Important News for Distressed Homeowners!!!

VERY important news for homeowners in distress--

CRITICAL you take action NOW!!!!

from 

Janell A. Israel & Associates

1585 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1604, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814 Phone: 808-942-8817

July 2012 Tax Newsletter

Cancelled Debt May be Considered Taxable Income by the IRS

With the recent economic downturns experienced by many taxpayers, there is a tax concept that is very important: cancellation of debt. You would think that the cancellation of debt by a credit card company or mortgage company would be a good thing for the taxpayer. And it can be, but it can also be considered taxable income by the IRS. Here is a quick review of various debt cancellation situations.

* Consumer debt
If you have gone through some type of credit "workout" program on consumer debt, it's likely that some of your debt has been cancelled. If that is the case, be prepared to receive IRS Form 1099-C representing the amount of debt cancelled. The IRS considers that amount taxable income to you, and they expect to see it reported on your tax return. The exception is if you file for bankruptcy. With bankruptcy, generally the debt cancelled is not taxable.

Even if you are not legally bankrupt, you might be technically insolvent (where your liabilities exceed your assets). If this is the case, you can exclude your debt cancellation income by reporting your financial condition and filing IRS Form 982 with your tax return.

* Primary home
If your home is "short" sold or foreclosed and the lender receives less than the total amount of the outstanding loan, you can also expect that amount of debt cancellation to be reported to you and the IRS. But special rules allow you to exclude up to $2 million in cancellation income in many circumstances. You will again need to complete IRS Form 982, but the exclusion from taxable income brought about by the debt cancellation on your primary residence is incredibly liberal. So make sure to take advantage of these rules should they apply to you.

* Second home, rental property, investment property, business property

The rules for debt cancellation on second homes, rental property, and investment or business property can be extremely complicated. Generally speaking, the new laws that cover debt cancellation don't apply to these properties, and the IRS considers any debt cancellation income taxable. Nevertheless, given your cost of these properties, your financial condition, and the amount of debt cancelled, it's still possible to have this debt cancellation income taxed at a preferred capital gains rate, or even considered not taxable at all.

Be aware that many of the special debt cancellation provisions are set to expire at the end of 2012.

If you're unsure as to how debt cancellation affects you, contact your tax advisor (or ask us for a referral) to review your situation and determine how much, if any, cancelled debt will be taxable income to you.

According to statistics from the National Association Of Realtors (NAR) the Los Angeles—Long Beach area ranked third in their July 2012 report on the nation's housing recovery.

• Median List price: $358,000, up 6.43% from July 2011
• Inventory: 23,585, down 29% from from July 2011
• Median time on the market: 65 days, down 10% from from July 2011

Locally, we are seeing a lot more multiple offers on attractive,well-priced homes…a practice out of fashion for the past several years.

From Realtor.com report:

“Low inventories, combined with rising list prices and lower times on market, are positive signs that the overall market is in a stabilization mode.

The recovery process, which began a year ago in Florida and has since spread to the West, continued to gain traction in July, with double-digit year-over-year list price gains in most California markets, as well as other hard-hit markets such as Phoenix, Boise City, Seattle, and Reno. On a year-over-year basis, the for-sale inventory declined in all but two (Shreveport, LA and Philadelphia, PA) of the 146 markets covered by Realtor.com.”

was just interviewed for USC's Intersections publication...

click on the link to see the article:

http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/site_new_update/story/hidden_gems_in_south_la_for_hgomebuyers/

What is Historic West Adams?

June 29, 2012 | By Natalie Neith | Add a Comment

West Adams is in an area stretching roughly from Figueroa Street on the east to West Boulevard on the west, and from Pico Boulevard on the north to Jefferson Boulevard on the south. From the Santa Monica freeway, exit at Crenshaw Blvd, Arlington Ave, Western Ave, Normandie Ave, Vermont Avenue or Hoover St

Originally the Eugene W. Britt House.
Now the home of LA84 foundation

The district includes many smaller neighborhoods: Adams-Normandie, Pico-Union, Angelus Vista, Arlington Heights and Harvard Heights on the north, Victoria Park, Lafayette Square, and Wellington Square on the west, and Jefferson Park on the south. Its principal thoroughfares are Adams, Jefferson and Washington Boulevards, Western, Vermont and Normandie Avenues, and Hoover and Figueroa Streets. Major sub-districts include North University Park and Kinney Heights and the eastern portion of Mid-City.

