Buying a Home Now Is a No-Brainer by Ali Velshi

specialed — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:16:50 +0000

Great article about buying now!

By Ali Velshi, CNN chief business correspondent December 13, 2010

(MONEY Magazine) — Is now the right time to invest in a house?

Trick question. Actually, it’s two questions.

Question No. 1: Is now the time to buy?

Question No. 2: Is buying a house a good investment?

The first answer is easy: With a few exceptions, if you have 20% to put down and good credit, now is a great time to buy. That’s been the case all year, and I’d argue that we’re probably closer to the end than to the beginning of the really great time. Let me explain.

Back in January home prices had dropped 28% from their peak. More important, interest rates were at historical lows. By locking in a mortgage for 15 or 30 years on a value-priced home, you were getting an incredible deal, even if home prices decreased. (I took my advice and bought a New York City apartment.)

At the time, I thought that prices and rates were more likely to rise than fall. I was half right: Home values have been inching up since the spring, but mortgage rates, incredibly, dropped further.

Click here to read the whole article in Money Magazine

Of course please call “Special” Ed Haraway @ 301-262-5255 when you’re ready to start looking for your next home!

Counties pushed for revenue, get creative and Short sales could come to screeching halt!

specialed — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:40:09 +0000

Urgent Tax Issue Affecting Short Sale Transactions

On Friday, January 8, the Montgomery County Finance Department’s Transfer Office put forth a memo regarding how they process and charge recordation and transfer taxes on Short Sale Transactions. The position the County has taken has caused some grave confusion and concerns for many in the real estate industry because it is contrary to how short sale transactions have been charged recordation and transfer taxes to date. The following is the excerpt from the County’s memo:

We tax on the unpaid principal balance of the mortgage as if the excess debt over and above the sale price is being waived/cancelled.

We will rely on your assertion of the unpaid principal balance and WILL NOT typically require a copy of a payoff statement or a seller’s last mortgage bill.

We will tax on the Short Sale price ONLY IF evidence is presented to us that the excess debt over and above the sale price is being paid off by the debtor or pursued by the lender.

GCAAR as well as the Maryland Association of REALTORS® (MAR) have taken the position that this interpretation of the Maryland State law is clearly against the plain language, which states that the taxes can ONLY be charged on the amount of “consideration.” It has always been our understanding that consideration is interpreted to mean the sales price. Therefore, on short sales, the taxes paid should not include the amount of the mortgage not being paid off.

GCAAR is working directly with MAR since this is an interpretation of Maryland state law. We are going to be speaking with Montgomery County’s Finance Department regarding GCAAR’s concerns and how this will put a halt to short sale transactions throughout the county. MAR is speaking with the state legislators to look into the possibility of an Attorney General’s opinion on the law or a possible legislative change and/or codification of the current law.

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Buying a Home Now Is a No-Brainer by Ali Velshi

Counties pushed for revenue, get creative and Short sales could come to screeching halt!