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Fiscal cliff bill extends tax relief for struggling homeowners facing foreclosure | Katonah NY Real Estate

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foreclosure sign
The fiscal cliff agreement reached Tuesday will extend a tax exemption for distressed homeowners. Without the extension of a 2007 law, mortgage debt forgiven in foreclosure, loan modifications or short sales would have been considered taxable income. The Associated Press

Expiring tax exemptions for homeowners facing foreclosure, a relatively uncontroversial response to the foreclosure crisis that had lingered for months on Congress’ to-do list, will be extended in the fiscal cliff deal approved late Tuesday.

Debt canceled through a foreclosure, a short sale or a loan modification on a primary residence was considered taxable income until 2007’s Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. Under the fiscal cliff bill passed by Congress and awaiting the president’s signature, that forgiven debt will remain untaxed for another year.

Without an extension, short sales and loan modifications would have come with an increased tax burden on an already struggling homeowner. That would likely have pushed more to fight foreclosure, dragging out the impact of the foreclosure crisis on the housing market.

Don McCredie, a principal broker with Realty Trust Group in Lake Oswego, spent the last days of the 2012 shuttling paperwork for a short sale that closed the day after Christmas. The seller, he said, would have backed out if the increased tax burden took effect.

“If this didn’t close by the end of the year, he wasn’t going to take a chance,” he said. “They seemed really concerned about having to pay taxes on the bank’s losses.”

Meanwhile, despite renewed interest in short sales among both struggling homeowners and banks, fewer have been coming across his desk in recent weeks (though that’s also a seasonally slow period for home sales).

“I would be willing to bet some people are holding off,” he said.

The act now expires Jan. 1, 2014. The relevant bit of legalese:

SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF DISCHARGE OF QUALIFIED PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE INDEBTEDNESS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (E) of section 108(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2014’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this section shall apply to indebtedness discharged after December 31, 2012.

via oregonlive.com

List Prices Flatten Despite Sinking Inventory | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Inventories continued to fall in November to record lows and the age of the nation’s listings inventory declined, but asking prices failed to rise as housing markets prepared for their annual wintertime hibernation. The total U.S. for-sale inventory of single family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops dropped to its lowest point since 2007, with 1.674 million units for sale in November, down 16.87 percent compared to a year ago and more than 45 percent below its peak of 3.1 million units in September 2007, when Realtor.com began monitoring these markets. The median age of the inventory was also down by 11.4 percent on a year-over-year basis. The national for-sale inventory in November (1,674,412) decreased (4.69 percent) from what it was in October and was down by 16.87 percent on an annual basis. The large year-over-year decline in inventory is a positive sign that the market may have worked through much of its excess inventory, which should help to bolster housing prices and potentially set the stage for additional growth. The median age of inventory of for-sale listings was 101 days in November, up by 4.12 percent from October, but 11.40 percent below the median age a year ago (November 2011). While the median age of the inventory is highly seasonal, the year-over-year decline is consistent with other data that shows a general tightening of market conditions throughout the year. However, the median list price in November ($189,900) was the same as it was a year ago despite the significant gains observed earlier in the year. The nationwide median list price ($189,900) held steady in November and is essentially unchanged from a year ago. While the gains that accompanied the onset of the 2012 spring home buying season have disappeared at the national level, record-low inventories may prevent a further erosion of list prices in 2013.according to November data from Realtor.com. National data masks pronounced regional differences in the strength of the housing market. Patterns that have been observed throughout the year continued to run their course, as markets that were once the epicenter of the housing crisis continued to strengthen while markets in more industrialized parts of the Midwest and Northeast continued to fall behind. California, Arizona, and Washington markets are ending the year with dramatic declines in their number of for-sale properties, coupled with significant year-over-year list price increases of 10 percent of more. However, markets such as Peoria, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Toledo, Ohio-areas that never experienced a rapid run-up in their housing prices-have experienced median list prices that are down by as much as 10 percent on an annual basis and significantly smaller year-over-year reductions in their for-sale inventories. On a year-over-year basis, the for-sale inventory declined in all but five of the 146 markets covered by Realtor.com, while list prices increased in 70 markets, held steady in 30 markets and declined in 46 markets. The number of markets experiencing year-over-year list price declines has increased steadily in recent months, underscoring the continued fragility of many housing markets.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

