APPLY FOR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION ONLINE

    APPLY FOR THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION ONLINE

It’s Fast, Easy, and Secure

Miami-Dade County’s new Property Appraiser, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is proud to announce and put into service a 100% online homestead application process. Miami-Dade Homeowners can now go online to complete the entire application process for Florida’s Homestead Exemption and for the Homestead Assessment Difference, commonly referred to as Portability.

The Homestead Exemption (HEX) provides for a $50,000 reduction in the assessed value of a homeowners’ primary residence, saving property owners thousands of dollars in property taxes annually. Portability allows a homeowner to transfer a part or all of their HEX savings, when they move from one home to another. Homeowners can now visit www.miamidade.gov/pa, where they can fully complete and submit their application directly to the Property Appraiser’s Office.

Applications for 2013 property tax exemptions are due by March 1, 2013

For more information, you can call the real estate Law Firm of Jacqueline A. Salcines, P.A. at (305) 669-5280 or contact the Property Appraiser’s Office at (305) 375-4789 or (305) 607-6905.

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MORTGAGE FORGIVENESS RELIEF ACT OF 2012 TO PROVIDE RELIEF FOR DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS

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MORTGAGE FORGIVENESS RELIEF ACT OF 2012 RELIEVES DISTRESSED
HOMEOWNERS IN SHORT SALES AND LOAN MODIFICATIONS FOR ONE MORE YEAR

Finally, Congress came to its senses, and extended the debt forgiveness benefits for qualified homeowners. Through the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, qualified distressed homeowners who have any debt forgiven as a result of a short sale, foreclosure or loan modification principal reduction, will not have to pay taxes on any debt forgiven. This protection is now extended through December 31, 2013. Homeowners will still receive a 1099-C form that will need to be reported to the IRS, but will not be liable for any amounts owed to the IRS for such cancellation of debt.

Under the Federal Tax Code, all types of forgiven debt are treated as income, and is subject to taxes. Because of the recently passed Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, homeowners who get their mortgage debt forgiven through either a short sale or loan modification, will not face a tax on the amount forgiven, up to $2 million dollars. “Forgiven Debt” refers to the difference between the amount the homeowner owes on his or her mortgage and the amount the mortgage company receives at closing.

The law had short sellers scrambling to close by December 31, 2012, because had it not been extended, any forgiven debt would be considered taxable income. But now, with this new law, distressed homeowners are free to continue their short sales without having to worry about paying Uncle Sam any amounts after the closing.

Attorney Jacqueline Salcines states “In the advent of the housing market recuperating and so many homes in South Florida being in foreclosure and short sale, there was a dire need for the extension of this protection to homeowners. Many clients were coming into the office, wanting to walk away and face judgments or bankruptcy because they truly had no means of paying any amounts to the IRS. Now, with the protection extended, we can once again freely negotiate these short sale to completion without the homeowner worrying whether they will incur additional costs.”

“It certainly should not have taken so long to have this law extended. And it should be extended beyond December 31, 2013 because with so many homes in South Florida in distress, there will be principal reductions and short sales requiring forgiveness for years to come. This is not going to be cleaned up in one year.” Aida Pacheco, Loss Mitigation Manager at Jacqueline A. Salcines, P.A.

For now, we will have until December 31, 2013 to close existing short sales and modify loans. With our rapid team of short sale processors, we, at the Law Offices of Jacqueline A. Salcines, PA can get the job done.

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Peace Of Mind

HIRING AN ATTORNEY TO HANDLE YOUR REAL ESTATE PURCHASE IS THE WISEST THING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT.

As an attorney and title agent, I find this to be the most asked question in my practice. Often times, clients do not even know that an attorney can be a title agent, or vice versa. The truth is, the purchase of real estate property is for most, the single most expensive tangible item one will ever purchase in your lifetime. Therefore, does it not make sense to hire a professional to help you with such an important purchase?

PEACE OF MIND COMES AT NO EXTRA CHARGE

You have the choice of hiring either a non-lawyer title agent or a real estate attorney to handle your closing and title insurance needs. The cost of closing through a real estate attorney is about the same as the cost of using a title agent. Those are the similarities.
The differences however are HUGE. First and foremost, a title company does not have an attorney at its helm and therefore, lack of accountability. There is nothing stopping the title company from closing its doors to avoid liability and opening up under another name.

Also, the value of work you get with a real estate attorney is quite different. A real estate attorney is trained in the complexities of real estate law, can examine your title and issue your title insurance policy as well as:

Negotiate contracts on your behalf
Give you legal advice
Explain the meaning of documents to you
Prepare legal documents for you at closing
Resolve title issues
Prepare releases of judgments if required
Take matters to probate court if required
Take matters before a Judge if required

A title agency that is no affiliated with a real estate attorney can not do any of these things.

And the largest difference of all, PEACE OF MIND.

Ask several real estate attorneys for a free estimate of the charges you might incur. You will be surprised at how the cost is sometimes less than what a title company charges, since they many times farm out their work and then charge for the fee they are charged.

Given all that is involved during the real estate, for what will most probably be the largest purchase you make in your lifetime, hiring an attorney is one of the wisest things you can do to protect your investment.

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