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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Senate Republicans signaled willingness on Sunday to a compromise with Democrats about extending unemployment insurance and Bush administration tax cuts. The GOP blocked Democratic attempts the previous day to keep tax breaks for the middle class, arguing that tax cuts for higher-income earners should also continue.

“We’re working on that package,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’ve had more conversations in the last two weeks than in the last two years, and I think we’re going to get there.”

Republicans during a special Saturday session in the Senate voted against floor debate on a bill extending tax cuts for workers receiving less than $200,000 annually, or $250,000 for families.

They similarly voted against discussing a compromise bill from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the fourth highest-ranking lawmaker in the chamber, that raised the income threshold from $250,000 to $1 million.

The first measure failed by a vote of 53-36, and the second bill by 53-37. In each vote, Democrats needed 60 votes to begin floor debate, but saw five different members vote with the GOP.

Tax cuts for both middle class and wealthy were implemented under the Bush administration in 2001 and 2003, and are due to expire on Jan. 1. Democrats want to extend tax breaks only for the middle class. Republicans want to extend them permanently for all, arguing that raising taxes on “job generators” during a recession would hurt the economy.

Extending tax cuts for all would cost $3.7 trillion, while continuing those for families earning less than $250,000 would cost $3 trillion.

“It is the height of irresponsibility that in a time of economic hardship Republicans would block tax cuts for middle class families and small businesses,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said after the votes on Saturday. “Even worse is that they would do so in order to secure huge tax breaks for millionaires…Those giveaways would not only add $700 billion to our deficit, but we’ve also seen that they do not create jobs.”

But McConnell dismissed criticisms about the effect of Bush tax cuts on unemployment, which increased slightly to 9.8 percent in November.

“Imagine how much worse it would been if we’d had the higher tax rate. Look, this argument’s over… You and I can continue to engage in it, but it’s over. The Senate voted yesterday,” the Republican leader told moderator David Gregory.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) likewise said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,”Those tax rates helped our economy and job production. They did not create the problem that we have today. That was a problem created, as you know, by the crash of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the housing market, the so-called bubble.”

The compromise being negotiated by the Democrats and the GOP is believed to include a temporary extension of tax cuts on higher-income earners, in exchange for support in passing a bill on jobless benefits.

“I think we will extend unemployment compensation,” McConnell said. “We’ve had some very vigorous debates… not about whether to do it, but whether to pay for it as opposed to adding it to the deficit. All those discussions are still under way.”

Unemployment insurance expired on Nov. 30 after a bill extending it failed in the House before the Thanksgiving recess.

The measure seeks to extend benefits for 2 million unemployed workers this year and for another 2 million next spring. Republicans opposed it because they believe it would increase the deficit by $12 billion, and add to the $13.795 trillion national debt.

Democrats, however, have cited economists who say the spending generated by insurance dollars boost the economy.

“Unemployment insurance… returns $2 for every $1 that is put out,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Thursday just before she led her chamber in voting 234-188 to pass a bill extending middle class tax cuts. “Giving $700 billion to the wealthiest people in America does add $700 billion to the deficit. And the record and history show it does not create jobs.”

The Senate is working on approving extensions of the tax cuts and jobless benefits during a lame-duck session loaded with a backlog of legislation, and only weeks away from a new Congress that will have a Republican majority taking over the House.

A repeal of the law against gays serving openly in the military, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is part of the agenda, as well as the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Moscow.

The treaty, which limits deployed warheads to 1,550 and launchers to 800, was signed by President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart early this year but requires ratification by Congress.

Top Republicans do not support the current treaty due to concerns about missile defense and the need to modernize the U.S. nuclear force. The president last week had former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican and retired four-star general, joining him to urge lawmakers to ratify the agreement.

Kyl indicated on Sunday that passage of the treaty was unlikely. “No. The answer is there is not time to do it in the lame duck when you consider all of the other things that the Democratic leader wants to do,” he said.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Federal extended unemployment benefits for 2 million long-term jobless Americans will run out Nov. 30 unless Congress acts within the next few weeks.

State unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks, but the unemployed can qualify for up to an additional 73 weeks of jobless benefits from the federal government in times of high unemployment, such as now. The unemployment rate is at 9.6 percent and has been at just under 10 percent all year.

