Dodd-Frank Act modifies the definition of “accredited investor”

Section 413 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act modifies the definition of accredited investor. Previously, an accredited investor was a person with a net worth, or a joint net worth with a spouse, of not less than $1,000,000. Section 413 now excludes the value of the person’s primary residence from the net worth calculation.

Legislative Update from the NHREIA Lobbyist

The last two weeks have been a roller coaster in Concord the State finds itself in an increasing budget deficit and the House and Senate cannot agree on the best way to close this budget gap that exists from the supposed “balanced” budget passed just last year. It is important to note that a majority of the current deficit is the result of inflated revenue numbers that were used to create the current budget and the spending priorities of the current majority in Concord. The current deficit is $290 Million and is rapidly approaching a $360 million dollar deficit if revenues predicitions have not been met as they are expected not to. Last week the House and Senate met in a Committee of Conference to attempt to work out to different plans to solve the deficit. The House proposed several tax increases and the Senate proposed expanded gambling. It is likely that the Governor will ask the Executive Council to send the legislature to a special session.
 
The good news is that it appears that both the house and senate have agreed to repeal the LLC tax that maybe voted on today if there are enough votes to divide the budget question if not there is a concensus that the LLC tax should be repealed.
 
Also last week Sen. Maggie Hassan of Exeter has proposed a amendment to HB 1459 that will have a chillin effect on free speech rights of Non profits groups and corporations. This bill will require these organization to take a vote of their Board of Directors to advocate either for or against an issue, and register that vote with the Secretary of State for any money they spend advocating for against any issue or candidate. This bill also limits the amount a company can spend on advocacy. Please contact your State Reps and Senators and tell them not to infringe on your free speech rights and oppose HB1459
 
Finally, the Union Leader carried a story in its Sunday edition on May 23rd edition regarding foreclosure consultants and a new office within the Attorney General’s office to investigate foreclosure scams and violations of RSA 479-b that we have been working on to modify. 
 
As always please contact me with any questions or concerns,
Matthew Murphy
Principal, Whitefield & Burke
603-475-8435
 

How To Think Like A Millionaire

Richard Dale-Mesaros, former NHREIA Board Member, recently posted to the NHREIA Yahoo Groups Forum . . . just wanted to share his positive thoughts . . .

Hi Guys,

I just came across my notes I made, when I read the book “How To Think
Like A Millionaire” a few years ago and here are some of the goodies:

A lot of successes follow failure.

Your situation won’t improve if you do nothing about it - take ACTION.

Adapt your income to your needs, not the other way around.

Use advisors

Be prepared to burn your bridges

Stick to what you know best and be yourself

Be thrifty

Don’t let your current position deter you from moving forward

…..more where those came from.

Hope this helps your day!

Richard :)

New Hampshire’s Financial House in Disarray

Derived from the SVG we have of the state flag...Image via Wikipedia
The House and Senate have finished with the scheduled session last Thursday. However, as I mentioned in previous updates New Hampshire Financial House is in disarray. April which is typically the largest revenue month for the state came up $70 million below projections and the state’s deficit has climbed to $290 million. The Senate rejected the House tax proposals in SB 450 and have proposed expanded gaming and giving communities the option to introduce a local rooms and meals tax to recover money that the state used to send to communities to offset mandated cost like retirement, road improvement, and school building aid. The House and Senate will establish a Conference Committee this week to work on the budget deficit.
 
The NH Restaurants and Lodging Association will be holding a press conference this morning to discuss the Local option Rooms and Meals tax which they are opposed to as this will create a turf war between communties. Also the restaurants with multiple locations would be required to pay different rooms and meals taxes in different towns or cities.
 
As the situation will be very fluid this week I will be updating the members and board to developments and we will need members to be ready to contact State representatives and Senators in order to oppose new taxes.
 
 Last week a question about the LLC tax was asked at the meeting. the Short answer is yes the LLC tax was repealed in SB 450 however, the Senate rejected the bill as passed by the house. I believe that a repeal of the LLC tax will be included in any final package due to its wild unpopularity going into an election year.
 
