The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire at the end of the year. The act allows taxpayers to be excluded from paying taxes on forgiven debt in certain situations. As their website explains:

“The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.”

The act also applies to debt forgiven in a short sale. The big question is whether or not Congress will extend it past the December 31st deadline. Forty-one state attorneys general signed a letter urging Congressional leaders to extend the act. In the letter, it is explained:

“Each of our offices receives calls every day from homeowners trying to save their homes or struggling to recover from losing their homes…Congress must act. We urge you to extend the existing exclusion of forgiven or cancelled mortgage debt from taxable income under federal law before it expires at the end of this calendar year.”

The push is on to get an extension. Here are the current bills in Congress:

U.S. House of Representatives: Resolution 4336 and Resolution 4202

Senate: Senate Bill 2250

Whether Congress will act in time to extend the act before its expiration is anyone’s guess.

To view the original article, click here: http://www.kcmblog.com/2012/12/04/will-the-mortgage-forgiveness-act-be-extended/

Low Valuation in Home Appraisals Causing Steady Level of Contract Glitches
WASHINGTON (October 10, 2012) – The real estate market is recovering but still faces hurdles, notably from tight mortgage credit, but problems with a sizeable share of real estate appraisals also are holding back home sales, according to survey findings by the National Association of Realtors®.
Most appraisers are competent and provide good valuations that are compliant with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. However, appraisals generally lag market conditions and some changes to the appraisal process have been causing problems in recent years, including the use of out-of-area valuators without local expertise or full access to local data, inappropriate comparisons, and excessive lender demands. In addition, before the beginning of last year, some lenders’ loan processors edited valuations, cutting them by a certain percentage.
Although 65 percent of Realtors® surveyed in September report no contract problems relating to home appraisals over the past three months,* 11 percent said a contract was cancelled because an appraised value came in below the price negotiated between the buyer and seller, 9 percent reported a contract was delayed, and 15 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a low valuation. These findings are notable given that homes in many areas are selling for less than replacement construction costs.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there has been a steady level of appraisal issues for quite some time. “Though the real estate recovery is taking place, the combined issues of stringent mortgage lending requirements and appraisal frictions are hampering otherwise qualified buyers from purchasing a home in a timely fashion, and in some cases are preventing them from buying at all,” he said.
Major problems reported by Realtors® include:
• Some appraisers are using foreclosures, short sales and run-down properties as comparable homes, and are not making adjustments for market conditions or the condition of the property.
• Appraised values that do not reflect market conditions such as rising prices, the presence of multi-bidding and low inventory.
• Appraised values are very inconsistent and fluctuate widely.
• Out-of-town appraisers, who are not familiar with the area or local market conditions, are being used.
• Turn-around time by both appraisers and banks is slow, which delays closings.
A large concern is that some appraisers working for an Appraisal Management Company are operating under strict and limited parameters due to bank lending criteria, which appears to be related to banking regulations or risk aversion on the part of the lender. Furthermore, unreasonable “put back” risks imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could also cause banks to set unrealistic requirements for appraisers.
There is a clear difference between the value of distressed property and non-distressed homes, and some appraisers do not currently distinguish between these types of properties when making comparisons for valuation purposes. NAR data shows that the typical foreclosure is sold for an average discount of 20 percent relative to traditional homes in good condition, while the typical short sale is discounted by 15 percent.
Many of the inappropriate comparisons appear to be made by appraisers lacking local expertise, who generally live outside of the market where the appraised property is located – often without full access to local data from a multiple listing service.
NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said some appraisal practices lack common sense. “Our long-standing policy is that all appraisals should be done by licensed or certified professionals with local expertise, which also is what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recommend, but clearly this isn’t practiced universally,” he said.
NAR has long advocated for an independent appraisal process and enhanced education requirements that allow appraisers to produce the most accurate reports possible. However, appraisers have faced undue pressure – whether from a lender or an AMC – to complete appraisals using distressed sales as comps, to complete an appraisal in an unacceptably short time frame, and to complete a scope of work that is not justified by the fee being offered.
These are major problems. In addition, some appraisers are required to provide as many as eight to 10 comparable sales, which almost guarantee the use of distressed properties as comps in many cases.
Previously, three comparable homes were the norm for most appraisals. In many cases there simply aren’t enough apples-to-apples comps to comply with the excessive demands by lenders, so discounted distressed homes are sometimes used in valuating traditional homes in good condition without appropriate adjustments.
“In short, there has been an inconsistent appraisal process leading to disruptive delays for home buyers and sellers,” Veissi said. “All home valuations should be made without undue pressure from any source. Even so, buyers, sellers and agents are free to ask appraisers to consider additional data and to correct errors, or discuss unique aspects of the home, the neighborhood or properties used as comps.”
The appraisal industry has made strides in adapting to market conditions, expanding education and making appropriate adjustments for distressed homes that are used as comps. It appears many of the remaining problems are tied to appraisals made through AMCs.
Fortunately, the level of distressed sales is trending down – they accounted for about one-third of all sales in 2011, but have averaged roughly a quarter of sales in recent months. By 2013 NAR expects the distressed market share to decline to about 10 to 15 percent. As distressed inventory is cleared from the market over the next two years, it should help to correct ongoing problems.
“In the meantime, buyers, sellers and real estate agents need to be aware that there are problems with some real estate appraisals, but also be aware of their rights to communicate with appraisers and lenders about errors or concerns with individual valuations,” Veissi said. “In some cases, a second appraisal may be justified.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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*Data on appraisal issues are from a monthly survey for the Realtors® Confidence Index, posted at www.Realtor.org. The findings from a panel of NAR members typically are based on more than 3,000 monthly responses.
A direct link to the above article can be found here