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About Dennis Herman
Expertise
I can answer questions on Real Estate such as question on writing an Offer to Purchase. What can go wrong after an offer is written? What is Buyer Agency and what will it do for me? What is a foreclosure? What is the difference between a foreclosure, a bank owned property and a short sale? What is the best way to locate a property? What steps can be taken to avoid foreclosure? How do Real Estate Agents get paid? How can I quickly build equity in a home? How do I view homes? What types of homes will have the best prices? How do I choose an agent? What types of financing are available?

Experience
Residential and commercial real estate. New home purchases. Buyer Agency. First time home buyers. Foreclosures, bank owned properties, estate sales and short sales.

Organizations
Greater Milwaukee Realtors Association Wisconsin Realtors Association National Association of Realtors

Publications
http://activerain.com/bloghome

Education/Credentials
State of Wisconsin Licensed Real Estate Sales Agent Accredited Buyer Agency Training Relocation Training Certified Senior Citizen Representative Wisconsin Real Estate Continuing Education

 
   

You are here:  Experts > Real Estate > Foreclosure > Foreclosure > How to avoid taxes on a short sale?

Foreclosure - How to avoid taxes on a short sale?


Expert: Dennis Herman - 3/17/2009

Question
Hi Dennis,

I have heard recently that if you do a shortsale on your property as a primary residence, you can avoid paying any taxes.  Is this the same for a rental?  I have a rental home that I am thinking of doing a short sale on, what would be the best way to avoid taxes?  Do I need to be delinquent on my payments to do a short sale?

Thank you,

Angela

Answer
Angela

At the present time there seems to be no assistance available for rental property.  You can read the entire Economic Recovery Act on this site.

http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/tg33.htm

So far support only exists for home owners.  I will offer some suggestions that may help.

Call the lender to see if you qualify for refinancing.  This may lower your payments.

Call a local Real Estate Agent.  Ask for a CMA on the property.  This will give you a list of properties in the area for sale and those that have sold.  This may give you an idea of the value.  

As a general model I market property for a short sale only after the owners have discussed this issue with an attorney.  This ensures all possible remedies have been exhausted before offering the property on a short sale.

I prefer an attorney be involved in the process for a number of reasons.  An attorney is more up to date on these ever changing laws.  I am licensed to market real estate, an attorney is licensed to practice law.  An attorney may be better able to discuss this matter with a lender and come out of the negotiations with more favorable results for the client.  An attorney will know how to deal with the lender.  Although many real estate agents have been properly trained to handle these situations, many are not qualified.  This could result in a waste of time and a lost sale.  The sequence of events required to sell a property on a short sale will be dictated by the type of loan as well as the lender.  Be very careful when qualifying a real estate agent to handle a short sale.

You do not have to be behind in your payments to qualify for a short sale.  Lenders are being trained to handle these situations and offer choices to their customers.  The best choice may be to call your lender and see what options they can offer you.  Check current interest rates on the Internet.  Make the lender work for your money.  Get at least three quotes, comparing interest rates, terms and closing costs.  Remember, you are still in control.

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