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Welcome to Tampa Real Estate News!

by Deborah Farmer on January 18, 2012 in Economy, Ethics, Events, Florida Realtors, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, Media, Mental Health, MLS, NAR, Psychology, Remodeling, Decorating, Construction, Technology, Uncategorized, United States Government with 2 Comments

Thanks for visiting us at Tampa Real Estate News.  This is a blog developed by Realtors for Realtors, real estate agents and you, the general public.  We want you to feel free to express yourself here without worry for any political correctness.   We only ask that you keep it clean, truthful and within the confines of the NAR Code of Ethics (i.e., don’t badmouth other Realtors, etc.)  Hopefully we can share some insight into our local real estate, as well as our State and National Associations. Thanks for your participation.  Without you, there is nothing to say!

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Stock option loop costs taxpayers billions …

by TampaRENews on December 30, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links with Comments Off

 

WASHINGTON (UPI) — Recession-era stock prices are now haunting U.S. taxpayers in the form of stock options that allow corporations significant tax deductions, records show.The loop that allows corporations to deduct billions of dollars from their tax bills is simple: When stocks are doing poorly, corporations are loath to part with large sums of cash. Continue reading →

The Sunbelt’s Comeback – Forbes

by TampaRENews on December 29, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate with Comments Off

Joel Kotkin

Joel Kotkin, Contributor

I cover demographic, social and economic trends around the world.

Dec. 22 2011 — 11:49 am

Along with the oft-pronounced, desperately wished for death of the suburbs, no demographic narrative thrills the mainstream news media more than the decline of the Sun Belt, the country’s southern rim extending from the Carolinas to California. Since the housing bubble collapse in 2007, commentators have heralded “the end of the Sun Belt boom.”

Yet this assertion is largely exaggerated, particularly since the big brass buckle in the middle of the Sun Belt, Texas, has thrived throughout the recession. California, of course, has done far worse, but its slow population growth and harsh regulatory environment align it more with the Northeast than with its sunny neighbors.

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Google Doodles …

by TampaRENews on November 26, 2011 in Links, Media, Technology with Comments Off

Google doodles an Imelda Marcos Thanksgiving
Google’s Thanksgiving doodle is simple and colorful, and when you click on the turkey’s feet, they get a different pair of shoes also you can change the hair and feathers.    Click Here.

 

Take advantage of expiring tax deductions

by TampaRENews on November 25, 2011 in Economy, Events, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate with Comments Off

Real Estate Tax Talk

By Stephen Fishman, Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Inman News™

There are several tax credits and deductions set to expire at the end of the year, and given the federal deficit problem, there’s a good chance they won’t be extended. If you want to take advantage of them, you need to act before Jan. 1, 2012.

Mortgage insurance premium deduction

If you itemize deductions, you may deduct the premiums you pay for mortgage insurance, just like you do mortgage interest. However, this deduction is phased out if your income exceeds certain levels. To qualify for the full deduction, a couple or a single taxpayer must have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. The deduction is phased out completely if AGI exceeds $109,000.

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11 Tips for Safe Online Shopping …

by TampaRENews on November 24, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Media, Technology with Comments Off
Billions of dollars will be spent online over the course of the next month, and, unfortunately, there are those that will be looking to steal some of it. Make sure you’re not a victim.
Managing Editor, Business eric_griffith@pcmag.com
  Eric Griffith
Eric Griffith

Let’s face it, there’s every reason in the world to shop online. The bargains are there. The selection is mind-boggling. The shopping is secure. Shipping is fast. Even returns are pretty easy, with the right e-tailers. Shopping has never been easier or more convenient for consumers.

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Know Your Rights …

by TampaRENews on November 23, 2011 in Economy, Events, Links, Technology with Comments Off

10 things you should know before buying a gift card – from Forbes – Click Here.  

  The credit card act of 2009 put an end to expiration dates and punitive fees. Better yet, gift cards must have all rules written clearly on the card so there’s no confusion. Be advised, there are different rules for different types of cards. Closed loop cards – those sold for specific retailers – cannot expire within five years of the purchase. Nor can they charge any kind of fees. But cards issued from credit card companies like American Express and Visa do carry some fees and can be more difficult to redeem.

Holiday Shopping Tips from the Internet Crime Complaint Center

by TampaRENews on November 21, 2011 in Economy, Events, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, Media, Technology with Comments Off

Prepared by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

November 21, 2011

Holiday Shopping Tips

In advance of the holiday season, the FBI reminds shoppers to beware of cyber criminals and their aggressive and creative ways to steal money and personal information. Scammers use many techniques to fool potential victims including fraudulent auction sales, reshipping merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card, sale of fraudulent or stolen gift cards through auction sites at discounted prices, and phishing e-mails advertising brand name merchandise for bargain prices or e-mails promoting the sale of merchandise that ends up being a counterfeit product.

Fraudulent Classified Ads or Auction Sales

Internet criminals post classified ads or auctions for products they do not have. If you receive an auction product from a merchant or retail store, rather than directly from the auction seller, the item may have been purchased with someone else’s stolen credit card number. Contact the merchant to verify the account used to pay for the item actually belongs to you.

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Edina Realty Pulls Its Real Estate Listings from Third Party Aggregators

by TampaRENews on November 21, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, Media, MLS, NAR with Comments Off

Citing a multitude of reasons that affect both consumers and REALTORS®, Edina Realty leadership decides to pull its real estate listings from third party aggregators Trulia.com and Realtor.com

Edina, Minn. – Nov. 18, 2011 – Edina Realty leadership has decided to pull the company’s real estate listings from third party real estate aggregators such as Trulia.com and Realtor.com. Edina Realty will no longer list its properties on Trulia.com starting Nov. 30, and Realtor.com in the “near” future.

“We’re confident that our decision to pull our listings from Trulia.com and Realtor.com is the right one for consumers as well as our agents and brokerage,” said Bob Peltier, president and CEO of Edina Realty Home Services. “Our clients are number one. And we have an obligation to represent them according to a specific code of ethics and state law. That means we are invested in the integrity of the information we publish on their behalf. The inaccuracies we’ve seen on third-party aggregator sites give us cause for alarm, and the reality is that we are no longer willing to surrender our business – or the consumer’s real estate experience – to third party aggregators, who are not required to operate under the same rules and laws as brokers.”

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They Walked Away … And Are Glad They Did …

by TampaRENews on November 19, 2011 in Economy, Issues, Links, Local Real Estate, United States Government with Comments Off

http://nyti.ms/tVz2CA

They Walked Away, and They’re Glad They Did

By TESS VIGELAND (The New York Times)

JON WITTENBERG and Bill Sawyer have never met. One lives in Walnut Creek, Calif., the other in Wilsonville, Ore. But if they did, the conversation might be littered with exclamations like, “That’s exactly what happened to me!”

Their stories start with a mid-decade home purchase and turn sharply as they simply walk away from those homes and the mortgages that accompany them. What was supposed to happen next was that their financial lives would crash and burn for years.

Or so the dire warnings went. In reality, both men said, walking away turned out to be the best financial decision they made.

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