Mortgage and Refinance Points Are Tax Deductible

Almost all individuals in the U.S. obtain mortgage while buying a new house, but in this recent economic turmoil, they often being unable to make their monthly mortgage payments on time. The main reason behind this is that you have never asked your self a basic question ‘mortgage how much can I borrow’. However, if you are default on paying your mortgage loan you can go for mortgage refinance that will help you comfortably make your monthly mortgage payments.

This encourages the effort of home ownership. In order to encourage it further, the IRS allows a taxpayer to deduct their mortgage fees and interest. The IRS also allows a taxpayer to deduct mortgage points as well. So in order to qualify for the deduction, file a schedule A and list down the deductible items on 1040 return.

For acquiring mortgage you need to pay different types of settlement fees, some of the fees are considered as points while others are not. The term “points” is used to describe certain charges paid to obtain a home mortgage. Appraisal fees, credit report fees, title report fees and filing fees are not deducted as points. But origination and discount costs are deducted as points and are typically charged as a percentage of the loan. Let us evaluate this. One point is equal to one percent of the loan amount, so if you take out a loan of $250,000 then the point deducted will be $2,500.

Points are required to be paid during the time of purchasing a house and are then deductible on the same year. Costs have to be paid by you personally, and not by the seller or by the mortgage company on your behalf. You use the loan while buying the house, and if you qualify under the other requirements, write off all of the points immediately.

Aside from mortgage, the IRS also allows borrowers to deduct on a refinance, but the terms of deduction are little different from that of a mortgage. Usually under refinance, points are deducted throughout the term of the loan. For instance, if your loan is for 30 years then the points will be deducted over 30 years.

But if you use a portion or all your refinance towards home renovation then that portion of new loan’s closing costs will be immediately deductible. For example, if you borrow $200,000 and pay off $150,000, and the rest $50,000 you use to improve your home then 25 percent of the points will immediately be deducted, since $50, 000 is 25 percent of $20,000. The remaining 75 percent will be deductible throughout your loan term.

However, in order to qualify for the deduction of mortgage points you need to meet the following guidelines.
• The loan must be used towards buying or improving your primary house.
• The points should not be more than what are generally charged in your area.
• You must pay your taxes on a calendar-year cycle.
• Do not pay points on the items that are not counted as points.

Thus, this tax deduction from a mortgage and refinance is encouraging a lot of people of people for buying a house. Go through the process of how the tax is deductible from your mortgage and file for tax deduction on time.

Lenders vs Mortgage Brokers

When looking for a mortgage you may be faced with a decision as to whether you should use the services of a mortgage broker instead of applying for a home loan directly with a lender.

One of the main reasons why you should use a mortgage broker is that they have access to a much wider range of products than an individual lender does. Mortgage advisors who work within bank branches are tied to the products that the bank offers and cannot advise on products offered by other financial institutions. This means that tied advisors are not able to offer advice on the entire mortgage market and are therefore not independent and unbiased.

Instead those mortgage brokers are usually limited to about a dozen products, usually with varying interest rates, loan-to-value ratios, and fees. Apart from the variances in these factors, the products are mostly the same.

They will usually require the applicant to pass the same set of criteria, such as credit worthiness, in order to assess whether they are eligible for a loan. This normally means that applicants with adverse credit will not be approved and the lender will not assist them in locating a more suitable product.

Independent mortgage brokers, on the other hand, may have access to thousands of products from dozens of different lenders. This will certainly increase the odds of you finding a product to suit your individual circumstances, particularly if you are self-employed or do not have a perfect credit history.

An independent mortgage broker will have access to software that will be able to scour the entire UK mortgage market to find the best product available to suit your individual needs.

Many niche lenders specialize in providing mortgages for people who do not qualify for the products offered by mainstream lenders and they usually prefer to conduct their business through independent mortgage brokers. This means that you will not be able to access certain lenders without using the services of a mortgage broker.

Some larger mortgage brokers are even able to offer exclusive and semi-exclusive deals. These mortgages are not available on the open market which means it is always a good idea to contact at least one major mortgage broker to find out what they have to offer. Exclusive deals are usually only available for a limited time and target certain borrowers.

However if you are eligible for a prime mortgage product you may be able to secure the best deal directly from a lender. If you apply for a mortgage with a mainstream lender you will be able to save on mortgage broker fees as you will effectively cut out the middle man. Ordinarily you will be required to have a perfect credit file and some equity in your home or a large deposit.

Therefore, if you are looking to buy a home and need a mortgage, or if you are looking to remortgage a property you already own, you will need to asses the two options carefully and make a decision based upon your personal financial needs.

Data Breaches From Bankrupt Mortgage Lenders

Tim Maliyil

The stock market is in a tumult. Actually, it has been for about a year, ever since the subprime fiasco (anyone take a look at Moody’s performance over the past year?) Now that that particular issue has been beaten to death, other mortgage related issues are cropping up. Most of the stuff covered in the media is financial in nature, but some of those mortgage related issues do concern information security.

