Notices of default up 24% in county
Analyst says February numbers might be fluke
By Roger Showley, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 9:11 p.m.
Homeowners in San Diego County defaulted at their highest monthly rate in more than a year in February, MDA DataQuick reported Friday.
Defaults totaled 2,166, up 24.4 percent from January’s 1,741, the biggest one-month jump since the figure jumped 121.3 percent from November to December 2008.
Meanwhile, there were 973 foreclosures, down from 986 in January in the sixth month-to-month decline in the past year. The number was down 21 percent from year-ago levels.
More notices of default normally signal spreading distress in the housing market. As owners fall three months or more behind in their monthly payments, lenders usually file this first formal action that often leads to foreclosure. The number spiked a year ago, when lenders were catching up on a backlog of defaults delayed through extended noticing requirements and moratoriums.
DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said the default rise last month might be a fluke.
“You can’t just read too much into a single month,” he said. “There’s been a very irregular (pattern) of notice-of-default filings.”
But LePage said he detected a similar uptick in counties throughout the state.
“The bulk was in the areas hit hardest” by economic and housing distress, he said, and did not reflect problems spreading to higher-priced properties as many analysts have been predicting.
“That’s not the way it shaped up,” LePage said. “It was more of the same.”
In his ZIP code breakdown of defaults in the county, LePage reported high percentage increases from January in several higher-priced neighborhoods. The actual numbers remained relatively low.
For example, Del Mar defaults were up 250 percent, but the increase was only from two to seven defaults; Solana Beach was up 120 percent, from five to 11; La Jolla was up 54.5 percent, from 11 to 17.
Meanwhile, some lower-cost areas continued to exhibit greater distress in absolute numbers. Nestor in the South Bay had 83 default notices, up from 53 in January and the highest of any ZIP code, followed by Spring Valley with 70, up from 44, and Encanto at 58, up from 53. All three had median home prices of $240,000 or less in the past 12 months.
LePage said it is possible that defaults will continue rising, given the high number of delinquencies that have been reported in recent months.
But Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, said a new program to speed up short sales — homes sold for less than the outstanding mortgage balance — may forestall many defaults as well as foreclosures.
“No one’s walking around with rose-colored glasses thinking it’s the silver bullet,” Hobbs said. “Certainly, it’ll be useful tool.”
He said the market is still unsettled because of the so-called “shadow inventory” of distressed homes that are delinquent or in default.
“It would be catastrophic if all of a sudden they all went to foreclosure,” Hobbs said. “We would have a huge, downward impact on home values, and no one wants that.”
In another report Friday, HomeGain, a Web site based in Emeryville that lists estimated home valuations, said real estate agents nationally are somewhat more optimistic about the market than a year ago.
Twenty-nine percent of industry professionals responding to a survey said prices are likely to decrease in the next six months, compared with 53 percent expecting a decline a year ago.
California was one of 10 states where more agents think prices will go up than down in the next six months.
The breakdown: 42 percent think prices will be unchanged, 36 percent think they will rise and 22 percent think they will fall.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Union Trib: Hefty tax bill hits those who lost home...short sale or foreclosure
Hefty tax bill may hit those who lost home
By Roger Showley, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 12:03 a.m.
LINK: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/03/hefty-tax-bill-may-hit-those-who-lost-home/?source=patrick.net
Charlie Neuman / UNION-TRIBUNE
Phyllis and Jack Roth of Fletcher Hills are facing a California tax bill of up to $20,000 because, they have found, the state treats short-sales differently than the IRS.
San Diegans who have lost their homes through foreclosure or short-sales thought they had emerged from the dark times and could start rebuilding their lives.
Then the state tax man came calling.
With less than six weeks before taxes are due, an estimated 16,000 former homeowners statewide will owe $15 million in extra income taxes this year and $29 million through 2012.
The tax applies to what is called the “cancellation of debt” that occurs when property owners lose their homes through foreclosure or arrange a short-sale in which they sell for less than the mortgage balance. The lender sends them a form itemizing the forgiven debt, and the amount is subject to income tax.
Congress exempted most homeowners from the extra federal tax through 2012, and the state followed suit for 2007 and 2008 but did not extend the provision last year. The state Assembly may vote tomorrow on a bill to repeal the tax, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed such a bill last year over unrelated provisions.
“They’re probably stuck,” San Diego tax attorney Bob Kevane said of former homeowners facing the tax. “The biggest way around it is if you’re insolvent.”
