| 5 Rivers officer defaults on loan
GEORGETOWN | Deutsche Bank has filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Ayoluwa Dayo Smith, former chief financial officer for Five Rivers Community Development Corp., saying Smith never made a payment on a $252,000 loan she received Nov. 8. The Deutsche Bank loan is one of three refinance loans Smith took out against her home in The Arbors subdivision in the months before the Five Rivers nonprofit agency closed amid a financial scandal. In all, Smith received $124,000 in equity payments between June 23 and Nov. 8 by refinancing her home with larger mortgages. Smith moved to Buford, Ga., one month after getting the Deutsche Bank loan, according to public records. Smith could not be reached for comment. The telephone number at the Georgetown home has been disconnected and Smith's telephone number in Georgia is not listed.
Some home refinancing costs may be deductible
Taxpayers who refinanced their homes last year may be able to deduct some of the loan costs, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The term points is used to describe certain charges paid to obtain a home mortgage.
Here are some of the tips an IRS news release had about deducting points:
- Generally, for taxpayers who itemize, the points paid to obtain a home mortgage may be deductible as mortgage interest.
- Depending on circumstances, points can be fully deductible in the year paid.
- For a refinanced mortgage, the interest deduction for points is determined by dividing the points paid by the number of payments to be made over the life of the loan. This information is usually available from lenders. Taxpayers may deduct points only for those payments made in the tax year.
Today’s Economic Reports Highlight Weak Spots of Economy
Although today's economic reports do not capture headlines, they shed light on weak spots in the economy and confirm that a significant moderation in the pace of economic activity is underway. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Mortgage Purchase Index dropped 2.0% to 402.9 during the week ended March 30. The Mortgage Refinance Index fell to 2098.3 from 2197.7 in the prior week. Recent developments in the housing market support expectations of further weakness in home sales. Tighter lending standards should hold back sales of homes despite the aggressive sales strategies homebuilders have put in place. As chart 1 suggests, the bounce back in mortgage purchases earlier in the year was probably only a temporary event. The Non-Manufacturing ISM survey results show a moderation in the pace of activity.
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