My Mind on Mortgages

For many people saving for a rainy day is hard enough as it is.  Add on top of that all the other financial objectives a person is typically concerned with (i.e. retirement, college savings, paying down debt) saving for a down payment on a home can be difficult.  Because of this I often have clients [...]

As I blogged about back on September 14th many first-time hombuyers have received gifts or loans from family members over the past year so that they can take advantage of historically low interest rates, affordable housing prices, and the government’s tax credit.  The onslaught of familial generosity is great for homebuyers who would otherwise be [...]

With so many homebuyers utilizing FHA mortgage financing in the past year I’m guessing many will have questions related to the tax deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums.  Before I jump into detailed tax information let’s do a quick refresher.  I also need to tell you that I am not a licensed tax professional.
What is mortgage [...]

I’ve spoken with many past clients over the past few weeks about their property tax statements.  Many people are frustrated that their property taxes rose for the 2009-2010 property tax year even though the real market value of their home declined.  Brent Hunsberger wrote this great post on the subject for the Oregonian.
Here are the [...]

If you haven’t heard, the United States Congress and President Obama have passed legislation that expands the first-time homebuyer tax credit and extends it into the first half of 2010. Before we go any further, we want to make it clear that we are not tax professionals and recommend that you contact a tax professional [...]

MSNBC.com is reporting that Senators have agreed on a proposal to extend the popular first-time homebuyer credit.  Here is a link to the article.
Here are the two key points which look intriguing:
*Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who [...]

Forbes.com is reporting that the IRS has amended their stance on large mortgage interest deduction.  Prior to their amendment homeowner’s who borrowed >$1.0 million to purchase their home were only able to deduct interest on the first $1.0 million.  However, if that homeowner borrowed only $1.0 million to acquire their home and then later took [...]

While sitting in my financial planning class this weekend I learned something that I never knew before.  Did you know that if you are covered by an employer sponsored retirement plan (i.e. 401K) then your contribution to a traditional IRA may not be tax deductible?
In other words, let’s say that you contribute 5-10% of your [...]

By most estimates FHA loan originations now make up somewhere between 33-50% of all mortgage fundings.  One of the nice flexibilities about FHA loans is that it allows the borrower/ homebuyer to receive their down payment (minimum of 3.5%) entirely as a gift from a family member.
With the first-time homebuyer credit in effect we have [...]

As a participant in the Oregon 529 college savings program I was happy to read this post from the “It’s Only Money” blog.
This year the state of Oregon will allow you to deduct up to $2,085 (individuals) and $4,170 (joint filers) on your state income tax return for contributions made to the program.  Keep in [...]