IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CANCELLATION OF LOAN DEBT

What You Need to Know about Cancellation of Mortgage Debt

  ^[1]This column is brought to you by the NAR Real Estate Services group.

A lender will, on occasion, forgive some portion of a borrower’s debt. The general tax rule that applies to any debt forgiveness is that the amount forgiven is treated as taxable income to the borrower. Some exceptions to this rule are available, but, until recently, the borrower was required to pay tax on the debt forgiven. A new law enacted in December 2007 provides relief to troubled borrowers when some portion of mortgage debt is forgiven. However, this relief expires on December 31, 2012 and NAR will be working to obtain an extension throughout the year.

SUSTAINED MARKET

Housing High Point: Pending Sales of Existing Homes Up to Nearly Two-Year High

Posted By susanne On March 4, 2012 @ 1:06 pm In Consumer News and Advice,Finance and Economy,Home Owner News,Real Estate Information,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today's Marketplace,Today's Top Story,Today's Top Story - Consumer | No Comments

^[1](MCT)—More Americans are signing contracts to buy existing homes than at any time in nearly two years, boosting the housing industry’s slow recovery, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ index of pending home sales.
The measure is up 2 percent to 97 in January after slipping 1.9 percent in December. The index of deals for previously owned homes is up 8 percent compared with the 89.8 level from January 2011.
Last month saw the highest point on the index since April 2010, when consumers drawn by a home-buyer tax credit