Now may be the best time to buy a house in over four years. Home prices have dropped quickly and valuations are the lowest since 2004. One recent report indicates that more than 88% of the 330 housing markets surveyed showed price declines and improved affordability during the last three months of 2007.

The report compares actual median home prices with what the authors determine are proper home values based on population density, relative income levels and interest rates, as well as historically observed market premiums or discounts, to determine whether markets are over or under valued and also factors in market intangibles that make some areas more desirable places to live, and more expensive. (more…)

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The foreclosure prevention coalition put together with the Bush administration’s support, claims dramatic success in helping at-risk mortgage borrowers stay in their homes. Hope Now says that the group has reworked more than 1 million mortgage loans since July.

But of those borrowers, only 278,000 actually saw the terms of their mortgages modified. Their lenders either froze or reduced their interest rates, and may have reduced their balances as well to make loans more affordable.

The remaining home owners were put on repayment plans, which merely allow borrowers to make up missed payments by tacking them on to the life of the loan. Critics argue that this does little to make to make mortgages any more affordable for hard-pressed borrowers. (more…)

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Have you refinanced your mortgage and cash out of the equity? Will you do so when your adjustable-rate loan resets its interest rate? If you fail to follow some little-known rules for calculating your home mortgage deduction, you may be writing off too much interest. Instead of saving on taxes, you could wind up owing them.

In general, the IRS lets you deduct 100% of the interest you pay on one or more home mortgages, up to a total loan value of $1 million. But when you refinance and withdraw cash, the rules change: Only the interest on your original mortgage balance, plus an additional $100,000, qualifies for a deduction. (more…)

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