Flat fee MLS is a trend where a homeowner can pay a small fee (typically around $300), to list their For Sale By Owner home (referred to herein as “FSBO”), on the Multiple Listing Service (referred to herein as “MLS”). As a result, the homeowner can enjoy the best of both worlds in avoiding an approximate 4 to 6 percent commission, while nonetheless exposing their property to all of the clients and customers of licensed real estate brokers/brokerage firms throughout the region. However, the FSBO homeowner cannot directly place their home on the MLS on Long Island, but instead must pay a flat fee MLS vendor, who is also a real estate broker/brokerage firm (referred to herein as “MLS vendor”) for the privilege of using the MLS because only licensees of the service can list on the MLS.
Read the full article, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer.
Friday, January 08, 2016
Wednesday, January 06, 2016
Making Home Affordable - New Handbook Available - Version 5
To access the new Handbook for MHA, inclusive of HAMP and HAFA, click here. While reviewing the Handbook you should be aware of the case of US Bank v. Sarmiento wherein the Court held that the statutory good faith standard for a CPLR 3408 Foreclosure Settlement Conference is whether the "totality of the circumstances demonstrates that the party's conduct did not constitute a meaningful effort at reaching a resolution", including compliance with the Handbook. To review the case, click here.
This Handbook is the rules for banks / servicers to modify mortgages, so pay careful attention to detail and make sure that they comply.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Income Tax Relief after a Short Sale for 2015 & 2016
The President has extended the Mortgage Forgiveness
Debt Relief Act through the end of 2016 by signing Congress’ Spending
Bill
into law. As a result, the amount of money from a mortgage loan that is forgiven
incident to a short sale, foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure will not
be taxable as income.
In the last week of 2014, the extension was passed and
then applied to all transactions that occurred in 2014, retroactively. Homeowners
closed transactions assuming that they were paying income tax on the forgiven
debt. As a result, homeowners elected not to pursue a short sale or
deed-in-lieu when it turned out to be their best strategic option.
Now that the law proactively extends throughout 2016,
homeowners in financial distress can list their homes for short sale, or work
out a deed-in-lieu with their lender, without the fear of being hit with a
severe income tax bill.
Another important provision of the Spending Bill,
beyond the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act extension, concerns mortgage
insurance premiums, which are required for mortgage loans that exceed 80% of
the purchase price of a home (and is required to be paid until the loan balance
goes below 80% of the purchase price). Pursuant to the new law, premium
payments can now be deducted from borrower’s income tax, in the same manner as
mortgage interest, through 2016. This will continue to encourage homeowners who
may not have the funds for a 20% deposit to still be able to purchase a home.
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