Residential Property Tax Assessments Appeals Recently Miami-Dade County sent out property owner’s 2010 TRIM Notices (annual proposed property tax bills). Our team has the knowledge of the process to appeal tax assessments & provide information that can greatly assist you when filing a VAB (Value Adjustment Board) petition. The market conditions over the past year have the most impact on property values. There's an "Interview Period" of 25 days after the mailing for the Property Appraiser's (PA) office to provide taxpayers with an explanation of their assessment. If a taxpayer does not agree with the PA's opinion, the taxpayer has until Monday, Sept. 20, 2010, in Miami-Dade or Broward Counties to file a Value Adjustment Board (VAB) petition and ask a special magistrate to evaluate. IF REAL ESTATE VALUES HAVE GONE DOWN, WHY DID MY REAL ESTATE TAXES INCREASE? This increase is because of one of two possibilities. Although the Market Value may have declined the "Assessed Value" (the amount used to calculate your taxes) increased because of the provisions Florida's "Save or Homes" or Homestead Exemption legislation. Homestead Exemption provides that the assessment for residential properties, with Homestead Exemption, cannot increase per year by more than 3% or the Cost of Living, whichever is less. For the year of 2010 the Cost of Living increase is calculated at 2.7%. Therefore, for residential "Homestead Exempt" properties the assessment increased by 2.7%, This can happen up until the Assessed Values and Market Values meet. But under no circumstances can your Assessed Value exceed your Market Value. To learn more or obtain an appeal agreement email or call me.
My Blog
Deborah Prather Blog
Sep 2, 2010
Appeal Property Tax Proposed Bill
Jul 26, 2010
Analysts Question a Threat by Fannie
Fannie Mae's decision to begin punishing people who walk away from their unpaid mortgages could prove difficult to sell to the public and might be impossible to execute per housing and lending experts.
The big mortgage financing company, which owns or guarantees millions of mortgages, announced recently that it would sue homeowners who have the capacity to pay but default anyway. It also said it would prevent these strategic defaulters from getting a new Fannie Mae-backed loan for seven years, which could potentially shut millions of buyers out of the market. But it was unclear, the experts said, why Fannie Mae was threatening delinquent owners and what it hoped to achieve. The new direction seems to run counter to the Obama administration's efforts to reinvigorate the housing market. And there were basic questions about how Fannie would be able to distinguish between those homeowners who defaulted intentionally and the unfortunate ones who had no choice. How are they going to do this, and for what result? To find the people who have a little money left after their house crashed and take it away from them?
A Fannie Mae spokeswoman said that the goal of the new punitive policies was to force defaulting homeowners to work with their servicers to surrender their houses through either a lender-approved short sale or by formally giving up the deed. "We really want to encourage borrowers to pursue alternatives to foreclosure," said the spokeswoman, Janis Smith.
In the event you are denied a loan modification & headed for Foreclosure, the lender will advise you to do a Short Sale (meaning your bank will accept a sale amount short of what is owed in order to avoid Foreclosure). If you can no longer afford your home the HAFA Program offers $3000 to help homeowner’s transition to more affordable housing when property owners complete a Short Sale. Many owner’s are upside down on their mortgage (owe more than the current market value of their property). Many are behind on their payments and their request for a modification has been denied. In these cases is it most advantageous to owners as well as the lender to do a Short Sale because the loss of equity is not considered a hardship by the bank & thus a modification request will be denied even when you are behind on your payments. Late payments are no longer a requirement for modification as long as you are in imminent danger of Foreclosure.
As a Certified Distressed Property Specialist and Short Sale Specialist I will personally guarantee:
-Your Property will be Sold at a price your lender(s) will approve
-Within 30 Days of listing your Property will get an offer that is acceptable to you
-I Guarantee you will be 100% RELEASED from your Home Mortgage
OR I WILL PAY YOU $1000 CA$H at closing (specific state laws apply).
Apr 16, 2010
What You Need to Know About Foreclosure
The Bank does not want to Foreclose on your property. Foreclosure is a court proceeding upon default in a mortgage that allows the bank to regain title to the property.
Foreclosure does not relieve you of your financial obligation. In FL Foreclosure Judgments are enforced at least 10 years including, but not limited to garnishment of wages or intercepting tax refunds, bank accounts, etc.
When the bank regains title Owners & all residents will now be considered trespassing & the bank will be forced to evict evryone from the property. The legal process in FL is begining to be shortened & may only take 2 to 4 months
Mar 17, 2010
SHORT SALES, NOW TAX FREE for HOMEOWNERS
SHORT SELLERS CLAIM 1099 TAX RELIEF
Homeowners who did Mortgage Work Outs or Short Sales, whose mortgage debt was partially or entirely forgiven between 2007-2012 are able to claim special tax relief by filling out the revised Form 982 and attach it to the coinciding federal income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Legislation enacted in October 2008 extended the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through 2012. Thus this relief now applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Normally, debt forgiveness results in taxable income. But under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, enacted Dec. 20, taxpayers may exclude debt forgiven on their principal residence if the balance of their loan was $2 million or less. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return.
Feb 24, 2010
For All Distressed Sellers
Housing Downturn to continue - as your Distressed Sale Experts read valuable projections below.
From DS News:
Jan 4, 2010
Raise your credit score to 740
Lenders tightened credit requirements, getting a good interest rate - or a loan at all-requires an understanding of how the scoring system works. Mortgage rates have tumbled, yet many would-be buyers and refinancers are missing the chance to lock in loans at record lows because their score is too low to qualify for the best rates or too low to qualify for any loan at all. Lower scores mean higher rates; scores below 580, there is no qualifying which means missing out on what may be once-in-a-generation interest rates. Credit scores are three numbers lenders use to gauge your creditworthiness. A few years ago a 720 FICO CREDIT SCORE was enough to get the best rates and terms. Even people with lower scores could get a decent rate, and at the peak of the lending boom it seemed almost no score was so low that it merited a rejection. Now, lenders demand at least a 740 score for the best mortgage rates. Less-than-stellar credit can hurt in other ways. After all, credit information is used: By insurance companies to evaluate applicants and set premiums, by landlords to decide who gets apartments & by employers concerned about higher risk of theft from those with troubled finances. Clearly, cultivating good credit scores is an essential 21st-century skill. The good news is that it's possible to boost your numbers by keeping a handle on your finances and to know how credit scores work. Plenty of folks handle their credit well enough to earn good scores and by recognizing how to improve their score:
