What does this mean to you if you’re selling a home?  It means that you should be choosing a company who offers the strongest online marketing available: Sea to Sky Realty!

With our company your home gets showcased not just locally, but also nationally and internationally! Contact us today for a free consultation.

Here is the full story from today´s Herald Tribune:

Online searches for properties at a prominent real estate site showed North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota as the third biggest target in the nation.

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A short-term IRS program that ignores lender-forgiven mortgage debt ends Dec. 31; if you need to short sale your home, you should consider listing now!

You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale, foreclosure after this year. Now is the time to make the hard decision: Are you going to walk away from your underwater home?

Uncle Sam is still giving homeowners until Dec. 31, 2012, to go through a short sale or foreclosure without tax consequences – as long as the lender officially releases the debt.

But on Jan. 1, 2013, the rules change: The amount a lender forgives, ether in a short sale or foreclosure, on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes.

If a bank writes off debt in a short sale, it’s a “taxable event,” and the lender tells the Internal Revenue Service about the deal by submitting a “Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt” at the end of the year. Home sellers must acknowledge the amount when they fill out their federal taxes.

So if a house sold $50,000 short of what is owed on the mortgage, then the selling homeowners will owe federal income taxes on that $50,000. Homeowners would owe $12,500 if they’re in the 25 percent bracket; $7,500 if in the 15 percent tax section.

Homeowners would be on the hook even if the house sold but the bank had not formally forgiven the loan in a letter: The banks must officially sign off in writing before Dec. 31.

“It’s a huge issue – it will be a shock to many taxpayers after 2012,” said Mark Steber, the Florida-based chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

The law first came into affect five years ago as the housing market went bust nationwide.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 “generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence,” according to the Internal Revenue Service. “Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.”

Up to $2 million of forgiven debt can be forgiven this year, $1 million if married and filing separately, according to the IRS.

Homeowners declaring bankruptcy could escape paying income taxes on any cancellation of debt income if the debt is forgiven in the bankruptcy even if the debtor is solvent, said Nick Jovanovich, a board-certified tax attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Bankruptcy trumps everything,” he said.

Or homeowners might not have to pay income taxes on any cancellation of debt income to the extent that they are insolvent immediately before the cancellation – that is, their debts exceed the value of their assets, Jovanovich added.

Steber and Jovanovich said homeowners should decide now what they are going to do – to give themselves time.

Are you considerung a short sale? Contact us today for a consultation:

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When it comes to foreigners looking to plant roots in the United States, Florida is the hot spot.

The Sunshine State is the most popular among foreign home buyers with 31 percent of all home purchases made there coming from foreign residents, according to a study by Credit Sesame, an online credit and loan management firm, that used National Association of Realtors’ data.

Foreign buyers represented $82 billion of the U.S. real estate market in 2010, while in 2009 they represented only $66 billion.

“Housing is more affordable than ever,” said Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. “It’s difficult to get credit now but international investors come with cash.”

Foreign buyers also purchase higher-priced real estate.

With international buyers so integral to our market, make sure to list your property with a true international Real Estate Company to achieve the best result. If you are interested in selling contact us to take advantage of our international connections.

All of the top 10 cities “picking up strength” are in the Sun Belt. Florida dominates the list with five snow bird hubs in the top 10: the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota area (No.1), Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach  (No. 4), Cape Coral-Fort Myers (No. 5), West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (No. 6), and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (No. 10).

In Bradenton a little over six times as many people from outside the area were looking for properties there as the number of people living there looking for properties elsewhere.

Another sign of improving health in the Florida real estate market: Existing home sales along the coasts picked up somewhat dramatically this year, even in the slower summer and early fall months.

…both investors looking to purchase rental properties and Baby Boomers scouting for vacation and/or retirement properties are hunting for bargains in floundering housing markets in Florida and California. “Part of the long term trend is Baby Boomers moving toward retirement, and some of those that put off their searches while home prices were skyrocketing in the Sun Belt, are now looking again because prices have fallen so much.”

Give us a call at 941866.1666 if we can help you buy or sell a property in Bradenton / Sarasota, Florida.

Though the past four years have seen many cities suffering from large  numbers of foreclosures and a loss in home values, ten of these real estate  markets are now leading the nation towards a general recovery and stability of  the housing sector.  The six markets included – Miami, Orlando, Ft. Myers/Cape Coral, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota/Bradenton & Lakeland/Winter Haven.

Here is Realtor.com’s opinion of the Sarasota FL real estate market:

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically. Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

The Realtor.com analysis found that:

• Sarasota-Bradenton attracted 11 percent of Florida’s international buyers.

• List prices in the market are up 17.5 percent from 2010.

• The number of days a home spends on the market before being sold is down 32 percent.

Let’s take a closer look at all markets:

Miami, FL: The number one town on the report, Miami  has gone from being one of the first victims of the subprime crash to having a  healthy inventory that is only half the size from a year ago. Today, Miami is  only reporting one foreclosure for every 407 homes, compared to the national  rate of one per every 213. And, condo sales have increased 79 percent in the  first five months of this year, largely due to an influx of foreign  investors.

Orlando, FL: Ranked second on the report, Orlando  leads the nation in the ratio of Realtor.com searches to listings. Inventory has  also obtained a balance with demand. Foreclosures hurt the market in  2007-08, but foreclosures in Orlando were down 58 percent in September,  compared to last year.

Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL: Median prices in Fort  Myers-Cape Coral have increased almost 33% year-over-year, according to  Realtor.com’s October 2011 Real Estate Trend Data. In addition, foreclosures are  down–only one in 313 homes in September–while inventory has been reduced and  foreign buyers have been attracted to the area’s real estate prices. The metro  ranked third on the turnaround report.

