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Fort Bliss Housing Forum
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Articles
Commercial Lending Heading for another Credit Crunch?
Written by Charles
- An article in the Wall Street Journal is saying that when it comes to the commercial real estate market, history may be repeating itself based on the latest earnings reports from many U.S. banks. Mounting losses from loans for office space, housing complexes, strip malls, etc are heading towards record levels.
Taxation of Short Sales, Deeds-in-Lieu and Foreclosures: Some Basic Points
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- Given the current rough economy, many homeowners find themselves facing foreclosure. Fortunately, there are options available, options that are less painful than going all the way to a sale of one’s home on the courthouse steps. For example, a homeowner, bank and investor may agree to a so-called "short sale" where the homeowner agrees to sell the home to the investor for less than is owed on the loan. Why would the bank or homeowner agree to a short sale?
Social Security Taxes Will Change But Have Some Hope!
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- Prepare for "change", starting with a high likelihood that social security taxes (aka self-employment taxes) will go up dramatically via lifting of the "social security cap" at some future date.
REI Tax Lessons: Pay Your Freaking Taxes! Lessons from Obama’s Best Picks:
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- Now I know why Democrats are always in a hurry to raise taxes: they do not figure that they will be the ones who pay them! We’ve heard a bit about this in the news. Here’s a recap, with some opinionating by a very partisan guy with knowledge about the laws in question:
Purchase Rebate Loophole – Reduce Taxable Income by $30,000+
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- I have seen a fair number of purchases where the price paid for a property on the HUD-1 (closing statement) is not the same as the amount ultimately paid for the property. For example:
You "Dealing"?
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
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Why is being classified as a Dealer important?
Congress is most discriminating. For example, if two investors each purchased adjacent and identical properties for exactly the same price, spent exactly the same on improving each property and sold the properties for the same price to the same buyer, one investor might pay double the taxes of the other…..and the difference in taxes paid would be even larger when measured in terms of when paid. Specifically, a property acquired and later sold by an "Investor":
Front-Line Asset Protection Against Lawsuits
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- When most small to medium RE investors contemplate protecting their assets against lawsuits, they tend to think of entities (such as corporations and limited liability companies). Entities are certainly important tools for asset protection and tax planning purposes. They are also quite "sexy" and make for fun party talk, not to mention easy sales pitches for "gurus". Unfortunately, many investors tend to focus on entities to the point of neglecting other forms of asset protection. Such a narrow focus is likely counterproductive and may well increase liability. As such, I thought I’d make a few points that the convention carnies often fail to mention:
Taxation of Short Sales, Deeds-in-Lieu and Foreclosures: One More Technique
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- In the February issue, we examined several ways to avoid or reduce taxable income from Cancellation of Debt, also known as "COD Income". COD income is generally an issue when a lender explicitly forgives all or part of a debt (such as occurs during a short sale, for example) or implicitly does the same (in a foreclosure where no "deficiency judgment" is obtained, for example). I omitted one big exception to COD income for investors who sell short, give a deed in lieu or face foreclosure: The exception for "Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness". Here’s how it works:
NAR Strikes Again: New & Improved First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
By John Hyre, Tax Attorney, Accountant, Real Estate Investor
- For or better or for worse, the National Association of Realtors has serious clout in Washington. As the definitive special interest group, they put serious money into political campaigns and bring a large number of votes to the table. The latest product from their rented politicians: The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Here’s how it works:
