BROKER UPDATE

December 22, 2008

“News Clues”

Today’s “News Clues is about “The IRS” helping struggling Homeowners!

 Did you know?

There are currently more than 1 million federal tax liens outstanding tied to both real and personal property. Also, the IRS issues more than $600,000 federal tax lien notices annually.

 On December 16, 2008, Doug Shulman, IRS commissioner announced a speed lien relief program to help financially distressed homeowners.  In almost all cases the IRS can block a homeowner from refinancing, selling or restructuring their mortgages due to non payment of owed taxes.

 The IRS is offering to speed up the process to make sure the sale or refinance is completed in a timely process.  This process usually takes about 30 days. The homeowner or their representative may request that the IRS make a tax lien secondary to the lending institution first position.  This process is called subordination.

 The Taxpayers or their representatives may request that the IRS discharge its claim if the home is being sold for less than the amount of the mortgage lien under certain circumstances. This could be relief for homeowners that sell their homes through the short sale process.  Requesting the IRS to discharge its claim doesn’t guarantee elimination of the lien, but could move it to a different property such as a car or the taxpayer’s wages.

 Doug Shulman, IRS commissioner said, “We don’t want the IRS to be a barrier to people saving or selling their homes.  We want to raise awareness of these lien options and to speed our decision-making process so people can refinance their mortgages or sell their homes.”

 For more information on how to apply for tax lien discharge or lien subordination please go to the IRS website, www.irs.gov.