File this under: the latest way politicians hurt consumers when they think they’re helping.

Regulation update. How does this stuff get so complicated?

Attention anyone currently refinancing in California. You may be refinancing now and in the rush to lock rates, you may not be aware that most counties issue tax bills during October. If your property tax bill has been issued and you don’t have an impound/escrow account that you pay taxes into monthly, then you must [...]

A bill has been introduced to allow struggling homeowners to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts tax-free to make mortgage payments. The Home Act (news | actual bill) would allow borrowers to withdraw up to $50,000 from a retirement account or one-half of the current value of that account, whichever is smaller. The limit is [...]

Here are some noteworthy items from the IRS for home sellers. Link to full IRS tip sheet at bottom. Useful for late tax filers who are gearing up for mid-September corporate and mid-October personal filing deadlines for 2010. IRS Summertime Tax Tip The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who [...]

Has value of your home dropped but your taxes haven’t? Check this out:

- Profiles in Fed Cowardice (Krugman) – Near Term Market Movers (Patti Domm, CNBC) – QE2: Who Ended Up Benefitting? (SmartMoney) – Winklevoss Twins Give Up on Facebook Case (Mashable) – 10 Fees That Can Wreck retirement Savings (Marketwatch) – Economists Debate Mortgage Interest Deductibility (MortgageNewsDaily) – If Slowdown Is Temporary, When Will Data Flow [...]

Recent existing home sales reports remind us that cash buyers are on the rise. In May, 30% of existing home sales were all-cash deals, down only slightly from 31% in April, and a record 35% in March. Is it more beneficial to pay cash for a home? Depends on your expected time horizon in the [...]

Rates ended last week even after heavy volatility. Tuesday, rates rose as mortgage bonds sold sharply on less bad U.S. retail sales and a 5.5% spike in Chinese inflation since May 2010. But as the week progressed, bonds rebounded and rates improved on tame U.S. core inflation and contracting U.S. manufacturing activity. Rates also benefitted [...]

Occasionally I am asked, “How safe is the mortgage interest tax deduction?” In the past I was much surer of my answer (“Safe – what politician wants to take away even one of the advantages of home ownership?”), but ongoing talk of ending this homeowner tax benefit makes me think twice. Whether eliminating it for [...]