Real Estate Clubs Hot Among InvestorsWritten by Charles Essmeier
Six or seven years ago, stock market was booming, Internet companies that no one had ever heard of were valued at billions of dollars, and anyone and everyone was investing their money in tech stocks. Then, in 2000, stock market crashed, Internet companies closed their doors, investors lost trillions of dollars, and life went back to normal, more or less. Five years later, tech stocks are nowhere near their 2000 peaks, but investors are salivating again. This time, they’re putting their money in real estate, and they’re forming real estate clubs to help them achieve greater success.
There were investment clubs in 1990’s, where a group of people with common investing interests met regularly, pooled their money, and invested in stocks as a group. A few of them did well enough that they made national news. Now equivalent is real estate club, but in these clubs, it’s every person for themselves. Rather than pooling money for common investments, members meet to share advice, lessons learned, and stories of their latest acquisitions. It’s difficult to say how many real estate clubs exist in United States, but estimates suggest that there may be thousands of them. Real estate prices are at record levels, particularly on
| | 10 Thoughts on Tax Offer in CompromiseWritten by Kirt Durst
Beware of advertisements that claim to settle tax debts for "pennies on dollar". Check Offer In Compromise requirements to see if it is right for you.1. If you are unable to pay a tax debt in full, if taxpayer establishes to satisfaction of IRS that he either: has no means of paying tax, or does not actually owe tax-- and an installment agreement cannot be worked out--the IRS strives to resolve taxpayer's tax debt. 2. Under certain circumstances, you may be able to take advantage of offer in compromise (OIC), but there are hurdles to overcome before Internal Revenue Service accepts less than full payment. To date, taxpayers who have gone through Offer in Compromise program to settle their tax bill have saved millions of dollars. 3. An OIC delinquent tax settlement is an agreement taxes owed for less than full amount of taxes due. It's a complex decision and a tax attorney is needed for his extensive expertise in planning, preparing, negotiating and even appealing rejections. 4. IRS Code Sec. 7122 gives IRS power authority to settle-- compromise--federal tax liabilities. Exceptional circumstances sometimes exist that allow IRS to consider an OIC program for taxpayer. For example, a taxpayer must demonstrate that collection of tax would create an economic hardship or would be unfair and inequitable. 5. Very few offers were accepted in past, because standards were almost impossible to meet before a tax debt was legally compromised. Recent tax legislation has given new hope to taxpayers who were previously disqualified.
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