Write Your Congressmen/Senators!: For those of you who are, or have recently, undergone a foreclosure, short sale or principal reduction in your mortgage(s), an important date is soon to arrive. It's December 31, 2012. What, besides New Year's Eve, is so important about that date? It's the date that the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire. If you're not familiar about the law, this is the federal law that Congress passed in 2007 to help homeowners avoid income tax liability on any amounts of mortgage debt written off by a lender in a short sale, foreclosure or principal reduction. Under already existing law, ANY debt that is forgiven by a lender is considered taxable income in the year it's forgiven. Worse, it's taxed at regular tax rates. So, let's say you did a short sale for $50,000 less than the amount of your mortgage. That means that the bank holding your loan forgave $50,000 and you would normally have to pay tax on that fifty grand as if you'd earned it as salary! Bad enough you lost your home--you then had to pay taxes on it as well! Well, Congress in 2007 passed the aforementioned law to help homeowners like you avoid such a tax obligation if you fit within a very broad set of parameters. (Check with your CPA.) So, getting back to the start of this item, that law is set to expire at year end. So far, fortyone state attorneys general have written to Congress asking for the law to be extended. DON'T SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR ACTION! CALL OR WRITE YOUR US SENATORS AND CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES & TELL THEM YOU WANT THE LAW EXTENDED! DON'T WAIT! I know it's Thanksgiving and then you have to shop for the holidays. But the law will expire if nothing is done about it! CONTACT THEM NOW! The tax you save may be your own! Good luck.

POSSIBLE COMPENSATION FOR LENDER FORECLOSURE ERROR?: In an advertisement published in major newspapers across the country over the weekend, the Federal Reserve and Office of the Controller of the Currency (who regulates nationally chartered banks) list a number of lenders and servicing institutions who may have made errors in foreclosing on many homes nationally. The list of lenders is as follows: America's Servicing Co.; EMC; PNC Mortgage; Aurora Loan Services; EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Co,; Sovereign Bank; BAC Home Loans Servicing; Financial Freedom; SunTrust Mortgage; Beneficial; GMAC Mortgage; US Bank; Chase; HFC; Wachovia Mortgage; Citibank; HSBC; Washington Mutual (WaMu); CitiFinancial; IndyMac Mortgage Services; CitiMortgage; MetLife Bank; Wells Fargo Bank, NA; Countrywide; Nagtional City Mortgage; and Wilshire Credit Corporation. If, according to the ad, you feel there were errors made in or related to a foreclosure that cost you money, you can request a free review of your foreclosure by a neutral party, and you MAY get compensation for these errors. Compensation could be up to a maximum of $125,000 PLUS equity. Call (855) 778-0855 or go online: occ.gov/independentforeclosurereview or federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo/independent-foreclosure-review.htm . Sounds like a good thing for possible help if you were victimized by erroneous foreclosure action. Good luck.

BofA Paying It's Share!: In an announcement today, Bank of America has confirmed that it has already completed or approved for processing $15.8 Billion in consumer relief for 164,000 homeowners under its agreement in the recent mortgage settlement agreement it participated in. This is as of September 30. One form is forgiveness of first liens in the amount of $4.75 Billion in principal forgiveness offered to 30,000 borrowers. The bank has also provided short sale or deed in lieu settlements to an additional 62,000 borrowers. As far as second line borrowers, they have also been helped by BofA. In an other form of relief, the bank has provided interest rate relief to another 1,000 borrowers. If you're a BofA borrower, hopefully you've already been in one of these groups. If you are with BofA and haven't yet been offered any relief under the settlement, you should get in touch with BofA now to see what their plans are for you, and if your obligation is included in their relief activities. As always, Good Luck.