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1.) Take an interest in your mortgage interest – Statistics show that only about half of homeowners claim this valuable deduction. Make sure you're one of them. On average, qualified American homeowners save about $2,000 per return by deducting mortgage interest. And when added up over the life of the loan, this can make a big difference in your retirement savings. This is a huge break that renters don't get! So take advantage of it.

2.) Don't forget about the points – Points paid to refinance your home are also fully deductible throughout the life of the loan. For example, let's say in February of this year you refinanced your home for a new 20-year loan (or 240 months) and you paid $3,000 in points. By the end of this year, you can write off $125.00 for those 10 months (March through December).

3.) Old points are as good as new – Unamortized points from old refinancing are deductible in the year of a new refinance. Using the above example, let's say rates dropped again and you refinanced again in February of the next year and paid $2,400 in points. The remaining balance of the points on the old loan, $2,875, is fully deductible – plus the money you could deduct for any qualifying mortgage payments made toward the new points.

4.) Sell Your House – While points are not deductible for sellers, you can exclude as much as $250,000 in gain ($500,000 on a joint return) when you sell your primary home (your principal residence for two of the last five years). If you don't qualify for the two-year rule, you can get a partial exclusion if the sale of your home is the result of either qualifying changes of employment, health reasons, or other unforeseen circumstances.

5.) Casualty deductions – Floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters can be devastating, especially to homeowners. Ask your CPA how you can take tax deductions on casualty losses, even if you collected insurance. In addition, if the President declares your area a disaster area, you have even more options.

6.) $8,000 tax credit for first.timers – The government has created a temporary monetary incentive, a tax credit for first-time home buyers (that's anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years), as a tool to stimulate the housing market. Click here to see the updated version of the tax credit. There are, of course, income limits to qualify for this incentive, and other important details, but give us a call, and we'll see if you can take advantage of a tax gift that even Ben Franklin could appreciate.

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CDC: 2009 H1N1 Flu Continues to Impact Young People

October 20, 2009

Health care providers urged to treat flu symptoms with antivirals

The CDC held the first of their two weekly H1N1 briefings today and said that young people continue to be hit especially hard by the 2009 H1N1 virus.  More than half of the hospitalizations from 2009 H1N1 flu reported by 27 states from September 1^st and October 10^th were people age 24 and younger.  About 23 percent of the deaths reported from 28 states during this period were in this age group.

In addition, about 90 percent of the hospitalizations and deaths from the 2009 H1N1 flu are in people age 64 and younger.  With seasonal flu, we usually see the reverse – 60 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of deaths from seasonal flu are in people age 65 and older.

Yesterday, the CDC  circulated an alert reminding health care providers about early treatment of flu  for patients at increased risk of complications.  The alert can be found here. The CDC urges health care providers  to start antiviral treatment as soon as possible when flu is suspected in these patients at risk and not wait for laboratory confirmation.

To help get antivirals to states, 300,000 additional doses of liquid Tamiflu for children were recently distributed through the Strategic National Stockpile.  In addition, many pharmacies can create doses appropriate for children from existing supplies through a process called “compounding.”  Many drug stores across the country, including Walgreens and Wal-Mart, are compounding antivirals locally to meet the needs of young children.

The CDC will hold its next H1N1 vaccine briefing on Friday, October 23, 2009.  The briefing may be viewed at www.flu.gov/live.

Yesterday evening we sent out an email to our Realtors to protect their pipeline if they had a buyer who was securing their FHA financing via Taylor Bean & Whitaker.

Today, it was made official that Taylor Bean and Whitaker has Ceased Operations Immediately.

If you know someone who was in the middle of securing an FHA loan for their purchase or their refinance, you may want to advise them to call their loan officer to see where their file had been sent for underwriting. Their loan officer should other lenders to send the FHA deal; if not, we would be happy to assist.

See below for the following press releases!

TBW Press Release

HUD Press Release

This is a tough blow to our industry as TBW has been a major FHA lender and there are a great deal of individuals who will be affected by this and our thoughts go out to them during this time!

HB 261 was signed into law on May 11, 2009 by Governor Sonny Perdue! GAR applauds House Sponsor Ron Stephens (Savannah), House Ways and Means Chairman Larry O'Neal (Warner Robins) and Senate Chairman Chip Pearson (Dawsonville) for their tireless efforts in the passage of this important legislation. Unlike the federal tax credit, the Georgia credit is not limited to first-time homebuyers, and there are no applicable income limits. The amount of the credit is 1.2% of the purchase price up to $1,800 spread over three years. The credit is only available to buyers of eligible single family residences who close between June 1 and November 30 of 2009.