ZIP codes for the district are 90007, 90018 and 90019.

Miles residence. Built in 1909, Architect John C. Austin. Craftsman style

West Adams is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, with most of its buildings erected between 1880 and 1925, including the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. West Adams was developed by railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and wealthy industrialist Hulett C. Merritt of Pasadena. It was once the wealthiest district in the city, with its Victorian mansions and sturdy Craftsman bungalows home to Downtown businessmen and professors and academicians at USC. In the 1990s, three areas of West Adams were designated as Historic Preservation Overlay Zones by the city of Los Angeles, in recognition of their outstanding architectural heritage.

Kissam Residence, built in 1907. Architects Frank Dale Hudson & william A. O. Munsell. Craftsman style.

The development of the West Side, Beverly Hills and Hollywood, beginning in the 1910s, siphoned away much of West Adams’ upper-class white population; upper-class blacks began to move in around this time, although the district was off limits to all but the very wealthiest African-Americans. One symbol of the area’s emergence as a center of black wealth at this time is the 1948 headquarters of Golden State Mutual Life, a late-period Art Deco structure at Adams and Western designed by renowned black architect Paul Williams. It housed what is still the nation’s largest black-owned insurer. West Adams’ transformation into an affluent black area was sped by the Supreme Court’s 1948 invalidation of segregationist covenants on property ownership. The area was a favorite among black celebrities in the 1940s and 1950s; notable residents included Hattie McDaniel, Joe Louis,Sweet Daddy Grace, Little Richard and Ray Charles.

Ray Charles’ business headquarters, including his RPM studio, is located at 2107 Washington Boulevard. The intersection of Washington Boulevard and Westmoreland Boulevard, at the studio, is named “Ray Charles Square” in his honor.

In the 1950s, the construction of the Harbor Freeway destroyed many large homes on the east side of West Adams, while the 1960s construction of the Santa Monica Freeway completely obliterated Berkeley Square, which held significant houses designed by Elmer Grey, and bisected Harvard Heights. Both subdivisions lost many large, beautiful homes.

The 1992 Los Angeles riots largely spared West Adams’ historic buildings. Mirroring changes seen throughout Los Angeles, the district’s Latino population has been growing. The area’s architecture and proximity to USC have brought some upper-middle-class whites as well. Many African-American gays have moved into the neighborhood and it has become the center of black gay life in Los Angeles, even earning the nickname of “the black West Hollywood” or “the black Silver Lake.” Many of the neighborhoods are experiencing a renaissance of sorts with their historic homes being restored to their previous elegance.

In total more than 70 sites in West Adams have received recognition as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, a California Historical Landmark, or by listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tags: Historic West Adams, history, LA area

Category: Neighborhoods

It's not real estate--but a great chance to check out the downtown scene---especially all my Foodie Friends... WOW! this sounds like a YUMMY event!!! GREAT restaurants participating---and benefitting Project Angel Food!!! Right downtown at Vibiana-- Buy tickets here! | Project Angel Food | LAWeekly.com
LA Weekly is proud to present our second annual Pancake Breakfast event, featuring our special guest host, Chef Fred Eric. Sunday, August 5, 2012 Vibiana, Downtown LA 11am to 2pm $30 A portion of the ticket benefits Project Angel Food. No tickets will be sold at the door, only at laweekly.com/pancakebreakfast Join us, the coffee's brewing! Auntie Em's BLD Cafe De Leche Cafecito Organico Canelé Euro Pane Bakery Four Cafe Fred 62 Good Girl Dinette Gottsui Handsome Coffee The Hungry Cat Kobawoo House LAMill Market Meals by Genet Square One The Nickel Diner The Village Bakery & Cafe ...and more Thanks to our sponsors: Pressed Juicery Palm Springs SmartWater Bedrock Rehearsal Birchware Art of Tea Kind UrbanSpoon Gelson's dineLA TrueTone Music Sino Tequila Kinky Liqueur Opulent Vodka	Share & Email

Housing starts bright spot for cooling economy

(Reuters) – Groundbreaking on new U.S. homes rose in June to its fastest pace in over three years, lending a helping hand to an economy that has shown worrisome signs of cooling. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that housing starts rose 6.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units. That was the highest rate since October 2008.

