Archive for the ‘Florida real estate’ Category

Robo Signers Celebrate One Year Anniversary and Roy Oppenheim Looks for Foreclosure Off Ramp

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Robot Rainbow

This is the anniversary no one wants to celebrate.

“We’re hitting the one-year anniversary of the robo-signing crisis,” noted Roy Oppenheim, Florida foreclosure defense attorney. “The banks said it would take 60 days to fix. It didn’t take 60 days. It’s been over a year.”

A recent article in the Daily Business Review highlights October as the anniversary month when the home foreclosure mess became a certified nightmare. Around this time in 2010, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Federal National Mortgage Association basically asked the people responsible for the mortgage mess to police themselves and conduct self-audits to make sure their paperwork was legal.

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Rumor Mill: Truth on New Real Estate “Sales Tax”

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

 

Rumors are spreading about a new tax on real estate that is part of President Obama’s healthcare law.

The new tax, which has been dubbed a real estate “sales tax,” has a lot of misinformation out about it. For example, many blogs such as the Spokesman Review accuse the new law of imposing a 3.8% tax on the sale of all real estate. Email chains such as the one quoted in the Attack Machine blog claim that the tax will affect all real estate transactions, like “that’s $3,800 on a $100,000 home.”

Such claims are untrue.

In the old days, all real estate transactions were subject to the capital gains tax, a tax on income from investments. President Clinton introduced an exemption to the tax for primary residences with a profit of $500,000. Now, profits under $500,000 for couples and $250,000 for individuals are exempt from the tax, currently at 15%. The new tax adds an additional 3.8% surtax to those transactions that exceed the exemption. Additionally, you must make at least $250,000 if married or $200,000 if single to even have the surtax affect you. The surtax only comes into force in 2013, so it doesn’t affect people for several years.

The National Association of Realtors has provided several examples to help clear up the difficulties. The following is one of them.

“A couple filing jointly with an income of $325,000 make $525,000 when they sell their primary residence. If the profit on the home is less than the $500,000 threshold ($250,000 for single taxpayers), none of gain would be subject to the surtax. But since the taxable gain is $25,000 above the $500,000 threshold, it is added to couple’s income, bringing it to $350,000. That’s $100,000 above the $250,000 limit for couples filing jointly. But the $25,000 taxable gain on the sale of the property is the lesser amount in this case, so the extra tax that would be due in this case would be $950, or 3.8% of $25,000.”
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Video Interview: Roy Oppenheim on Florida Real Estate Double Dip

Monday, August 1st, 2011

South Florida Law Blog’s Roy Oppenheim says we’re not out of the woods yet! A second wave of Florida foreclosures will hit in the third quarter of this year, Florida Double Dip? Foreclosures, Zombie Foreclosures, Fraud-closures from Oppenheim Law on Vimeo.

Oppenheim Law Predictions:

  1. Government programs such as unemployment benefits as well as the reduction in payroll tax benefits are coming to an end.
  2. Florida banks have supposedly gotten their “fraud-closure” crisis and issues of robo-signing under control and are going to submit many new foreclosures.
  3. If that wasn’t enough, foreclosures that were initially dismissed by the courts due to incomplete and inaccurate paperwork are now being “revived” and will also contribute to the tidal wave of foreclosures.
  4. Sustaining housing prices will be difficult with the ending of government programs, new foreclosures hitting, and “Zombie” foreclosures coming in because there simply isn’t enough economic support.

Unless there is a surge in Florida employment, Oppenheim predicts we are heading towards another drop in Florida real estate values until early 2012.

Special note: Just don’t shoot the messenger!

3 Tips on Florida’s New House Rules and the American Dream

Friday, July 8th, 2011

State of the American Dream (2009-2011)

Is homeownership still part of today’s American Dream? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal shared some old school advice on buying a home in today’s economy, more along the lines of Depression Era thinkers versus Baby Boomer spenders.

1. Buy what you can afford without scrimping on other needs. If you need to save for retirement or college, save. Don’t think your Florida home is going to pay for them.

2. If you need to move in less that seven years, then rent, don’t buy. You will be hard pressed to break even on your Florida home unless you live in it for a long time.

3. Values could stay depressed for many years. The only way you can plan to build equity in your Florida home is to pay down the mortgage.

Whether buying or selling a Florida short sale or foreclosure or renting; make smart decisions in light of today’s economy. Today’s housing market is still unraveling.


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