19 handy Google tricks that you were not aware of | Katonah NY Realtor

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After covering everything that Google Search has to offer, you can easily forge that search only forms one small part of the Google behemoth. With so many different features and clients available, it’s very easy to use the basic features for each and leave it at that.

However, if you delve a little deeper, there are many tricks hidden away that will help improve your experience. To help you out, here are a number of tips and tricks that you can use for four of Google’s more popular features: Gmail, Maps, Google Drive and Google News.

Gmail

Use Filtered Search

Gmail’s search bar is very handy for finding that message you got months ago, but most people don’t realise how easy it is to access advanced search. Just click the downward facing arrow on the right-hand side of the search bar and you will be presented with a number of different search options. You can narrow your search down to the person who sent it, the subject, words used, and the dates it would have been sent.SearchingforMail 765x449 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Activate Starring Feature

Sometimes you will come across important messages, but the only way you can mark them is with the yellow tab or star icon. Thankfully, there is a feature in settings which lets you mark your inbox with different symbols to help you. Start by clicking the gear icon in the upper right hand corner and scroll halfway down the general settings page to find the “Stars” setting. Here you can drag different stars and icons into the “In Use” section to activate them. The next time you’re starring an email, you can cycle through the different colours by clicking on the icon repetitively.Stars 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Cut Down Text In Email Replies

The annoying thing about email threads is that if the messages are long and numerous, it’s very easy for the context to get lost among the many paragraphs of text. There’s a handy way to get around this as blogger John Graham-Cunning recently discovered. Before you hit reply, highlight the block of text you want quoted and then hit reply. This ensures that only that text you highlighted will be quoted in the email below your message.HighlightingTextReply 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Keyboard Shortcuts

Like all Google features, there are keyboard shortcuts that you can take advantage of. Simply go into the gear icon on the upper right general settings and activate the shortcut. You can find a list of the different keyboard shortcuts by visiting this link.

Sign Out Remotely

If you’ve signed into Gmail on different computers and forgot to sign out, you can sign out remotely through the details section. If you scroll down to the bottom of Gmail, you will see your last activity at the bottom right hand corner. Click on “Details” underneath this and you can sign out of all other sessions.RemoteSignOut 765x449 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Emphasise Important Words In Gchat

If you want to add extra emphasis to your comments on Gchat, you can add some basic formatting as you type. To make text bold, surround your text with asterisks (*bold*), use underscore to add italics (_italics_) and hyphens to add strikethrough (-strikethrough-).BoldText 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

See Which Emails Were Sent To You Directly

If you want to keep track of what emails are sent to you directly and which ones were sent to a group, you should activate the “Personal Message Indicators” setting. Found near the end of general settings, activating it will place arrow icons within the important tab. One arrow signifies emails sent to you and others, while double arrows indicate emails sent just to you.personallevelindicators 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Activate Gmail Remotely

If you’re a Chrome user, you can download a handy app which will allow you to work on Gmail without an internet connection. It allows you to read, respond to, search and archive mail without network access. For those interested, you can download it through the link here.gmailoffline 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Google Maps

Remove Side Column

Not really a tip per se, but handy to know when you’re viewing a map. If you want more space to work around with, simply click the small arrow on the right of the printer and URL icon (the chain). This will minimise the column so that you have more space to view the map.hidepanel 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Adjust Your Route

When you’re searching for directions and you want to avoid a particular road or street, you can adjust your route by dragging it to a different path. This will create a new white marker which Google will use to calculate a new route and timeframe. You can create as many of these markers as you wish.dragtochangeroute 765x430 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Add/Remove Layers

