Refinance Mortgage

My house lost $200,000 in value. I’ve been current on my mortgage payments. I want to do a short sale and buy a smaller cheaper house. How will a short sale affect my credit? and will this prevent me from buying a house in the future?

You are not doing a short sale, you have to be in foreclosure to do that. Otherwise I would just sell all of my properties short to a friend and then buy them back. I would make millions and not really care what happened to my credit rating.

I’m a landlord for the first time this year so forgive my ignorance, but can I claim my mortgage payments as an expense for my tax return? I see where the mortgage interest can be claimed, but the mortgage is easily my biggest expense and the biggest reason I did not make any money on the property this year. Also what about the condo fees?

Thank you in advance for any help!
Thanks for all the help! I use Taxcuts and the depreciation is built into the wizard, but the amount it calculates is zero. I may indeed need to talk to a tax consultant this first year though I do have good records of income vs expenses.

No, but you can claim the mortgage interest, property taxes, and insurance costs. You can also deduct property management fees, rental agent commissions, utilities, repairs & maintenance, depreciation, condo or HOA fees, etc. You do not deduct the portion that represents principal repayment.

You file Schedule E to report the income and expenses and Form 4652 to figure the depreciation deduction. If this is your first year as a landlord I’d recommend that you consult with a pro this year. You will need to get the depreciation schedule set up and set up a simple bookkeeping system to track income and expenses. If you make any mistakes early on, especially with depreciation, it can cost you dearly in later years when you go to sell.

Hi,

My partner and I are 3 months behind on our mortgage payments due to losing my job,xmas etc…. when would the bank start repossession proceedings? or if we catch up in 2009 will we be ok?? Thanks UK ONLY

Im not from the UK…but due to global economic issues, most banks are willing to work with you.

You should call your bank, or go to your bank to have a meeting witht them. Explain your situation and try to set up a resolution. Usually, as long as your making an effort to pay, you’ll be ok.

Some banks will "forgive" your missed payments and add it on to the end of your payment. ( so if your mortgage would originally be completely paid off on March of 2010, they would add them onto the end and it would be paid off in June of 2010.)