Short Sale Tax Relief Looking Very Hopeful

In a wide margin vote of 76-16 on Tuesday, the Senate passed the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act for short sales in 2014. The bill will gives a tax break on any mortgage forgiveness given to homeowners, which will be counted as income if not passed into a law.

In the first 3 quarters of 2014, the average mortgage debt forgiveness was 75,000 amounting to $8.1 billion dollars over 170,000 short sales – according to a recent estimate from RealtyTrac.

The National Association of Realtors is happy with the outcome and effort for both chambers to get this pushed through before the year end.

Be Aware of International Fraud Scams

In an effort to protect attorneys, realtors and lenders. Take notice and caution of any potential “too good to be true” clients.

Reports of “qualified buyers” from overseas have proven to be scams.

Look out for these telltale signs of a potential scams:
They often ask to use an escrow to deposit the down payment money then cancel the transaction and ask to have the funds wired before the check bounces. The buyers will show proof of funds, passports, contact information, etc.

Protect your business and your precious time by doing your due diligence on any “dream client.”

Real Estate Law & Practice Committee MCLE Meeting

Agenda:
Chris Prod will discuss grant programs available to home buyers

When:
Thursday, October 9, 2014
11:45 – 1:00 pm

Where:
Attorney Resource Center
505 North County Farm Road
Wheaton, IL 60187

Contact:
Christine Reed
creed@dcba.org
Phone: 630-653-7779

Registration provides:
Pizza, salad, and beverages will be available to those who pre-register
Handouts will only be available to those who pre-register. No hard copies will be provided at the meeting.

Click here to register (you must sign in to register).

*You must be a current DCBA member receive credit for MCLE committee meetings.

Affordable Housing Breakfast

Please join us for the Affordable Housing Breakfast on

Thursday, September 18, 2014 at:

Wheaton College
Anderson Commons
1st Floor of the Todd Beamer Center
(East side of Soderquist Plaza, north of College Ave., Wheaton)

Agenda:

Welcome, Opening Prayer/Reflections

Dr. Vincent Bacote, Director
Wheaton College Center for Applied Christian Ethics

Introductions and Announcements

Debra Olson, Executive Director
DuPage Homeownership Center

IHDA Down Payment Assistance Programs:

Expanding Homeownership Opportunities for Low-income Families in DuPage County
Greg Faulkner
Illinois Housing Development Authority

COST: $15 (pay at the door)
RSVP by: Thursday, September 11th to
Joy.E.Trieglaff@wheaton.edu or (630) 752-5886

Parking available north of Soderquist Plaza,
Howard St. to University Place west to Chase St. north, or south of the plaza, College Ave. to Chase St.

For additional information, please contact
Jennie Petrine at (630) 260-2500,ext. 2501
or jennie@dhoc.org.

Warning! E-Mail Wire Fraud Scams – Please Help Protect our Mutual Clients

Recently instances of customers being deceived into misdirecting their funds to a hacker’s account have occurred after the hacker intercepted emails between the purchaser or borrower, and the title company or the attorney concerning an upcoming transaction. The customers received emails (allegedly) from a title agency providing wire information that had been altered, so the customer unknowingly transferred their funds for the transaction directly into the hacker’s own account. This scam with an altered email could conceivably be used to cause misdirection of funds by any party in the transaction, including the title agents. Since these e-mails appear to be genuine containing the title agency’s email information and logos or branding, the importance of using encrypted email, when it is available, to send private information especially with account numbers needs to be emphasized.

In order to safeguard against this type of scam, make sure to secure computer systems and email accounts, and always confirm wiring instructions between appropriate parties and title companies. It is recommended to avoid the use of subject lines that include the words “wire instructions”, “account number” or “ ABA” because it is likely emails are being scanned for certain character strings. Email addresses have been revised by changing certain letters, such as the letter “O” to the number “0.” These clever, unscrupulous hackers have even gone so far as to send fake emails canceling the actual closing to delay detection of their scam. Best practice is to confirm directly with the title company all wire transaction information.