As always feel free to contact me at my cell 603-475-8435 or by email with any questions you may have.
 
Thank you,
 
Matthew Murphy
603-475-8435
Principal,
Whitefield & Burke
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Legislative Update - big win for NHREIA!

As you have all probably seen in the papers alot is going on at the Statehouse this week and will be for the remainder of the session. As I had mentioned a few weeks ago the State of NH is facing a minimum of a $220 Million deficit this has put the State budget front and center. This week the House will vote on SB 450 which is an adjustment to the Budget the majority passed last year. The bill is meant to help close the states deficit by making $181 Million in cuts, borrowing, and tax increases or new taxes. These proposed taxes include a 8% Estate Tax on assets over $2 million dollars and a local option for municipalities to increase the rooms and meals tax beyond the states 9% tax, an Electricity Generation tax of .00055 cents per kilowatt hour. SB 450 also reduces state aid to municipalities affecting local property taxpayers. The bill however does not propose the capital gains that was discussed last week. Over all SB 450 is built on assumed revenue and contains controversial proposals for shutting down prison facilities in Goffstown and sending the YDC inmates to the Laconia Prison shutdown in last years budget. SB 450 also contains a repeal of the LLC tax provision that different from SB 497.

SB 483 1031 Exchanges

The House Ways and Means Committee passed SB 483 by a vote of 18-2 with changes from the version passed in the Senate.The House will take a vote on SB 483 on Wednesday and it is expected to pass. However the House and Senate versions are different and will be taken up in Committee of Conference before going to the Governor for signature. This was a major win for NH’s Real Estate Industry and NH Real Estate Investors Association working with the NH Realtors helped to successful guide this bill through committee.

SB 497 LLC Tax Repeal

The House Ways and Means Committee has amended this bill to language that was similar to the earlier repeal bill that was killed on the house floor HB 1607. The House Minority office has assured me they will be looking to push for LLC repeal however it is unlikely to pass due to the overwhelming majority in the house.

HB 1486 Prohibiting Sprinkler mandates

The Senate Municipal and Public Affairs Committee has amended the House version that established a 3 year moritorium on municipal mandates, however the Senate has amended this to a 1 year moritorium. These difference will need to be worked out in the Conference Committee before going to the Governor’s desk for approval.

House Finance Committee Approves Estate Tax

The House Finance Committee voted for an 8 percent tax on estates valued at over $2 million as part of SB 450 that will be voted on this Wednesday. The Estate Tax was not part of the bill passed by the Senate and will need to be approved by the Conference Committee before a full vote so no action is needed currently.

As the Conference Committee will be formed next week and action on the above mentioned items will take place I will inform the Board and Members on actions to help ensure positive legislation for NHREIA. Please feel free to contact me at 603-475-8435 if you have questions or concerns.

Matthew Murphy
Principal, Whitefield & Burke
603-475-8435

Streamline the short sale process with forensic audits

When purchasing a property thru a Short Sale or possibly a loan modification, there are companies out there that will do a forensic audit on the existing homeowners current mortgage documents.  Apparently, there are many many violations of mortgage rules in these documents.  From what I understand, by submitting one of these forensic audits with your paperwork for a short sale, it is rather enticing to the bank, when they know that you know, that they have many violations in the existing mortgage.  Seems to streamline the short sale process.

