Redding's Ups and Downs

I received an email today from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® regarding an IRS federal tax relief program. I don’t normally just quote an article but this might be of interest to you, your family or your friends Following is part of what IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman had to say recently at a press briefing.

“Today, I'm announcing an expedited process that will make it easier for financially distressed homeowners to avoid having a federal tax lien block refinancing of mortgages or the sale of a home. For taxpayers who are trying to refinance their mortgage, the existence of a tax lien generally means that the new lender will not go through with the refinancing. But in a lot of cases, the IRS will decide to make the federal tax lien secondary to another lien, such as a new mortgage.

The IRS is ready to help taxpayers who find themselves in these situations. Where we can subordinate our lien to help a family win that new refinance mortgage that may mean that they can stay in their homes.

Some taxpayers are also trying to sell their homes. Often, they have no equity in the home because it has gone down in value. Again, the tax lien makes it unlikely that a new buyer could get a mortgage on the property. In these cases, we can discharge the tax lien so that the sale can proceed.

I want to stress the IRS is doing whatever it can under the constraints of the law and common sense to avoid getting in the way of people trying to save their homes or sell their homes. It currently takes about thirty days to apply for and receive either a discharge or a subordination of a federal tax lien.

Taxpayers can find all the information they need at www.irs.gov. “