News about properties and real estate
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 …
Continue reading “First Coast condo sellers finding it hard to move on”
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “Answers to tax questions about homebuying”
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 …
How long must you wait to buy a new home if you have a foreclosure or short sale in your credit history? New rules from Fannie Mae spell it out, and the news is not good for short sellers. “Time periods for securing a new home loan after a short sale can be as long …
Phoenix Ackiss sat precariously on an upright suitcase in the clutter of belongings in his living room, striving for balance amid the disorder of his life. For more than a year, he’d been out of work, his three degrees and experience in fields from mental health to shipyard work spurned by employers. Ackiss knew he’d …
Continue reading “Out of work and losing his home, Norfolk man nears 65 with unease”