The Case for Identity Theft and the IRS

What a case for Identity Theft (edit/delete)

The following appeared in the news media this week…very alarmning, and illustrated the need for Identity Theft protection…

Washington, D.C. (August 14, 2013)

By Michael Cohn

The Internal Revenue Service has released the final regulations for how it will release tax return information to the Department of Health and Human Services to assess a taxpayer’s eligibility for help in buying health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

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In TD 9628, the IRS noted that Section 6103(l)(21) of the Tax Code allows the disclosure of tax return information to assist the upcoming health insurance exchanges, now known as marketplaces, in performing certain functions of the health care reform law for which income verification is required, including determining the eligibility for the insurance affordability programs described in the Affordable Care Act, as well as to assist state agencies that are administering state Medicaid programs, children’s health insurance programs, and basic health programs.

For taxpayers whose income is relevant in determining eligibility for an insurance affordability program, Medicaid, CHIP, or BHP, Section 6103(l)(21) explicitly authorizes the disclosure of the taxpayer identity information, filing status, the number of individuals for whom a deduction is allowed, the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, as defined under Section 36B of the Tax Code, and the taxable year to which the information relates or, alternatively, that the information is not available.

Section 6103(l)(21) also authorizes the disclosure of other information that might indicate whether an individual is eligible for the premium tax credit under Section 36B of the Code, or cost-sharing reductions under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act, and the amount of them.

The final regulations mostly adhere to the regulations proposed by the IRS last year, except that it added Social Security benefits to the list of items that can be disclosed to the Department of Health and Human Services in order to help enable the health insurance exchanges determine a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income. If the IRS provides HHS with the amount of Social Security benefits included in gross income under Section 86, an exchange or state agency will be generally able to determine the amount of Social Security benefits not included in gross income under Section 86, the IRS noted. This amount is one of the components of an individual’s MAGI. Eligibility for the premium tax credit, and advance payments of the credit, are based on the household income of the applicant, which is the sum of the MAGI of those individuals who comprise the household. As a result, providing the amount of Social Security benefits included in gross income, along with other items contained in the regulations, will help an exchange determine whether a taxpayer is eligible for the premium tax credit under Section 36B or cost-sharing reductions under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act, and the amount of the credit or reductions.

The other major change from the regulations proposed last year is to delete the reference to adoption taxpayer information numbers, or ATINs, from the list of identification numbers to be verified, because the Social Security Administration cannot verify them. Subsequent to the publication of the proposed regulations, the IRS recognized that requests relating to ATINs would not be received because individuals’ identification numbers would first be verified against SSA records. But since the SSA has no records of ATINs, the numbers cannot be verified and HHS will not request return information for individuals using ATINs. While the income of an individual with an ATIN may be relevant for determining household income and, therefore, eligibility for a health insurance affordability program, a health insurance exchange or state agency will instead need to use alternate verification procedures.

So, if this concerns you, send me an e-mail and I will return info on our Identity Theft programs…as well as low cost legal protection for all of your legal concerns. ronlargent@yahoo.com

Travel Business— Work at Home—Extra Income

Through my connections as a member of the Senior Community, and specifically as a retired Air Force officer, I heard about an opportunity to work at home that is consistent with my newly formed Travel Service.  The opportunity is one that uses the internet to assist those that are interested in travel, vacation packages, cruise line specials, and special area excursions. It seems like, even though we are in a slowed-down economy, people are continuing to travel at record-setting levels. 2011 was one of the busiest travel business years in history, if not the busiest.

All ages are traveling…and travelers are spending money…thus the Travel business may be just the thing if you are looking to do something that will be very enjoyable; that you can do from your home or office computer; and one that you can do on your own schedule. The more you work, the more you make….a simple formula.

In addition, our parent company, will be continuing to offer special individual, group, and specialized interest group travel worldwide. This coming year we are expanding to include major sporting events, such as the Masters, Wimbledon Tennis, Monaco Gran Prix, the British Open, and major NASCAR events. If you are part of one of these interest groups, you can increase your income by working with us on these, including the Rotary International Convention to Thailand and the Lions International Convention to Korea.

e-mail me:  ronlargent@yahoo.com   or go to my site   www.rontravels.com    or the biz site    http://RL2102tytravelbiz.com

Travel Opportunities….Unusual.

