As you probably know, a bipartisan majority in the House voted 257-167 this week to approve the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, a step toward the larger fiscal agreements that we all hope will come this year. Provisions of the just-passed “fiscal cliff” legislation will benefit local homeowners and real estate investors.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was extended to Jan. 1, 2014. In place since 2007, the act provided a tax break for homeowners who struggled through financial hardship such as a foreclosure and were granted mortgage debt forgiveness. In the past several months, National Association of Realtors, including the local Englewood Area Board of Realtors, issued numerous calls to action urging its members to ask lawmakers to extend the tax break for another year. They responded.