‘Tis the Season for Tax Breaks
With April 15 rapidly approaching many are working hard to complete their taxes. For those who have recently bought or sold a home, there are a number of tax deductions that that may be available to them.
Real estate broker’s commissions, title insurance, legal fees, advertising costs, administrative costs, and inspection fees are all considered selling costs and may be used to reduce one’s taxable capital gain by the amount of the selling costs. That could result in a big savings depending on the final sale price.
Interest that is paid on a mortgage is also tax-deductible, within limits. A married couple filing jointly can deduct all their interest payments on a maximum of $1 million in mortgage debt secured by a first or second home.
Buyers may also be able to deduct some of the interest they paid on a home equity loan or similar line of credit.
One deduction that many buyers often overlook is points. Points or origination fees on a home loan that were paid during the purchase of a home are generally tax-deductible in full for the year in which they were paid.
Refinanced mortgage points are also deductible but only over the life of the loan – not all at once. Homeowners who refinance can immediately write off the balance of the old points and begin to amortize the new. Read more
Great Loan Options are Here!!!
How to refinance your property with little or no equity
I’ve recently taken an application for a veteran who will be refinancing their two purchase loans from a couple years back. She will be saving about $700 per month with her new 30 year fixed rate of 4.75%. It reminded me that there are still a lot of folks out there who may not have taken advantage of the low rates available because they thought there was not enough equity in their property to refinance. Without getting into too much detail, I thought I would share three great options to consider if this is the case for you:
Freddie/Fannie option
If Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae own your mortgage, it may be possible to refinance your current loan even if it’s underwater. Have you checked to see if your loan is Freddie/Fannie? Here are the links.
Click here to see if Fannie Mae owns your mortgage
Click here to see if Freddie Mac owns your mortgage
FHA
FHA will insure mortgages up to 97.75% of the home value. The maximum loan amount is $729,750 here in San Francisco County. This loan limit is slated to be decreased at the end of 2011.
VA
If you or your spouse is a veteran, you can borrow up to 100% of your home value. This is a great option for veterans because mortgage insurance is not required for VA loans. The current VA loan limit for San Franciso and San Mateo County is $1,000,000.
Jay Sondhi
http://www.jaysondhi.com/
To Some Low Interest Rates are Better than the iphone 4
Low interest rates also have apps. 30 yr., 40 yr., 15 yr., conforming, adjustable, 1 yr, 5 yr jumbo and more. Oh they are getting the best reception in years.
You may not see the lines out the door but look at the stack of files on the loan agents’ desks. We are in record low territory. Rates have never been this low in the 50 years of record keeping. How low? Below 5% fixed for the next 30 years. 3.75 fixed for the next 15 years. That’s how low. If you are buying you must understand these are not normal times. Take advantage. Jump in. What other industry will fix their price for the next 30 years. Ask the gas station on the corner, if you would commit to buying your gas there for the next 30 years, will they hold today’s price.
Homeowners, no matter when you re-financed last review the situation again with your loan agent. If you do not have one I can recommend some I work with.
A note to both homeowners and home buyers: Read more
A Look at the Past and a Look at the Future
This time last year we predicted that 2009 would end a lot better than it began. We were right, though it wasn’t a great accomplishment to be right considering how low the housing market, stock market, and overall economy had sunk during the latter half of 2008. As we’ve stated repeatedly over the past year, a low base and a dour outlook provide an excellent buying opportunity, so we weren’t surprised when buyers stepped forward to exploit the opportunities.
Looking ahead to 2010, we see continued improvement in home sales and home prices. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if the market turns to a sellers’ market from a buyers’ market by year’s end. We are almost certain that will be the case if we see a two to three percentage point drop in the unemployment rate. Low mortgage rates and income tax credits are contributing factors in stabilizing the market, to be sure, but no factor is more important than employment in not only maintaining stability but stimulating activity. Read more
San Mateo County “Telephone Town Hall” w/Congresswoman Speier
Another great piece of information for the community passed on by my Broker John Gieseker:
Jackie Speier hosts:
“Telephone Town Hall”
to address credit/mortgage problems
San Mateo – Residents of the 12th Congressional District who have
questions about consumer credit and/or mortgages can participate in a
“telephone town hall” this Wednesday evening with Congresswoman Jackie
Speier and counselors from San Francisco’s non-profit Consumer Credit
Counseling Service.
“I encourage anyone with concerns about credit card debt, consumer
loans, mortgage modifications or refinance to participate in this call,” Read more
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Recent Posts
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