Well, we're off to a pretty good start for the 2009 year here in Winter Haven, as calls have been coming in for refinancing and a few home purchases. W2s are starting to come in as well, with tax time coming up faster than I'd like to admit. Luckily, as a homeowner, I have the interest I paid on my home to help alleviate any sting that might await me when I hit that final button in Turbo Tax. I love mortgage interest for just that reason. I'm also a fan of real estate taxes for their tax reduction properties.
However, like most IRS-related items, the exact nature of the mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions tends to be a bit foggy. So, as your friendly neighborhood Florida home loans specialist, allow me to clear things up a bit:
Homeowners are entitled to two basic home-related tax deductions -- the first is for the amount of annual mortgage interest paid, and the second is for real estate tax bills paid. This said, not all Winter Haven area homeowners are eligible for these deductions.
Two key things that might exclude you from taking these deductions are total amount you borrowed to buy your Winter Have, FL area home and whether the home is classified as a primary or secondary residence.
The official IRS publication relating to these two deductions is filled with notes and explanations but, in general, you can calculate your approximate mortgage interest tax deduction as follows:
This is a very simple explanation, but it will suffice for a rough estimate. Seek out one of many online mortgage calculators to assist you in this process.
Here's an example for you to review:
Henry homeowner paid a total of $25,000 in combined mortgage interest and real estate taxes for 2008. He looked up his tax bracket using the IRS tax rate guide and determined that he is in the 28% tax bracket. Doing the math a prescribed above, he calculated his approximate IRS home-related tax deduction to be $7,000.
The availability of mortgage interest tax deductions is one reason why loan officers make reference to "after-tax mortgage rates." An after-tax mortgage rate is the effective interest rate, post-tax code, and can be calculated using the formula below:
A homeowner with a 5.5% mortgage rate will therefore have an after-tax mortgage rate of 3.96%.
Because not every homeowner is eligible for home-related deductions, and because not every homeowner should claim them, talk with your personal accountant before making any tax-related decisions.
My FHA Mortgage Blog | Florida Mortgage Blogger
The prices for Mortgage Backed Securities have dropped this morning - which means mortgage rates here in Winter Haven will move higher - as the Government's bail out efforts pertaining to Bank of America seem to have some investors putting money back into higher-risk assets.
Consumer Sentiment rose a bit last month - which was a good thing - mainly due to retreating gas prices. However, fuel prices are starting to climb a bit now, which has us rolling on the river again.
Industrial Production fell as factories are reducing output and spending as exports slow.
If you see a rate you like or want to know exactly where you stand today, give me a call at 863-604-3019 so we can see about locking you in. My guess is that we'll see an increase moving into next week unless the present landscape changes.
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Kevin Sandridge
The Florida Home Loan Specialist
Signature Home Funding
410 Laurel Cove Way
Winter Haven, FL 33884 |
Mobile: 863-604-3019
Fax: 888-496-0265
kevin.s@sigfunding.com
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Building effective relationships one step at a time...
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My FHA Mortgage Blog | Florida Mortgage Blogger
SEO Guru Bruce Clay recently speculated that as search engine results pages (SERPS) begin to change in the future, articles on blog sites that have video components may have an edge over sites with similar content but no videos.
For example if you're marketing listings in an area where competition is high, and you have a few customer testimonial videos from sales you've already closed in that area, along with some video tours, you might rank higher than a competitor who has no video content!
Clearwater Real Estate pros Jack and Cyndee Haydon have put video commentary to great use on their site, and I have to believe that it's made a difference in their Google page placement. Their SandbarstoSunsets blog presently ranks at a 4, which is pretty darned good given the massive competition seen in the Clearwater realty market.
I'm interested to know if any of you have found this to be the case. If so, please sahre your stories with us here!
For the first time ever, contemporary art images from "The Best of Beijing: Contemporary Chinese Art" collection will be seen in the United State, and Florida Southern College's Melvin Art Gallery is the site chosen to host the event.
The "Best of Beijing" exhibition consists of 34 works by 30 artists, many of them large-scale paintings and photographs. The works were assembled by two galleries, Red Gate Gallery in Beijing and the Byron Cohen Gallery in Kansas City, Mo., and brought to Miami Beach for the Art Basel festival last month.
James Rogers, chairman of the Division of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts at FSC, had seen some of the works on a trip to Beijing in 2004 and realized it would be affordable to bring them to Lakeland from Miami.
<!--more-->The Byron Cohen collection will be on exhibit until Feb. 5, when it will return to Beijing. The Red Gate collection will continue on exhibit until March 19, when it will travel to Cologne, Germany.
Don't miss this chance to see this amazing collection of Chinese Post-Modern art. The Florida Southern College galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday when the College is in session.