This week - contact House Ways and Means Committee

Last week was very busy in Concord with this week looking to be just as busy. Last Thursday the Senate Municipal and Public Affairs Committee took up HB 1486 in a public hearing, no decision has been made as to the committee’s reccomendation and I will be meeting with the members of the committee this week. As I had mentioned in Previous updates the Governor and Legislature are facing a significant Budget shortfall in the area of $220 million dollars, in order to alleviate this problem the governor proposed $85 million in cuts, debt restructuring through the State University system, and further use of federal stimulus money. However the House Finance committee has reduced those cuts to $47 million and is in a work session this week considering seven new taxes proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee including:
  • a 20 cent increase in the tobacco tax bring the tax to $1.98 estimated to raise 12 million through June 2011
  • A capital gains tax of 5% on financial gains excluding the sale of a primary residence raising an estimated $30 million
  • An estate tax, imposed on assets over $2 million upon the death of the owner. The tax rate would be 8 percent, raising an estimated $2 million in this biennium and $25 million every two years thereafter.
  • The insurance premium tax, raising roughly $23 million. The tax would be raised back to the 2 percent level it was at in 2006 when it began a series of annual quarter-point declines.
  • A new electric generation tax, with a repeal of the electric consumption tax.
 
It should be noted that all committee votes for these increases were along party lines with republicans voting against all tax increases. These proposed taxes will all be discussed this week in House Finance and I will update NHREIA members as we get a clearer picture of what will go to the House floor.
 
As far a legislation that we are tracking here is what is upcoming:
 
HB 1486- Executive Session not yet Scheduled
 
SB 483- House Ways and Means Committee work session 5-3-10 1PM, Executive Session May 6th 9AM.
 
SB 497- House Ways and Means Committee work session 5-3-10 1PM, Executive Session May 6th 9AM.
 
All members should contact the House ways and means committee and tell them to support an Ought to Pass motion for both SB 483 and SB 497. Follow this link  http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H28 to email the members of the committee.
 
As always if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me at 603-475-8435
 
Matthew Murphy
Principal, Whitefield & Burke
603-475-8435

 

Support HB1486 - prohibiting the mandating of sprinklers in certain dwellings

Work continues on the three bills we are monitoring this week. The Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing for HB 1486 that prohibits the mandating of sprinklers in certain dwellings. This hearing is scheduled for Thursday April 29th at 9:10 am in Room 103 of the Legislative Office Building. If  any members would like to attend or testify in support of this bill please contact me by phone. For those who cannot attend, contact the following committee members and express your support for HB 1486.
 
Betsi L. DeVries, Chairman
(603) 271-6933
betsi.devries@leg.state.nh.us
Matthew S. Houde, V Chairman
(603) 504-2744
matthew.houde@leg.state.nh.us
 
Kathleen G. Sgambati
(603) 271-2641
kathleen.sgambati@leg.state.nh.us

Sheila Roberge
(603) 271-2166
sheila.roberge@leg.state.nh.us

John S. Barnes, Jr.
(603) 271-6931
jack.barnes@leg.state.nh.us
 
In the House SB 483 and 497 have not been acted on yet so please follow this link
 
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H28
 
and contact the members of this committee. Please remember to ask them where they stand on each bill either in support of or opposed to. Also it should be noted that Governor Lynch who declared his support of the LLC tax repeal did not bother to testify at the hearing or send a representative from his office to testify. Please call his office at (603)271-2121 and remind him to proactively work to repeal his tax.
 
Also an amendment to has been added to Senate Bill 450 this amendment proposes a nuclear fuel tax, electric generation tax, pet shop license tax, insurance premium tax, and a capital gains tax that would be tied to the states interest and dividend tax. The House Ways and Means committee will be meeting Today at 1pm to discuss these amendments. I will send out an alert as to the actions taking at this meeting.
 
As always feel free to contact me at 603-475-8435
 
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Matthew Murphy
Principal, Whitefield & Burke
603-475-8435
 

Call to Action for SB 483 (1031 Exchanges) and SB 497 (LLC Tax)

Image via Wikipedia

Last week the house ways and means committee held public hearings on two bills that we have been tracking, Senate Bills 483 and 497. Please contact the members of this committee and ask them to support both of these bills. NH REIA support for passage was joined by the NH Realtors, CIBOR, Business and Industry Association, and several other associations. Please Contact all the members by emailing them at the following email address:
 
~HouseWaysandMeansCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
 
You can also contact each member directly at the email or phone number below.
Here are some of the talking points that should be part of each email;
 
SB 483- By not protecting 1031 exchanges as SB 483 does, NH will be on of only two states that does not exempt these transactions from state taxes. This will have a chilling effect on the real estate market and will eliminate options for investors that would consider making investments in New Hampshire as opposed to other New England states.
 
