California Tax Law and Foreclosures/Short Sales

I ran across this article and found it extremely informative in describing the different potential tax consequences and laws that are in place for short sales and foreclosures, specifically in California. It was written by a CPA who (of course) advises you to consult an attorney to understand your specific situation. It goes into a lot of detail on how the IRS looks at short sales and foreclosures and gives examples on how different scenarios could affect you. It isn't a "light" read but worth it if you want to educate yourself on this topic.





http://www.realestateinvestingtax.com/shortsale.shtml

East West Partners and KSL Join Forces...

Great news in the real estate resort development world...East West Partners and KSL have announced their partnership to explore new development opportunities. It doesn't sound like anything will change in the near future regarding the Northstar and Squaw developments or other Lake Tahoe area opportunities, but interesting news nonetheless. See this article in the Sierra Sun for more details. http://www.sierrasun.com/ARTICLE/20110407/NEWS/110409943/1066/RSS?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Tax consequences for short sale vs foreclosure

There seems to be a perpetual gray area when it comes to understanding what the tax consequences are if you decide to short sell or foreclose on your home. I have spoken with people who have been under the assumption that if they foreclosed there would be less of a tax consequence than if they went through the short sale process. This article makes some interesting points. Of course the only real way to understand the implications for your situation would be to consult your tax advisor or attorney.

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/tara-nicholle-nelson/worse-tax-bite-short-sale-or-foreclosure

Big Storm=Tahoe Fun!

I know, it seems weird to see a photo of someone surfing on Lake Tahoe in February (or at all for that matter), but there are more things to do in Tahoe than ski when the big storms roll in...this photograph was taken right before the big storm hit. Crazy!

I hope you all are here enjoying the 6-10 feet of new snow at all of our ski resorts for this holiday weekend! Now we have a couple of bluebird days until another storm moves in next week.

The Tahoe Spot

This is kind of a cool website that someone brought to my attention about local Tahoe info, restaurants, events, etc...it seems to be a newer site so not all the links are working yet but it looks like it has potential. See for yourself...

http://thetahoespot.com/

The Colorado-ization of Northstar and Squaw?

I saw this article in the local paper "Moonshine Ink" the other day and thought it was pretty interesting with regards to the ownership history of Squaw and Northstar and the potential directions both resorts are heading now with their new Colorado-based owners.

Especially interesting to me are the efforts being put forward to get more flights into the Reno-Tahoe airport from major cities. I think the diversification of visitors to the area will undoubtedly help the real estate and tourism markets here. A lot of non-California people are not even aware of what the resorts are like out here in the winter, not to mention the amazing summers that we have in Tahoe.

The potential for some kind of train/light-rail is a great concept if they can put it into action as well.

I'll let you read on and form your own opinion....Enjoy!
http://www.moonshineink.com/articles.php/83/2210

Market for vacation homes on the rise...

Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal regarding trends in the market for vacation homes.

This article mirrors my last blog post about scarcity and buyers looking to get back in the market again. Prices are still good but the inventory is depleting in some areas-similar to trends we are seeing at Northstar.

Read on....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704482704576071984006994652.html