- Failed Short Sales Exacerbate Foreclosure Losses For All [Housing ... - Seeking Alpha
- Central banks fire new rounds to break bank lending logjam - AFP
- The sky isn't falling, so it's no time for Ottawa to overreact - Globe and Mail
- From subprime to stock swoon - Globe and Mail
- Victorville California: A desert boom town goes bust - guardian.co.uk
- Michigan to combat claims of possible suppression of voters - Detroit Free Press
- Financial Meltdown 101 - AlterNet
- Looking for the right time to buy a house - Shreveport Times
- What it means: Words that define the downturn - Houston Chronicle
- Corzine: Jersey may buy homes to stop foreclosure - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
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May
26
The Real Meaning Of Memorial Day
Filed Under Real Estate Investing | 3 Comments
Here’s a short history lesson on Memorial Day:
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates US men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War 1 to include casualties of any war or military action.
Memorial Day formerly occurred on May 30 and some, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and myself advocate returning to a fixed date so the significance is remembered. The public has a nonchalant observance of Memorial Day and the day should either be a real holiday or dropped completely.
Sadly the day has become a meaningless 3 day holiday weekend and a time for picnics, parties and family gatherings with a complete loss of the real meaning and what the day stands for.
When I was in the the Marine Corps I was fortunate to have served with many veterans but my eyes were really opened when I was part of a select group tasked with going through Vietnam MIA (Missing In Action) files and selecting which ones could be declassified and available for public access.
There is no polite or politically correct way to phrase my thoughts on those MIA files. Imagine serving your country and being shot down behind enemy lines. Surviving the plane crash. Avoiding capture. Surviving alone in the bush for a week or more. In radio contact reporting on a schedule. Then being left to die because no rescue mission was ever attempted. I wish I could tell you such scenarios were rare… but I cannot.
As a veteran I understand casualties of war.
But Memorial Day has a special meaning for me because of the Vietnam MIA project. I’ve handled the military files and read the accounts, seen the communication logs, viewed the maps, and know the real story of many veterans who perished while serving their country. Men for whom no rescue attempt was made even when their location was known.
And on this and every Memorial Day I honor and remember the many men and women who have died serving their country. I hope this day has more meaning than a 3 day weekend with beer and a barbecue but I fear I am one of the few who understand and appreciate the real significance of Memorial Day.
In Memory Of Our Honored Dead,
Gerald Romine
Note: The Marine Corps Hymn is the song below.
May
2
Are you tired of paying too much for homes with conventional financing?
Would you like a simple formula? How about a formula that 95% of real estate investors do not know, understand or use? A formula that will guide you to your own real estate riches?
Most real estate investors fail in business for a simple reason. Overcoming this common reason can easily turn a starving investor into a financial success. The difference is in understanding and learning:
The 4 F’s of Real Estate Investing
- Find them
- Fund them
- Fix them
- Flip them (or keep them)
Now the test: your answer to one simple question will tell me a lot about your current real estate investing knowledge.
Question: “Which F is the most difficult?”
1) The Common Answer: Beginners believe funding properties is the hardest part of the process. Beginners struggle to understand the money they want is readily available from others. When you find a great deal, there are people who will make loans secured by real estate. They agree that with your payments they get a set amount of profit, but if you don’t make the payments they take property and make an even larger profit.
2) The Correct Answer: Experienced investors focus their efforts on finding deals. Why? Because if you do not have the right deal then there is nothing to fund, fix, or flip. Spend your time on “Finding.”
The Magic Formula
First, focus 90% of your effort to finding deals.
Then invest 10% of your effort in funding, fixing or flipping after the deal(s).
Ask yourself, “Have you been putting in 90% of your efforts on finding deals?” If the answer is “No,” CHANGE IT.
Gerald Romine
Apr
14
When doing a short sale the debtor may receive a form 1099-C for the amount of the lender’s losses. This is considered loan forgiveness in the eyes of the IRS and the lender may issue a form 1099-C.
If the debtor has other assets such as savings and is not insolvent, the debtor may end up being responsible to pay ordinary taxes on the amount of the 1099-C.
If the debtor settles a debt with a creditor for less than the full amount owed, the debtor may be required to report the forgiven debt as regular income, with certain exceptions. The forgiven debts include money owed after foreclosure or property repossession or credit accounts are not paid. Exceptions noted below.
If a lender forgives or writes off $600 or more of a debt’s principal (the amount not including interest or fees) the lender must send the debtor and IRS a Form 1099-C at the end of the year. When the debtor files tax returns for the tax year in which the debt was written off, the IRS requires that the amount is reported as income.
Warning: The debtor may not receive this form from the creditor even though the creditor submitted the form to the IRS. If the creditor does list the income on their tax return and the IRS has the information of the transaction on file, the debtor could get a tax bill or, worse, an audit notice.
There are several exceptions stated in the Internal Revenue Code. For example, you do not have to report the income on your tax return if the write off of the debt is intended as a gift, you discharge the debt in bankruptcy, or you were insolvent before the creditor agreed to settle or write off the debt. Always encourage the debtor to consult qualified tax and legal counsel to see if these circumstances apply.
It is important to realize the tax implication is only on the amount of the forgiven debt.
Example: The lender is owed $150,000 and agrees to accept a $100,000 short sale. The amount of forgiven debt is $50,000 and the most the lender could report on a 1099. Assuming the debtor was in a 15% tax bracket the tax consequences would be $7,500.
By comparison if the property was sold at public auction and brings $100,000 the lender could seek a deficiency judgment against the mortgagor to recover the $50,000 shortage, plus foreclosure expenses. The short sale is the much better alternative.
Note: Arizona Residents May have a better option. Click Here For Details.
Author: Gerald Romine
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