Brad Nemeth, another tax attorney, said he doubts the tax will be eliminated.
“The state of California is seriously upside down financially, and I think the governor will probably veto it again,” Nemeth said.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Department of Finance, said Schwarzenegger remains opposed to the bill in its present form but has not announced whether he will veto it again. Other versions of the tax repeal are in the hopper and could be passed next month, legislators’ analysts said.
Failure to halt the tax could cost Jack and Phyllis Roth of Fletcher Hills as much as $20,000 in state income taxes this year — they paid $781 last year — because of the home they sold short in Flinn Springs in November. They bought it in 2004 for $545,000, invested $50,000 in improvements, and then saw its value fall by one-third before they sold it for $410,000. The result was about $190,000 in net loss that was forgiven by the Roths’ lender.
Phyllis Roth, 63, a tax preparer, said she did not realize until recently that the state would treat the short-sale differently than the Internal Revenue Service would. She estimates her state taxes at $15,000 to $20,000.
“I didn’t call anybody,” she said. “I was looking online and didn’t see anything. That’s what happens when you rely on yourself.”
The state Franchise Tax Board has received an increasing number of calls from former homeowners who are discovering the giant tax bills they face, said spokeswoman Denise Azimi. Azimi said the former homeowners can work out a payment schedule, though the state charges 4 percent interest on such stretched-out payments.
If the tax is repealed eventually, the taxpayers could seek a refund, but for now, they have to pay what is due by April 15 or face a penalty.
Not all foreclosures and short-sales are subject to the tax, experts said.
In California, most home buyers get mortgages involving a “nonrecourse” loan — meaning that if the property is foreclosed, the lender has no recourse for recovering lost money except by selling the property itself. Lenders cannot go after the owners’ assets to make up the difference, and no tax is due. These rules apply to principal residences only.
However, when owners refinance or take out a second mortgage or home equity line of credit — as happened often during the housing boom — those loans are written as recourse loans and lenders can seek repayment from the owners’ other resources. Sometimes lenders agree to waive the lost amount, but under current state law, that amount is taxable for homes sold since Jan. 1, 2009.
“It’s one of those little land mines waiting to jump up on people,” Nemeth said.
Taxes also are not due if owners declare insolvency or bankruptcy, the lawyers said. For young homeowners whose main asset was their home, it’s likely they could fall under this provision. For others, the valuation of assets becomes a factor in determining solvency.
“Sometimes if they have other real estate, we try and value the stuff realistically, so that they have as little impact as possible,” Kevane said.
For the Roths, who continue to own a previous home and have other assets, their nearly $200,000 in losses does not cancel out their other holdings. The couple said they normally operate conservatively and only bought the home, which they lived in while their son continued to live in their first house, so they could sell it at a profit and pad their retirement accounts.
“If we have to pay it, we’ll pay it,” Phyllis Roth said of the taxes. “It’s less money to retire on, but it’s not the end of the world.”
Back in Sacramento, the proposal to waive the cancellation of debt tax has passed the Senate and awaits an Assembly vote. Its fate is wrapped up in a larger bill, SB8X-32, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, which would bring other state tax provisions into compliance with federal law.
One of those, which prompted Schwarzenegger’s veto last year, relates to “erroneous reporting” of tax liability, by which some large taxpayers seek to avoid penalties for under-reporting of income by overestimating taxes due. Federal law charges a penalty for overestimating without a reasonable explanation, and the state bill would adopt similar penalties.
Wolk, who chairs the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, said it was appropriate to group all tax conformance measures into one bill. But if her bill is vetoed again, she indicated she would act to get the cancellation of debt tax repealed.
“We’re certainly not going to allow homeowners to have to pay significantly more tax when they’ve had to relinquish their homes through short-sales (and foreclosures),” Wolk said.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
By Roger Showley, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 12:03 a.m.
LINK: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/03/hefty-tax-bill-may-hit-those-who-lost-home/?source=patrick.net
Charlie Neuman / UNION-TRIBUNE
Phyllis and Jack Roth of Fletcher Hills are facing a California tax bill of up to $20,000 because, they have found, the state treats short-sales differently than the IRS.
San Diegans who have lost their homes through foreclosure or short-sales thought they had emerged from the dark times and could start rebuilding their lives.
Then the state tax man came calling.
With less than six weeks before taxes are due, an estimated 16,000 former homeowners statewide will owe $15 million in extra income taxes this year and $29 million through 2012.
