Homeowners can relax a little again; Congress has included an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act in an eleventh hour bill to avoid a possible fiscal cliff crisis. The Act was scheduled to expire on December 31, 2012, but has been extended, in the American Taxpayer Relief Act- until December 31, 2013.The stakes were incredibly high. With almost three million mortgage loans in, or near foreclosure, five million more borrowers suffering with high-rate loans that they have not refinanced, and nearly 12 million borrowers whose mortgage debt adds up to$600 billion more than the homes are worth. The law, as it stands now, makes debt forgiveness tax exempt when related to a mortgage on a consumer's primary home that is valued at $2 million or less, the borrower can avoid the tax burden that normally comes with mortgage forgiveness.A little disclaimer here, am not a Tax Consultant, so please, always, always, always consult with a tax expert before making any decisions that may be effected by what you read here.We are a Luxury Real Estate company and we specialize in helping homeowners that are under water. Not only have we helped homeowners with multiple properties, we have successfully negotiated "investor" properties, up to as much as $24,000.00 back to them at closing, a waiving of all deficiencies, and streamlined the process with as little as 4 forms to fill out, and your done. Primary residences have seen as much as $30,000.00 go back to the homeowners with the same results.For more information on Cooperative Short Sales in Hawaii, and other items, like Act 182-please feel free to contact me: Lance Owens R(S) 808-936-8383