The way the bill is currently structured, energy costs would be factored into a buyer’s debt-to-income ratios for qualification purposes and documented energy-efficency savings for homes could be used to adjust the value of a home upwards. 

The bill will have to undergo the normal legislative procedures before having a chance to be passed into law, which could easily result in significant changes, assuming it were to pass. 

Article from Ken Harney

The bill, (H.R. 6133), must still go through the proper channels in Congress (committee and the voting process in both houses) and may undergo significant changes if it even makes it to the floor for a vote.  

We’ll keep you posted.

Article from Realty Times 

The IRS issued a new policy that will allow homeowners to deduct the amount they spent on defective drywall remediation as a casualty loss in the year of payment.  There are some stipulations to this rule. 

Summary of the new IRS policy:

• Homeowners who filed insurance claims can deduct 100% of the expenses, provided they itemize their deductions.
• Homeowners who did not file an insurance claim can only deduct 75% of the expenses.
• Amount of deduction must exceed 10% of the homeowner’s adjusted gross income.
• The amount must exceed $500.
• Taxpayers who have already filed their deduction for the tax year in which the losses occured have three years to amend their returns.

Original Article

Texas Tenants Advisor

Landlord Tenant Attorney Desk Reference Manual

This article from the LA Times explores some scenarios to see in what cases the new fee structure may benefit some borrowers.

The most recent extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit called for a contract deadline of April 30, 2010 and a closing deadline of June 30, 2010. In other words, a buyer had to have a fully executed contract to purchase a qualifying property by April 30th and had to close by June 30.

But due to many instances of closing delays, especially buyers who may be purchasing short sales or having problems getting their mortgage company to close on time, Congress decided to extend the deadline to close until September 30, 2010, but only for buyers who already had an executed contract on or before April 30, 2010.

So this is good news for the estimated 180,000 buyers who weren’t able to close their transactions by June 30, but will do nothing for buyers who did not have an executed contract by April 30, 2010.

Article from MSNBC

This has led to quite a bit of confusion among the public, many of whom think this extention means they have until September 30th to go find a home, execute a contract and close on the purchase. Unless the homebuyer already had an executed contract on or before April 30th, 2010, this extension will not help them. This extension only grants additional time to close for those that already had a contract executed by April 30th.

And no, there’s no way to backdate a contract prior to April 30th without committing a felony.

Original Article from CNBC

Original Article from MSNBC

It is estimated that as many as six million home owners are currently behind on their mortgage by at least two payments, with at least that many more in danger of foreclosure over the next three years. The original plan has only been used on about 170,000 mortgages, which is a small piece of the pie. Click here to read about the changes to this plan.

The previous deadline was June 10, 2010 but was extended to June 30, 2011. Although the program was originally estimated to help between 4 and 5 million homeowners, the Treasury Department has said that only a little over 200,000 home owners have taken advantage of the program. Only home owners who have their current mortgages financed through either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are eligible for this program.

Home owners that are curious as to whether or not they qualify for this program should contact their mortgage servicer.