Tax Tip: Don’t overlook tax break of mortgage points
If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you probably already know of the tax advantage provided by deducting your mortgage interest payments.
But many homeowners overlook another tax break available for points paid to get a home loan. In some cases, points also could shave tax bills for folks who refinanced or got an equity loan or line of credit.
How the mortgage clearinghouse MERS became a villain in the foreclosure mess
In the early 1990s, the biggest names in the mortgage industry hatched a plan for a new electronic clearinghouse that would transform the home loan business – and unlock billions of dollars of new investments and profits. Sixteen years down the road, the mortgage business is in chaos.
So who really owns your mortgage today?
Sometimes paying off mortgage isn’t the best thing to do
Q: I’m retiring from federal law enforcement at age 50, with 30 years of government service.
I have $325,000 in the Thrift Savings Plan. I also have $45,000 in savings and no credit-card debt. Car loans have been paid off. My house is appraised for $280,000, with a mortgage balance of $32,000. There are three years left on the 15-year mortgage. I would like to avoid touching my TSP money during retirement.
Would it be prudent to withdraw $32,000 from my TSP and pay off the mortgage?
FTC banning up-front loan mortgage modification fees
The state consumer advocate is glad to see the end coming for a new type of financial enterprise in Nevada. The Federal Trade Commission has banned consulting firms from charging up-front fees for negotiating modifications of residential mortgage loans. The prohibition takes effect Jan 31st.
Some people feel this new set of laws are “worse than some of the odds at the casino tables.”
Fannie Mae is jacking up mortgage fees
Potential home buyers who have high credit scores and hefty down payments may be surprised that even they are being targeted for higher ‘risk-based’ fees. Here’s mortgage giant Fannie Mae’s sobering New Year’s greeting for home buyers and refinancers in 2011: Give me more money! If you want a loan this year, you’re going to have to pay more — thousands of dollars more in some cases!
Will the Mortgage Tax Deduction be Saved?
Every few years, some committee floats the idea of eliminating the mortgage interest deduction on primary residences. It came up again in Washington, D.C., recently, along with the possibility of delaying Social Security payments for many of the bouncing baby boom generation.
The presumed goal is that by eliminating tax incentives for some individuals that there would be a lower tax rate for all taxpayers.
