Are you confused by the sub-prime mess?
December 19, 2007
I have been refraining from posting information about the various programs which Congress and the Federal Reserve have proposed to rescue the credit industry - or is it to help the underwater homeowner? To date it has seemed to me that there is a great deal of confusion about who and how it helps.
However, late yesterday, the House passed the Senate version of the "Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007". It will now go to the President for signature and it is expected that he will sign it. The centerpiece of this act is that the amount of debt forgiven by a lender will not be subject to income taxes as it has been until now. This is an oversimplification on my part and it will be interesting to see what limitations on the use of the provisions of the bill are included in the bill. For sure this mortgage forgiveness is limited to a principal residence.
A kind of quirky new provision is the upping of the capital gains exclusion of a single surviving spouse to $500,000 to $250,000, but only if (a) the spouse died within 2 years of the date of sale and (b) the sale closes after January 1, 2008. If you fit these requirements and your home is in escrow, you might want to delay your closing for a few weeks.
Stay tuned and I will try to post more information.
I have been refraining from posting information about the various programs which Congress and the Federal Reserve have proposed to rescue the credit industry - or is it to help the underwater homeowner? To date it has seemed to me that there is a great deal of confusion about who and how it helps.
However, late yesterday, the House passed the Senate version of the "Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007". It will now go to the President for signature and it is expected that he will sign it. The centerpiece of this act is that the amount of debt forgiven by a lender will not be subject to income taxes as it has been until now. This is an oversimplification on my part and it will be interesting to see what limitations on the use of the provisions of the bill are included in the bill. For sure this mortgage forgiveness is limited to a principal residence.
A kind of quirky new provision is the upping of the capital gains exclusion of a single surviving spouse to $500,000 to $250,000, but only if (a) the spouse died within 2 years of the date of sale and (b) the sale closes after January 1, 2008. If you fit these requirements and your home is in escrow, you might want to delay your closing for a few weeks.
Stay tuned and I will try to post more information.
posted by shirley harry at 8:53 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home