New figures for average state teacher salaries were recently released. While the state ranked 29th overall - up one spot from 28th since the 2006-2007 rankings - Polk lags behind Florida's salary average by about $2,500.
The national average was $52,308. The average teacher salary in Florida in 2007-08 was $46,930, putting it at No. 29 nationally, and behind Georgia ($51,560), North Carolina ($47,354), Kentucky ($47,207) and Louisiana ($46,964) in the South.
News of future cuts is circulating around the state, and Polk County will see its share of cutbacks, as recently reported in a Lakeland Ledger news story about the Harrison Performing Arts Center facing budget cuts for the 2009-2010 school year.
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I'm a Mortgage Professional serving customers looking for Florida Home Loans and advice about the mortgage industry. I love networking and am always looking to build new Realtor relationships!
I'm a Winter Haven, Florida Mortgage Professional serving customers looking for Florida Home Loans and advice about the mortgage industry. I love networking and am always looking to build new Florida Realtor relationships!
I started in the Mortgage Industry two years ago, just before the housing market started its downturn. I remain active in this business because I take the time to really listen to the my clients' needs and provide solutions that fit their individual situations.
My job as a Florida home loans specialist is to help my clients locate financing that meets their unique requirements. I'm an educator at heart and consider myself a student of the quickly changing Florida home loans landscape. What's more - I love sharing what I learn with my clients! No one client is the same - and if there's one thing that happens steadily in this business - it's change.
A Promise to My Realtor Partners
When we work together you can expect each client's Florida home buying experience to elevate to a new level. You’ll hear them express gratitude and tell their friends and family about you - laying the groundwork for future referrals.
Additionally, we’ll define a clear marketing strategy based on collaborative efforts, enabling you to build your Florida real estate business based on relationships and become immune to existing market conditions. Over a period of time, you’ll realize higher sales, higher profit margins and less work.
Working together should be fun! Too often, the home finance process becomes hectic and stressful. My job as your partner is to alleviate client anxiety and help each family feel confident, well-informed, and comfortable.
I love to laugh and find that my good sense of humor really helps to ease the minds of worried home buyers. I am passionate about serving client needs, but I don’t take myself too seriously.
I believe in life balance. There’s more to life than just my work. Weekends are spent with my family, and although I’m occasionally available and can return calls, I maintain a schedule that balances my lifestyle.
My job is to make you, my partner ( the real estate agent) look good in the eyes of our clients. It’s also the job of the real estate agent to make the lender look good, too!
In today’s competitive marketplace, you cannot afford even the smallest margin of error. Lapses in service, especially from your affiliates (i.e. loan officers, inspectors, title & escrow agents, etc.) cost you dearly.
As your preferred mortgage lender, my job goes beyond delivering red carpet service to clients. It includes helping you build client loyalty so you benefit from a lifetime of referrals, increase lead generation in affordable ways, and enjoy the lifestyle you deserve.
As a Florida Home Loans Specialist, I work primarily with FHA and VA loan programs, as conventional products simply cannot match their flexible guidelines and affordability levels for both purchase and refinancing solutions.
This being said, I am a fully licensed mortgage broker and have access to a comprehensive list of products including:
Professional Affiliations
I believe that the level of service I provide is best described by those I serve - my customers, Real Estate partners, and mortgage industry colleagues. Here's what some of them have to say:
"Hey all. This is Leslie Petersen, and I just have to tell you a few things about Kevin Sandridge. Kevin is a one-of-a-kind mortgage broker who actually provides his clients with whatever is in the client's best interest, and he does the homework to make this happen.
It's funny, because I've never before recommended anyone with less than 5 years experience. Mortgages are complicated, and it takes a lot of work to understand the core business, let alone keep up on what's going on. Also, there's tons of misinformation out there.
(1) He cares enough about his clients to find out what their real needs are before he places them into a home loan that is not quite right for them; and
(2) Kevin works hard to stay informed. Heck, he keeps himself educated - which isn't at all easy. If he didn't, his clients would suffer and end up paying higher rates and more money in the end. Also, by knowing what's going on, he is able to make Florida home loans that other mortgage brokers don't even know how to do.
(3) He has boundless energy to do whatever is right for his clients. If I had family looking for a Florida home loan, I'd send them to Kevin. And that's the highest compliment that I could pay any mortgage professional."
Leslie Petersen, Mortgage Guidelines Expert
www.mortgagecurrentcy.com
Mortgage Educator | Mortgage Speaker
30+ year Mortgage Professional with Current Broker License in Utah
Author of numerous books and sought after author for trade magazines
Comment on my August 14, 2008 Downpayment Assistance Call with John Lamberg, Florida Area Manager with the Nehemiah Corporation
"Kevin's conference call was great; very clear, informative, and a very practical way to achieve our goal of gathering the knowledge we needed about the possible demise of DPAs.
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