Depending on your location, you can add or remove layers to your map. Depending on your location, you can see terrain, traffic, weather reports, Wikipedia entries, bike trails and when you zoom in close enough in satellite mode, 45 degree mode. You can access these modes by hovering on the box located on the top right-hand corner and expand it by clicking the arrow button at the bottom.layers 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Drag and Zoom

Google Labs has some incredibly handy tools, but it can be very easy to miss it considering its location. When you open up maps, you will find Maps Labs at the bottom left hand corner of the screen. One of the options you can choose is ‘Drag ‘n’ Zoom’ which lets you zoom in by drawing a box on the map. Click the magnifying box underneath the original zoom to activate it. The smaller the box, the further you zoom in.dragandzoomtool 765x450 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Measure Distances

Another Google Labs tool that you can activate. Clicking the ruler tool at the bottom right hand corner of your map will let you measure the distance between two points in metres or feet. The fun part behind this option is you can choose the geeky option and measure the distance based on the size of American football fields, Olympic swimming pools and light years among other more useful measurements. This feature will only let you measure in straight lines, however.DistanceMeasurement 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Google Drive

Keyboard Shortcuts

It’s probably no surprise that Google Drive has its own set of keyboard shortcuts which you can find through the cog icon. Scroll down the menu and you will see an option for keyboard shortcuts. Clicking this will bring up all the different key combinations available to you.DriveShortcuts 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Access Revision History

If you’re creating or viewing a document on Google Drive and you want to see what changes were made, go into file and select “Revision History.” This will bring up a list of previous versions of said document that you can restore or use to view differences between that version and the latest. If the document is shared by more than one person, all changes are colour coded to show which person was behind each change.RevisionHistory 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Attach Drive Files To Your Email

When you’re writing up an email, you can insert a file directly from Drive through your Gmail account by clicking the Drive icon at the bottom of the new compose email format. It will appear when you scroll over the attachment icon at the bottom. This option isn’t available if you’re using the old compose format, in which case you’ll have to add in your files manually.GoogleDriveAttachment 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Google News

Personalise Your News

Google News is a handy way to find articles when normal search isn’t enough, but you mightn’t be aware that it can also be used as a news portal. Going to the News homepage will present you with all the major news stories, local and national, for you to read. However, if you’re not happy with the articles you’re presented with, the customise section is what you’re looking for.

By clicking on the cog icon at the top right-hand corner, you can adjust the sliders for a number of topics to determine how often they appear. Also, you can add specific news sources to the list and adjust how often they appear on your feed, allowing you a more personalised experience.

personalisegooglenews 765x430 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Adjust Appearance Of Blogs & Press Releases

In its search function, Google News also incorporates blog posts and press releases to give you a more comprehensive view of the news and what’s happening. If you only want major media outlets and sites to appear on your feed, you have the option to lessen or get rid of blog posts and press releases from your feed. When in the customise section, go into settings (found underneath adjust sources) and you can adjust the frequency they appear.personalisetaste 765x450 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

Add Specific Topics

If you want to have a stream that related to specific search terms, then create your own section. In the customise section, go into advanced (found underneath the Personalize Google News section), and select “Create A Custom Section.” Here you can add in any search term and you will be presented with a feed correlating to that. Remember if you want to add more than one term, separate them with a comma.customsection 765x429 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

szlogo 19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

This article is published in association with SimplyZesty, a digital marketing agency.

Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images

via thenextweb.com

Mortgages – Upshot of the Foreclosure Backlog | Katonah Homes

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About half of the 50 states have judicial foreclosure systems. The housing market crash so bogged down the systems in New York and New Jersey that foreclosures there have routinely dragged on for two or three years; their timelines are among the longest in the country. The national average, which factors in nonjudicial states, is about one year, according to RealtyTrac, which monitors foreclosures nationwide.

