Do I Qualify for the Foreclosure Relocation Assistance Program?
Video Summary
Do I qualify for Foreclosure Relocation Assistance Program? The answer to that question is, it depends on the lender. Recently we have not seen a lot of lenders volunteering that information or volunteering those funds. We have been successful in cases that are litigated to offer to the lender a judgment of foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure called Cash for Keys. And that may be considered relocation money, but it’s basically money if you agree to go nicely and leave the house in good order. So that is available; however, you’re probably going to have to retain an attorney and fight the foreclosure. And in order to try and resolve the case on that basis in the industry or the lawyers call that “Cash for Keys” and could be considered relocation expense money which was a term that was used probably a couple of years ago.
And I believe that the Bank of America was using it, or Wells Fargo, one of the two, and they were doing that even after the foreclosure took place, and they would let the people stay in there and work out something. They’d give them some money to relocate them. But now it’s now just Cash for Keys, and it’s something that has to be negotiated and the lenders are not necessarily offering that without a foreclosure defense. If you need some help with your foreclosure, give us a call at 847-2288. Thank you.
- Published in Real Estate - Foreclosure, Videos
If My Home Goes into Foreclosure, Can I Remove and Sell the Kitchen Cabinets?
Video Summary
If my home goes into foreclosure, can I remove and sell the kitchen cabinets and other fixtures inside the home? The answer to that question is no, you should not be selling the fixtures. Whatever’s attached to the property is real property and they have a mortgage against it, so it’s really basically a fraud against your lender if you start removing kitchen cabinets and fixtures. Now appliances, that’s something different, in that usually the mortgage does not cover appliances. But as far as light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, water heaters, windows, things such as this, that’s all part of the house and should not be removed in a mortgage foreclosure action and that is part of the real property. So hopefully if you’re in a mortgage foreclosure action, well give me a call and we’ll see about trying to help you out as far as a defense is concerned, or see what your alternatives are.
My phone number is 847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate - Foreclosure, Videos
How Do I Evict a Family Member from Our Property?
Video Summary
Well this usually, involves a family member or even a friend who has worn out their welcome and are staying in your property and you let them take possession of the property. You’re not charging them any rent, and however now want them to leave the premises for whatever reason and there are any number of reasons I get these calls. The action is not an eviction action. It is called a Unlawful Detainer Action, although it is handled the same as an eviction is handled, in that you give the party who refuses to leave the premises a notice advising that they have a certain number of days to vacate and if they don’t vacate, well then you file an action called an Unlawful Detainer stating that they entered the property lawfully, however they refuse to surrender the property after you’ve made demand upon them. So if you have this type of problem and you need to have someone to get rid of an unwanted guest or a family member that’s outlived their welcome, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
How Do I Obtain a Power of Attorney?
Video Summary
Well, you don’t obtain a Power of Attorney for someone. Someone must grant you or sign a document called a Power of Attorney appointing you as an agent. So if you have a loved one or a party that is in the hospital that is incompetent, you cannot get a Power of Attorney for them and that they must be competent when they sign the Power of Attorney. The Power of Attorney statute was changed in 2011 which gave various rights which have to be initialed off on, which are called superpowers. And a Durable Power of Attorney survives the incapacity of someone; however the person must be competent whenever they sign the Power of Attorney. So you cannot obtain a Power of Attorney over someone, they must sign it when they’re competent and grant it to you and then you serve as their agent. You cannot use the Power of Attorney or you’re not supposed to use the Power of Attorney to transact business in your behalf, such as transferring assets into your name without consideration, or if you’re dealing or having a business transaction you need to be very cautious and make sure it’s at arms’ length. So if you need to have a Power of Attorney, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
Do I Have to Pay Tax on a 1099-C?
Video Summary
The answer to that is you possibly might have to pay, but there’s any number of reasons why you would not have to pay. A 1099-C indicates that your Lender has forgiven a portion of the debt that you owe and that is considered income. So I get many calls concerning this and people are panicked that they are gonna have to pay a lot of income tax. However, there are, first off, you have to go to the analysis to see if you also have an offsetting loss when you sold the property. So if you purchased the property for a whole lot more than what you sold it for, you have a loss which would offset any gain. There’s also an exclusion in the Internal Revenue Code that says if you have lived in the property two and resided there two out of the past five years, then you can exempt up to $250,000.00 of gain. So there are some other exemptions. There’s also, if this is not your homestead property, if you were insolvent and can show that, you’d have to consult with your CPA, you also do not have to pay any tax on the 1099-C. So the answer is, it’s a reporting form that I would suggest you take to a Certified Public Accountant to address the situation and if you have any questions give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos