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The last two months of the new normal stay at home has led many homeowners to rethink the way they live in their home.   It has now become an office for working at home; a school for children; a gym to stay in shape; and a place for recreation. The repurposing has people evaluating whether their home still meets their needs or if some changes are necessary.   In some cases, adult children have moved back home, and, in others, there are parents who have moved in for the first time. Staying at home and sheltering in place is necessary but how much togetherness can one family take and how long is it going to last?   Temporary is stretching into longer than expected and even when vaccines and treatments are discovered, will things really go back to the way they were? A home is a place to call your own; to raise your family, share with your friends and to feel safe and secure.   Covid-19 has changed the scope of feeling safe and secure at home and may now be conside...

During the mortgage meltdown that caused the Great Recession a decade ago, some homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure or constructed a short sale to get out from under the debt.   In most of the cases, the lenders forgave all or part of the debt owed them. Similarly, in the early 90's after the failure of the Savings & Loans in the U.S., thousands of homeowners lost their homes in the same way but back then, the policy of the IRS was to consider the forgiven debt as income.   Today, it is still considered income which means that a homeowner could lose their home because they could not afford to pay for it and to make matters worse, they would owe income tax on the debt relieved. The good news is that in 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Act and it has continued to be extended with its current expiration of 12/31/20. The amount forgiven for income tax purposes may not be the same amount owed to the lender.   Mortgage forgiveness has a limited ex...

The convenience of selling your home without the hassle of getting it ready, putting it on the market, showings, open houses, negotiations and repairs comes at a cost ... a significant part of your equity.   The companies, referred to as iBuyers, that buy homes from sellers are for-profit organizations.   They expect to make a profit from sellers who are willing to discount the proceeds they'll realize as an alternative to the conventional method of selling a home for people who need a quick sale. The promotions for these companies generally state that you can receive a cash offer in a few minutes after putting your address online.   The discount can be between 10 to 18% compared to normal selling costs from 6 to 9%.    The cost to a person with a $100,000 equity could be as much as ten thousand dollars. Even after you have accepted an offer, there can be contingencies in the contract that allow the company to inspect the home to discover the condition and...

The deadline for challenging your property tax assessment this year may be later than normal due to the stay at home orders but when you are notified, you'll want to be ready to decide whether you can save some money on property taxes this year. There are two elements that determine the amount of property taxes you'll pay for the year: the assessment of value and the property tax rate.   Both determinations occur long before the property tax statement is sent. Property owners are notified in writing what their assessed value is for the year.   It is estimated that most owners don't challenge that value even though it could lower their tax bill.   Not all appeals are successful, but many homeowners believe that it is worth the effort to try.   Procedures for challenging the assessment are generally included with the letter and a deadline for filing the challenge. An initial step is to determine the accuracy of the information on your property's record such as ma...

Taking cash out of the equity of your home could be a legitimate way to fund a temporary cash crisis now or to have it on-hand if the need arises.  Most homeowners can pull out the difference in 80% of the fair market value of their home and what they currently owe. The most frequently cited reasons for refinancing are to lower the payment, eliminate the private mortgage insurance, combine mortgages, consolidate debt, convert an ARM to a fixed rate mortgage, remove a person from the loan or to take cash out for another reason. The option of using your equity to deal with unexpected living expenses or potential lost wages in the future could be a good reason for doing a cash-out refinance.  It is important to consider that it could increase your monthly payment instead of lowering it which would result in higher expenses during uncertain economic times. Some lenders have recently raised the minimum credit score requirement but borrowers with good credit and the ability to...

Everyone knows someone it has happened to or has heard a tragic story.   It could have been a fire, a flood, a burglary or some other disaster but to file a claim on their insurance, they need the receipts or a list for what is being claimed. Since you're at home anyway and may even have kids at home who need something to do, now is a great time to get a current home inventory done.   One of the easiest ways to accomplish this seemingly, daunting task is to put together a collection of pictures of every room in your home.      The more valuable, the more important it is to take a close-up picture.   It will be necessary to open the drawers and closets and, in some cases, to pull things out in order to show everything in the picture.   That's why having someone to help you makes it faster and easier. Not to get distracted from the job at hand, you may discover things that you had forgotten you had which is why you should do an inventory rathe...

The American bank robber, Willie Sutton, was asked why he robbed banks and his answer was "because that is where the money is."   During his 40-year career, he stole about $2 million but Internet scammers are stealing many times that amount in phishing schemes preying on unsuspecting home buyers. These crooks know where the money is because buyers have the down payment and closing costs and are expecting to transfer it to the close the sale of their home.   The FBI, in their 2018 Internet Crime Report, stated victims lost over $149 million and the CFPB estimates the losses at over $1 billion as a result of fraud in real estate transactions.      The scammers want to take advantage of the situation while it is still in the buyer's account. Commonly, during the closing process, scammers will send spoofed emails to homebuyers from someone they expect to hear from regarding the transaction like the real estate agent or the settlement agent.   They will incl...