Fort Lauderdale: FL: A decrease in inventory  coupled with an uptick in prices earns Fort Lauderdale the number five spot  on the report. Inventory decreased almost 38 percent year-over-year, according  to Realtor.com’s October data report. Prices have fallen about 46 percent since  2006, but are now going up.

Sarasota-Bradenton, FL: A total of 11 percent of  all foreign buyers in Florida are in Sarasota-Bradenton specifically.  Number six on the turnaround report, the market has seen a list prices  increase of more than 17 percent year-0ver-year and a decrease of  inventory of 32 percent according to the Realtor.com October data. The  market still has a long way to go, after losing more than 55 percent of home  values from 2006 to the second quarter of 2011 due to foreclosures.

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL: A year ago,  Lakeland-Winter Haven topped national foreclosure filing lists, but now the  area’s distressed sale market share has decreased 46 percent. The area–ranked  7th on the turnaround list–has seen total listings decreased more than 36  percent year-over-year and median age of inventory decrease more than 17  percent, according to Realtor.com’s October data. Prices are also up 12 percent  compared to last October.

Realtor.com’s Top Ten Turnaround Town Report is compiled using a formula  based on price appreciation, changes in inventory, median age of inventory,  searches by Realtor.com visitors, and unemployment data.

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Here is an excerpt of an interesting article from the Bradenton Herald on this topic:

The big banks are back in the foreclosure business.

 After a year of fewer foreclosures, as bankers reeled from revelations that they were falsifying documents in foreclosure cases, the latest monthly numbers suggest banks are starting to repossess houses again.

In October, foreclosure actions rose 44 percent from the month before in Charlotte County, 20 percent in Sarasota County, 37 percent for Florida and 7 percent for the country as a whole, according to data from RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., market research firm.

Only Manatee County bucked the state and national trend. Its foreclosure actions fell 25 percent from September.

The overall rise in foreclosures was welcomed by real estate agents who have been frustrated by what they view as artificial supply shortages in the face of strong investor demand. But if foreclosure filings keep increasing in the coming months — as expected — it could drive home prices down again and may make it even more difficult for non-distressed owners to sell.

What could make the situation worse before it gets better, experts say, is an increasing number of underwater homeowners don’t see the point of struggling any longer.

“People are worn out and the stigma tied to foreclosure is gone,” Shari Olefson, an attorney with Fowler White and author of “Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream.” “At cocktails they are no longer embarrassed if they have stopped paying, they are embarrassed if they are still paying. And they are being empowered by the Occupy Wall Street movement.”

For the time being, real estate agents are glad fresh supplies of foreclosures are coming on the market.

Court records show that the 10 largest lenders in Sarasota and Manatee counties filed 591 early-stage, or lis pendens, actions in October — a 32 percent increase from the 447 filed in September.

Bank of America — the owner of Countrywide — led the way with 170 early-stage filings, compared with 118 the month before.

At the same time, short sales — in which banks permit owners to sell properties for less than they owe on their mortgages — also are on the upswing.

Across the country, 230,678 foreclosure actions were filed in October, a 7 percent increase from the previous month, but still down nearly 31 percent from October 2011.

Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida posted the top state foreclosure rates.

One in every 180 Nevada housing units had a foreclosure filing during October — more than three times the national average.

California came in second with one out of every 243 housing units. Arizona was third with one out every 259 and Florida was fourth with one out of every 268.

Read the full story

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Forbes

Here are some excerpts from a Sarasota Herald article covering that topic:

To some, it might seem surprising that a business magazine catering to wealthy readers would name Sarasota-Bradenton and Punta Gorda on its list of “America’s Recession-Resistant Cities For Real Estate.”

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1. Move must be closely related to start of work Generally, you can consider moving expenses incurred within one year from the date you first reported to a new location, as closely related in time to the start of work.
2. Distance Test Your move meets the distance test if your new main job location is at least 50 miles farther from your former home than your previous job location was.
3. Time Test You must work full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months after you arrive in the general area of your new job location, or at least 78 weeks during the first 24 months if you are self-employed. If your income tax return is due before you’ve satisfied this requirement, you can still deduct your allowable moving expenses if you expect to meet the time test in the following years.
4. Travel You can deduct lodging expenses for yourself and household members while moving from your former home to your new home. You can also deduct transportation expenses, including airfare, vehicle mileage, parking fees and tolls you pay to move, but you can only deduct one trip per person.
5. Household goods You can deduct the cost of packing, crating and transporting your household goods and personal property. You may be able to include the cost of storing and insuring these items while in transit.
6. Utilities You can deduct the costs of connecting or disconnecting utilities.
7. Nondeductible expenses You cannot deduct as moving expenses: any part of the purchase price of your new home, car tags, drivers license, costs of buying or selling a home, expenses of entering into or breaking a lease, security deposits and storage charges except those incurred in transit.
8. Form You can deduct only those expenses that are reasonable for the circumstances of your move. To figure the amount of your moving expense deduction use Form 3903, Moving Expenses.
9. Reimbursed expenses If your employer reimburses you for the cost of the move, the reimbursement may have to be included on your income tax return.
10. Update your address When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS.

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If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home.

1. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.
2. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).
3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.
4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.
5. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.
6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.
7. Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.
8. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.
9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return.
10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

If you are interested in selling your home please call us today at 941.866.1666 to set up a free consultation.

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There are 2,729 homes for sale, which is the lowest number for at  least three years — a sign that demand is catching up with supply.

But these good news might not last for long – as there is still plenty of “shadow inventory” of bank-owned homes and homes waiting to go into  foreclosure which will sooner or later flood the market.

So if you are thinking of selling your home now is a good time to get started.

Contact us today if we can help you buy or sell.