Saturday, March 14, 2009 

The Qualifications For a Tax Credit on a Water Driven Car

When you drive a car that was fueled by both gas and water, there are a lot of benefits involved. You will be helping the environment, since these types of cars burn much cleaner. You can save a lot of money, not only on the amount you spend at the pump, but also when it comes time to pay Uncle Sam.

When you drive a car that runs on a mix of water and gas, you are driving a hybrid. Now, when you hear the word hybrid, you are probably thinking of a Prius or some similar car that runs partly on electricity. But cars that run on a combination of water and gas are also considered hybrids. And in 2005, the lovely folks at the Internal Revenue Service did something right for a change, and starting giving rewards for those who drove cars that are "green," or in other words environmentally friendly.

If you have adopted green technology, you can get up to two thousand dollars for a passenger car, or up to 50,000 dollars for a truck. Here are the guidelines:

The maximum deduction you can claim for a vehicle that is properly deemed as being fuel-friendly is:

1. 50,000 dollars for a truck or van with a vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds or a bus with a seating capacity of at least 20 adults. This excludes the driver

2. 5,000 dollars for a truck or van with a gross vehicle weight rating that is more than 10,000 pounds but does not exceed 26,000 pounds.

3. $2,000 for a vehicle not included in the first two instances

In order to make these tax claims, you will have to show installation and maintenance receipts for your cars that are powered by water.

Want to learn how to run your car on water and start getting tax and gas savings? Check out a review of all the top water gas conversion guides here

 

Multifamily Mortgage, Now

Multifamily mortgages have faired relatively well compared to other commercial mortgages in the current credit crisis. The reason is the historic stability of this asset class. Borrowers can still expect some of the highest levels of financing, the longest amortization schedules and lowest fixed rates in the entire commercial business today.

As fair as loan to values, multifamily mortgages are still going up to 80% on purchases and 75% LTV on refinances. Compare this to all other investment property loans that are now restricted to 60 - 65% loan to value. The main reason for this high level of leverage, is the government support via Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These institutions buy the apartment loan debt from banks and lenders that fund them - so the increased risk, due to the high levels of leverage are passed onto the government and not carried by the funding banks.

Most conventional commercial bank financing is capped at 20 year amortization schedules on building types besides multifamily. It is common to get 30 year financing and a few programs go to 35 and even 40 years on multifamily mortgage. These longer amortization schedules reduce monthly payments, which have an interesting impact on the debt coverage ratio, increasing the amount of debt the property can support. Multifamily mortgage Debt coverage ratios are normally set at a relatively low 1.2. Some banks have raised this to a 1.25 due the credit crisis, but compared to the 1.3 that many property types receive this is still aggressive.

Interest rates have been very unpredictable during the last year. Margins have jumped from as low as 150 basis points, before the credit crisis to 350 over the treasuries. Things seem to have stabilized more on this regard and we are currently seeing rates most in the upper 5%'s to low 6%'s on most multi family loans between $400,000 - $5,000,000.

All in all, underwriting standards have tightened within the multifamily arena, but it remains one of the most liquid sectors of the business. Knowing which banks and lenders are still actively funding loan requests and which offer the lowest rates/best terms remains the key in the market.

Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. 248 885-8797. investment property loans or apartment loans