The sluggish process has caused a backlog of loans in foreclosure and is slowing the housing market recovery in judicial states, says Michael Fratantoni, the vice president for research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association. As of the end of the third quarter, according to the association, 6.6 percent of all loans were in foreclosure in judicial states, compared with 2.4 percent in nonjudicial states.

A study released last summer by researchers at the Federal Reserve Banks in Boston and Atlanta found that the longer properties languish in delinquency or under a bank’s ownership, the greater the negative effect on the value of surrounding properties.

“The best outcome is to prevent the foreclosure,” said Paul S. Willen, an economist and policy adviser at the Boston Fed. “But if it’s clear that can’t be done, it’s in society’s interest to get the foreclosure done as soon as possible.”

In a separate study last year, Mr. Willen and his colleagues question the basis for giving borrowers more time to try to fix mortgage problems. The study found that avoiding foreclosure was no more likely for borrowers subject to either judicial foreclosure, or laws forcing lenders to wait 90 days before beginning foreclosure proceedings, than it was for other borrowers.

Consumer advocates agree that foreclosures are taking too long in some states. High concentrations of vacant properties have taken a heavy toll on certain neighborhoods, said Michael D. Calhoun, the president of the Center for Responsible Lending in Washington. “We agree that borrowers should be considered quickly for loan modifications,” he said. “They’re more successful if they’re done early on.”

But in his estimation, the delays aren’t a result of the protections provided to consumers under the judicial process, because the court process has worked fine in “normal times.” The problem now, he said, lies with the mortgage servicers. “We had a servicing system that was totally overwhelmed by the housing boom and even more so by the housing crash,” Mr. Calhoun said. “The backlog is due to servicer errors and lack of capacity.”

Communication gaps are also a factor, says Mark S. Cherry, a lawyer who represents borrowers in the state-sponsored foreclosure mediation program in New Jersey. His clients must sometimes return to mediation sessions five or six times before finally getting a loan modification. “Persistence breaks resistance,” he said.

Courts, too, have been overwhelmed. In New Jersey, a typical year brings about 24,000 residential foreclosure filings; in 2009 and 2010, annual filings surpassed 60,000.

The courts have since had time to adjust, especially because lenders have halted the processing of thousands of old cases while they work with federal regulators on improving their practices, said Kevin M. Wolfe, the assistant director of the Civil Practice Division of New Jersey’s Administrative Office of the Courts.

New foreclosure cases are moving much more quickly, and there is no backlog, Mr. Wolfe said. The average time for foreclosures filed this year is 6.4 months.

By the time lenders begin processing those old cases, the court should be far better prepared, he said, adding, “We’re not going to be caught up short this time.”

via nytimes.com

Rising home prices signaling ‘recovery’ | Katonah Realtor

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Rising home prices signal ‘recovery,’ analysts sayU.S. home prices rose in September for the sixth straight month, despite seasonal weakness, signaling that the housing market is “in the midst of a recovery,” according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index released this week. The index that looks at 20 cities showed that prices have gained 3% over the past 12 months, echoing other recent positive housing data, such as gains in new construction and existing-home sales. However, despite recent increases, prices are about 30% below peak levels in 2006. And the housing market still faces challenges from shadow inventory, and tight credit standards.Read more about home prices.Sandy hits new-home sales Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. ticked down in October, with a large drop in the hurricane-hit Northeast while there was a record surge in the Midwest, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. By region, sales in October fell 32% in the Northeast and 12% in the South. Monthly sales rose a record 62% in the Midwest and 9% in the West. While the new-home-sales data are volatile on a monthly basis, a trend over the last few months has been steady, showing an average U.S. annualized rate of almost 370,000. That average rate is up 17% from a year earlier, but far below a peak rate of almost 1.4 million in 2005.Read more about new-home sales.Third-quarter growth revised higher, but…The government’s estimate for economic growth in the third quarter was revised higher this week, but the news wasn’t entirely rosy. A large portion of the higher estimate is due to inventories, which can be positive or negative. If these goods are sold soon, then the inventories were a good bet. If not, companies will have excess supply on their hands. Read more about GDP.Residential investment grows in third quarterThe economy’s expansion in the third quarter was also due, in part, to faster growth in the housing sector, government analysts said. In the third quarter, residential fixed investment grew at an annualized rate of 14.2%, compared with 8.5% in the second quarter. However, looking longer term, this sector has lost much of its heft. Residential fixed investment— which measures purchases of homes — currently accounts for about 2.5% of the economy, down from a bubble peak of more than 6% in 2005. Read more about GDP. Breakdown of GDP

