NEWSFri, Jun 11San Bernardino looks to increase real estate transfer tax 900%In order to try to solve a $24 million budget deficit, the San Bernardino City Council is considering several different tax and fee proposals. One of the proposals being considered is an increase in the real estate property tax, which is essentially a sales tax for real estate, from .55 cents to $5.00 essentially increasing the tax by 900 percent.The council voted unanimously to subject all of the proposals to further analysis amid concerns that San Bernardino voters would probably reject any taxes if given an opportunity to vote. The transfer tax would require a vote on the November ballot as by California state law, property owners must vote before a city can create the kind of assess ... More >> Fri, Jun 11Freehold Capital Partners pushing national private real estate transfer fee©WSJ.com 2010Byline: Jessica Holzer WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--As U.S. lawmakers move to prevent another binge in risky mortgage lending, a new real estate money-making concept is grabbing the attention of federal regulators. New York-based Freehold Capital Partners wants developers across the country to attach transfer fee covenants to properties allowing the builder and Freehold to reap profits for decades after a property is sold. The covenants typically require future home sellers to pay 1% of the sales price to the home builder or other third parties each time the house is resold for 99 years. The obligation is usually inserted into the common rules for a subdivision- ... More >> Fri, Jun 11Oil Spill May Cost $4.3 Billion in Property ValuesIn an already depressed real estate market, property owners in the Gulf Coast now face an additional threat from BP Plc’s oil spill. The worst environmental disaster in U.S. history is contributing to falling real-estate values and oil washing ashore will further harm property values in an area where Moody’s Economy.com estimates prices fell as much as 34 percent from the peak of the U.S. residential real estate market in 2006.The disaster has led to the closing of about 78,300 square miles (203,000 square kilometers), or almost a third, of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and some experts estimate that losses may total $4.3 billion along the 600-mile (966- kilometer) stretch ... More >> Thu, Jun 10Commercial real estate slide impacting small and regional banksMany small and regional banks face serious financial crisis because of defaulting commercial real estate loans. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), since the beginning of the financial crisis, nearly 200 banks have gone under the majority of them smaller "community" banks.There are 700 more banks on the FDIC's confidential "Troubled Bank" list and of those, the number one reason for the bank being in trouble is an excessive concentration in commercial real estate lending. About half of these defaulting commercial real estate loans were held by these smaller banks with assets of between $100 million to $10 billion. Even worse is that commerci ... More >> Thu, Jun 10IRS Offers Details on New Small Business Health Care Tax CreditThe Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance to make it easier for small businesses to determine whether they are eligible for the new health care tax credit under the Affordable Care Act and how large a credit they will receive. The guidance makes clear that small businesses receiving state health care tax credits may still qualify for the full federal tax credit. Additionally, the guidance allows small businesses to receive the credit not only for regular health insurance but also for add-on dental and vision coverage. Notice 2010-44 provides detailed guidelines, illustrated by more than a dozen examples, to help small employers determine whether they qualify for the credit and estimat ... More >> Thu, Jun 10Employer-provided Health Insurance and IRS ReportingInternet reports have created fears that any health insurance premiums that an employer pays on behalf of an employee will be taxable income for the employee, even though no cash is received. Not so! The health insurance reform legislation includes a new requirement, effective for 2011 and after, that an employee's Form W-2 (Statement of Wages) must include information about the expenditure that an employer makes for the employee's health insurance. That amount, however, will NOT be included in gross income. The information about health insurance will be treated in a manner that is similar to current law treatment for life insurance premiums that an employer pays on behalf of an empl ... More >> Thu, Jun 10Did you know Maryland has 3 real estate transfer taxes?As you know, in 2008 Arizona voters overwhelmingly supported Prop. 100, Protect Our Homes. The measure essentially prohibits the creation of a tax of any kind on the transfer of real property in the state. Why was the Prop. 100 win so important to property owners as well as buyers? Here’s an example from Maryland which has not one but three different types of real estate transfer taxes. They include the recordation tax (sometimes called documentary stamps), the state transfer tax, and in most cases, a county transfer tax. It is customary for these taxes to be split 50/50 between the buyer and the seller of the property, but there is no set requirement that they be divided in that ... More >> Wed, Jun 09Utah Judge Stops All Foreclosures by BofA, Reconstrust, Home Loan ServicesA Washington County judge has ordered an injunction stopping all foreclosure proceedings by Bank of America, Recontrust, Home Loan Servicing, et al in Utah. The judge ruled that because Bank of America is “not registered with the Utah Division of Corporations it therefore may not transact business in the State of Utah." Although the decision is temporary, it affects more than 1,100 Utah homes in foreclosure, in just the month of June. Read more. ... More >> Wed, Jun 09Financial Sector High Today; Led By Real Estate StocksReal estate stocks led the uptrend in the financial sector today, as Fed chief Bernanke gave positive comments on the economy and the investors looked forward to the Fed's Beige Book report’s release. Read more. ... More >> Wed, Jun 09US House to consider bill to raise FHA premiumsA bill is set for vote this week in the U.S. House of Representatives that might help the Federal Housing Administration replenish its reserves. The legislation would help the FHA replace its capital reserves, which have been seriously depleted by mortgage defaults, by nearly tripling the cap on the annual premiums the FHA charges borrowers to 1.50% from 0.55%. It also would increase the agency's power to remove lenders who are costing the agency too much in claims as well as make it easier for the FHA to shield itself from losses on loans that were underwritten fraudulently or violated FHA standards. More >>
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