Metas
Naples Florida Real Estate News - 09/27/07
Is the real estate tax cutting constitutional moving forward? Considering calling your U.S. Representative to express your support of disaster insurance. Changes are in the wind for income taxes effecting foreclosed homeowners and other real estate transactions. Is the U.S. Senate going to make positive changes to the credit-reporting system?
(The picture to the left is a Great Egret taking a stroll along the golf cart path at Cypress Woods Golf and Country Club in North Naples.)
REAL ESTATE TAX AMENDMENT - As promised, Florida officials appealed a court ruling removing a property tax-cutting constitutional amendment from the Jan. 29 presidential primary ballot. The state, though, plans to ask the appellate judges to send the case directly to the Florida Supreme Court.
DISASTER INSURANCE - Two federal efforts aimed at lowering the cost of homeowners’ insurance in Florida are heading to the House of Representatives floor for a vote, but they face opposition from the White House, some sectors of the insurance industry and lawmakers from states not prone to hurricanes.
INCOME TAXES - Foreclosed homeowners won’t have to pay income tax on debt forgiven by a lender under a bill that passed a U.S. House panel yesterday. Should the bill become law, it would also extend the tax deduction for Private Mortgage Insurance and change slightly the rules for shielding $250,000 in capital gains from the sale of a second home. You should follow this change and consult with your income tax preparer or attorney.
SUBPRIME MORTGAGES - Who is to blame for the current mortgage mess? Everyone seems to have played a role. Yesterday, U.S. Senators turned their sights onto the major credit-rating agencies, suggesting their role as both watchdog and paid employee of the biggest agencies allowed the problem to grow unchecked. Hopefully, the senators will also look into the difficulties credit-rating companies give to consumers when requesting valid changes to errors on their credit reports.
INTEREST RATES AREN’T MORTGAGE RATES - The Fed’s lowered interest rates, so mortgage rates are sure to follow … right? Well, no. And maybe yes, too. Adjustable-rate mortgages, which allow lenders to adjust a mortgage’s interest rate over time, tend to follow interest rate cuts. Fixed-rate mortgages are different, however, and tend to fluctuate based on the yield of 10-year government bonds. And those bonds are not impacted by interest rates as much as investor demand for them at their current rate of return. But inflation remains the big enemy of bonds because rising prices can sap the value of these long-term investments. In this case, the recent Fed decision to lower interest rates a full half point simultaneously sparked a fear of inflation by investors – and that, in turn, will probably increase fixed rate mortgage rates over the short-term even as it lowers the Adjustable Rate Mortgage rates.
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