“Housing is clearly in recovery mode, although the sector is much less important than it used to be,” said Jim O’Sullivan, an economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. The housing market, which began to collapse six years ago, has been a relative bright spot in the economy this year, although it remains hobbled by a glut of unsold homes. But since it makes up a smaller share of the economy than before the 2007-2009 recession, it can provide only a limited lift to the broader recovery.

In a cautionary sign for the housing sector, new permits for building homes dropped 3.7 percent to a 755,000 unit pace.

The Commerce Department said groundbreaking for single-family homes — the largest portion of the market — rose 4.7 percent, while starts for the more volatile multi-family homes segment rose 12.8 percent.

ECONOMY COOLING

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for U.S. home mortgages jumped last week on a surge in demand for refinancing as the interest rate on 30-year mortgages fell to a record low.  Other data in recent weeks has shown signed contracts for home purchases rose sharply in May and rising home prices.  “Housing continues to be the one sector of the U.S. economy that is outperforming expectations,” said Michael Gapen an economist at Barclays in New York.

Housing starts in June were above the median forecast in a Reuters poll of a 745,000-unit rate, and readings for April and May were revised higher.

Still, the broader U.S. economy has looked much more wobbly of late, and if the recovery fails and the country tips back into recession, housing also would suffer.

www.thenichereport.com/breaking-news-2/housing-starts-bright-spot-for-cooling-economy/

California Homeowner Bill of Rights Signed into Law

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that the Homeowner Bill of Rights, which will protect homeowners and borrowers during the mortgage and foreclosure process, was signed into law today by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

The Homeowner Bill of Rights prohibits a series of inherently unfair bank practices that have needlessly forced thousands of Californians into foreclosure. The law restricts dual-track foreclosures, where a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions over a loan modification to save the home. It also guarantees struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender with knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers, and imposes civil penalties on fraudulently signed mortgage documents.  In addition, homeowners may require loan servicers to document their right to foreclose.

The laws will go into effect on January 1, 2013, and borrowers can access courts to enforce their rights under this legislation.

The Homeowner Bill of Rights builds upon and extends reforms first negotiated in the recent national mortgage settlement between 49 states and leading lenders. Attorney General Harris secured up to $18 billion for California homeowners in that agreement, and has also built a Mortgage Fraud Strike Force to investigate crime and fraud associated with mortgages and foreclosures.

“The California Homeowner Bill of Rights will give struggling homeowners a fighting shot to keep their home,” said Attorney General Harris. “This legislation will make the mortgage and foreclosure process more fair and transparent, which will benefit homeowners, their community, and the housing market as a whole.”

“Californians should not have to suffer the abusive tactics of those who would push foreclosure behind the back of an unsuspecting homeowner,” said Governor Brown. “These new rules make the foreclosure process more transparent so that loan servicers cannot promise one thing while doing the exact opposite.”

The Homeowner Bill of Rights consists of a series of related bills, including two identical bills that were passed on July 2 by the state Senate and Assembly: AB 278 (Eng, Feuer, Pérez, Mitchell) and SB 900 (Leno, Evans, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Pavley, Steinberg).

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights also contains a variety of bills outside of the conference committee process. These will enhance law enforcement responses to mortgage and foreclosure-related crime, in part by empowering the Attorney General to call a grand jury in response to financial crimes spanning multiple jurisdictions. Additional elements will help communities fight blight related to foreclosure, and provide enhanced protections for tenants in foreclosed homes. Please see the attached fact sheet for the status of these bills.

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights was introduced February 29, 2012 at a press conference featuring Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and bill authors from the Assembly and Senate.

More details about the California Homeowner Bill of Rights are found on the attached fact sheet. To learn more about how the bills impact California homeowners, review the slideshow at: www.oag.ca.gov.

Click here to read the bill in full.