Deal #1

This home is over 2,300 sqft, 2-story screened pool with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bath.  Two master suites. This home was used as a short term vacation rental and comes fully furnished.  Home backs to conservation area and pond.  Amazing views from the private balcony of the second story master.  Gated community with pavers in all driveways and sidewalks.

As of today (01/10/08) this home is selling for $25,000 less than the next comparable (unfurnished) in the community, and $60,000 below its original asking price.  Today’s price only $289,000.

If you want more details about this home contact me at:

Antonio Vega-Pacheco

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty

MyFLRealtor@gmail.com

www.TonyInFlorida.com

407-791-9086

On December 20, 2007 the “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007” became Public Law No: 110-142.  The law is retroactive to January 1, 2007 and will extend until December 31, 2009.  The passing of this bill creates a three-year window for homeowners to either refinance their mortgage or sell, and pay no taxes on any debt forgiveness that they receive. 

The newly-enacted relief for mortgage debt forgiveness is Congress’s response to the problems generated by the subprime crisis, short sales, rising foreclosure rates and price corrections in some markets.  Thus, when a lender forgives some portion of a borrower’s mortgage debt in a short sale, a foreclosure, a workout with the lender or some similar circumstance, the borrower will NOT be required to recognize income or pay tax on the forgiven amount.  It will help many homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages that have seen their monthly payments increase faster than their ability to pay and face the prospect of foreclosure.

The law also makes PMI (private mortgage insurance) temporarily deductable. These changes combined with FHA’s (Federal Housing Administration) new relaxed rules and enhanced flexibility to refinance loans are some of the step recently enacted to help struggling homeowners avoid a foreclosure. 

Here is an excerpt of the law:  “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 – Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts attributable to a discharge, prior to January 1, 2010, of indebtedness incurred to acquire a principal residence. Limits to $2 million the excludable amount of such indebtedness. Reduces the basis of a principal residence by the amount of discharged indebtedness excluded from gross income. Disallows an exclusion for a discharge of indebtedness on account of services performed for the lender or any other factor not directly related to a decline in the value of the residence or to the financial condition of the taxpayer. Sets forth rules for determining the allowable amount of the exclusion for taxpayers with non-qualifying indebtedness and taxpayers who are insolvent.  Extends through 2010 the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums.” 

Use this link from GovTrack.us to read the complete bill:   http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3648&tab=summary 

The 2 main provisions to be voted in are; to double the homestead exemption (from $25,000 to $50,000) and to improve on the existing “Save Our Homes” benefit, plus make it portable.

The doubled homestead ($50k) will apply to homes with a just value of over $75,000… which is most Florida homes.  Homes valued under $75k will also get a smaller increase to homestead exemption.

Portability means that if Joe Owner decides to sell and purchase a new home, he will be able to take with him the Save Our Homes exemption he has enjoyed in the existing home and apply it to the new one.  (Many locals have considered moving, but without portability the taxes in the new home make the payments to high.)

Let’s say you bought a Kissimmee house in 1991 for $85,000 and in today’s market it is worth $240,000 with and assessed value of $120,000; in this case you could transfer the whole $120,000 difference to the purchase of a bigger home.  Let’s say you bought a $350,000 new home in Orlando, annual taxes would be about $5,500 without portability.  But if we include the tax savings (double homestead exemption and Save Our Homes portability) that Amendment 1 will provide then annual taxes will be little more than half or about $3,100.

If you were looking to get a smaller place instead, you would also be able to take your existing Save Our Homes deduction into the new place.

In summary, Amendment 1 will not only help seniors wanting to downsize and growing families wanting to upsize, it will also attend to the issues of those having rental properties or the business owners who is affected by the constantly rising property values.

Antonio Vega-Pacheco

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty

MyFLRealtor@gmail.com

www.TonyInFlorida.com

407-791-9086

All this numbers tickled my brain and I decided to run numbers based on the most accurate information available to us on the field, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  Our MLS in Central Florida encompasses 22 counties.  As of 12/26/07 there were a total of 67,726 homes listed for sale with 5,503 appearing as REO’s, In-Foreclosure or Pre-Foreclosures.  That accounts to 8.1% of all Central Florida listings being in some stage of foreclosure.  When we looked at the 5 central counties, Orange, Osceola, Lake, Polk and Seminole the numbers grows to 8.7%.  Osceola County alone accounts for 9.1%, and Orange takes 1^st place with 10.1%.

Opposed to the heavily distressed home we traditionally associate with an REO, what is different about this flood of foreclosures is that most of them are homes in near perfect conditions or needing very little repair.  The opportunity to purchase a home at a significant discount and with so much inventory to choose from has not been this great in the last 8 years.  Adding to that, interest rates continue to be at record lows and FHA loans have dropped outdated requirements to become very competitive and consumer friendly.

If you would like to receive an upto date list of foreclosures for Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Orlando, Clermont, Davenport or the Disney area as a whole, just send me a request and include name, phone, e-mail and a brief description of what you are looking for.

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Antonio Vega-Pacheco

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty

MyFLRealtor@gmail.com

www.TonyInFlorida.com

407-791-9086

On the book Illusions, Richard Bach wrote “You teach best what you most need to learn”.  I adopted that premise and have lived by it since junior high.  Learning, fixing, putting together and helping others find solutions have always been my passion.  Here we will do just that.  We’ll give you the answers to becoming a smart and savvy home owner.

Our focus will be Central Florida, Four Corners (Orange, Lake, Polk & Osceola counties).