Holiday Lights

Take some time to enjoy the holidays by viewing the amazing Christmas light displays throughout the Valley. Here is a link to the Holiday Lights Map put out by The Arizona Republic.

For those who celebrate Chanukah, you won't want to miss the display being shared by Mel and Ellen Bett Kline at 9802 N. 46th St., Phoenix. A living, 100-year-old-plus, 40-foot saguaro is lighted like a Chanukah menorah at 6 p.m. Dec. 1-8, and 5 p.m. Dec. 3. The lights will be taken down on Dec. 10.

And, of course, don't miss Zoo Lights and Las Noches de Las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden!

No Foreclosures Over the Holidays

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine, December 2010 with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are freezing all foreclosure evictions on the mortgage loans they own or back from Dec. 20 through Jan. 3.

"If the property is occupied, our foreclosure attorneys will suspend the eviction to provide a greater measure of certainty to families during the holidays," says Anthony Renzi, executive vice president of single family portfolio management at Freddie Mac.

Most of the large banks, including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, already observe a moratorium through the New Year, unless the foreclosure involves an investor who chooses not to observe the holiday policy.

Source: CNNMoney, Les Christie (12/03/2010)

Tax-Free Home Sales Could Be Vulnerable

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine, December 2010 with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

The deficit reduction panel, which released it's findings last week and hasn't gotten much Congressional support, is still likely to provide a guiding light as Congress looks for ways to save money and raise taxes. One target could be tax-free -- at least the few transactions in which profits exceed $500,000 (or $250,000 for singles). The panel would tax these people at 15 percent, or maybe even 20 percent.

The National Association of Home Builders is much more concerned about the commission's recommendation that the exclusion for capital gains in general be eliminated. That could cost taxpayers 28 percent on the sale of all kinds of investments. "Eliminating the gain exclusion would drive down housing demand, hurt housing prices, and reduce the after-tax wealth of home owners, particularly older home owners whose equity in their home they planned to use as part of their retirement," says Robert Dietz, an economist with the NAHB.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, S. Mitra Kalita (12/03/10)