Home
> Whats News
This website is a resource for our clients and a good place to keep updated
on the market. From time to time we post stories our clients share with
us about their real estate experiences that we think would be of interest
to folks buying or selling property. We also post issues regarding interesting
real estate laws or trends that are brought to our attention. Bookmark
this page to see what's up in Arizona real estate! A BILLION Defined
(see Below)
MARKET TRENDS ........Investors
Beware
The hot topic everyone is talking about in Arizona is the real estate
market. Since the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing System (ARMLS) has
the largest number of units posted for sale and sold it provides helpful
trend statistics. 2005 was a hot sales year but 2006, 2007 and 2008 are
a different story and the principles of solid market advice are needed
again when selling property.
The real estate market is currently going through some interesting changes
that are similar to the supply and demand issues of the late 80’s
and early 90’s. During that time I developed a “6 Step Property
Selling System” to improve the odds of selling for property owners.
Using this system I produced an 11 year track record of selling 100%.
Those calendar years that did not contain an expired listing are labeled
on the report as (JAY SOLD 100%). A 100% success rate for 11 years is
rare as illustrated by the percentage of homes that sold, shown below
on the MARKET STATISTICS report. More information regarding this track
record can be found at SELLING TIPS here on the website.
If you want to see a PDF of the market statistics click on the link below.
The report shows the years 1984 through 1994 and 2001 through the end
of the most current quarter. Years 1995 through 2000 were not available.
It is interesting to see the changes.
Market
Statistics - CLICK HERE
Arizona
Regional Multiple Listing System Reports
The information below is made available
as a resource for further investigation and not provided as tax advise.
Consult with your tax advisor to determine the impact of the following
information on your tax liability
FORECLOSURE
Did you know that if you lose your house
in a foreclosure the IRS can tax you for the foregiveness of the loan.
In addition to talking with your tax professional the link below will
help you start your research on the IRS possition regarding foreclosures.
IRS
Information about TAX DUE from a foreclosure-CLICK HERE
A BILLION Defined
There is a lot of talk about the government providing Billions of dollars
of support to help resolve foreclosure issues. I thought it might be helpfull
for taxpayers to understand how long it may take to pay this off, so here
are a few definintions of a Billion and it's distant cousin the Trillion.
Billion =
A 1 followed by 9 zeros. 1,000,000,000
One thousand piles of a million things.
2.74 million years.
A billion seconds is 31 years.
A billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ.
A billion hours ago man had not yet walked on earth.
A billion dollars ago was late yesterday afternoon at the U.S. Treasury
Trillion =
A 1 followed by 12 zeros. 1,000,000,000,000
One thousand piles of a billion things.
2,740 million years.
A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.
The country has not existed for a trillion seconds.
Western civilization has not been around a trillion seconds.
Forgiven
mortgage debt tax relief. Addressing the subprime lending
crisis, a late 2007 law changes provides tax relief for homeowners whose
mortgage debt is forgiven. Prior to the enactment of this law, a homeowner
could be taxed on the amount of forgiven mortgage debt. For example, before
this law, an individual with a $200,000 mortgage whose lender foreclosed
on the home and sold it for $180,000 would have had to report $20,000
of income from the forgiven debt. The result would have been the same
if the lender restructured the loan and reduced the principal amount to
$180,000. Under the new law, a taxpayer does not have to pay federal income
tax on up to $2 million of debt forgiven for a qualifying loan secured
by a qualified principal residence (e.g., one to buy or renovate a residence).
(Code Sec. 108(a)(1)(E), Code Sec. 108(h)(2)) The change applies to debts
discharged from Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2009.
You will have to fill out and attach IRS Form
982 to your return to get this new
tax break, which is subject to some limitations on loan size and income.
Mortgage insurance deduction extended. Mortgage
insurance premiums will continue to be deductible after 2007, thanks to
another relief provision for homeowners. Originally, this deduction was
available only for 2007. It now applies through 2010. (Code Sec. 163(h)(3)(E)(iv))
Basically, it allows taxpayers to treat amounts paid during the year for
qualified mortgage insurance as home mortgage interest-and thus deductible
in most instances. The special rule for home mortgage interest is phased
out at higher levels of adjusted gross income (AGI). The insurance must
be in connection with home acquisition debt, the insurance contract must
have been issued after 2006, and the taxpayer must pay the premiums for
coverage in effect during the year. [See Federal Taxes Weekly Alert 12/20/2007
for further discussion of this provision.]
If you itemize your deductions and pay for mortgage insurance, for the
first time you will be allowed to deduct your premiums on your 2007 return
in addition to any mortgage interest you pay. The one catch: your mortgage
insurance policy must have gone into effect after Dec. 31, 2006. The deduction
is also subject to income limitations.The premiums, plus the interest
you pay on your mortgage, is entered on line 13 of Schedule A.
ATTENTION NEW HOME BUYER
Did you know your homebuilders warranty against construction defects is
longer than the 1 to 2 years? This implied warranty protection is also
extended to subsequent buyers of the home. In addition to any express
warranties by the homebuilder, a homebuilder impliedly warrants the home
against construction defects for a minimum of six years. A.R.S. 12-548
and 12-552.
NEWSLETTERS
February 2009
"We're a fair housing provider" Equal
Housing Opportunity
Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.
© 2000-2008 all rights reserved by Jay Haugen v9/08
www.haugenhomes.com
|
