I’m receiving gleeful emails from various private mortgage insurance companies announcing that mortgage insurance will once again be tax deductible. This is thanks to the PATH Act extending certain tax benefits to eligible home owners.
Mortgage Insurance Tax Deductible for 2015 and 2016
December 23, 2015 by 2 Comments
Mortgage Insurance Deductible through 2014
December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment
You may have heard that last week, Congress passed and President Obama signed the 2014 Tax Increase Prevention Act. It has some good news for home owners who currently pay various forms of mortgage insurance. If you pay mortgage insurance, including private mortgage insurance (pmi), or VA, FHA or USDA forms of mortgage insurance during 2014, you may be able to deduct that on your 2014 income taxes.
Before you get too excited, this act does not extend the mortgage insurance deduction past 2014.
So if you are paying any form of mortgage insurance, especially if it’s private mortgage insurance or FHA mortgage insurance, it still makes sense to see if you can eliminate or reduce your payment with a refinance as you will not be able to deduct your mortgage insurance during 2015 (as things currently stand).
If I can help you with your refi or home purchase on property located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me!
Tips on how to save up for a down payment
December 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Get Rich Slowly recently posted How to Save Up for a Down Payment Fast. I’d like to respond to some of the ideas offered in GRS’s post from a Mortgage Professional’s viewpoint and offer my advice.
Here are some of the suggestions on How to Save Up for Down Payment Fast along with my 2 cents (in italics).
Mortgage Insurance loses tax deduction benefit in 2014
May 21, 2014 by 2 Comments
Over the past few years, home owners have enjoyed deducting private mortgage insurance (pmi) premiums from their income tax. This is also true for government forms of mortgage insurance (aka funding fee or guarantee fee) with FHA, VA and USDA mortgage loans. This benefit is coming to an end effective on 2014 tax returns.
Mortgage Insurance is Tax Deductible for 2013
January 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Home owners who acquired their home after 2006 and who have mortgage insurance may be able to treat the mortgage insurance premiums as they would their mortgage interest deduction when they file their 2013 income taxes. This is per IRS Publication 936.
Here are some basic requirements:
Happy Birthday, Son!
September 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Today is my son’s birthday. Although to me, it seems like just yesterday he was toddling around in his Barney slippers, he is now entering his third year of college. I simply could not be more proud of him.
The one piece of advice that I would offer anyone with children is to start saving for your child’s education NOW if having your son or daughter attend college is important to you. I’m thankful that I’m able to help my son out with his tuition. He does have student loans…however I’m at least able to help contribute. I set up an auto-payment into a 529 account years ago and before that, bought savings bonds. I didn’t miss what was taken from my checking account. Of course it did take a hit in recent years – but I’m still so glad I’ve been able to save some money for him.
Which mortgage is best for you? Consider your retirement and savings accounts.
May 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
On my recent post, Comparing 15 and 20 Year Fixed Rates, a reader asks how do I decide which program is best for my clients? The short answer is: I don’t. The decision of what type of mortgage to select is up to my client (assuming they qualify for the shorter term mortgage with the higher payment, of course). I feel it is my duty to help my clients understand the mortgage programs, so they can make an educated decision and to provide them with various scenarios to consider. [Read more…]
Financing a “Kiddie Condo” for your College Student
June 2, 2011 by 1 Comment
A few weeks ago, I helped a Kent couple purchase a condominium located in Seattle for their daughter to live in while she attends college at Seattle University. They were prequalifed with their credit union, however the credit union was treating the transaction as if it were an investment property even though the couple (we’ll call them Mr. and Mrs. Kent) were not going to rent the property.
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