Green Real Estate Appraiser

Though its demise drew little attention because of the partisan year-end brawl over the payroll-tax cut extension in Congress, a key mortgage financing benefit disappeared at the end of December: The ability of large numbers of homebuyers and owners to write off the premiums they pay for mortgage insurance.

The loss of that tax deduction – plus mandatory new fees imposed by Congress on all new conventional and FHA loans – could effectively ratchet up the costs of homeownership this year.
The expiration of mortgage insurance deductibility will hit many low-down-payment conventional loans originated since 2007, plus virtually all new mortgages closed this year where the down payment is less than 20 percent. Though industry experts do not have precise numbers, their estimates range into the millions of existing owners and new purchasers potentially touched by the deductibility termination. Borrowers using guaranteed veterans (VA) and rural housing loans, where down payments can drop to zero, also are affected.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/14/2921422/congress-cuts-mortgage-insurance.html#storylink=cpy

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