Almost 15 million people are unemployed and about 9.5 million have collected federal jobless benefits in 2010 that average around $290 per week.

Only about 65 percent of working age Americans are participating in the labor force with either a part- or full-time job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure is normally 89 percent or higher.

In addition, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities credits unemployment benefits with keeping about 3.3 million jobless Americans out of poverty last year.

Republicans have blocked extensions of federal jobless benefits several times this year, claiming it would be bad for the economy because it would add to the nation’s deficit.

Lawmakers return to Congress on Nov. 15 to work a week before taking a break for Thanksgiving. If jobless benefits are extended, it must be done then or benefits will expire on Nov. 30, leaving unemployed workers without a check.

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Most real estate purchases are bought with loans so getting a good faith estimate and pre-approval letter from your lender helps the process start off on the right foot. The good faith estimate, or GFE for short, is required by law to be provided by lenders when you are seeking a loan. It lists out the estimated closing costs, monthly payments, and interest rates for the loan program you are looking at getting. The pre-approval letter is provided by lenders once they have run your credit and get your income / debt information. By getting the GFE and pre-approval letter, you can be confident that the loan will get processed with no surprises. There are also additional benefits to getting pre-approval and GFE before you even begin the property search. For one, by discussing your debt to income ratio with your lender and obtaining the GFE, you can determine your maximum price. It helps to know the maximum sales price when shopping around so that you do not waste time and energy looking a over-priced properties, and also vice verse, you do not waste time and energy looking at under-priced properties. You can find an area in your price range that fits your needs and narrow down your search. You also will determine your monthly payments with the GFE. The monthly payments should include the property taxes, insurance, principle, and interest plus any private mortgage insurance (PMI). If the monthly payments are higher than you wanted, then you can adjust your sales price to be lower. Another reason to get your pre-approval and GFE before starting your home search is that you may find out some issues with your credit or financial situation that you could clean up before moving forward with a purchase. For example, the first time I bought a house, I found out that I had a $50 charge on my credit report from 3 years ago, which brought my credit score down. And with a lower credit score, I would have gotten a worse interest rate on the loan. I say ‘would have’ because I was able to pay off this collection and clear up the ding on my credit before going into the loan underwriting process. Finally, by getting a pre-approval letter, you have proof for a seller that a lender has confidence in being able to fund the purchase on your behalf. This helps with presenting offers and negotiating. Many sellers will not even accept an offer unless it is accompanied by a lender’s letter. Furthermore, if you do not have a letter, the seller may counter higher given that he feels he is taking on more risk that you may not be qualified for the loan amount. Also, if you happen to get into a multiple offer situation, your offer will be much stronger with a pre-approval letter.

When people call me, typically one of the first requests they make is for a house in a “nice” neighborhood. And this makes sense to want a neighborhood that is safe and enjoyable. But there are some benefits to buying real estate in the rough part of town or on the wrong side of the tracks. This article highlights some of them.

- There is less worry of your neighborhood going downhill because it is already downhill. Good neighborhoods can get bad and bad neighborhoods can get better. Since the price usually reflects the current condition, buying in a neighborhood that has room for improvement might be a good idea.

- If you are buying a rental, you usually get better cash flow in rough neighborhoods. If you are renting your property, there are more renters and they are more long term. It’s difficult to rent in good neighborhoods because fewer people are looking to rent and those who do are generally there short term while they look for a house to buy.

- You can look better in comparison to other landlords. Landlords in rough areas frequently don’t maintain their properties as well as people in nice areas. Therefore, if you maintain your properties, you can blow away your competition, and charge more for it.

- If you are in a rough neighborhood, you can propose that your property change will improve the neighborhood and you have a better chance of getting a different zoning. Conversely, if you are in a good neighborhood, it’s hard to make the same argument.

- You can buy more property. If you want to spend 500k, you can either buy one house in an upscale neighborhood or six or seven houses in a rougher neighborhood.

- They’re more recession proof. When the economy goes south, real estate in rough neighborhoods is less affected.

In summary, I am not saying you have to buy in a bad neighborhood. But simply that if you are looking for long term investments sometimes its a good idea to wander over the tracks and look around a bit.