent in May to 59.6 percent. An affordability index of 83.8 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 16.2 percent short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home.

The area´s average interest rate of 6.40 percent, a tick above last month´s rate of 5.94 percent, is nearly identical to the June 2006 average interest rate of 6.45 percent

Inventory

The inventory of homes available for purchase through the MLS increased by just 460 homes in June 2007 (compared to a 1,028 increase in May) to a total of 25,923, which equates to a 40.6 percent increase over June 2006´s number of 18,437. The inventory level reflects a 18.12-month supply at the current pace of sales.

There are 4,398 condos in the multiple listing service, the majority of which (826) fall into the $200,000 - $250,000 price range. The inventory tally for duplexes, townhomes, and villas sits at 2,233; most (595) are also priced between $200,000 and $250,000.

Homes of all types spent an average of 97 days on the market before being sold; and the average home sold for 94.97 percent of its original asking price.

Condos and Townhomes/Duplexes/Villas

The sales of condos in the Orlando area declined by 68 percent in June; a total of 161 condos changed hands in June 2007 compared to 509 in June 2006. In a month-to-month comparison, June 2007 condo sales decreased from May 2007 (161 to 189). Most condos (34) that changed hands in June 2007 were sold for between $140,000 and $160,000. Year-to-date condo sales are down by 55 percent (1,308 condos have been sold so far in 2007 compared to 2,885 by this time last year).

Orlando homebuyers purchased 108 duplexes, townhomes, and villas in June 2007, which is a 53 percent decline over June 2006 when 232 of these alternative housing types were purchased. Duplex, townhome, and villa sales in June 2007 were nearly equal to that in May 2007 (154). The majority (35) of duplexes, townhomes, and villas sold in June 2007 cost between $200,000 and $250,000.



Realtors® in favor of community arts venues
The ORRA Board of Directors has voted to extend its support of Orange County´s and the City of Orlando´s efforts to build a new arena and performing-arts center in downtown Orlando and to renovate the Florida Citrus Bowl stadium. The City of Orlando´s leaders will vote on the project on Monday, July 23; Orange County leaders will vote Thursday, July 26.

"Realtors® view the construction and renovation projects as a quality of life issue that will both benefit Orlando´s current residents and appeal to those individuals and corporations who are considering a relocation to the area," says ORRA President Randy Martin, GRI, RE/MAX 200 Realty. "These two factors contribute to the health of Orlando´s housing market and therefore to the health of Orlando´s overall economy."

"With the addition of these venues, Orlando will be elevated to a world class destination for visiting and for living," adds Martin.


Tax court ruling provides
1031 exchange guidance

A memorandum opinion released by the Internal Revenue Service Tax Court discusses two specific Internal Revenue Code section 1031 issues. The first issue addressed in the memorandum opinion was whether the taxpayer defendant satisfied the section 1031 requirement that both the relinquished and replacement properties were "held for investment." The second issue disputed was whether the reverse exchange was properly structured. The court ultimately determined that the taxpayer did not satisfy the "held for investment" requirement under section 1031 and therefore did not consider the reverse exchange argument.

In finding that the taxpayer did not satisfy the 1031 requirement that property be "held primarily for productive use in a trade or business or for investment," the court considered several factors. The factors weighing against qualified use by the taxpayer were:

*the taxpayer's failure to rent or attempt to rent either the relinquished or replacement properties;
*the taxpayer's frequent and exclusively personal use of the relinquished and replacement properties;
*the taxpayer's significant improvement to the properties and placing of personal property (such as satellite TV systems and VHS recorders) in the homes;
*the replacement properties' classification as "second residence" with the lender;
*the taxpayer's failure to maintain the relinquished properties once the taxpayer´s personal use of the property ceased; and
*the taxpayer's failure to report the relinquished or replacement properties on tax returns consistent with investment use.

The court's decision is unusual in that the court specifically discussed relevant factors in determining whether a vacation/second home can satisfy the Section 1031 "held primarily for productive use in a trade or business or for investment" requirement. In the context of section 1031, previous cases had, by analogy, looked at whether vacation homes were eligible for expense and depreciation deductions. However, as a result of this decision, professional advisors and taxpayers should have a slightly clearer picture as to the "1031 specific" factors courts will consider in the context of section 1031 and vacation/second homes.

 
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                              June 26, 2007
Jay Leno writes:  

 

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe.  It must be true given the source, right?  The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president.  In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

 

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''  Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?  Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?  Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?  Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

 

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?   Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.  Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

 

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.  You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.  Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.  This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

 

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?  Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

 

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen.  No wonder the world loves the U.S. ,  yet has a great disdain for its citizens.  They see us for what we are.  The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know.  What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out?  The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating?   Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11?  The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession?   Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

 

The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

 

Think about  it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind ever y day.

 

Make no mistake about it.  The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom.  There is currently no draft in this country.  They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

 

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?  Say what you want but I blame it on the media.  If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news.  Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts.  How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner?  The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

 

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.  Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

 

We are among the most blessed peoples on Earth and should thank God several times a day or at least be thankful and appreciative."


"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

 

Jay Leno

 

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