After consumption was largely responsible for growth in the second quarter, there was a more evenly divided split between consumption, investment and government spending this time around. The big push behind government spending is a one-time boost in defense spending, so that is not likely to be sustained in the fourth quarter.

via articles.marketwatch.com

Delaying repairs may cost landlords | Katonah NY Real Estate

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<a href=Water heater image via Shutterstock.

Q: The water heater at the rental we own broke and we had a hard time getting it replaced (we do all of the repairs ourselves). After a week, the problem was solved, but our tenants are demanding that we compensate them for expenses they incurred as a result of our tardy work. They’re asking to be reimbursed for their stay at a motel, several days’ worth of meals, and the added costs of transportation that resulted from living further away from work and school. It’s quite a bill! We admit to being less than on the ball with the repair, but do we have to pay these expenses? –Martha and John

A: Lack of hot water in a residential rental is a serious problem, and in every state but Arkansas, it’s a violation of the warranty of habitability. Depending on the state, tenants have various remedies if they alert landlords of the problem but the landlord fails to act reasonably promptly. Remedies include repairing the problem and deducting the cost from the rent, withholding rent, and living with the problem but suing later for a retroactive rent reduction, called rent abatement.

Another remedy includes procuring substitute housing during the time that the deficiency persists. Several states allow for this option, including Alaska, Connecticut and Tennessee. In these states, however, the approach isn’t uniform — should the tenant be compensated for substitute housing and be excused from paying rent? If so, this presents the tenant with a chance for a windfall — if the pro-rated rent is lower than the daily substitute housing, the tenant is “making money” on the deal, though few tenants would willingly choose the disruption to their lives caused by such a move.

You’ll need to find out how your state handles the issue of substitute housing. As for the other bills you’ve been presented with, these expenses are a bit more attenuated, but they follow from having to move away. Unless the motel had a kitchen, your tenants were obligated to get take-out or go to restaurants. And, unless they chose a location needlessly far away from school and work, their added commute costs were also an unavoidable result of having to move out temporarily.

Landlords in your position have been asked to foot the bill for items such as increased utility bills, the cost of replacement heaters, child care expenses (required because children could not stay comfortably or safely at home) and so on.

This has been an expensive lesson. In the future, it may be cheaper to hire a plumber than wait for the weekend to do it yourselves.

Q: The lease we are about to sign has a clause that says the winner of any lawsuit gets to recover attorney fees and court costs from the loser. Is this a good idea? –James and Ella

A: This “two way” attorney fee clause is common in contracts and leases. The idea is to make it clear to both sides, before a dispute has even broken out, that bringing a worthless lawsuit is likely to be an expensive affair. If the person who brings the bogus lawsuit loses, he pays not only his own costs and fees, but the other side’s, too. The clause also encourages both sides to work out legitimate differences between them, without involving a court. No one, even someone who is sure he’s in the right, can guarantee that a judge or jury will agree; far better to compromise than risk losing and having to pay your own and the other side’s costs, too.

In residential lease situations, the analysis takes a slightly different turn. Precisely because the clause will discourage litigation, tenants may hesitate to bring lawsuits to enforce their rights, fearful that if they lose, they’ll have to pay big time. In a similar vein, landlords may find the right to collect from the losing tenant an academic right — few tenants have the resources to write a check for attorney fees and court costs. These landlords would prefer a world in which each side pays its own costs and fees, which is the rule most of the time.

via inman.com