By DAVE HEISTEIN
Dealing with homeowner tax deductions can seem tough, but it’s key to making the most of your home financially.
In this article, we’ll make taxes easier for you to understand. From breaking down various tax deductions to highlighting tax considerations for home improvements, we’re here to simplify these complex topics.
Understanding Homeowner Tax Deductions
As a homeowner, you’re entitled to several tax deductions that can help you save money. Let’s break down five key tax deductions. Mortgage interest deduction: This allows you to deduct the interest paid on mortgage debt up to $750,000 ($375,000 if filing separately). To claim this, you need to itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). It’s important to compare your itemized…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Justice are suing developer and lender Colony Ridge, alleging it targeted Hispanic borrowers with “bait-and-switch” land sales and predatory loans.
The lawsuit claims Colony Ridge gave borrowers inaccurate information about homesites and coerced them into loans they could not afford, according to the CFPB’s press release.
“Our investigation uncovered that Colony Ridge is baiting borrowers with lies, saddling families with predatory loans for homesites that the company knows have repeatedly flooded with raw sewage and lacked basic utility infrastructure,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
Colony Ridge allegedly sold families flood-prone land without water, sewer, or electrical infrastructure. They are being charged with violating the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. …
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
With just weeks left before the Iowa caucus and the presidential primary in New Hampshire, home affordability is weighing on the minds of voters and at least one leading economist says the issue could take center stage as the race for the White House heats up.
Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, has said that President Joe Biden will be forced to make home affordability a cornerstone of his reelection bid.
“Even though the overall economy is strong, high housing costs are making many Americans feel poor,” Fairweather said in her recent release on housing predictions for 2024.
“Home prices are up more than 20% since President Biden took office. That’s a problem for his re-election bid:…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
In some urban centers like New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami, Opportunity Zones have led to substantial investments including the revitalization of neighborhoods. These zones attracted developers and investors due to the tax benefits, resulting in new housing developments, commercial spaces, and infrastructure improvements.
However, concerns have arisen about the displacement of existing residents and whether the benefits truly reach the communities that need them most. And while these zones have found success in urban settings, many rural regions have struggled to attract significant investment.
Limited infrastructure, a smaller workforce, and higher perceived risks have made it challenging to draw investors to rural areas. That hurts the low-income neighborhoods Opportunity Zones are meant to strengthen.…
By PATRICK LAVERY
Saying he and the Federal Open Market Committee were “proceeding carefully,” Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell announced that they voted unanimously Wednesday to leave its policy interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting.
This ensures that after more than a year of incremental hikes that eventually saw the key rate spike 5 1/4 percentage points dating back to the beginning of 2022, the target range will, for now, remain at 5.25% to 5.5%.
Most experts do not expect the FOMC to start bringing the rate back down again until the third quarter of 2024, owing that to Powell and the Fed’s continuing mandate to bring inflation down to 2%.
Total Personal Consumption Expenditures prices rose…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A bicameral bill that would force hedge funds out of the single-family home market has been introduced.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023 this week, with Merkley stating, “The housing in our neighborhoods should be homes for people, not profit centers for Wall Street.”
“Yet, in every corner of the country, giant financial corporations are buying up housing and driving up both rents and home prices,” Merkley said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to put in place commonsense guardrails that ensure all families have a fair chance to buy or rent a decent home in their community at…
By SCOTT OLSON
This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Bank of America $12 million for reporting false mortgage data. CFPB’s Press Release on the action stated that BofA “Loan officers routinely falsified forms about mortgage applicants.”
In response to this action, the Community Home Lenders of America issued a statement renewing its longstanding call for all mortgage loan originators to be licensed. Despite the fact that Section 1402(a)(2) of the Dodd-Frank statute requires that all mortgage loan originators must be “qualified,” the CFPB still does not require loan originators at banks to meet any of the SAFE Act requirements that apply to all non-bank mortgage loan originators.
Why is this relevant to the BofA action? The CFPB press…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The second largest bank in the country will pay a $12 million penalty after it was found that hundreds of loan officers falsified forms about mortgage applicants in violation of federal law.
Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau say that for at least four years, loan officers at Bank of America did not ask mortgage applicants required demographic questions and then falsely reported that the applicants chose not to respond.
They say this violates the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, enacted in 1975, which requires mortgage lenders to report information about loan applications and originations to the CFPB and other federal regulators. Data collected under the act is used to monitor whether financial institutions serve their communities’…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The Biden-Harris Administration has released a set of actions to better social determinants of health and officials at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development say it shows the importance of housing as a key driver of health outcomes.
The U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health says social determinants of health are defined as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”
These account for as much as 50% of county-level health outcomes, according to the playbook.
The playbook says housing insecurity is associated with increased mental health challenges, adverse birth outcomes for…
By ROB ZIMMER
As consumers and industry professionals weather a historically difficult housing market, it is more important than ever to foster a mortgage lending environment that supports the continued existence and growth of small lenders. The success of small lenders is not only in the best interest of consumers, but aligns with the goals of Congress and regulators.
In 2020, The Conference of State Bank Supervisors launched the State Examination System, which was designed for state regulators to supervise and monitor lenders. While the system is well-intentioned, in practice, these often-overlapping state exams have created proportionately larger costs and time burdens for smaller non-bank lenders (independent mortgage banks or IMBs) that must have licenses in every state they do…
