I bought a house over a year ago with a balloon loan that comes due later this year. I had to get this loan because I cosigned a loan for a friend and she missed some payments. At the time, this was the only loan I could get. After I closed on my loan, my …
Monthly Archives: March 2011
First Coast condo sellers finding it hard to move on
Jacksonville-area condominiums, already battered by values that have fallen to rock bottom, are being clobbered by loan restrictions that effectively freeze sales in many complexes that have been hardest hit by the economic downturn. Credit-worthy and otherwise qualified would-be buyers often can’t get financing to buy many condos. And sellers are often trapped in their …
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Sun Belt cities get fresh start
Beyond the gates of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the fairy tale stops abruptly — with no happily-ever-after ending. Foreclosure signs dotting once-booming suburban developments that supported decades of growth here and across the rest of the Sun Belt are grim memorials to the recession and housing bust. One touch of magic remains: 70-degree days …
Answers to tax questions about homebuying
Late last year you caught a break. Congress reached a deal that extended the Bush-era tax cuts for two years and renewed perks like the sales tax deduction and the tuition write-off for non-itemizers. Through 2012, the top marginal income tax rate will continue to be 35%, and you’ll keep paying just 15% on long-term …
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Family Value: Giving Away a Home
Depressed real-estate values and changes in tax rules make this a good time for older homeowners to transfer property to their children using a specialized trust designed to save on gift and estate taxes. Known as “qualified personal residence trusts,” or QPRTs, these vehicles allow a homeowner to continue to live in a house for …
Heafey picks up Claridge-built Florida condos
Ottawa-based Claridge Homes built the oceanfront Sonata Beach Club, a 64-unit luxury condominium building. Its suites, which are named after composers like Bach and Mozart, range from 2,763 square feet to 3,090 square feet. According to a media report, Claridge only sold 34 of those units and, in 2009, was the subject of a foreclosure …
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