Our Economic Helter Skelter
November 26th, 2009 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News
“Sooner or later in life, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Is a Federal Housing Administration(FHA) crisis on the horizon? With FHA’s insurance reserve ratio falling to the lowest level in history, at 0.53 percent, there are some who believe the FHA is the next subprime crisis waiting to happen. One of those is homebuilder, Toll Brothers Inc., CEO, Robert Toll. Toll predicts that just like the failed bank bailouts, the FHA will be next in the handout line. And, with the reserve ratio as low as it is, he may be on to something. According to a Congressional mandate, the ratio should be no lower than 2.0
In addition to the alarming FHA news, this week’s Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 25 percent of all homeowners are upside down with their home mortgage. In other words, they owe more on the mortgage than their home is worth. Well, considering how values have fallen since ‘05, that isn’t too surprising.
While the recent encouraging national home sales figures provided us a glimmer of hope amidst the current economic downturn, today’s sobering news concerning the viability of FHA home loans, and the depressed values of properties, bring us back to reality. So, what are we to believe? Are things getting better? Is the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit frenzy skewing sales numbers, or, are increased home sales “genuine”? Are these numbers more akin to a mirage? Instead, are we stuck in an economic tailspin for months, or years to come?
In the competition to provide us the latest and greatest updates on where the economy is heading, we see indications that are both promising and discouraging. Where the housing market may be going, we don’t exactly know. But, fortunately, one thing is for sure, there will be homes both bought and sold. So, perhaps we’d best stick to the present, and as they say, the future will take care of itself. After all, as someone once said, “Predicting the future is easy. It’s trying to figure out what’s going on now that’s hard.”
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It’s The Simple Things
November 22nd, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Do you have a favorite season of the year? While many of us like something about each of the four seasons, Fall, or Autumn is probably the one I enjoy the most.
It’s cool mornings and evenings, beautiful natural colors, and inkling of the coming holidays, seems to invigorate a sense of better things yet to come. Around Stafford and Fredericksburg, for many, it’s jacket weather (for others, coats), and the stunning colors are second to none.
How about you, what is your favorite season?
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Celebrating Americana on the Half Shell
November 15th, 2009 categories: Entertainment, Real Estate News
“The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell”
Andrew Carnegie
Fortunately, during last weekend’s 52nd Urbanna Oyster Festival, there were plenty of oysters to be had, even for those in the back of the line. Everyone had loads. And, most of us, way too many! If you’ve not had the chance to venture to Urbanna, Virginia, for the annual oyster celebration, you’re not only missing great food, but also a special glimpse of small town America.
Urbanna is located in Virginia’s Northern Neck, which is situated North of Williamsburg, and Southeast of Fredericksburg, hugging the Chesapeake Bay.
It’s been called a “historic town”, and, in many ways, it is. It’s among the places you’ll see on the National Register of Historic Places. But, each year, on November 6th & 7th, you’ll find some 75,ooo folks headed to this “sleepy” coastal town for oysters, fritters and other assorted dishes, and loads more fun. I can tell you, it’s likely on the “must see” list for those who enjoy touring the country in their RV’s, because there were plenty of those big boys parked in and around the festival.
The two day festival has an assortment of activities, from an oyster shucking contest to the crowning of the festival’s Oyster Queen, among others.
Any number of booths selling food, jewelry, art work, intricate wood design (well, you get the picture, like you’d see at the County Fair), and assorted items dot the town’s landscape. Parking is available, but plan on paying a minumum of $10 or Friday, and $20 on Saturday to park.
And, for those visiting for the first time, it doesn’t matter where you park, the prices are the same. So, for convenience sake upon leaving, use the lots before you come into town.
Enjoying the sights and sounds of Urbanna, and the Oyster Festival, the kids having fun, the adults enjoying each other’s company, the interaction with the booth workers, reminded me of the abundance our Commonwealth has to offer. While most of us relish the time away from work on the weekends, and the relaxation it provides, you might mark the calendar and set aside this early November date next year. It is a piece of Americana that you don’t want to miss.
You’ll meet some very nice people, view a beautiful part of the state, and enjoy some appetizing food dishes. But you might do yourself a favor. In case your eyes are too big for your stomach, don’t forget to bring the Tums!
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Home Buying and Selling Help From Uncle Sam
November 9th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
In times like these, all of us appreciate a bit of assistance. Fortunately, the government has taken steps to extend a couple of programs designed to assist home sellers and buyers. The first is the Housing Assistance Program (HAP) for military personnel selling their home, the second is the First Time Home Buyer Credit, specifically for those purchasing property.
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) HAP offering is designed to provide financial assistance to its personnel who have to move, and will lose money upon selling. Due to the dramatic decrease in home values in recent years, this program was originally designed to provide financial relief to those required to move due to DoD’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative. It expanded to include those DoD personnel whose reassignment or military move was further than what’s categorized as commuting distance. A brief summary of guidelines and what HAP offers can be found here: http://hap.usace.army.mil/Eligibility.html
The original deadline for eligibility was the end of November, 2009. As you might imagine, eligible members were scrambling to get their applications in, and to get their home on the market. Fortunately, the deadline was extended.
Here’s the official announcement of DoD’s Processing and Extension of the HAP Program. It’s got the details, including an extension through Sep 2012. You’ll find the info here, http://tinyurl.com/y8d99pv
Another piece of good news for those in the home market, was this week’s expansion of the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit.
