Posts Tagged ‘mortgage debt relief’

Residential Real Estate Market Already Headed Over Fiscal Cliff

Saturday, November 10th, 2012

Roy Oppenheim’s commentary was originally published on Yahoo! Homes and is being republished on South Florida Law Blog with their permission.

Thelma and Louise Going Over The CliffThey say there is no rest for the weary, and that seems especially appropriate for our nation’s elected officials.

Election Day may be still be fresh in our rear-view mirror, but in case you have forgotten, the lame duck session of Congress begins Monday. And they will have little time to celebrate or lick their wounds, because the economy is under a very real threat.

The media has dubbed it the “Fiscal Cliff”. This cliff, which is a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to be enacted on December 31st, could drive the economy back into a recession, according to a new Congressional Office Budget report.

Here’s the problem: for people like myself on the front lines of the real estate market, the fiscal cliff is not some imminent threat, it’s already here.

When it is all said and done, DC’s landscape is almost identical to what is was before Tuesday, and the very same problems that were ignored during the election are now staring us right back in the face.

Let’s be real, Thelma and Louise are inches away from driving over the Grand Canyon. That is where we are right now with the housing market. I am not trying to scare anyone, but for those of us on the front lines of the housing crisis, there are some troubling signs.

There have been many cautious signs of improvement in real estate over the last few months, and on paper the housing market is starting to stabilize.
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Saturday Round-Up; Mortgage Debt Relief Extended?; NY Foreclosure Dismissed; Foreclosure Crisis in A Quilt

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

cowboy lassoBill extends Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007

I warned you earlier this month that if you’re considering a short sale, the time to get the ball rolling is now.

That’s because the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which was passed in 2007, is set to expire at the end of this year. If that happens you’ll have to pay taxes on any forgiven debt that comes out of a short sale.

I remain skeptical that Congress, in this election year, will come through and extend the MDRA, but at least some Congressmen haven’t forgotten how important this legislation is. Then again, in an election year anything is possible.

U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and John Larson, D-Conn., have introduced the Homeowners Tax Fairness Act. It would extend the Mortgage Debt Relief Act for another three years.

Let’s hope Congress gets their act together and passes this bill.

NY Foreclosure Case Could Be A Game Changer

It remains to be seen if a foreclosure dismissal will have an impact here in Florida, but none the less it has the chance to be a real game changer.

The case is OneWest Bank, FSC vs Galli. OneWest had tried for a partial summary judgement against the Gallis, but the judge in the case denied it and instead ruled in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Galli.

As I’ve always said, you have to make the banks prove they own the note, but in reality it’s more than that. I could pick up a note off the street and say I owned it, but it wouldn’t necessarily be true.
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