In the next 12 months, we are going to be marketing some very special, and unusual, travel and tourism opportunities. Our specialty is doing unique travel arrangements, and what we have on the agenda are really unique. In addition to the Rotary and Lions Clubs International Conventions in Thailand and Korea, we will be planning a business to business trip to China, with meetings in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Also in the plans are trips in 2013 to the Masters Golf Tournament week in Augusta, GA; a 10 day trip to London for Wimbledon; a golf outing to the British Open; a week at the Monaco Gran Prix in Monaco (France); a week at the London Olympics; and a special NASCAR event at Talladaga.

If any of these trips are of interest, please let me know and we will keep you posted. Or, if you, or your group, including church mission trips, are wanting group prices, we work with 3 different wholesalers that give us the best prices in the industry. It it is a challenging trip, bring it on.

Check us out at   www.transworldtravelservices.com    or e-mail me at   ronlargent@yahoo.com   or call   1-888-657-1277

About Commercial Real Estate Funding ….and Ron

If you are seeking funding for a large commercial project, you have come to the right place.  Ron Largent is a financing consultant with Ocean Pacific Capital. He has the requisite experience and knowledge in real estate and finance to assure your success.

First licensed in 1971, Ron has built on decades of real world experience as an agent or broker in four states. He knows and understands all aspects of residential, commercial, and investment-income properties in the North State.  He has achieved significant sales results in residential sales, Mobile Home Parks and apartment complex sales, along with self mini-storage complex and convenience store sales.

He partnered with his son, Curt, and other associates in the Largent Team, one of the largest real estate teams in the North State, which is now part of Sheldon Largent Realty.  During 2011, Ron gave back to his community, serving as President and Executive Officer of the United Way of Northern California on an interim basis, managing the United Way in the nine northern counties of California.

What is TED?

About 3 years ago, a friend here in Redding, Nick Webb, introduced me to TED, which I had never even heard of until Nick mentioned it. Over the past years I have been following TED…and it is a most interesting organization. Here is the info, in case you would like to see an enlightening and informative group:

About TED

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The TED Conference, held annually in the spring, is the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend, the event sells out a year in advance, and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter pieces of content, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.

More details at http://www.ted.com

Hope you enjoy the site.

What is a Cap Rate? Why it is important in commercial real estate….

Often times we will get a buyer of an investment property….lots of questions, and mostly good ones. One good question that keeps coming up, especially with newer investors…What is the Cap Rate? What cap rates are on the recent sales? So, here is a definition of a Cap Rate…one of the best that I have read….and I think it is from one of the real estate investment text books…

The Capitalization Rate or Cap Rate is a ratio used to estimate the value of income producing properties.The cap rate is the net operating income divided by the sales price or value of a property expressed as a percentage. Investors, lenders, and appraisers use the cap rate to estimate the purchase price for different types of income producing properties, which is a guideline for a new investor. A market cap rate is determined by evaluating the financial data of similar properties which have recently sold in a specific market. It provides a more reliable estimate of value than a market Gross Rent Multiplier since the cap rate calculation utilizes more of a property’s financial detail. The GRM calculation only considers a property’s selling price and gross rents. The Cap Rate calculation incorporates a property’s selling price, gross rents, non rental income, vacancy amount and operating expenses thus providing a more reliable estimate of value. These are all key factors that a buyer should consider in the decision making process.

If you are looking for CREATIVE COMMERCIAL FINANCING for an investment property, give me a call. We have products for almost every possible property…and possibly one for you.

http://www.largentfinancial.com

Current Mortgage and Financing Information As of Today 10-22-2010

Last week, Julie Henderson from US Lending  wrote that the Fed policy makers had come out publicly in stating that there was not a consensus on what actions they should take to stimulate the economy.  She continues, this past week’s economic data as well as next week’s should provide Fed policy makers with more than enough information to make a definitive decision on what to do.

The economic reports this past week continue to demonstrate that the economy is going nowhere.  You will notice that I didn’t even say “going nowhere fast”, I just said “going nowhere”.  With every bit of positive news that an investor or consumer can grab on to, there is another piece of negative news sitting right behind it to quell any momentum that could be gained.  The stock market this week is a perfect illustration.

This week in the stock market we saw some significant drops and rallies based upon daily economic reports.  By the time the smoke cleared, we are almost exactly back to where we started the week.  On Monday the DOW started the week at 11,137.  After hitting highs of 11,205 and lows of 10,925, the market ended trading on Thursday at 11,135, exactly 2 points lower than where the week started.  Friday no economic reports are due out so trading should be quiet.

The National Association of Home Builders monthly survey on the future of housing showed an unexpected increase.  The survey which measures the feelings about the economy and housing as a whole showed a gain for the first time since the spring, which was the end of the 2^nd round of housing stimulus.

