Just came across this article.

Ax May Fall on Tax Break For Mortgages

SNIP:

“The popular tax break for mortgage interest, once considered untouchable, is falling under the scrutiny of policymakers and economic experts seeking ways to close huge deficits.”

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Should homeowners and investors lose the tax deduction they now enjoy they would have to recalculate the value of ownership. I dont think it would bode well for property prices and it would certainly reduce the amount of disposable household income putting downward pressure on consumer spending during already frugal times.

Q.]  What is worse than losing your home?

A.]  Having to pay taxes on the amount of debt you were “forgiven” by the lender.

This is a quick follow up to my last post and provided the link the State’s website:

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Extended.

Mortgage Debt Relief at last!.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 401 (Wolk) into law on Monday.  This bill aligns the state’s treatment of forgiven debt with that of the Federal government.

What it means is that distressed owners that are forced into foreclosure or a short sale will not be taxed on the difference between the sales price and the original loan amount.  Or, as the author of the article so succinctly sums it:

“the Franchise Tax Board will NOT be meaner than the IRS”

Haven’t blogged for ages.  Got onto Facebook and started using it.  I suppose I’m experiencing technological overload and am not certain as to where to best deploy my resources.

Nevertheless, here is my first comeback blog, which is nothing more then pointing to an article I just read:

Economic View – Don’t Bet on a Long Housing Recovery – NYTimes.com.

Very interesting.

The Big Picture » Blog Archive » Your Own Private Hydrogen Power Station.

Imagine 15 Empire State Buildings, all of them sitting empty. That real estate broker’s nightmare comes to more than 43 million sq. ft., which is how much commercial space stood vacant in Silicon Valley as of the end of the third quarter, according to CB Richard Ellis Group (CBG)

Read the entire article HERE

There are 920 football fields of available office space in Manhattan. More than 180 major buildings totaling $12.5 billion in value — from Columbus Tower at 1775 Broadway to the office tower 400 Madison Avenue — are in trouble, meaning in many cases they face foreclosure or bankruptcy, or have had problems making mortgage payments. Rents for commercial office space fell faster over the past two years than in any such period in the last half century.

via In New York Commercial Real Estate, News Is Bad or Worse – NYTimes.com.

Well, fecal coli in drywall can’t be good.  They will be YEARS dealing with this crap. (no pun intended)

Chinese Drywall Has Left Tens of Thousands of Homeowners Out of Options.

According to Treasury Department figures, nearly 700,000 trial modifications under Making Home Affordable were underway by the end of November. But with fewer than 32,000 converted to permanent modifications, it means a net drop of permanent loan modifications since the Obama plan began.

Servicers, White House Point Fingers as Foreclosure Plan Fails « The Washington Independent.

HUD has issued a mortgagee letter to lenders and underwriters explaining that effective immediately, borrowers in default on their mortgage at the time of a short sale or pre-foreclosure sale will not be eligible for a new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) -insured mortgage for three years.

Distressed Short Sellers Locked our of FHA Loans

Read the entire article here