Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

To help financially distressed homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments, the Dept. of the Treasury and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) established HAMP. In appropriate cases, HAMP has been offering the Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) as part of a HAMP loan modification since the last quarter of 2010. Current plans call for HAMP to continue accepting new borrowers through the end of 2013. Mortgage Reduction – Where the borrower satisfies certain conditions during a trial period, the principal of the borrower's mortgage...

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Has Your 2012 Roth-Converted IRA Declined in Value?

If you converted your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2012 and paid (or will pay) the tax on the conversion and then watched the value of the account decrease due to an unexpected poor investment performance, you still have an opportunity to do something about it. If you filed your return on time or are on extension, you automatically receive a 6-month extension from the return’s original due date to re-characterize the Roth account back to a traditional account, thereby avoiding having to pay taxes on IRA values that have evaporated. After...

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