The prompt actions of all GAR members who responded to Calls for Action on this legislation were pivotal in influencing the passage of this legislation. Thank you for your effort and support! Please continue to remain active and respond to all NAR, GAR, and local Calls For Action. You are our greatest strength and your voice makes a difference. When REALTORS work together, we can move mountains!

I know you may be a little bit overwhelmed and frustrated right now with all the NOISE and confusion about all the new government interventions in the mortgage and housing markets. As a Mortgage Banker for Home Savings of America, I make it a priority to stay updated on developments in the mortgage markets that may impact my clients. I have spent a lot of time reviewing the latest Making Home Affordable government program, and here are some of my observations. If you think this information is useful, please pass it along. Feel free to forward this email to anyone you know that may be impacted!

The Making Home Affordable government program is divided into two parts:

• Modification Program
• Refinance Program

Part 1 - Modification Program

Believe it or not, the details of this program are still being worked out. Despite all the hoopla and fanfare surrounding this program, it remains 100% VOLUNTARY, and mortgage servicers (the companies that actually collect borrowers’ mortgage payments) are not obligated by law to follow these rules and guidelines...YET. Oddly enough, if a financial institution has already received government funding, they are NOT obligated to participate. However, if a financial institution receives new or more government funding in the FUTURE, they WILL be obligated to participate.

In other words, the rules are still a bit sketchy and nobody really knows who will participate and how it will all work from a practical perspective. Most of what you read and hear about in the media will most likely be speculation at this point. In a nutshell, the program has three elements:

• The government is offering financial incentives to mortgage servicers who modify loans for borrowers.
• The government is offering financial reimbursement to investors if they allow servicers to modify loans and then take a hit on the borrower’s re-default if the property declines in value after the loan modification
• The government is offering financial incentives to borrowers who modify their loans and make their new payments on time

Vacation homes and investment properties don’t qualify for the program; only primary residences are eligible. Only borrowers who have experienced some type of financial hardship can qualify. In other words, you will need to document that your financial situation is worse now than it was at the time that you originally got the loan. Your income needs to have gone down, and/or your expenses need to have gone up. Click on this link if you want to see if you qualify for at least the minimum requirements:

http://www.financialstability.gov/makinghomeaffordable/modification_eligibility.html

Remember, even if you do qualify under these minimum requirements, your servicer (the company where you send your payments) might not be participating in the program just yet.

Part 2 - Refinance Program

Here’s how it works:

• You need to be current on your mortgage payments (no late payments in the last 12 months)
• Your mortgage balance cannot exceed 105% of the current value of your home
• Your mortgage needs to be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

Based on current market conditions, this might make sense for you if:

• You have an adjustable rate, interest only, or balloon mortgage that you want to convert into a fixed rate; or,
• You have a fixed rate mortgage where the interest rate is greater than 6%. In fact, contact me even if your rate is as low as 5.5%. I’ll put you into my rate watch program and let you know when rates get to the point where you would benefit by refinancing.

Other Recent Developments

There have been many other recent developments in the markets, as well as new government legislation. Here are just a few recent items that may impact you or someone you know:

• Home improvement tax credit
• First-time home buyer tax credit
• Reverse mortgages for home purchase transactions (age 62 or older)
• Suspension of required minimum distributions for certain retirement accounts (age 70 ½ or older)

Let me know if you’d like to discuss any of these items in further detail.

Conclusion

I know that all the NOISE you are hearing about the mortgage industry and government interventions can be distracting and confusing. That’s why I’m here for you! It is my role is to help you make sense of all the chaos and confusion in the market, so that you can make smarter mortgage and home buying choices. Please send me an email or give me a call so that we can discuss how these and other recent developments may impact you and your situation!

How Do You Know If You Have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac Loan?

Does Fannie Mae own your mortgage?

http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/homeaffordable.jhtml

Does Freddie Mac own your mortgage?

http://www.freddiemac.com/corporate/buyown/english/avoiding_foreclosure/avoiding_foreclosure_form.html

Last night I went to a wonderful open house at a luxurious new complex, near completion, located in Atlanta. It is called Ansley Parkside. You can visit their site at www.ansleyparkside.com. The party was a Mardis Gras theme and the food was delicious and the people were great!

So I know you all want me to get to the good part, right? Well, I was standing there talking to my co-workers, Kathy and Tony, when Cher walks in. I was like, HOLY SMOKES! It's CHER! How cool is that? She told me she was "incognito!" That really didn't make sense to me since I had already pegged her.

Well she proceeded to tell me about her alter self. She is now "Sher Pruitt", with Prudential Realty. Yeah! She is a realtor now. She gave up singing and acting and became a realtor. You can find SHER at Prudential Georgia Realty in Marietta, Georgia!

I know they are going to have another open house, and let me tell you, when they do, I am going again and I can only hope that Cher, I mean "Sher," will be there. "If I could turn back time, if I could find a way..."