Tag: income property
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The No Closing Cost Mortgage: Who Benefits?
Since the subprime mortgage meltdown of a few years ago, the mortgage industry has undergone numerous changes. The scandals that erupted over blatantly fraudulent practices led to stricter lending standards and more regulation that both protects and deters potential home purchasers. Now, in an effort to attract new mortgage applicants many lenders are offering a…
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Passive Activity: A Tax Break for Investors
p>Being passive is not generally considered a positive trait, but as far as income tax is concerned, passive income gets breaks not afforded the active variety. That’s good news this tax season for income property investors, who can write off passive activity from their rental homes or multiplexes on this year’s taxes – one of…
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Low Interest Rates and the Pension Plan Crisis
In virtually all areas of both the public and private sectors, employee pension plans have become increasingly vulnerable, leaving those counting on pension benefits to face an uncertain financial future. Now, a new culprit in the pension plan crisis is emerging – the low interest rates touted as a way to stimulate economic grown and…
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Why is Fair Isaac in Charge of Your Credit Score?
p>A recent study conducted by the online dating site Match.com reported that along with asking a first date about jobs, interests and family, more and more relationship-seekers are also inquiring about their prospective partner’s credit scores. For many, the credit score – those magical numbers between 300 and 850 that signify a person’s ability to…
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New "Subprime" Tactics Target Former Homeowners
Everything old is new again. The subprime mortgage, blamed for the rush of mortgage defaults and foreclosures that triggered the housing collapse of a few years ago, is back, targeting the same people who lost their homes in the first version and threatening a another round of defaults and foreclosures for vulnerable homeowners. The current…
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Borrower Beware: Some Lenders Escape Scrutiny
The New Year has ushered in a spate of new regulations and changes to old ones acting the scandal- wracked mortgage industry. Designed to safeguard consumers from fraudulent and misleading practices, and lenders from another round of massive defaults, these rules, created and implemented both by consumer protection agencies and the government, target standard mortgage…
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The Fiscal Cliff Deal: What’s in it for Investors?
The eleventh hour came and went, and with the clock ticking toward the twelfth, some lawmakers blinked, others stood firm, and by New Year’s Day, enough progress was made to halt the country's headlong rush toward the fiscal cliff. When the dust settled, some sectors of the economy won, while others lost. For the housing…
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To Buy or Not To Buy?
Is the current US housing market a buyer’s market – or do sellers prevail? The mixed messages from different areas of the housing market are enough to give any investor pause. Is the market improving? What about mortgage lending standards? And are their still good bargains to buy? All the contradictions aside, real estate experts…
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Trends in Mortgage Interest Rates: Up or Down?
The end of the year brings an onslaught of predictions in fields ranging from sports to economics. In the world of real estate and income property investing, a number of lists compiled by real estate professionals and economists are emerging, drawing on past and present conditions to provide a look toward the future. Although those…
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The National Mortgage Database: A Privacy Risk?
Keeping personal information private may get a little harder – at least if you hold a mortgage. Although it’s always been true that anyone in pursuit of a loan is expected to disclose a certain amount of details about their personal history and creditworthiness, the new national mortgage database, set to roll out in 2013,…