It’s no secret that there are plenty of companies in the US that discard sensitive documents by dumping them unceremoniously: leave it by the curb, drive it to a dumpster, heave it over the walls of abandoned property, and other assorted mind boggling insecure practices. In fact, MSNBC has an article on this issue, and names numerous bankrupt mortgage companies whose borrowers’ records were found in dumpsters and recycling centers. The information on those documents include credit card numbers and SSNs, as well as addresses, names, and other information needed to secure a mortgage.

Since the companies have filed for bankruptcy and are no more, the potential victims involved have no legal recourse, and are left to fend for themselves. In a way, it makes sense that companies that have filed for bankruptcy are behaving this way. (Not that I’m saying this is proper procedure.) For starters, if a company does wrong, one goes after the company; however, the company has filed for bankruptcy, it is no more, so there’s no one to “go after.” In light of the company status, this means that the actual person remaining behind to dispose of things, be they desks or credit applications, can opt to do whatever he feels like. He could shred the applications. He could dump them nearby. He could walk away and let the building’s owner take care of them. What does he care? It’s not as if he’s gonna get fired.

Also, proper disposal requires either time, money, or both. A bankrupt company doesn’t have money. It may have time, assuming people are going to stick around, but chances are their shredder has been seized by creditors. People are not going to stick around to shred things by hand, literally.

Aren’t there any laws regulating this? Apparently, such issues are covered by FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, and although its guidelines require that “businesses to dispose of sensitive financial documents in a way that protects against ‘unauthorized access to or use of the information’” [msnbc.com], it stops short of requiring the physical destruction of data. I’m not a lawyer, but perhaps there’s enough leeway in the language for one to go around dropping sensitive documents in dumpsters?

Like I mentioned before, inappropriate disposal of sensitive documents has been going on forever; I’m pretty sure this has been a problem since the very first mortgage was issued. My personal belief is that most companies would act responsibly and try to properly dispose of such information. But, this may prove to be a point of concern as well because of widespread misconceptions of what it means to protect data against unauthorized access.

What happens if a company that files for bankruptcy decides to sell their company computers to pay off creditors? Most people would delete the information found in the computer, and that’s that-end of story. Except, it’s not. When files are deleted, the actual data still resides in the hard disks; it’s just that the computer’s operating system doesn’t have a way to find the information anymore. Indeed, this is how retail data restoration applications such as Norton are able to recover accidentally deleted files.

Some may be aware of this and decide to format the entire computer before sending it off to the new owners. The problem with this approach is the same as deleting files: data recovery is a cinch with the right software. Some of them retail for $30 or less-as in free. So, the sensitive data that’s supposed to be deleted can be recovered, if not easily, at least cheaply-perhaps by people with criminal interests.

Am I being paranoid? I don’t think so. I’ve been tracking fraud for years now, and I can’t help but conclude that the criminal underworld has plenty of people looking to be niche operators, not to mention that there are infinitesimal ways of defrauding people (look up “salad oil” and “American Express,” for an example). An identification theft ring looking to collect sensitive information from bankrupt mortgage dealers wouldn’t surprise me, especially in an environment where such companies are dropping left and right.

The economics behind it make sense as well. A used computer will retail anywhere from $100 to $500. The information in it, if not wiped correctly, will average many times more even if you factor in the purchase of data recovery software. Criminals have different ways of capitalizing on personal data, ranging from selling the information outright to engaging in something with better returns.

Is there a better way to protect oneself? Whole disk encryption is a way to ensure that such problems do not occur: One can just reformat the encrypted drive itself to install a new OS; the original data remains encrypted, so there’s no way to extract the data. Plus, the added benefit is that the data is protected in the event that a computer gets lost or stolen. However, commonsense dictates that encryption is something ongoing concerns sign up for, not businesses about to go bankrupt. My guess is that sooner or later we’ll find instances of data breaches originating from equipment being traced back to bankrupt mortgage dealers.

The stock market is in a tumult. Actually, it has been for about a year, ever since the subprime fiasco (anyone take a look at Moody’s performance over the past year?) Now that that particular issue has been beaten to death, other mortgagerelated issues are cropping up. Most of the stuff covered in the media is financial in nature, but some of those mortgagerelated issues do concern information security.

It’s no secret that there are plenty of companies in the US that discard sensitive documents by dumping them unceremoniously: leave it by the curb, drive it to a dumpster, heave it over the walls of abandoned property, and other assorted mindboggling insecure practices. In fact, MSNBC has an article on this issue, and names numerous bankrupt mortgage companies whose borrowers’ records were found in dumpsters and recycling centers. The information on those documents include credit card numbers and SSNs, as well as addresses, names, and other information needed to secure a mortgage.

Since the companies have filed for bankruptcy and are no more, the potential victims involved have no legal recourse, and are left to fend for themselves. In a way, it makes sense that companies that have filed for bankruptcy are behaving this way. (Not that I’m saying this is proper procedure.) For starters, if a company does wrong, one goes after the company; however, the company has filed for bankruptcy, it is no more, so there’s no one to “go after.” In light of the company status, this means that the actual person remaining behind to dispose of things, be they desks or credit applications, can opt to do whatever he feels like. He could shred the applications. He could dump them nearby. He could walk away and let the building’s owner take care of them. What does he care? It’s not as if he’s gonna get fired.

