November 30, 2009 deadline
IRS $8000 Buyer's Credit Guidelines
A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. |
July 21, 2009
State Stops Accepting Applications for $10,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
As of July 3, 2009, the Franchise Tax Board is no longer accepting new home credit applications. In about 5 months, the Franchise Tax Board received over $100 million in new home credit applications and more than 12,000 applications. |
May 19, 2009
New Rules Implementing the California Foreclosure Prevention Act
Rules are being proposed to implement the new law extending the time period before the filing of a notice of sale. The new law is the California Foreclosure Prevention Act and extended the period by 90 days beyond the current three month period after filing of a notice of default. A mortgage loan servicer may obtain a temporary or final order of exemption from the additional 90-day time period if the servicer has a comprehensive loan modification program. The new rules by the Commissioners of the Department of Corporation, the Department of Financial Institutions and the Department of Real Estate set out the elements to qualify a servicer for the exemption. |
March 13, 2009
Mortgage Tax and Debt Relief Act of 2007
Passed by Congress in 2007 this law outlines the specifics on homeowner's relief of paying taxes on the home they short sale with the Mortgage Relief Debt Act of 2007. |
February 27, 2009
California Franchise Tax Board Posts Forms for Tax Credit for New Homes
Bulletin 08/09-93
The California Franchise Tax Board just posted on its website the new forms required to be faxed to the FTB by sellers to obtain the recently enacted California state tax credit for the purchase of a newly constructed home. The forms will only be accepted by fax and the tax credit for new homes applies to escrows closing on March 1, 2009 and before March 1, 2010 or until the total credit amount set by the Legislature has been exhausted. The forms are being accepted for the credit on a first come, first serve basis.
More information is available on the FTB website. |
February 27, 2009
Legislation Introduced to Target Choice in Title and Escrow Services
Bulletin 08/09-92
Legislation to enact the “Buyer's Choice Act” has been introduced in California The bill, Assembly Bill 957 by Assembly Member Galgiani, would prohibit sellers of foreclosed properties, including beneficiaries and others who acquired the property at a foreclosure sale, from requiring a buyer to purchase title and escrow services from a company chosen by the seller.
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February 26, 2009
Foreclosure Timeframe Extended
Bulletin 08/09-89
The new law extends the time period before the filing of a notice of sale by 90 days beyond the current three month period following the filing of a notice of default. The extended time period applies to owner-occupied homes where the first loan was recorded between January 1, 2003 and January 1, 2008. Important for title insurers is a provision in the bill that provides that the failure to comply with the new requirements does not invalidate any sale that would otherwise be valid under Civil Code Section 2924f. |
February 25, 2009
IRS First-time home Buyer Tax Credits
The IRS published guidance clarifying issues surrounding the $7,500 and $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credits. Taxpayers now have official guidance and access to updated tax form instructions to help determine if their home purchase qualifies for either credit.
Qualifying first-time homebuyers who purchase a home between 1/1/09 and 11/30/09 may claim an $8,000 tax credit that they do not have to pay back as long as the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase.
Taxpayers who purchased a home between 4/9/08 and 12/31/08 are not eligible for the $8,000 non-repayable tax credit; these individuals are only eligible for a $7,500 interest-free loan that must be repaid.
The language of the tax law allows for credits of up to $7,500 or $8,000 (depending on the home’s purchase date), but those are maximum amounts. Technically, the rules read that the credit is for 10% of the purchase price up to $7,500 or $8,000, whichever one applies. This effectively means that the credit may only offset up to 10% of the value of a home up to $75,000 or $80,000 in value. Homes worth more than that do not create any additional tax breaks because the maximum credits are $7,500 or $8,000 regardless of purchase price. |
Functions of Escrow
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| IRS Tax Credit for 1st time Homebuyers $8000 by 11/30/209 |
| New Law extends Foreclosure Time Frames when Notice of Default is filed |
| The purpose of the Statement of Information used in Escrow |
| What does Title Insurance Provide? |
| What are Supplement Property Taxes? |
| What is a Mechanics Lien? |
| What is Mello-Roos? |
| Understanding Condo and PUD ownership |
| Understanding Foreclosures |
| Understanding Required Reporting to IRS |
| Understanding the Preliminary Report |
| What is a bank owned property? |