Montana state Constitutional Initiative 105 would prohibit state and local governments from passing new taxes on real estate sales and trades – ever. While Montana does not currently have such a tax anyway, the Montana Association of Realtors is concerned that growing economic problems throughout the country could ultimately induce their state legislature to try to raise funds by initiating Read full article »
Tag archives for Lot
Montana Set to Ban Real Estate Taxes Permanently
category: Real Estate News
tags: Association Of Realtors, Constitutional Initiative, Economic Problems, Government Workers, Lot, Mea, Mft, Montana Association, Montana Legislature, Montana Realtors, Montana State, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Tax, Real Estate Taxes, Revenue Stream, State And Local Governments, State Legislature, Taxes State, Trades, Transfer Taxes, Types Of Taxes
Majority of Homeowners Opting Out of Loss Mitigation Entirely
While the news is full of climbing short sale rates and the “success” of the myriad federal programs in place to help homeowners deal with the housing crisis, a new report from the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group (SFPWG), a group that compiles and analyzes information from state attorneys general and bank supervisors around the country, indicates that fully 60 Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
tags: Bank Supervisors, Delinquent Loans, Delinquent Mortgages, Forbearance, Foreclosure Prevention, Foreclosures, Hundreds Of Thousands, Loan Modification, Loss Mitigation, Lot, Mainstream, Point In Time, Principal, Real Estate, Recruiting, Six Months, State Attorneys, Success, Two Thirds, Working Group
The “New Normal” – Soft Tyranny Threatens The Real Estate Market
I implore you to read every word of this article. It's a quick read, and you might be tempted to think it's not relevant to the real estate business. But if you'll hang with me, I assure you you'll see the very clear connection. This is really important information. There's been a lot of talk in the main-stream media and other Read full article »
category: Editorial
tags: Allies, American People, Association Of Realtors, Bad News, Bank Repossessions, Cl, Cnbc, Common Sense, Economic Approach, Economic Measures, Economic Policies, Economy, Estate Business, Foreclosures, Lot, Main Stream, National Association Of Realtors, Norm, Pertinent Facts, Polls Show, Presidency, Private Lenders, Real Estate Market, Real Estate Professionals, Realities, Realty Check, Realty Trac, Repossessed Properties, Rhetoric, Stream Media, Tyranny, Unemployment
You Pay Your Taxes and the Government Will Pay Your Tenants?
If you own rental properties that are amenable to tenants that are disabled or senior citizens, then make sure they know that in some states your property taxes make it possible for them to receive a property tax credit even though they do not own the home. In Missouri, there is currently an outcry because a number of low-income disabled people Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
$86 Million for Real Estate Docked from City Budget: Are You Next? Probably Not.
Sounds pretty grim for investors in St. Louis: their governor is making vague references to cutting nearly 86 million dollars in real estate-related tax credits. The opposition is heating up, blogging about how these cuts could destroy development in the city’s historic and low-income districts. The governor has responded by pointing out that these tax credits are not producing the Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
The Politics of Real Estate
Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.
Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.
Mortgage Industry News
Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:
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Mortgage News
- HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
- Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
- Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
- President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
- Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
- Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
- Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
- FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
- More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
- Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut
About Bryan Ellis
Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.
Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.
Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.