Specializing in homes for sale in he Nassau County, Queens County and Kings County (Brooklyn) real estate market. This is your realtor resource for buying and selling your next Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn Home. With expertise in realty for both purchasing and listing properties in West Hempstead, Baldwin, Hempstead, Westbury, Uniondale and Freeport and all surrounding Nassau County, NY areas, you have found the right resource for all of your real estate needs. Whether you are looking for a new Westbury property or Baldwin land, or you are in the preliminary stages of a West Hempstead real estate search, you have found the best in professional service.

Through this real estate web site, you have the ability to search virtually every home for sale in West Hempstead, Baldwin, Hempstead, Westbury, Uniondale and Freeport and all other local areas. In addition to accessing houses and real estate for sale, this web site features comprehensive community information for Nassau County areas that can help guide you in making the right buying or selling decision.

This web site features every real estate tool you need when looking at West Hempstead real estate and homes for sale. You can browse exclusive homes for sale, search virtually all West Hempstead area listings through my property search, calculate mortgage payments on your next home with my real estate mortgage calculators, access home buying and selling tips, get tremendous area information about greater Nassau County including specific information for West Hempstead, Baldwin, Hempstead, Westbury, Uniondale and Freeport. Furthermore, you can find out how much your property is worth, and access comprehensive information about selecting me as your real estate agent. If you are interested in learning about Nassau County, NY schools, this site also offers thorough school information.

Thanks again for visiting and be certain to contact the email or phone number number above for the best in professional real estate service.

TAX BREAK ON SHORT SALE

President Bush signed into law  a new measure giving tax breaks to homeowners who have mortgage debt forgiven. Under preexisting law, the debt forgiven by a lender, such as for short sales and refinances, was generally taxable to the borrower as debt discharge income. With the passage of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, a taxpayer does not have to pay federal income tax on debt forgiven for a loan secured by a qualified principal residence.

This tax break applies to debts discharged from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. Qualified principal residence indebtedness is debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving the residence (up to $2 million for refinances).

For purposes of calculating capital gains, any debts discharged excluded from income under the new law must be subtracted from the basis of the taxpayer's principal residence (but not below zero). However, taxpayers may generally exclude from capital gains income up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly) for properties owned and used as their principal residence for at least two of the last five years.

WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?

For all the homeowners who are upside down and can no longer make their mortgage payment (because of either a job loss, divorce, or an option ARM that’s resetting higher), up to now the only option was, well, letting the bank foreclose. That’s not a good option since a foreclosure sticks on your credit record for at least 10 years. But some experts are now advocating a “short sale.” This is a case of a distinction with a difference: If your bank agrees to a short sale, you then hire an agent to find a buyer for the house, you sell the house for a loss, and with the bank’s blessing, they agree to eat the loss (although they could still demand the homeowner make some kind of payment or share the loss).

TEMPORARTY INCREASE ON LOAN LIMITS

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, signed into law on February 13, 2008, establishes temporary increases to Fannie Mae’s conventional loan limits for first lien mortgage loans in high-cost areas, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This new legislation is intended to bring stability, liquidity and affordability to an important part of the housing finance system.

The purpose of this Announcement is to outline Fannie Mae’s requirements for the origination, underwriting, delivery and servicing of “jumbo-conforming” mortgage loans. A jumbo-conforming mortgage loan is any conventional conforming mortgage loan for which the original principal balance exceeds our conforming loan limits in effect prior to the temporary increase up to the new limits set by HUD for the area in which the property is located. Unless otherwise stated in this Announcement, all requirements of Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide and Servicing Guide apply to jumbo-conforming mortgage loans.