Author: Rebecca McLean

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Extension: Legislation approved by the Senate Finance Committee that would have extended this legislation died on the Senate floor. This bill, passed in December 2007 and applicable until the end of 2013, allowed borrowers utilizing short sale transactions to be relieved of the debt cancellation tax burden associated with short sales. However, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are sponsoring a bill that would reinstate the extension. National REIA is actively lobbying the Senate to get this bipartisan measure passed before the end of the year. While it is unlikely the bill…

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Extension: National REIA’s lobbying arm in Washington, D.C. has initiated meetings with members of Congress and committee lawyers in both houses of Congress to discuss extending the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. Passed in 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act assisted sellers utilizing short sales by eliminating a requirement to pay taxes on the amount banks write-off when accepting a short sale. The expiration of the Act has curbed the utilization of short sale transactions. Recently, the Senate Finance Committee passed S. 2260 (Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency Act known as “EXPIRE”) that…

Reforming Fannie and Freddie: While legislation to reform the housing financing system passed the Senate Banking Committee, there is virtually no chance the bill will receive further consideration this year. The measure would eliminate Fannie and Freddie and establish a new public/private housing financing system. Democrats argue the bill does not do enough on affordable housing issues, while Republicans argue the measure still places too great a risk on taxpayers. Shareholders of Fannie and Freddie stock perhaps played the biggest role in killing the bill, spending millions to keep Fannie and Freddie alive as they engage in a court battle…

Reforming Fannie and Freddie: The U.S. Senate has been working on legislation to reform Fannie and Freddie for the better part of a year. Recently, the Senate Banking Committee presented a reform bill and sought bipartisan support from members of the committee to pass the bill. Committee leadership knew that simply passing the bill would not be good enough. To overcome the 60 vote cloture requirement in the Senate, the committee would need 15-17 “yes” votes on the reform package. After months of negotiations to garner additional support, the Senate Banking Committee appears to be stuck at 13 votes. While…

On 1/10/2014, the provisions of the Dodd-Frank act affecting Seller Financing went into effect. Although the law was passed in 2010, it gave us 4 years to “become accustomed” to the new provisions. However, what actually happened was that the new regulations were largely ignored and forgotten about until just recently. In Internet blog posts, chatrooms, and even in some REIAs, you will find such nonsense being touted as “this will kill Seller Financing”, or even “you will go to jail if you don’t comply”. To dispel these myths and provide and accurate picture of what Dodd-Frank is and is…

Where are some promising places to invest in rental homes? Bankrate surveyed online real estate listings for three-bedroom houses in 15 of the country’s largest metro areas. In the following five metros, rents are relatively high compared with asking prices for home sales. That makes these metro areas potentially profitable places to buy homes to rent out. Each investment decision depends on prevailing home prices and rents in the neighborhood, the dwelling’s condition, taxes, insurance, interest rates and other costs. Read more: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/promising-places-to-buy-rental-properties-1.aspx#ixzz2sNBstDla By Holden Lewis • Bankrate.com

Ashtabula County, Ohio. In 2008 Helen Grybosky was a 77 year-old widow who lived in Northeast Ohio, using her Social Security benefits, rental from a building in Parma, and a dwindling savings. Previously she also received income from a three-unit rental home in Conneaut, Ohio. When the units became vacant, she tried to sell the home for a few years to be free from the stress and responsibilities as a landlord, but received no offers. Without options, in 2008 she decided to rent the units again and ran an ad which included a “no pets” restriction which caught the eye…

Ric Thom is one of the leading authorities in seller carryback real estate contracts He presented a legislative update at the April, 2013 Paper Source Note Symposium that answered everyone’s questions. He owns Security Escrow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has served as a director and the president of Valencia County Board of Realtors. He also served as a director of the Albuquerque Board of Realtors as well as a director of the Realtors Association of New Mexico. Ric was recently named Affiliate Of The Year to the Albuquerque Board of Realtors. He is a certified instructor for the New…

In California, Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Mortgage Resolution Partners are looking to seize underwater home loans through the use of eminent domain, and the legal battles are underway. A lawsuit by BlackRock and other bondholders to stop Richmond was tossed recently on the grounds that it was premature. City council members still need to vote on whether to move forward to let the state court seize the loans. There is no question the legal battles from bondholders and possibly the federal government will continue if Richmond moves forward with this plan. Proponents of it argue that it will prevent…