Clark Howard Show Notes - June 10, 2010 - New Foreclosure Numbers, Strategic Defaults, Jobs and The Economy, Mortgage Rates. Lemon Laws. Free books and ebooks.
Today Ilyce Glink is filling in for Clark Howard. Listen to Ilyce as she takes questions from callers and discusses the latest in real estate, personal finance and consumer advice. Today's show focuses on New Foreclosure Numbers, Strategic Defaults, Jobs and The Economy, Mortgage Rates and Lemon Laws. Visit Ilyce's blog for more information and helpful links
To avoid inheritance disputes, the best advice you can give a parent or relative is to make sure that his or her intentions are clear as to what he or she wants done with a home or other important asset. While parents may have good intentions, proper estate planning is essential to avoid family problems and disputes later on.
A 401k loan must be paid back in 60 days or the IRS will look at is as a 401k distribution and you will have to pay taxes and penalties. You have to find a way to pay back a 401k loan within 60 days. To avoid paying penalties on a 401k loan, you should avoid taking 401k loans and consider rolling over the rest of your 401k into an IRA. Don't get stuck paying penalties on a 401k loan.
The Principal Reduction Program from Bank of American may be able to help borrowers who are most "at risk" avoid foreclosure. The Principal Reduction Program will help borrowers with a sub-prime mortgage, Pay Option ARM or 2-1 prime hybrid ARM loan. Bank of America is using the program to help borrowers who are most at risk for foreclosure. The Treasury also offers a principal reduction program like Bank of America's principal reduction program.
Lender guidelines established under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prevent a lender from discriminating against a borrower. The lender guidelines say lenders cannot discriminate based on your race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age or because you receive public assistance, or charge you a different interest rate or loan terms based on these factors. The lender guidelines say that the lender can only consider factors that relate to your ability to repay the loan.
How does the HUD Bidding Process work? For all HUD homes, there is an automated bidding process to purchase a HUD home. Buyers who want to purchase a HUD home for a primary residence usually have a lead over real estate investors. A HUD certified real estate agent can help you purchase a HUD home through the HUD bidding process.
If you have a debt that came about during marriage, will that debt be a joint debt? Is it possible to have a debt during marriage that belongs only to one of the spouses? What if you inherit money and then incur debts and file for divorce? Who will be liable for those debts?
If you are unmarried and have purchased a home or will close on your purchase of the home by June 30, 2010 (with a contract that became binding on or before April 30, 2010), you may still be entitled to the first time home buyer tax credit. You and your partner may each be entitled to apply for the tax credit and get a portion of it on your tax return. Make sure you qualify for the tax credit and then file your tax return to get the tax credit.
Low interest loans are great these days but if your loan is tied to LIBOR, you may be in for a surprise. Some interest rates are better than others. For home loans, you are better off with a fixed rate mortgage rather than an interest rate tied to LIBOR. LIBOR rates can fluctuate and may increase more than other interest rates. Some low interest loans can rise rapidly if they are tied to an interest rate index that can fluctuate greatly.