Feel free to include any personal experiences you may have with 1031 exchanges.
 
SB 497- The passage of the LLC tax without public hearing in last years budget has significant increased the cost of recordkeeping and tax costs for NH LLC’s. The effective tax rate for LLC’s will be 13% if this bill is not passed and will prevent LLC’s from expanding their companies within NH and will prevent formation of future LLC’s.
 
Remember to write these folks about how these changes will affect your future business dealings in the state, and how the changes will affect your ability to justify future investment.
 
 
Please remember that these folks take calls and emails very seriously it is extremely helpful in trying to pass both of these bills that business owners and investors like yourselves contact these folks if they do not have an email listed below please call them. The committee member contact info is listed at the end of this message.
 
There is no scheduled action for any of the bills we are tracking this week and I will be meeting individually with members of the ways and means committee this week. It will be beneficial for them to see active membership.
 
 As always feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have 603-475-8435
 
Sincerely,
Matthew Murphy
Principal, Whitefield & Burke
603-475-8435
 
 
House Ways and Means Committee Members
 
Chair: Susan Almy
 Phone: (603)448-4769
            Email: susan.almy@comcast.net
 
Vice Chair:   William Hatch
            Phone: (603)466-9491
            Email: hatchbill@hotmail.com
 
William Butynski
Phone: (603)336-7498
            Email: williambutynski@aol.com
 
Frank Davis
Phone: (603)485-9953
            Email: fpdavis@comcast.net
 
John Kelley
Phone: (603)880-4083
            Email: jkelley-nashua@comcast.net
 
Susan Price
Phone: (603)664-7826
            Email: susan.price@leg.state.nh.us
 
Mary Griffin
Phone: (603)432-0959
 
Jordan Ulery
Phone: (603)882-8979
            Email: jordan.ulery@leg.state.nh.us
 
David Bettoncourt
Phone: (603)898-4653
 
Dennis Vachon
            Phone: (603)664-9974
 
Ron Mack
Phone: (603)525-3650
            Email: r.mack2@rcn.com
 
Robert Walsh  
Phone: (603)622-1023
            Email: bob.walsh@leg.state.nh.us
 
Priscilla Lockwood
Phone: (603)783-4349
            Email: priscillalockwood@myfairpoint.net
 
Joe Osgood
Phone: (603)543-0762
            Email: joejfcc@myfairpoint.net
 
Russell Ober
Phone: (603)883-9654
            Email: thud007@hotmail.com
 
Gilman Shattuck
Phone: (603)464-3850
            Email: g_shattuck@mcttelecom.com
 
William Johnson
Phone: (603)524-8949
            Email: billjohn4@metrocast.net
 
Norm Major
Phone: (603)382-5429
            Email: nlbem@comcast.net
 
Frank Sapareto    
Phone: (603)894-7083
            Email: sapareto@comcast.net
 
Ken Weyler
Phone: (603)642-3518
            Email: kweyler@aol.com


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Guess what I got in the mail today?

The Home Depot, Inc.Image via Wikipedia
My rebate payout from the Home Depot’s incentive program.  It was nice to come home to a check for $267.19!  If you are a member of NHREIA you too could enter the incentive program and earn 2% of net sales from Home Depot.  The rebates are for 6 month periods, from January 1st to June 30th and July 1st to December 31st.  Also any rebate amounts under $100 are paid with a Home Depot Gift Card with a value rounded up to the nearest $25 increment.  You could buy a package of batteries once in 6 months and get $25 bucks, what a deal!
 
You can enter as many credit cards or checking accounts to get your rebate on all the purchases you make no matter which way you buy.  Just don’t buy with cash! 
 
To register, visit the members discount area on www.nhreia.com and follow the link to Home Depot.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]