The tax applies to what is called the “cancellation of debt” that occurs when property owners lose their homes through foreclosure or arrange a short-sale in which they sell for less than the mortgage balance. The lender sends them a form itemizing the forgiven debt, and the amount is subject to income tax.
Congress exempted most homeowners from the extra federal tax through 2012, and the state followed suit for 2007 and 2008 but did not extend the provision last year. The state Assembly may vote tomorrow on a bill to repeal the tax, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed such a bill last year over unrelated provisions.
“They’re probably stuck,” San Diego tax attorney Bob Kevane said of former homeowners facing the tax. “The biggest way around it is if you’re insolvent.”
Brad Nemeth, another tax attorney, said he doubts the tax will be eliminated.
“The state of California is seriously upside down financially, and I think the governor will probably veto it again,” Nemeth said.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Department of Finance, said Schwarzenegger remains opposed to the bill in its present form but has not announced whether he will veto it again. Other versions of the tax repeal are in the hopper and could be passed next month, legislators’ analysts said.
Failure to halt the tax could cost Jack and Phyllis Roth of Fletcher Hills as much as $20,000 in state income taxes this year — they paid $781 last year — because of the home they sold short in Flinn Springs in November. They bought it in 2004 for $545,000, invested $50,000 in improvements, and then saw its value fall by one-third before they sold it for $410,000. The result was about $190,000 in net loss that was forgiven by the Roths’ lender.
Phyllis Roth, 63, a tax preparer, said she did not realize until recently that the state would treat the short-sale differently than the Internal Revenue Service would. She estimates her state taxes at $15,000 to $20,000.
“I didn’t call anybody,” she said. “I was looking online and didn’t see anything. That’s what happens when you rely on yourself.”
The state Franchise Tax Board has received an increasing number of calls from former homeowners who are discovering the giant tax bills they face, said spokeswoman Denise Azimi. Azimi said the former homeowners can work out a payment schedule, though the state charges 4 percent interest on such stretched-out payments.
If the tax is repealed eventually, the taxpayers could seek a refund, but for now, they have to pay what is due by April 15 or face a penalty.
Not all foreclosures and short-sales are subject to the tax, experts said.
In California, most home buyers get mortgages involving a “nonrecourse” loan — meaning that if the property is foreclosed, the lender has no recourse for recovering lost money except by selling the property itself. Lenders cannot go after the owners’ assets to make up the difference, and no tax is due. These rules apply to principal residences only.
However, when owners refinance or take out a second mortgage or home equity line of credit — as happened often during the housing boom — those loans are written as recourse loans and lenders can seek repayment from the owners’ other resources. Sometimes lenders agree to waive the lost amount, but under current state law, that amount is taxable for homes sold since Jan. 1, 2009.
“It’s one of those little land mines waiting to jump up on people,” Nemeth said.
Taxes also are not due if owners declare insolvency or bankruptcy, the lawyers said. For young homeowners whose main asset was their home, it’s likely they could fall under this provision. For others, the valuation of assets becomes a factor in determining solvency.
“Sometimes if they have other real estate, we try and value the stuff realistically, so that they have as little impact as possible,” Kevane said.
For the Roths, who continue to own a previous home and have other assets, their nearly $200,000 in losses does not cancel out their other holdings. The couple said they normally operate conservatively and only bought the home, which they lived in while their son continued to live in their first house, so they could sell it at a profit and pad their retirement accounts.
“If we have to pay it, we’ll pay it,” Phyllis Roth said of the taxes. “It’s less money to retire on, but it’s not the end of the world.”
Back in Sacramento, the proposal to waive the cancellation of debt tax has passed the Senate and awaits an Assembly vote. Its fate is wrapped up in a larger bill, SB8X-32, by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, which would bring other state tax provisions into compliance with federal law.
One of those, which prompted Schwarzenegger’s veto last year, relates to “erroneous reporting” of tax liability, by which some large taxpayers seek to avoid penalties for under-reporting of income by overestimating taxes due. Federal law charges a penalty for overestimating without a reasonable explanation, and the state bill would adopt similar penalties.
Wolk, who chairs the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, said it was appropriate to group all tax conformance measures into one bill. But if her bill is vetoed again, she indicated she would act to get the cancellation of debt tax repealed.
“We’re certainly not going to allow homeowners to have to pay significantly more tax when they’ve had to relinquish their homes through short-sales (and foreclosures),” Wolk said.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
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