Housing Starts also showed a surprise increase for the month of September with single family construction leading the way.  Housing Starts increased .3% which piggy backs on the prior months 10% increase.  Additionally, Housing Starts are up 4.1% from a year ago.  On the opposite side of the coin, the future for new construction remains in question as new building permit filings declined 5.6%.

Mortgage rates remain at historic lows however once again we see that even the slightest increase in rates can have a dramatic impact on both purchase and refinance applications.  Mortgage rates last week increased just over 1/8% and the market saw a drop in purchase applications of 6.7% and refinance apps declined 11.2%.  It is my opinion, for what it is worth, that if next week we experience additional declines in the housing sector, the government will be compelled to act on executing another round of stimulus sooner than later.

First time initial jobless claims declined 23,000 last week.  The markets showed virtually no reaction to this report as it seems that unless there is significant movement in the numbers, the market just looks at this as weekly variations with no real direction for un-employment.

As announced earlier this week, Bank of America and some of the other major lenders are resuming their foreclosure proceedings in many states.  There are still many hurdles that the banks will need to clear in the courts regarding foreclosures so the story is not coming to a close.  Although the banks insist that they have not made errors in who they have removed from homes, judges and regulators are quite skeptical about what the banks are stating.  Let’s face it, the banks have a history of not telling the truth.

This is the latest, and if you have any questions or comments…  e-mail me at    ronlargent@kw.com    or  my site    www.ronlargent.com

New Foreclosures in Redding and Anderson, CA

We have just had a number of homes come on the market as foreclosures, and as we expand our Foreclosure Team to address this growing market, we will be offering foreclosures in Red Bluff, Chico, and for those that are interested, Sacramento. Our expanded team will include agents in each of these areas that are specializing in bank owned homes, REPO’s, and foreclosesures….all basically the same….homes that have been foreclosed upon where the previous owner is no longer owner of the home….the bank that foreclosed is.

Foreclosures are listed through many agencies, and on the MLS in each of these areas, and our team will make lists of foreclosed properties available in each of these areas. E-mail    ronlargent@kw.com    or go to    www.ronlargent.com    or    www.foreclosureteam.net

Our goal is to get the right home for our clients….thus this service. And, we have a number of lenders avaible to work with our buyers, from the Bank of America to local mortgage companies.

Here are some photos of current properties listed either by our office or on the MLS…..all good buys as foreclosures.

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Foothill HS Gets Rivals.com’s attention in State Football

The following appeared on Tuesday in Rivals.com  Sectionsports.com  section…on Northern California high school football:

Forget everything you know about Northern Section football.

Didn’t take long, did it?

Teams from way up north in California like

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	Zach Ray is the brother former 49er Ricky Ray.

Palo Cedro’s Foothill don’t get the attention from colleges and fans that they sometimes deserve due to relative location, but Cougars’ coach Bryon Hamilton is trying to change that perception.

“Part of the problem with recruiters is they can come up here and see four or five kids, or they can spend the same amount of time in the Bay Area and look at 40 or 50 kids,” Hamilton said. “People forget we’re here sometimes. We’re trying to change that mindset.”

After being snubbed for a state bowl game invitation after a perfect 12-0 season in 2007, Hamilton started scheduling tougher games outside of the Northern Section, and California for that matter. In 2008, the Cougars defeated Oregon’s South Medford, ranked No. 1 in the state of Oregon in some polls. A year later, Foothill beat Washington’s Union High School, a team that was ranked as high as No. 2 in Washington in 2009. Both victories came on the road in hostile environments.

“We tried to upgrade our schedule as much as possible, and we’re doing a better job of going out there and competing with other teams outside of our section,” Hamilton said

One team the Cougars were able to impress was Sacramento’s Grant High School, a perennial powerhouse that won the 2008 open division California state title. The Pacers travelled with Foothill up to Washington in 2009 to play Bellevue.

“The coaches (at Grant) couldn’t believe the level of football we were playing,” Hamilton said. “They really hadn’t seen us play, and there’s the misconception that Northern Section football isn’t very good football.”

Aaron Rodgers, current quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, played at Pleasant Valley in Chico and started to change that mindset. This season, a host of Cougars are trying to continue the notion that quality talent does indeed come out of some of California’s more remote locations.

Ray on the Rise
One current Foothill player who has NFL bloodlines is senior quarterback Zack Ray, whose brother Ricky played for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets before starring in the Canadian Football League. Through three games this season, Ray has passed for 538 yards and seven touchdowns in Hamilton’s shotgun zone-fly offense.

