John Hall & Associates - Phoenix Real Estate Brokerage

In the March issue of Broker Agent magazine we ran the first series of our Real Estate I.Q. ad campaign.  Here are the questions with the answers immediately following. 

Question 1: True or False

Under the Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief law signed 12-20-07, a person is never responsible for paying the taxes on the amount of mortgage debt forgiven by the lender.

Answer:

False.  That word ‘never’ rarely works.  Of course there are exceptions.  For example, if you pulled cash out and did not use it to make improvements on the house, like you bought a boat, it is taxable.  For more details, read this.  And remember when clients ask you for tax advice, the tax man is the expert, not the REALTOR.

Question 2:  True or False

Individuals are never personally liable for the unpaid amount of a residential loan in default?

Answer:

False.  This one is going to take a bit of an explanation.  There are multiple factors that come into play and in real estate one of the most important things to know is…where to go to get the answers you need.  On this issue we are simply going to point you in the right direction, local real estate attorney Rick Mack.  Take it away Rick!

Question 3: Multiple Choice

What percentage of homeowners believe their home held or increased in value in 2007?

 a) 8%     b) 35%     c) 77%

Answer:

c.  According to Zillow.com’s recent survey, 77% of homeowners believe their homes held or increased value in 2007; despite housing & credit market turmoil.  What’s even more crazy is that 34% of them plan on selling this year.  Yikes!  Educating sellers with accurate data is HUGE right now.  We need to get the average list price closer to the average sales price.  There seems to be a disconnect in some neighborhoods.  (We posted this slide just last month.)

Question 4: Multiple Choice

According to a 2006 survey by NAR, what percentage of agents coming into the industry have no sales experience?

a) 13%     b) 42%    c) 85%

Answer:

Jim Sexton sent me this article from Broker Agent that he enjoyed.  As I read it I could hear Lou Holtz saying, “The only thing that is going to change you from where you are today and where you are in 5 years from now is what you read, the people you meet, and the dreams you dream.”  This is a good one to read.