Ilyce

Ilyce Glink Show Consumer Advice and Notes: Thanks to our WSB listeners for their generous contributions to the 2009 Careathon: We raised $1.3 million to cure cancer in kids. Our Taylor Bean & Whitaker updates have generated a ton of comments. Here's the link with the latest and we'll be updating that story again this week. Stock market dropped a little, we'll tell you why. Housing numbers looked great. Will it last? FREE BOOK OFFER and FREE EBOOK OFFER. How to find a financial planner.

$8,000 first time home buyer tax credit rules for buying from relatives are very specific. The IRS has specific guidelines on who is or isn't considered a relative for purposes of the first time home buyer tax credit. For the first time home buyer tax credit a relative is a parent, child, grandparent or grandchild. You cannot buy from one of these people considered as a relative and still qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit. The IRS has more detailed guidelines for the first time home buyer tax credit rules for buying from a relative.

Making Home Affordable loan modification processing requires constant follow-up from the borrower. President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Plan is taking a long time to process many loan modification requests, and sometimes the paperwork is getting lost. To make sure that your loan modification request is processed properly, document all contact with your lender and make contact every day through phone calls and emails. Keep a detailed log of all contact you have with your lender while trying to get your loan modification processed under the Making Home Affordable Plan. If your lender reports you as paying late to the credit reporting bureaus and hurts your credit history and credit score, you may be able to contact the bureaus and, under limited circumstances, correct your credit history.

ARM refinance may be required to lock in your mortgage rate. It depends on the type of ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) you hold. When you refinance an adjustable rate mortgage or ARM, the lender may allow you to lock in your mortgage rate at a certain point in the loan. Other ARM terms may require you to refinance your loan to prevent your mortgage rate from resetting every year, depending on what your mortgage is tied to.

Gift taxes and gift tax limits are explained here, both the lifetime and annual gift tax limits. The gift tax limit that one individual may give another in 2009 without triggering any sort of taxable event down the line, and also without triggering any IRS paperwork or forms, is $13,000.

However, the gift tax limit for a lifetime figure is $1 million. The tax laws can be confusing, but one of our readers gives us a good explanation of the gift tax limits.

Obama’s Making Home Affordable Mortgage Loan Modification Program is helping some but delinquent mortgages are still on the rise. Delinquent mortgages are on the rise as loan modifications are taking longer to complete. Delinquent mortgages, those that are 30 and 60 days late, have usually had a high rate of "self-cure" or homeowners finding ways to make their mortgage payments. However, as home values fall, more homeowners are letting their delinquent mortgages turn into foreclosures. These delinquent mortgages will continue to turn into foreclosures as it continues to take longer to complete loan modifications even under the Obama Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Plan works its way through the system.

Use seller financing to save your capital gains tax exemption if your buyer is having trouble getting conventional financing. To qualify for a capital gains tax exemption you must fit under certain guidelines, like how long you have lived in the home as your primary residence. Seller financing can help you save your capital gains tax exemption before it expires. However, seller financing does carry many risks. If you can't or don't want to go down the route of seller financing, you can also consider a 1031 exchange (tax deferred exchange or Starker Trust) or an installment purchase. A qualified tax professional can help you determine if seller financing is the right choice for you, if you're trying to save your capital gains tax exemption.

A lower monthly mortgage payment should be the goal of a loan modification or a streamline refinance. If your lender offers you a loan modification but raises your monthly mortgage payment, see what else they can do to help lower your monthly mortgage payment. Maybe you can participate in the Obama Making Home Affordable Refinance Program and extend the life of your loan and reamortize to lower your monthly mortgage payment. My personal finance and real estate advice is to go to a your lender and get your lender to lower your interest rate to lower your monthly mortgage payment. Lowering your monthly mortgage payment is a goal of the Obama Making Home Affordable Refinance Program.

How long does bankruptcy stay on your credit report? Depending on what kind of bankruptcy you filed, a bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for 7 or 10 years. The longer it has been since your bankruptcy, the less your bankruptcy will affect your credit score. To see if your bankruptcy is still on your credit report, you can pull a free copy of your credit report. If it's been more than 10 years and the bankruptcy is still on your credit report, you can file a dispute and prove that it's been more than 7 or 10 years since your bankruptcy was discharged.

Ilyce Glink show notes. We're offering a new discount for our HOW TO PROFIT FROM FORECLOSURE event. Use discount code: summer to get 30% off the Early Bird Ticket Price. The IRS launches a YouTube channel.