Good article

If you would like an easy to read recap of what the heck has happened to our economy over the last year and a half that has shot us into this recession, you need to read this article from Junior Achievement.

CFP

Last week, I got the good news that I passed my CFP ( CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER) exam. The journey to acheive this took me two years, I began my studies in the beginning of 2007. This certification requires that you pass 6 modules before you can sit for the comprehensive test that ultimately gives you the CFP title. The modules include Principals of Financial Planning, Insurance, Income Tax, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning and Estate. Each module consists of about 10 books of information. Soo with working 50-60 hours a week and everyday life, it can take some time to get through it all.
In the fall of 2008, I discovered the Ken Zahn program which was very helpful at getting me prepared for the final. You can visit his website at www.kenzahn.com. I highly recommend his program if you are looking to get this certification in a decent amount of time.
So, once the CFP board confirms that I am a college grad and have 3 years of work history, I can start using the designation, and I can't be more excited! I'm hoping it will help my practice aquire more high value clients- as most smart investors look for an advisor that is a CFP.
I was also happy to discover that only 26% of CFP's are female, and 3% are in the age range of 20-29! You can read more about the CFP designation at www.cfp.net.

Uncle Sam, may I refinance or not?

Many Americans bought a house that they now owe more on than it is worth, and are being crushed by payments and can't sell. Obama has come up with some solutions, one of them being The Home Affordable Refinance plan: here is the scoop~

While mortgage rates are now at historic lows, many homeowners with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are unable to refinance their higher-rate mortgages because they have lost equity in their properties due to falling home prices. Under current rules, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot guarantee a mortgage that exceeds 80 percent of the home's value. The Home Affordable Refinance plan removes this restriction, allowing certain homeowners to refinance their mortgages.
A homeowner qualifies for this refinancing if:
The property is owner-occupied and the existing mortgage is current
The existing mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
The new mortgage balance will not exceed 105 percent of the home’s current value
The mortgage balance must not exceed $729,750 for single-family homes

The plan runs until June 1, 2010.
If you think you qualify, call your lender!

I'm back

So I haven't blogged in 4 months...what is my excuse? Well I took the CFP last month ( please God I hope I passed) and I'm getting married next week....not to mention I've also been fixing up a rental house that my fiance and I bought for $37k, yes that's right $37k= positive cash flow galore. Oh yeah and trying to keep my clients calm and managing my practice, and it seems like the sky is falling. NO IT's not.
So here I am. AGAIN...here we are again...

I'll start off with something simple. Hmmm....
1) If you have bought a house in 2008 and wait they just extended it to dec 2009, you should check out this link - keep in mind it does have to be paid back.
2) You can still fund your 2008 Roth IRA until April 15th, that is $5,000 or $6,000 if you are over age 50. What are you going to buy in your Roth IRA, do you think they're might be some good buying opportunities?
3)
That's all I got for now, stay tuned.

Short Sales

So I had two clients tell me this week that they were thinking about doing a short sale and one tell me he was considering foreclosure.

All of these clients make over $150,000 a year and have the money to pay on their mortgages, even though they are paying two mortgage payments.
They have just figured that their house value has gone down so much that it would take YEARS for it to come back in value and they are better off letting it go.
Seriously?? Is that the mentality now people? You want to just ruin your credit by having it go down 200-400 points ( which by the way a short sale is just as bad for your credit as a foreclosure is ) so that you can pay out the butt through higher interest rates bc no one will want to loan you anymore money.
Also, not to mention, how wrong it is to walk away from an obligation. If perfectly capable people start walking out on their mortgages this economy is going to have some MAJOR problems in our banking system.
What do you think?

Some Tax Tips

For my Tampa people...

Did you know that if you rent your homestead out for less than 14 days throughout the year that the income you receive is 100% tax free? Awesome, that means you can rent out your pad for the Superbowl weekend and all of that money you make is exempt from taxes...yay!

Capital Losses

Unfortunately this year there are not alot of folks with capital gains- most of us have capital losses.

It would be valuable to sit down with your advisor or CPA to see what losses you could take this year to help offset income. You can take a max. loss of $3,000 per year and deduct from your income on the front page of your 1040. If you have losses more than $3,000, you can carry them forward to future tax years.

** Keep in mind this applies to non-qualified accounts, not Retirement ( qualified accouts like your 401(k)'s, Roth's or IRA's)
Another thing to remember is that even though your mutual fund may have lost 30% YTD, your mutual fund may still be passing on capital gains from stocks they were forced to sell this year in the fund that still had a gain. Yes, that can really suck if you are getting passed a capital gain when you might not have owned the fund when they bought the stock that they are now selling at the capital gain. So you could accomplish 2 things, sell a fund at a loss to write off on your taxes and if you time it correctly, you can not own the fund when the capital gain is distributed in December.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you still want to keep the investment, which is usually the case, you have to wait 30 days( wash rule) before you can buy the asset back again.