NorCalSavant

I am back to the blog after spending months being extremely busy looking to buy a house.  We finally bought the house, and of course, soon after Congress passed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which includes a $6,500 credit for repeat homebuyers but only for those who buy their houses after [...]

There was an interesting article in the New York Times detailing the plight of Eileen Ulery, a homeowner in Mesa, Arizona caught up in the delinquency/foreclosure crisis. She basically owes $143,000 on a house worth only $122,000, a loan to value of about 117%. She lost her job at Arizona State University with an income [...]

The moratoria banks had on foreclosures have expired, and a steady stream of foreclosures is expected to hit the market throughout the remaining year. As these foreclosed properties add to the supply of houses on the market, home prices are expected to continue to decline or stay declined. More on this topic (What's this?) Gayest [...]

With the ongoing recession things have not been looking too good for California’s budget.  With politicians entrenched in Legislature and ideological camps with safe gerrymandered seats, there has been no clear solution to matching state income with state expenses.  State Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger have taken some half-hearted measures, although the problem seems far from [...]

Last week Treasury announced the Second Lien Program to work in tandem with the primary mortgage modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.  Treasury also announced new lender incentives under the beleaguered Hope for Homeowners Program for underwater homeowners.  Are these new programs going to make a difference in continuing [...]

Interest rates are low, and house prices are down, but all you eager mortgage buyers out there, beware.  Mortgage fees and private mortgage insurance (PMI) have gone up, sometimes based on the credit score, and underwriting and appraisal rules have changed for the worse. More on this topic (What's this?) The Boldest Prediction I’ve Heard [...]

In my earlier post here, I had discussed the details of President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program.  The program has two components — Home Affordable Refinance program for solvent homeowners with a loan-to-value as high as 105%, and Home Affordable Modification program for delinquent or nearly-so homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. More on this [...]

In an earlier post I had briefly described the personal-finance benefits of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the stimulus package signed by President Obama for kick starting the moribund economy. Here is a rundown of individual benefits in the stimulus package in a little bit greater detail. More on this topic (What's [...]

In an earlier post I discussed the options available for tax preparation and electronic filing using a computer.  What if someone you know does not want to use a computer to file their return?  What if they needed to ask a question or clarify something? What kind of help is available for them? Turns out, [...]

I have been using tax preparation software packages for over a decade now to prepare and file my taxes. The benefits included ease in preparing the return, eliminating calculation errors, having any change cascade automatically through the entire return, error-free filing with the electronic filing option, and faster refunds. I think I used Tax Cut [...]