Friday Financial Five – March 28th, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Housing activity expected to come out of hibernation
The winter months produced a “time-out” of sorts for the housing market. After a severe downturn in 2009, the last few years saw growth that probably wasn’t sustainable, as a buyer’s market slowly morphed into a seller’s market in many areas. The weather, coupled with a change in mortgage qualifications, caused real estate activity to hit the pause button. As spring approaches, inventory is increasing from recent lows and the hope is that warmer weather will lead to an explosion of activity. Buyers will try to lock in interest rates and some lenders will start to ease up on borrower underwriting. It could be the beginning of a healthier real estate market, where neither the buyer nor seller starts with an upper hand.
Getting tougher on appraisal guidelines
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe real estate meltdown had several contributors, many of whom have been the subject of public scorn. One group of offenders that may have avoided their fair share of scrutiny was real estate appraisers. Yes, underwriting standards were weak, but the first domino in the process was an appraiser willing to inflate the market values for underlying properties. This week, government agencies laid out a proposed rule for “Appraisal Management Companies”, which act as intermediaries between lenders and appraisers. If states adopt the rule, AMC’s would be subject to supervision and have to comply with certification guidelines.
Widowed spouses missing out on Social Security payments
In the maze of options for collecting Social Security, it’s not surprising that a surviving spouse may not be collecting the maximum available benefits. According to the recent Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General report, nearly one third of widowed spouses over 70 are missing out. According to the SSA, this is the result of a failure in the system to identify those eligible for increased benefits. Those that think they might be entitled to increase benefits should get in contact immediately.
Good news for BOA, bad news for Citigroup.
It’s strange to refer to a $9 billion settlement for a company as “good news”, but reaching finality in these lawsuits is exactly that for Bank of America. The company has been dealing with the Countrywide hangover for far too long and can soon attempt to focus primarily on business matters. Conversely, Citigroup was dealt a blow by the Federal Reserve when their capital plan was rejected. The plan included an increased dividend and a stock buyback but was rejected as part of the Fed’s recent stress test.
“Glitches” expected while complying with FACTA
The IRS expects several glitches for insurance and financial companies trying to comply with FACTA (The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), but there is still no intention to move off of the July 1st start date. The act intends to help identify large amounts of money held outside of the United States by requiring financial institutions to report account activity. In a rare display of compassion, Commissioner John Koskinen says of the IRS: “We will be understanding of those problems as long as those financial intermediaries are making reasonable, good faith efforts to comply.”
Dan Forbes is a regular contributor on financial issues. He is a CFP Board Ambassador. He leads the firm Forbes Financial Planning, Inc in Providence, RI and can be reached at [email protected].
Related Slideshow: 10 Great RI Houses That Just Came on the Market—March 27, 2014
Related Articles
- Friday Financial Five—April 19th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—May 3rd, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – February 22nd, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – January 31st, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – March 22th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – November 23rd, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – October 26th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five –December 28th , 2012
- Friday Financial Five–July 19th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–October 18th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—April 26th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – August 10th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – February 28th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – January 3rd, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – March 28th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – November 29th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – October 5th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five –December 7th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–July 26th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–October 25th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – August 3rd, 2012
- Friday Financial Five—April 5th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – August 24th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – February 7, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – January 4th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – March 7th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – November 2nd, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – September 14th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–August 16th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–July 5th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–October 4th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – December 13th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—August 17th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – August 31st, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – January 11th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – July 27th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – March 8th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – November 30th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – September 21st, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–August 23rd, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–June 14th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–September 13th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – December 20th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—May 10th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – February 14th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – January 17th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – March 14th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – November 15th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – November 8th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – September 28th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–August 2nd, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–June 21st, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–September 20th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – December 27th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—May 17th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – February 15th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – January 18th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – March 15th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – November 16th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – November 9th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five – September 7th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–August 30th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–June 28th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–September 27th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – December 6th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—May 24th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – February 1st, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – January 24th, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – March 1st, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – November 1st, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – October 12th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five –December 14th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–August 9th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–June 7th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–September 6th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—April 12th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five—May 31st, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – February 21st, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – January 25th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – March 21st, 2014
- Friday Financial Five – November 22nd, 2013
- Friday Financial Five – October 19th, 2012
- Friday Financial Five –December 21st, 2012
- Friday Financial Five–July 12th, 2013
- Friday Financial Five–October 11, 2013