Marc's Mortgage Matter's

The IRS said that taxpayers will have until April 17 to file their 2011 returns, thanks to two quirks of the calendar this year: April 15 falls on a Sunday, and the following day is Emancipation Day, which is observed in the District of Columbia. By federal law, District of Columbia holidays affect tax deadlines the same way federal holidays do, giving taxpayers an extra day - thank you District of Columbia.

On January 13, 1955, Chase National Bank merged with The Manhattan Company to form Chase Manhattan Bank. “The” Manhattan Company is correct, as it was originally The Manhattan Water Company.

Ron Paul gets attacked for being too isolationist, but do we really need the 865 foreign military bases we currently have? That number does not include the ones we have in Afghanistan. We currently have U.S. military stationed in 150 countries, with a few listed below.

U.S. military	Where they’re stationed	Who we’re protecting them against?
40,178	Japan	North Korea
10,771	Italy	Switzerland?
54,198	Germany	France?
9,436	England	Germany?
1,234	Belgium	France?
433	Netherlands	Denmark?
157	Singapore	Malaysia?

No one has ever heard of it, but Djibouti is home to 334 U.S. soldiers. Maybe we’re there to protect them against neighboring Somalia, which doesn’t really have an army but does have some pirates.

This Presentation Has Every Chart You Need To Understand The Global Financial Markets And Economy – Money Game at Business Insider 

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Treasury Department on Monday said that nearly 910,000 troubled borrowers on the verge of foreclosure have had their mortgages permanently modified to lower payments as part of a White House program -- far short of the original goal.

That number is up from roughly 880,000 permanent modifications as of October, according to the Treasury’s November report.

The Treasury also noted that banks have reduced the principal amount owed by about 36,000 borrowers, as of November 30. These are borrowers with mortgages that are not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the two government-seized mortgage giants are not participating in a government principal reduction program.

According to the Treasury, The median amount of principal reduced is about $66,000 - or 31% of a homeowner’s previous unpaid principal balance. The three largest servicers, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) , J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)  , and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC)   account for 71% of the principal modifications so far.

The number of permanent modifications is still far short of the 3 to 4 million foreclosures that the White House aimed to stop when it unveiled the program in February, 2009.

Philadelphia Unemployment Project Director John Dodds said that not enough resources are being spent to make borrowers aware that the HAMP program exists and that they could be eligible for it.

“People are being sucked up by the scammers and for-profit housing folks and we think they [Treasury] ought to be putting resources into promoting HAMP so that people know about the program,” Dodds said.

Dodds also argued that the principal reduction program is really just a drop in the bucket and that a more substantial program -- which includes Fannie and Freddie -- is critical to restore the housing market recovery. He noted that an expanded principal reduction program should be focused on borrowers who are employed yet struggling to make payments.

“With principal reduction, fewer houses would go into foreclosure, you would be keeping people in their homes and you don’t have a big surplus of foreclosed houses to be sold, which really dampens the enthusiasm for new construction,” Dodds said. “We need to stabilize those forces so the housing market can recover.”

More principal reduction is likely on the way. Lenders and states attorneys general are also in settlement talks that include billions of dollars in reductions in mortgage principal for distressed homeowners.

Some scary news for Twinkies lovers: After Twinkies owner Interstate Bakeries came out of bankruptcy in 2008, they sold Twinkies to Hostess, and it looked like this wonderful snack would be in good corporate hands. But, sacre blue, Hostess looks like it will now file its own bankruptcy any day now. Maybe Twinkies should be put on some sort of endangered species list so we can be assured of its existence. By the way, try this on your next meat loaf. After getting all the meat and spices blended, fill the tin only half way. Insert one Twinkie and then cover it up with the rest of the meat so that the Twinkie is right in the center. It sort of disintegrates during cooking, but it infuses the entire meal with a novel and delicious taste.

This is something you probably want to do when mom is out of town. Your kids will think you’re the greatest, but you might need to swear them to secrecy.

The death of a family member may bring a barrage of sadness, a bequest of property — and a mortgage to repay.

“It’s like getting a gift with a string,” said Judith D. Grimaldi, a principal of Grimaldi & Yeung, an estate planning law firm in Brooklyn. Thirty-one percent of people 65 and older, in fact, have home mortgages, according to the Census Bureau. “Most of my clients just end up selling the house,” Ms. Grimaldi said, “taking the proceeds and saying, ‘Thank you, Mom.’ ”

But if the beneficiary wants to keep the home, just who is responsible for paying the mortgage until the estate is settled can fall into something of a “gray area,” said Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, a tax lawyer at Fein, Such, Kahn & Shepard in Parsippany, N.J.

Under federal law, the mortgage must be allowed to remain in effect without changes when it passes from one person to another because of a death. This negates any due-on-sale clause in the mortgage. Who pays generally depends on the deceased relative’s will, and also who among the survivors has the ability to maintain the mortgage, the experts say.

The will might stipulate, for example, that the heir receive the home, free and clear, Ms. Wheatley-Liss said, which may mean that the executor will be directed to sell stocks, bonds or other assets in the estate to pay off the mortgage. (If there is no will, state law will come into play.)

The survivors, meanwhile, should look at the inheritance of property from a practical, economic perspective. “You need to look very strongly at whether you can afford to maintain the mortgage and maintain the property,” Ms. Wheatley-Liss said.

Although there may be some emotional attachment to the home, having it appraised can help determine whether it’s worth keeping. “The question would always be: ‘Are you protecting equity?’ ” 

An estate lawyer or financial adviser can provide advice on estate taxes and other expenses associated with the property. The survivors should contact the lender early on to let it know that the borrower has died and that they are the heirs, or the executor of the estate, and to determine the loan’s status. Mr. McHugh suggests sending the lender a copy of the death certificate and a letter from the estate’s lawyer.

It is also important to determine whether the deceased relative has stayed current on the property taxes, if they are not paid through the lender.

But what if the mortgage is delinquent — overlooked in a final illness? If the payments are behind by 60 days or so, it is possible to catch up. If it’s 90 or more days late, the property may already be in foreclosure proceedings. Depending on state laws and lender practices, the lender could either demand full payment of all the back payments, or continue with the foreclosure.

Some family members ask about whether they can “walk away” from the property if it is underwater, or worth less than the mortgage balance, Ms. Grimaldi said, noting that such requests are more common in this shaky economy. They can do this and allow the foreclosure to show up as the estate’s responsibility and record, she said. But care is needed if the estate has other assets, like a second home or an investment portfolio, which the lender could come after to satisfy the debt.

In some cases, negotiating with the lender for a short sale on the property may be the best solution. In a short sale, the lender agrees to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage.

If the deceased relative had a reverse mortgage on the property — one that paid him or her a stipend and accrued a balance — the heirs could pay off the mortgage balance in full; sell the property and pay off any balance with the proceeds; or refinance.

Mortgage rates eased a little bit this week, sufficient to produce continued record lows for fixed rate mortgages. The statistical wobble is one we've seen many times over the past 11 weeks, as mortgage interest rates have held fast to a narrow range. In reality, they are little different today than they were a month ago, but the lengthening period of stable and low rates is having a beneficial effect on home sales.