Archive for March, 2010

The History of Interest Rates (and Why You Should Care)!! :-)

May3
"Why Should I Care" - Diana Krall   These are some very revealing and interesting historical statistics on mortgage interest rates.  If nothing else dire happens in our very small one-world economy to "rock the boat", we may look back and see that this is the time span when the market (at least in Portland, Oregon) really began to repair itself.  I know we have a ways to go in completing our economic recovery and regaining some of our lost equity in housing but our local housing market is definitely changing!  We have a shortage of good inventory and a resurgence  of buying in… Read More

2011 Distressed Residential Properties Report for the Portland Metro Area!

May1
"Distress" 2011 Distressed Residential Properties by Mary-Frances Makichen/Communications Department on April 27, 2012 The chart below shows the number of Bank Owned and Short Sales in all areas of the RMLS™ system during 2011. To download or print… Read More

Death and Taxes! Is Tax Reform Possible?

April27
"Tax It" - The Miller Brothers Are we glad that tax season is over for 2012??  Well, really "tax season" is never over!  Tax fairness seems to already be dominant themes in a year with a presidential election in the fall. And, "Fair" is in the eye of the beholder!!  Many different tax proposals have been put forth by various committees and government representatives, but most believe that these proposals stand little chance of being enacted into tax law. Following is a brief overview of several different tax proposals: Bowles-Simpson Plan: The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibil… Read More

NOTE TO SELF: The Mortgage Interest Deduction is Limited Per Residence! ;-)

April25
Backstreet Boys - "Don't Try This at Home" Interesting story and tax case:  A recent U.S. Tax Court ruling clarified the IRS position that the $1.1 million limit for mortgage interest deduction applies per residence and not per taxpayer as some homeowners were hoping. A married homeowner filing jointly can have fully deductible interest on a mortgage of up to $1,000,000 of acquisition debt and up to an additional $100,000 of home equity debt. If the married couple files separately, each party is limited to deducting the interest on half of those maximum amounts. The court case came… Read More
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