$8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit is extended and expanded.
This week, President Obama signed the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, and with it, an extension and expansion of the $8,000 tax credit. Read the details of the tax credit here. And I answer some of the questions I’ve received about the tax credit here.
Unemployment Numbers Are Out – And Awful
The unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent nationally. The U-6, which is a broader unemployment report hit 17.5 percent. Some economists are putting the true picture of unemployment at over 21 percent. But at 10.2 percent, this is the worst unemployment number in 26 years. And, it only looks to get worse. Read more about the unemployment rate and how the U-6 is calculated at my MoneyWatch.com Home Equity blog.
Fannie Mae’s Deed For Lease Program
If you’re on the verge of foreclosure, and you can’t get a loan modification done (add your loan modification from hell story here, you might be able to do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement with Fannie Mae and then rent your house back from them. Is this for you? Read the fine print here.
Five More Banks Close; Total 120 Bank Closures In 2009
The United Commercial Bank of San Francisco, a bank focuses on Chinese-Americans, was shut down Friday by the FDIC. It will cost the FDIC $1.5 billion. This is the biggest number since the Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s.
House Health Care Reform Bill Passed – What Does this Mean For Long-Term Care Insurance
I’ve received loads of calls and emails asking what health care reform means for long-term care insurance. I haven’t read the entire bill (all 1,990 pages and 440,000 words of it), but it seems as though there will be an inexpensive long-term care insurance option that will cost somewhere around $125-$175 per month and will offer $50 to $75 a day benefit. Since that isn’t much and certainly won’t even pay for half the cost of a great nursing home (at $100,000 per year), you’re best off continuing the long-term care coverage you have and picking up this extra policy to provide you with an additional, relatively cheap benefit.
As I learn more about this, I’ll be sure to let you know.
New ThinkGlink Ebooks About Investing in Real Estate Are Now Available
We created five new ebooks that together provide you with more than 100 pages of important, money-saving information about investing successful in real estate. here are the five topics:
- 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanges. Everything you need to know about 1031 Exchanges (also known as Starker Trusts) and how to use them to defer capital gains and recapture taxes.
- LLCs, Corporations, And Other Ways Of Holding Title To Real Estate. The time to start thinking about you’re going to hold title is BEFORE you buy an investment property. This ebook walks you through the different ownership options and what you need to know.
- How to Profit From Foreclosures: 9 Top Tips From Investors. Avoid the most common and most devastating mistakes real estate investors make by reading this ebook.
- Finding Great Tenants And Profitably Managing Real Estate Investments. If you don’t have good tenants, you’ll wind up with losing money with your real estate investment – or perhaps destroying your credit. This ebook tells you how to find great tenants, how to price your unit to rent, and how to manage your property effectively and efficiently.
- The Successful Real Estate Investors Guide: Top Tax Tips. Investing successfully means you’ve got to keep your expenses low. That means, watch what you pay in taxes. This book walks you through the major tax areas you’ll encounter with real estate investing.
We also have FREE BOOKS and other ebooks in the ThinkGlink.com store.
Leave A Comment