News About Properties

After losing her job, Jolene Picard of Groton couldn’t bear the thought of also losing her 600-square-foot home with the white picket fence.

She liked to garden. Her dogs enjoyed the yard. And Picard put nearly $20,000 of improvements – not to mention a good bit of sweat equity – into the place on Midway Oval.

She borrowed $135,000 to buy her first home in February 2006, which was close to the top of the local real estate market. When she lost her job two years ago, Picard had trouble making her $1,100 monthly mortgage payment.

via Much-maligned mortgage program saved woman’s Groton home.

For many struggling Floridians, going through a foreclosure, loan modification or short sale has been depressing enough. When it’s over, they might have thought their money woes would ease. But for some people, canceled or reduced mortgage debt comes back to haunt them during tax season.

Most debts that are forgiven by creditors, from credit cards to student loans, result in taxable income. But since 2007, many homeowners who have had their mortgage debt partially or entirely forgiven in foreclosures, short sales or loan modifications have been eligible for tax relief. The rules are complicated, though, and not everybody qualifies.

"I’ve never seen as much cancellation of debt as I’ve seen this year — it’s more than every other year combined," said Robert Troup, who has run Troup Financial Services in Port Orange for more than 30 years.

via Mortgage debt forgiveness: Who qualifies.