Be aware that you may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale, foreclosure WASHINGTON – Jan. 9, 2012 – You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale, foreclosure after this year. Now is the time to make the hard decision: Are you going to walk away from your underwater home? Uncle Sam is still giving homeowners until Dec. 31, 2012, to go through a short sale or foreclosure without tax consequences – as long as the lender officially releases the debt. But on Jan. 1, 2013, the rules change: The amount a lender forgives, ether in a short sale … [Read more...]

Safe Shopping Strategies for the Holidays In today’s difficult financially atmosphere, identity theft and credit card fraud are crimes to be very aware of, especially as the holiday shopping season nears. While many people are more aware about online shopping security, identity theft occurs offline also. In fact, according to a February 2009 study by Javelin Strategy & Research, of the 9.9 million identity-theft cases reported in 2008, online theft accounted for only 11% of incidents. Stolen wallets, checkbooks, and credit and debit cards made up almost half. Following these simple … [Read more...]

Bank of America encourages distressed homeowners to explore a short sale as a viable option for avoiding foreclosure. To that end, for a limited time we are offering enhanced relocation assistance to help motivate homeowners to engage with us on a pre-offer short sale. An additional benefit for these pre-offer programs - such as the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) and Bank of America's proprietary program - is that deficiency may be waived for the homeowner. Eligibility: Homeowners with property in Florida Short sales initiated without an offer between September … [Read more...]

Alot of families move in the summer. Many families, especially those with young children want to get settled in to their new home before the school starts. The Move.com experts offer several tips for making your move a seamless and stress-free experience as possible. 1. Get written estimates from at least three licensed moving companies when hiring professional movers. For a few extra dollars, consider buying moving insurance. Investing in full value protection means any lost or damaged articles will be repaired or replaced. 2. Take photos of every room in the new home while they are … [Read more...]

Click Here For Local Real Estate Market Report What is the true sign of real estate in today's market? An index of home prices in big metro areas has reached its lowest level since 2002, driven down by foreclosures, a glut of unsold homes and the reluctance or inability of many to buy. Many economists think prices nationally will drop at least 5 percent more by year’s end. Prices fell from February to March in 18 of the metro areas tracked by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index. The nationwide index fell for the eighth straight month. After adjusting for … [Read more...]

When you hire Avery-Ayers and Associates to sell your Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch or Bradenton, Florida real estate, you are actually hiring 4 licensed and active Realtors and 2 client care professionals at the same cost of hiring a traditional single real estate agent. Comparing the team approach to the single agent model can illustrate the advantages of combining and leveraging resources, individual talents, office systems and synergy to provide superior real estate transactions. Contrary to popular belief, Realtors are not on call 24/7. In today’s market of labor intensive task such … [Read more...]