Real Estate and Mortgages

Buying an American Visa For a $500,000 Home Purchase – A Solution to the Housing crisis?

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When someone mentioned this proposal to me, I thought it was nuts. Selling the right to live in America for $500,000? But then a quick search revealed that the Senate is indeed considering such an idea as part of a larger bipartisan provision of immigration measures (VISIT-USA Act), co-authored by Senators. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) [...]

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Existing and Proposed Government Housing Refinance Programs

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One of the most frequent questions I receive is around getting guidance on the various government refinance programs on offer. The table below, published in a recent report looking at the effectiveness of existing refinancing programs, provides a succinct summary of the key refinance programs on offer to Americans. It also contains a couple of [...]

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Saving $95,000 by Refinancing into a Lower Rate and Shorter Duration Mortgage

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Many homeowners with good credit are ditching their old 30-year fixed rate mortgages for the 15-year or 20-year versions. This is primarily to leverage historically low rates for these shorter duration loans and benefit from the significant interest savings over the life of the loan. In fact, a friend of mine did exactly this when [...]

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Is Another Home Buyer Credit or More Foreclosure Relief In The Works as Housing Market Faces Double-Dip

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With home values continuing to drop to record lows across the nation many home buyers are reluctant to make a purchase this year; which places even more pressure on home owners looking to sell. Recent data from online realty site Zillow suggest that home prices will continue to fall until late 2012. This is not [...]

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Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest The Extra Cash?

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Many of us dream about how it would feel to not have a monthly mortgage payment. Owning your home free and clear is the aspiration of numerous homeowners. But even without – in most cases – that hefty payment leaving your checkbook every 30 days, there are actually some reasons not to pay off your [...]

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Rental Property Tax Changes (Form 1099) and Foriegn Bank Accounts and Assets Disclosure Requirements

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Two new tax changes were implemented in recent legislation that may affect a number of tax payers filing 2010 returns in 2011. One affects landlords who now need to disclose all payments made above $600. The other affects people with certain assets outside the US, who now have to formally disclose foreign holdings (like bank [...]

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15 Year Versus 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages – How to Determine Which is the Better Option

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As mortgage rates continue to hover at 30 year lows, many people are wondering whether a 15-year or a 30-year mortgage term is a better option. After all, even though payments on the 15-year option would be higher, the lower interest rates on the shorter term loan are keeping payments, in many cases, at very [...]

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Updates: Claiming Home Buyer Credit Extension, Small Business Loans and Tax Breaks Plus $250 SSI Payment

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I wanted to provide a few updates on some of the more popular topics on this site given recent developments. You can click on the topic header to get more details. Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension (again) and Claiming It : One of the most popular topics on this site, the many articles I have [...]

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Five Reasons Owning a Home is Not The Investment it Used To Be

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Thanks to the housing crisis, many fundamental truths about owning an home have come under question. For example, owning a home was considered a key plank towards financial freedom and along with 401K/IRA retirement plans was the best way to build financial security over the longer term. Similarly a popular adage was to buy your own [...]

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Refinancing Myth: Looking Beyond the Monthly Payment and Calculating the True Cost of Your Refinance

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Mortgage lenders often attract homeowners seeking to lower their mortgage interest rate with some simple math, usually presented in one of two ways: 1) Comparing the nominal closing costs to the total savings from 30 years of a lower monthly payment, or 2) How few months it will take before you break even with your [...]

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Solving the Housing Foreclosure Crisis by Cutting Mortgage Principal Balances – Big Mistake

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Mortgage interest rates are at their lowest point in decades (about 4.5%) and the housing credit has been in effect for more than three years, yet the housing market is tepid at best, with foreclosures at record highs and government housing institutions having to put more distressed assets on their books. This has spurred rumors [...]

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Home Energy Green Tax Rebates Extended into 2011 For Residential and Business Owners

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[Update Dec 2010] President Obama has signed into law a bill that covers a $858 billion extension of all the bush-era tax cuts, plus some additional tax benefits. With this legislation he has essentially created a new 2011 Economic Stimulus package, that includes the following green energy tax breaks: – Energy-Efficient new homes credit discussed in the update [...]

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