[tony soprano]

I have a very good friend who had their principal written down $50K as well as an interest rate reduction. He has two pending problems that are as yet unresolved; he's unable to prove that the proceeds of his cash-out refinancing were used for home improvement. Secondly, California, unlike the federal government, does not currently offer tax relief for forgiven mortgage debt. So, he's currently looking at a substantial tax liability this year. My last conversation with him he indicated that he was going to file an extension and weigh his options.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by tony soprano

I have a very good friend who had their principal written down $50K as well as an interest rate reduction. He has two pending problems that are as yet unresolved; he's unable to prove that the proceeds of his cash-out refinancing were used for home improvement. Secondly, California, unlike the federal government, does not currently offer tax relief for forgiven mortgage debt. So, he's currently looking at a substantial tax liability this year. My last conversation with him he indicated that he was going to file an extension and weigh his options.

CA is adopting the federal standard...I don't know if it is done but about to be...

[tony soprano]

Originally Posted by olecapt

CA is adopting the federal standard...I don't know if it is done but about to be...

The last I read, the Governator nixed the submitted bill because it contained language he didn't care for. I believe it's still being negotiated. That's one of the reasons for the extension. That, and he still has the problem that he can't prove his cash-out was used for home improvements. That will take some "creativity".

<on edit> This is funny, I found both these passages on the FTB website -

Pending legislation: Two bills are pending in the Legislature that would extend and modify California mortgage forgiveness debt relief to conform more to the federal law: AB 1779 and SBX6 14. (SBX8 32, a bill passed by the Legislature on March 16, 2010, would have extended California mortgage forgiveness debt relief; however, that bill was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger on March 25, 2010.) Watch this page or subscribe to "Legislation Information" for updates on pending legislation.

And then -

On April 12, 2010, SB 401, the Conformity Act of 2010 was enacted. It allows taxpayers who had all or part of the loan balance on their principal residence forgiven by their lender to exclude the forgiven debt from California gross income. The new law applies to discharges of qualified principal residence indebtedness on or after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2013.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by tony soprano

The last I read, the Governator nixed the submitted bill because it contained language he didn't care for. I believe it's still being negotiated. That's one of the reasons for the extension. That, and he still has the problem that he can't prove his cash-out was used for home improvements. That will take some "creativity."

Can't find a source I think really authorative but...



California Waives State Taxes on Forgiven Mortgage Debt

I would think tomorrows LA Times etc.

[eventusstultorummagister]

Originally Posted by olecapt

There are downs as you keep pushing. However there are also ups. Rental of SFRs is at an all time high by big margins. Average pricing is about on the five year average though median is down around 8% or so. Most interesting leases are exceeding listings...a thing I have never seen before.

I would think the low cost of purchasing and of leasing SFRs is what is laying waste to the apartment market.

Would you agree that occupancy rates are a precursor to falling(or rising) rents? Won't vacancy rates parallel employment activity?

What is the vacancy rate for privately owned SFR properties? How are those statistics tracked? Can you please provide me with a source?


BTW, not pushing anything, just searching for hard facts.

[007 license to sell]

Originally Posted by eventusstultorummagister

Would you agree that occupancy rates are a precursor to falling(or rising) rents? Won't vacancy rates parallel employment activity?

What is the vacancy rate for privately owned SFR properties? How are those statistics tracked? Can you please provide me with a source?


BTW, not pushing anything, just searching for hard facts.

Here is a link that shows residential rental units leased, these stats are from the greater las vegas association of realtors

http://statspak.firstamericanmls.com/LVARStat/statrpt%20Rental%20Leased.pdf

Also allot of investors that purchased properties put there properties in the rental pool to wait until the economy turns around.
And as far as more people renting sfr over condos, analysts found that people who lost their homes through foreclosure prefer to rent a home over a condo.

Many people who have lost their homes have also moved in with relatives or moved away completely.

[tony soprano]

Originally Posted by 007 license to sell

Here is a link that shows residential rental units leased, these stats are from the greater las vegas association of realtors

http://statspak.firstamericanmls.com/LVARStat/statrpt%20Rental%20Leased.pdf

I've wondered what percentage of the Vegas rental market that the GLVAR actually captures data on. Certainly enough to draw some conclusions, but what about the non-trivial segment of the rental market that's never listed on the MLS? The properties rented out by way of Craigslist, rental websites, etc.?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by tony soprano

I've wondered what percentage of the Vegas rental market that the GLVAR actually captures data on. Certainly enough to draw some conclusions, but what about the non-trivial segment of the rental market that's never listed on the MLS? The properties rented out by way of Craigslist, rental websites, etc.?

GLVAR catches the upper end. Most of the better SFRs. I think a consistent set but certainly not fully inclusive. I would think the even bigger segment of the commercial apartment homes are missing as well. They may report through some collection point though as I have seen statistics.

The unwashed middle though is tough. I don't even have a theory on how you might get at them.

[007 license to sell]

Originally Posted by tony soprano

I've wondered what percentage of the Vegas rental market that the GLVAR actually captures data on. Certainly enough to draw some conclusions, but what about the non-trivial segment of the rental market that's never listed on the MLS? The properties rented out by way of Craigslist, rental websites, etc.?

Apartment market said to need decade to recover

2009 marked a 90.5 percent drop in sales from three years ago.
"Because of that occupancy loss, apartments are either lowering rents or offering one or (two) months' free rent,"

major apartment complex's are also waiving application fees, offering to pay for utilities and holding apartments for a fraction of what companies required when the housing market was booming and apartments were in high demand.

according to analyst for Applied Analysis, at the end of the third quarter, occupancy rates in the valley were 91 percent, down from 93 percent the same time in 2008, says .
That is down significantly from the 95 percent and higher rates of the boom years,
People think apartments should be doing great because the foreclosure rate is so high,but instead many people are cutting back, moving from three to two bedrooms, doubling up with a roommate or renting a house. The glut of empty houses in the valley creates a shadow market that drains renters away from apartments.
Accoding to applied analysis all of this has driven rent prices down, too, . The average monthly rent for an apartment in the valley was $840 at the end of the third quarter of 2009. That's $50 less than the $890 average in the third quarter of 2008, Joyce says.

The property manager for Montego Bay in Henderson stated in a recent article that the comples is sitting at about 96 percent occupancy, rents have been lowered significantly to attract new business. And accoding to some there seems to be fewer people to fill more vacancies.
It's a renters market right now even people with bad credit can seem to find properties to rent more readily.

In an artilce RealFacts compared unemployment and vacancy rates and found that they're nearly identical when tracked over a period of time. Theysaid It's safe to assume that changes in apartment vacancy will occur to the same degree as unemployment.

[Jhiker10]

^^^^Another thing to consider, many flexible stay/flexible pay apartment rentals in valley. Some are all inclusive, utilities, cable with movie channels, free internet.....Of course it is not as nice or large as regular apts but it takes away from the regular apt complex with lease contract. I work for a management company that handles these rentals as an auditor, prices for these flexible stay/flexible pay apts are competitive. We have long term residents and transient business in our properties.
www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=825486