www.MIShortSaleHelpDesk.com Don’t Forget Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Expires in 2012!

Dec. 26, 2011 - PRLog -- If you’ve been considering doing a short sale on your Southeastern Michigan home, you might want to hurry up. The time is limited for homeowners who want to ensure they aren’t hit with a big tax bill because they had to walk away from a mortgage obligation. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act is set to expire on December 31, 2012, another words the home most be sold and closed by December 31,2012.

At the height of the housing crisis, Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, designed to provide some consolation to folks who had lost their homes.
In summary, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act states that if you borrow money (up to $2 million dollars) from a bank or a commercial lender and the lender cancels or forgives the debt (a.k.a. Short Sale) then you are not responsible for paying taxes on the forgiven amount. This applies only to primary residences, NOT investment properties.

The Mortgage Forgiveness and Debt Relief Act applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012. As of today, it has not yet been determined if the Mortgage Forgiveness Act will be extended past 2012.
Upon the completion of a successful short sale transaction, your bank is required by law to provide the IRS with a Form 1099-C. The 1099-C will show the IRS the amount of debt which was cancelled or forgiven. Before December 20, 2007, (this is the date which the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief was enacted) the amount of forgiven debt was considered to be taxable income. This is no longer the case for primary residences; however, all this could change if the Mortgage Forgiveness Act is not extended.
As one of the most frequent questions that we are asked regarding short sale transactions involves the tax consequences of these situations. There is a tremendous amount of mis-leading and “completely false” information floating around on the internet. Of course as a State of Michigan real estate associate broker, we are not licensed to give tax advice, and thus will strongly suggest that you always consult with a licensed CPA or attorney when dealing with these matters; however please click the link to view the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act as it appears on the IRS web site (click link) www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html
Thanks for reading, Rick Giese.
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Rick Giese is a real estate associate broker at RE/MAX Advisors.
Phone Toll Free: 1-800-274-5656. email: Rick@RickGiese.com
Rick Giese specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in the Macomb , Oakland and southern St Clair County Areas of Michigan. Macomb Loan Modification Help, Macomb Short Sale Help. Oakland Short Sale Help Macomb and Oakland County MI our services are offering sellers another option besides pre-foreclosure foreclosure or bankruptcy that can affect their credit for years. We are currently offering our services in the Richmond, Shelby Township, Macomb Township, Chesterfield Township, New Baltimore, Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, Mount Clemens (Mt Clemens) Fraser, Harrison Township, Warren, Roseville, St Clair Shores areas of Macomb County Michigan Madison Heights, Troy, Clawson, Royal Oak, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Berkley, Birmingham areas of Oakland County
IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DISCLOSURE: You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender (or servicer). If you reject the offer, you will not have to pay us for our services. The above brokerage is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

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In 2011, Rick Giese with RE/MAX Advisors closed more short sale transactions than any Realtor or Broker in Southeastern Michigan; Rick Giese has helped hundreds of Southeastern Michigan families avoid foreclosure. Rick Giese said, “Sellers facing foreclosure must remember that banks are not looking out for you or your family. When you work with Rick Giese and his team, our job is to get between you and the bank. We represent our clients, NOT the banks. It is our job to negotiate the best possible outcome for you. Ultimately, our job is to take away the stress, protect our client’s assets, and make the transaction as smooth and stress-free as possible.”