Friday, January 04, 2013
Great News!
Congress has extended The Mortgage
Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through January 1, 2014 by way of The
American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (more popularly known by the fear inducing
name of The Fiscal Cliff Bill).
If you recall, The Mortgage
Forgiveness Debt Relief Act made it so taxpayers did not have to report income
gained from debt forgiveness on their principal residence should the debt be
reduced by mortgage restructuring or in connection with a foreclosure.
The fate of the Act was in
limbo for a while as it was set to expire on December 31, 2012 with no word as
to if it would be renewed.
Here’s the provision from The
American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extending the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt
Relief Act for another year:
“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. "
To review the full Bill, click here.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Today the Making Homes Affordable Program offered a training on the Home Affordable Unemployment Program. This program is meant to extend relief to people in default who are also without work.
Here are some bullet points to keep in mind about the program:
- At least one person on the note (not the mortgage) must be unemployed to be eligible.
- If eligible, borrowers are entered into a forbearance period where they pay a determined percentage of the mortgage for a certain amount of months (typically in HAMP this is a 3 month period but under UP it's an extended period of time determined during the evaluation process).
- This is a short term fix, not a long term alternative, after the forbearance period borrower is evaluated to determine if he/she is able to transition to HAMP or HAFA resolutions.
- Borrower does not qualify if over 12 months delinquent on mortgage.
- Clients who have previously been entered into a HAMP modification or trial period but defaulted are eligible.
Remember, if you are unemployed there is hope. Utilize the Unemployment Program while you try to find work. Good luck and happy 2013.
This blog was written by our friend Laura Palermo who works in modifying mortgages at Lieb at Law, P.C.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Source of Income
discrimination in housing means not offering rental housing equally to those
who wish to pay their rent by way of housing choice vouchers, Social Security,
unemployment insurance, veteran's benefits, or other governmental
subsidy.
While neither the Federal Fair Housing Act nor
the New York Human Rights Law makes Source of Income a protected class, many
municipal laws do. Additionally, S83-2011 proposes to add this protected class
to the New York Human Rights Law. To read the bill, click here.
The bill's JUSTIFICATION states as follows:
"Currently, New York State law does not
prevent landlords from discrimination based on a person's source of income. As
a result, landlords often reject tenants with rental subsidies, such as Section
8 and subsidies tied to the Nursing Facility Transition and Diversion and
Traumatic Brain Injury Medicaid Waivers. Many people with disabilities rely on
those subsidies and other assistance programs to live independently in the
community. This legislation would make discrimination by landlords based on a
tenant's source of income illegal under New York State Human Rights Law.
Similar laws have already been passed in New York City and Nassau.
This topic recently came to the forefront as New
York City’s Human Rights Law does make source of income a protected class and
an individual, Keith Short, who believed that he was discriminated against
brought a claim thereunder. In pursuing his claim, Keith Short sued MANHATTAN
APARTMENTS, INC., ABBA Realty Associates, Inc., Soni Realty LLC, Kimberly Place
Realty Corp., and Askarinam Realty, Inc. Mr. Short claimed that the Defendants
refused to rent to him because he had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
and received public housing subsidies. Mr. Short’s subsidy was from HIV/AIDS
Services Administration (“HASA”). Mr. Short claimed that as a result of the
discrimination he experienced several months of homelessness as wells as
emotional distress. The Court awarded Mr. Short $20,000 as a result of the
discrimination.
Now, we are often asked about discrimination
and what is permitted and what isn’t. The rule is you can discriminate against
anyone you want for any reason you want unless the discrimination falls into a
protected class. Be mindful that while there is a Federal Law, the Fair Housing
Act and a New York State Law, the Human Rights Law, both of which have their
own set of protected classes, many municipalities such as New York City have
far more expansive laws with a multitude of additional classes. It is the duty
of a real estate agent to know the laws in the municipality where you work. Be
careful not to discriminate. Also, pay attention to the bill to modify the
State’s Human Rights Law because one day it is likely that source of income
will be a protected class throughout the State as it becomes a more and more
visible form of discrimination.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Bank of America wins as the worst with 27% of all complaints directed at them. Next in line is Wells Fargo, followed by Chase, then Citi, and rounding out the top 5 is Ocwen.
To read a great article in Business Insider giving the specific statistics and some analysis, click here.
Business Insider based its information from data collected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. To visit CFPB, click here.
To read a great article in Business Insider giving the specific statistics and some analysis, click here.
Business Insider based its information from data collected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. To visit CFPB, click here.