“He reminds me a lot of Kellen Moore,” Hamilton said, comparing his senior signal-caller to Boise State’s star quarterback. “He’s got that great poise in the pocket, and I think he’s going to grow to 6-foot-4, so he’s only going to get better.”

Two-headed Monster
The Cougars have a punishing running game,

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	Slaton is averaging close to 10 yards per carry for Foothill.

which can be a quarterback’s best friend. Junior tailbacks Tevin Slaton and Addison Gillam form a powerful rushing attack. Slaton, a 170-pound speedster, gashes defenses after the 210-pound Gillam softens them up.

“I think Gillam is a (Division I) prospect,” Hamilton said. “He’s a 6-foot-3, 210-pound kid with legitimate 4.7 speed. He’s got great redirection skills that you don’t see from a lot of 6-foot-3 football players.”

Slaton has been the more productive of the two thus far, having rushed for 467 yards and five touchdowns, including a huge Week Two performance against Stockton’s Edison, where the junior ran for 233 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Perfecting the 3-3-5
Part of the reason Slaton has been slightly more productive has been Gillam’s commitment to playing defense. The Cougars have one of the best linebacker units in California, with Gillam leading a group that also includes seniors Mitchell McCarthy, Garrett Miller, Josh Latham and Rocco Taylor.

“We’re blessed with those five guys. We feel really, really good there [at the linebacker position],” Hamilton said.
All five players get significant minutes in

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	Gillam stars at both running back and linebacker for the Cougars.

Hamilton’s 3-5-3 defensive scheme, and each full-time defensive player is averaging over six tackles per game for Foothill. Hamilton continues to be impressed with McCarthy, who earned the top linebacker award at the Boise State camp this summer and is fast approaching the Foothill school record for career tackles.

“He’s our strong safety/linebacker this year, and he’s the kid that gets the most attention,” Hamilton said of McCarthy. “He’s got a chance to be a D1 player, and he can definitely play a lot of places with his (3.6) GPA. Between him and Latham we’ve got two legit linebacker prospects.”

Led by the strong group of linebackers, Foothill’s defense got off to a strong start to the season, holding Dixon and Edison to six points each. The Cougars’ defense, a question mark coming into the season, answered all doubts by picking off six passes against the Vikings, as Trent Knight, Tucker Wilson and Ryan Smith each intercepted a pair of passes in the victory.

“At least they weren’t being selfish,” Hamilton joked.

Hamilton: “I want to get my kids signed”
But the head coach knows that his remote position in the state is no laughing matter, and that the team needs to continue to work to change the perception on Northern Section football. Hamilton isn’t just doing it for the sake of the program, however.

“Slowly but surely we’re changing people’s attitudes for the state games, because that’s obviously what’s on everybody’s mind,” Hamilton said. “But I want to get my kids signed. I’ve legitimately had 10 or 12 Division I players (in my eight years here), and I’ve only signed one.”

“This year I’ve got at least two or three of those type of kids, and if they don’t get looked at or signed it’s going to be a shame.”

McCloud Mobile Home Park Listed at 1,600,000.

The Victorian Village Senior Mobile Home Park located in the historic town of McCloud, CA at the base of majestic Mount Shasta in Northern California, is offered for sale with two options for the qualified buyer. 

The basic Park was built four (4) years ago with all utilities and services to all 43 mobile home spaces. To date, eight (8) spaces have been rented, and tenants have brought in impressive manufactured homes placed in the spacious locations throughout the Park. The Park is a classic upscale Senior Park, so the tenant units are very impressive.

 All improvements for the entire Park are in place, including a complete sprinkler system for the landscaped open areas, and features a gazebo for small group gatherings. The paved streets winding through the Park allows for a great deal of privacy for the residents, as well as giving the feeling of openness as one looks at the majestic mountain in the immediate background.

 Proforma for the existing Park would produce a gross income of $216,720; with projected expenses of 35% would produce a Net Income of $140,868. At the offering price of $1,600,000, this would be an 8.8% cap on the investment.

 The Park currently is a Planned Development, but the owner is in the process of filing for a subdivision, and the Park can be sold as a 43 lot subdivision upon final approval by the County and State, which is expected in the fall of 2010. The offering price for the subdivision will be $2,300,000, which will feature mobile home lots ready to be sold at just over $53,000 per lot, with all utilities in place and ready to be connected to the individual homeowners.

 

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Should a buyer want to buy the Park in its current condition, and then proceed to complete the subdivision, the current owner would entertain a partnership to complete the project.