Green Real Estate Appraiser

WASHINGTON — Tax reform is revving up again on Capitol Hill, with the heads of key committees pledging to work toward a simpler and fairer tax code, possibly one with lower tax rates. Sounds intriguing.

But what might that mean for homeowners — many of whom benefit from tax breaks such as mortgage interest and property-tax deductions, plus tax-free write-offs of up to $250,000 or $500,000 of home-sale capital gains, depending on whether they file returns as singles or married couples? Renters get none of these.

Homeowner write-offs become targets for cutbacks or elimination whenever tax-code reforms get serious attention because of their costs in uncollected federal revenues.

read more at:  http://seattletimes.com/html/homesrealestate/2025678135_realestatekenharneycolumn15xml.html

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Things to consider:

1. The lease is considered a lien so when you sell your home your buyer’s credit must qualify for the lease and the buyer must be willing to take over the lease.

2.  If the buyer does not want the lease you may have to buy the system outright from the leasing company or pay the penalties to have the system removed.

Taking out a loan to buy rooftop solar can save as much as 29 percent over lease arrangements, according to a new analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Of homeowners who go solar, about two-thirds nationwide opt for a lease or similar power-purchase agreement. Under lease financing, the solar provider both installs and owns the rooftop solar panels and related wiring. Customers pay a monthly bill for solar energy, which is cheaper than what they would otherwise pay the utility.

That carefree arrangement, with maintenance costs included, offers immediate savings with no money down and has helped democratize solar among cash-strapped households in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis.

But homeowners can now do better by borrowing money to buy a solar energy system, the Golden, Colo.-based federal energy lab found.

Today’s low-interest solar loans are offering substantially better savings on energy over the same 20-year period as a lease. Longer-term loans, of 10 or 20 years, offer immediate savings.

read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/12/sun-shines-on-loans/

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

(Bloomberg) — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s overseer wants to allow debt cuts for a narrow group of borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. The trick is figuring out a way to do it without incurring costs for taxpayers.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin L. Watt told reporters Wednesday that he is still studying the idea of reducing principal on properties with depressed values, a step backed by housing advocates and Democratic lawmakers.

Watt, a former Democratic congressman who has been in the FHFA job for just over a year, met with reporters for a broad discussion of his policies, which apply to the more than half of home loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.