http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f982.pdf

http://www.perryhomes.com/

Carver Communications - Index

Carver Communications - march 2008 - Index

Thanks to the many REALTORS®
who made a difference in the recently held
Primary Election Races. Races of concern
where SABOR took a position of support
had REALTOR® members participate by
working various polling locations. The outcome
of their work and the work of other volunteers
was a great success. The re-election
for County Commissioner Sergio “Chico”
Rodriguez and State Representative Frank
Corte, District 122 was accomplished handily.
Congratulations!
The National Association of REAL-
TORS® testified recently in Congress that
the Veterans Home Loan Guaranty Program
should continue to be a valuable asset in
helping the nation’s veterans achieve the
dream of homeownership in a way that is
safe, fair and affordable.
“The VA Home Loan Guarantee
Program is designed to provide favorable
loan terms for veterans who are unable to
qualify for a conventional loan,” said Tony
Agurs, a member of the NAR Board of
Directors and REALTOR® from California
who is a 21-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
By Robyn Locke,
Director of Political and Community Affairs
REALTORS® Win at the Polls
“The VA program offers unique and important
benefits for helping our military families
achieve the dream of homeownership,”
Agurs said.
NAR cited a 2004 study that found
that 82 percent of first-time home buyers
through the VA program could not qualify for
a conventional loan. The report also found
that 61 percent of those borrowers could not
meet the down payment or debt-to-income
ratios required to qualify for an FHA loan. “It
is our duty as a country to make sure that our
retired and active duty veterans and their
families are given every opportunity to own
and keep their home if they have the basic
means and desire,” said Agurs.
The VA Home Loan Guaranty
Program offers protections for borrowers if
they encounter financial difficulties by offering
a variety of supplemental loan servicing
programs to help military families avoid
foreclosure. “This is especially important
today while we are in an active war and given
some of the challenges in today’s housing
market. In 2007, the VA successfully intervened
and saved nearly 8,500 veterans’
March 15, 2008 REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE 7
homes, also saving the government $181.3
million in avoided claims. These are big and
important numbers and are more than just
statistics,” Agurs said.
NAR urged the House Subcommittee
on Veterans Affairs to reform the Veterans
Home Loan Guaranty Program so it can better
serve many more veterans. NAR asked
the subcommittee to make various program
enhancements to give military families the
opportunity to become homeowners. These
enhancements include increasing the VA loan
limits in high cost areas to 150 percent of
conforming loan limits; easing the refinancing
requirements and restrictions for veterans,
especially those that have fallen victim to
risky sub-prime loans; and offering permanent
authorization for the guarantee of
adjustable-rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs.
“NAR has a long history of strongly
supporting housing opportunities for our
nation’s veterans and active duty personnel. It
is our hope that this subcommittee will support
our recommendations for enhancing and
improving the VA Home Loan Guaranty
Program,” Agurs said.
IRS Explains Mortgage Relief
Provision
The IRS has released IR-2008-17 to
alert taxpayers how to comply with the new
mortgage cancellation tax relief provisions
enacted at the end of last year. Borrowers
who had some portion of their mortgage debt
forgiven in 2007 should receive a Form
1099C from the lender identifying the
amount of forgiven debt. The borrower/taxpayer
will file a newly-created form to report
to the IRS that the debt relief was for a qual-
ified mortgage. The new form, Form 982,
and instructions are available at the IRS website,
which can be accessed here:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f982.pdf. The
mortgage relief provision applies to debt forgiven
in 2007, no matter when the mortgage
was entered into. The most frequent circumstances
in which there is a debt forgiveness is
on foreclosure, short sale or mortgage workout
or reformation agreed to with the lender.
Source: National Association of
REALTORS®
SABOR to Host Annual TREPAC
Golf Tournament
SABOR will host its annual golf tournament
at Sonterra Country Club on
Monday, March 24th. All proceeds will
directly support TREPAC, which was established
to protect the private property rights of
Texas landowners and fight issues that are
deemed adverse to the real estate industry.
Check-in at noon and lunch before
1:00 pm., tournament -1 p.m., awards party at
The Club House at Sonterra to follow at 6
p.m.
The $135 player registration fee
includes lunch, range balls, green fees, a cart,
beverages and dinner. For any additional
information or advertising opportunities for
the tournament, please contact Rhonda
Thomas of the SABOR Political and
Community Affairs Department at 210-593-
1200 ext. 121 or email rhonda@sabor.com