The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007

The Mortgage Foregiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 may help homeowners who sell their property on a 'short sale'. For more information on short sales, please visit my website at http://drewludlow.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_cpg_A_pg_E_ShortSales.

According to President Bush, "When your home is losing value and your family is under financial stress, the last thing you need is to be hit with higher taxes. So I'm working with members of both parties to pass a bill that will protect homeowners from having to pay taxes on cancelled mortgage debt." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071220-6.html

I am not a CPA, so I can not give tax advice. For more information, please consult with your tax professional. Having said that, it used to be that when you short sale your home and the debt is forgiven by the lender, you would be 1099'd at the end of the year for the forgiven debt. Danmed if you do, damned if you don't!

Now, it seems as if you have some protection from paying taxes on money you never really received.

Although this quite significant, many lenders are not forgiving debt when allowing short sales to proceed. They simply release the lien on the property to allow the sale to go through, but are still retaining the right to the promissory note and all subsequent debt by the borrower. Still, regardless of whether or not your debt is forgiven, a short sales is always better than a foreclosure!

Wake County Recession?

You hear so much in the news and press today about recession this, subprime market that, housing slub etc, etc, etc.

I may not know alot about the rest of the world, but I do know a little something about Wake County NC. Are WE in a recession? Are we in a housing slump? A little, but not THAT much.

Did I tell you that Forbes rated Apex, NC the number one place to live in NC? #14 in the US too. That didn't hurt us. All the other accolades that are given to the Triangle area (see my website at www.drewludlow.com) certainly don't hurt us either.

Sure, during the month of December, my business slipped a little. But that was because of the Holidays. Market activity ALWAYS slips towards the end of the year, and is always slow to react at the beginning of the year. So, you take a look at the larger picture.

I am fortunate to have access to a wonderful storehouse of statistical data courtesy of the the Triangle MLS and Stacey Anfindsen. Every month, they publish a statistical market update. The following is a Reader's Digest of how are market is currently doing, compared to last year:

• Total inventory (homes for sale) is up 23% compared to 2006 - I think a large part of this has to do with the fact that MORE people are selling rather than a judgement on Buyer confidence. Just see the next stat.
• But total showings are only down 5% compared to 2006
• Total closed sales are down 6%. Not bad considering all the negative press
• Current supply is 5 months compared to 4 months in December of last year.

Of course, there are plenty more stats to go around. If you would like some more, just email me. But suffice it to say, we are not doing THAT bad compared to last year at this time. Given that the rest of the country is in a panic about real estate, I still continue to list homes and help buyers buy homes. I have seen a little drop in activity, but I am not as sure that is completely due to the mortgage mess and real estate slump. Perhaps there are other factors contributing to the stats we just saw. You do know that in 2005 and 2006, there was a real estate frenzy and investors were buying, buying buying. Perhaps the numbers simply show a drop off in THAT activity. One way you could look at it is that our market has corrected back to the days before the real estate 'bubble'.

Parks and Greenways

One of the reasons people love moving to the Triangle area of NC (remember, this includes the cities of Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Knightdale, Wendell Zebulon, Wake Forest, Durham, Chapel Hill & other cities that I am sure I missed), is not only because of our robust Real Estate market and growing economy, but because of all our parks and greenways.
If you are a nature lover, we have alot to offer you. You can always use Google to check out different links, but I thought I would post a few to get you started on way down to the South.

• Cary greenway system http://www.trianglegreenways.org/cary.htm
• VisitNC.com http://www.visitnc.com/
• North Carolina State Parks http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/main.php
• City of Raleigh Parks & Recreation http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_306_209_0_43/http;/pt03/DIG_Web_Content/category/Leisure/Parks_and_Facilities/Cat-Index.html
• City of Raleigh Parks and Greenways http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_306_209_0_43/http;/pt03/DIG_Web_Content/category/Leisure/Park_and_Greenway_Planning/Cat-Index.html
• NC Division of Travel & Tourism NC Outer Banks (Kitty Hawk, Nags Head & Hatteras, NC)
• Ski Beech (Banner Elk, NC)
• Sugar Mountain Ski Resort (Banner Elk, NC)
• Wilmington (Carolina Beach & Wrightsville, NC)

There are many more where that came from. Just Google us!

When You Need More Information

When you need more information on a town, city or other area, typically, the information is only a few clicks away.
Of course, your local Realtor is going to be one of the best places to start - that is, as long as they are familiar with the area in which you are researching. I know alot abou the Triangle Region of North Carolina which encompasses Apex, Cary, Morrisville, Wake Forest, Durahm, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Raleigh, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, Garner, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina and a few others. I would not be a good resource for information on Sanford or Greensboro which are outside my area of expertise.
But when poeople come to me for questions, I try to answer the best I can, and then I refer them out. My favorite places to refer people are to their town (or City) websites.
For example, I have my finger on the pulse of Apex, NC development. One reason is because I continually study the Apex Development map at http://www.apexnc.org/. There, you can find an interactive map that shows everything the city has on the table. You may find information that other local Realtors don't know about yet like future developments, neighborhoods, roadways, stores, shopping centers, etc.
When you have a question about a certain city, just Google the town: "Town of Apex, NC" or "City of Raleigh, NC". Planning departments, zoning departments and engineering departments are always a great place to look for information. And don't be afraid to call them either. Many city offices are happy to answer questions - and if you have to leave a message - do so. I have been proptly called back many times by city officials.
Of course for schools, you can always check out the county website, or go to http://www.wcpss.net/.
I have many more links on my website at www.drewludlow.com. Click here: http://drewludlow.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_links_view_A_id_E_65. I also posted another blog entry with many more cool Wake County school links: http://cpgrealty.blogspot.com/2007/10/wake-county-nc-schools.html
When you do purchase a home, you have to turn on the utlities, right? Don't open the yellow pages. Google your favorite town's website - or better yet, click here: http://drewludlow.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_cpg_A_pg_E_LocalUtilities