Also, proper disposal requires either time, money, or both. A bankrupt company doesn’t have money. It may have time, assuming people are going to stick around, but chances are their shredder has been seized by creditors. People are not going to stick around to shred things by hand, literally.

Aren’t there any laws regulating this? Apparently, such issues are covered by FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, and although its guidelines require that “businesses to dispose of sensitive financial documents in a way that protects against ‘unauthorized access to or use of the information’” [msnbc.com], it stops short of requiring the physical destruction of data. I’m not a lawyer, but perhaps there’s enough leeway in the language for one to go around dropping sensitive documents in dumpsters?

Like I mentioned before, inappropriate disposal of sensitive documents has been going on forever; I’m pretty sure this has been a problem since the very first mortgage was issued. My personal belief is that most companies would act responsibly and try to properly dispose of such information. But, this may prove to be a point of concern as well because of widespread misconceptions of what it means to protect data against unauthorized access.

What happens if a company that files for bankruptcy decides to sell their company computers to pay off creditors? Most people would delete the information found in the computer, and that’s that-end of story. Except, it’s not. When files are deleted, the actual data still resides in the hard disks; it’s just that the computer’s operating system doesn’t have a way to find the information anymore. Indeed, this is how retail data restoration applications such as Norton are able to recover accidentally deleted files.

Some may be aware of this and decide to format the entire computer before sending it off to the new owners. The problem with this approach is the same as deleting files: data recovery is a cinch with the right software. Some of them retail for $30 or less-as in free. So, the sensitive data that’s supposed to be deleted can be recovered, if not easily, at least cheaply-perhaps by people with criminal interests.

Am I being paranoid? I don’t think so. I’ve been tracking fraud for years now, and I can’t help but conclude that the criminal underworld has plenty of people looking to be niche operators, not to mention that there are infinitesimal ways of defrauding people (look up “salad oil” and “American Express,” for an example). An identification theft ring looking to collect sensitive information from bankrupt mortgage dealers wouldn’t surprise me, especially in an environment where such companies are dropping left and right.

The economics behind it make sense as well. A used computer will retail anywhere from $100 to $500. The information in it, if not wiped correctly, will average many times more even if you factor in the purchase of data recovery software. Criminals have different ways of capitalizing on personal data, ranging from selling the information outright to engaging in something with better returns.

Is there a better way to protect oneself? Whole disk encryption is a way to ensure that such problems do not occur: One can just reformat the encrypted drive itself to install a new OS; the original data remains encrypted, so there’s no way to extract the data. Plus, the added benefit is that the data is protected in the event that a computer gets lost or stolen.

However, commonsense dictates that encryption is something ongoing concerns sign up for, not businesses about to go bankrupt. My guess is that sooner or later we’ll find instances of data breaches originating from equipment being traced back to bankrupt mortgage dealers.

Mortgage Protection Insurance

The majority of homeowners never stop to consider what would happen if they suddenly didn’t have the ability to make their mortgage payment

The majority of homeowners never stop to consider what would happen if they suddenly didn’t have the ability to make their mortgage payment. Yet everyday people find themselves facing sudden illnesses, a death in the family or a natural disaster that prevents them from having the necessary funds to pay their mortgage. With mortgage protection insurance all homeowners can have the extra protection they need.

Many of those who buy a house and finance a mortgage are young and very healthy. They really don’t foresee anything happening that could interfere with their ability to hold a job and make money. However, illness and accidents to happen and unless you have mortgage protection insurance in place, you are likely still responsible for making your full mortgage payment even if physically that’s not possible.

A common problem that people find themselves facing is being hurt in a car accident. Auto accidents can be very serious and depending on the job you do, you might not be able to go to work for several weeks or months. Although you are likely to realize a monetary settlement from the accident if you weren’t at fault that can take years. In the meantime you have a mortgage to pay and no job to do that. If you have mortgage protection insurance that includes accident coverage, your mortgage payments will be made until you can return to work.

Illness is much the same. Cancer, heart disease and strokes strike people of all ages, all the time. Serious illnesses typically prevent a person from working in any capacity. Without a regular salary coming in, they can face the reality of losing their home to foreclosure. With mortgage protection insurance, they can apply for coverage once they can no longer work. Typically a doctor is assigned to the case and his or her findings will help determine how long coverage will be extended for. For a family already facing the hardship of a life-threatening illness, having to worry about losing their home shouldn’t be a concern at all.

Most companies that offer funding for homes will have these types of policies available. The representative that you work with during the loan process will usually initially ask you about whether you are interested in mortgage protection insurance. Many homeowners turn it down because they are concerned with saving the few dollars a month it would cost. It’s certainly a personal decision but it’s incredibly important to weigh the benefits of having mortgage protection insurance against what could possibly occur if you didn’t. Think about the long term effects of a serious illness or accident and just what your family may risk losing if you don’t have the mortgage protection insurance in place.