Not only was the tax credit of up to $8000 for qualified first time home buyers extended, but the expansion also offered an additional credit for repeat home buyers. The beauty of the original credit was their definition of a first time buyer; any prospective purchaser who has not owned a principal residence during the three year period prior to the new purchase.
The additional, or expansion of the program included a $6500 tax credit for move-up or repeat home buyers purchasing a home. There are specific details that you need to examine before you assume you qualify for the program’s benefits.
While we can’t always count on the federal government to assist us, it is refreshing to discover their helping hand in times of need. Amid the existing economic downturn, Uncle Sam not only decided to come to the aid of military home sellers whose home values have decreased, but also to help those in the market to buy a home. Let’s hope the prospective beneficiaries of both these offerings are well aware of what’s available, and are taking advantage of them. Who knows when we’ll see this type of assistance again.
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The Details of Home Marketing
September 13th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
What’s the best way to market a home? While making sure your visuals (pictures, virtual tours/videos) are exhaustive and don’t leave anything to the imagination, the details of the listing are just as important in attracting prospective buyers.
PROPERTY DETAILS
Properly listing a home requires much more than good visuals. While they are important, providing the specifics of the home is a valuable aspect of marketing as well. How many times has a client wondered about room sizes, while sorting through the homes they actually want to drop by to see, only to find that data is missing from the listing? Is it in the best interest of the seller to include those room sizes in the listing? Yes, it is. What about a description that highlights the home’s best features?
PAINTING A PICTURE
Providing a brief “highlight reel” of what the property has to offer is what the “REMARKS” narrative section of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is all about. But, how well is it being used? Is the agent painting a picture of the property’s best features? Given the limited amount of available characters the MLS allows to describe the property, is the narrative accurate as well as compelling in describing the home? Or, is the listing agent’s property description more fiction than fact? When searching for prospective properties, since buyer’s agents do their best to match what their clients are looking for in a home with what’s indicated on the MLS, providing an accurate and complete depiction of the property, benefits the seller as well as the buyer.
Yard Signs & Lockboxes
Yard signs and lock boxes are tools of the trade that have long been staples of listing hardware. While yard signs “mark the spot” of the home for sale, they also provide a visual alert to those who drive or walk by that the property is on the market. Traditional signage emphasizes the name and number of the listing agency, and, oftentimes, the listing agent.
But, some have taken advantage of the sign to provide more information of what the house has to offer through pictures. This simple yet effective method of providing a glimpse inside the home may be the beginning of a more effective use of an old marketing method. Jim Duncan, an agent from Charlottsville’s Nest Realty, uses signs to provide the property’s address, price, a website address for more property information, as well as the listing company’s contact information. Oh, and there are property pictures as well. A more effective way of making the most of the yard sign, don’t you agree?
A lock box is a lockbox is a lock box, right? Well, not in Northern Virginia, right now. Our ongoing controversy over which lock box is the best one is to use is currently very heated, often with more misinformation involved in the discussion, than accuracy. The bottom line for a property listing is this; make sure, whatever lock box is being used on a property, that fact is accurately included in the listing. There are few things as frustrating for a Realtor, or a prospective buyer, than arriving at a property only to find it secured by a different lock box than that indicated on the MLS.
Getting the most out of the marketing avenues available when listing a home depends on knowing what tools are available, but more importantly, using those resources properly. Every seller wants the widest exposure for their product. As the Realtor’s Code of Ethics instructs them, it is a listing agent’s duty to act in the best interests of a client in fulfilling their marketing responsibilities. Is your agent using the marketing tools available to properly showcase your home? Let’s hope so.
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Custom Made For Vets
April 22nd, 2009 categories: Finance, Real Estate News, Relocating
Locating pertinent information on loans, and specifically, home loans, is an exercise every home buyer attempts in preparing to buy a home. For military personnel and veterans, a Veterans Administration (VA) loan is often the vehicle of choice. But, is it the best choice for Vets?
The folks at VAMortgageCenter.com do an excellent job of providing veterans with the information they need to make an informed decision about VA loans and their value. As a matter of fact, they’ve provided me with a brief article outlining the benefits of the loans. Using accurate, factual data is vital to making an informed decision. And, that’s what the article below provides:
Whether you’re getting back from deployment and you’re ready to make that move from the barracks to homeownership, a little one has arrived and your family needs more space, or you’re a seasoned homeowner and you’re looking for the best loan product to fit your needs, the VA Mortgage Center. Com will help you secure affordable financing with a VA loan.
The VA loan is the best product available for active duty members and veterans purchasing a home because of its No-Money down requirement, one of the last mortgage products available to offer such financing. In addition to No-Money down, the VA Loan offers:
è Relaxed Credit Requirements
è Minimal out-of-pocket expenses
è No Private Mortgage Insurance
è No Pre-Payment Penalties
è VA Loans are Assumable
You can also use the VA Loan to refinance your current home, regardless if you’ve used the VA Loan before. Examples of using the VA Loan to refinance:
è Streamline a current VA loan to lower interest rate
è Consolidate a conventional mortgage or second mortgage into a VA Loan
è Take out cash from home equity to eliminate other debt
è Take out cash from home equity to make home improvements
è Transition from an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage into a Fixed-Rate VA Mortgage
While the VA Loan is designed for Active Duty Service Members and Veterans, there are eligibility requirements:
è 24 Months Active Duty
è 90 days of service (wartime) 181 days of service (peacetime) for veterans who served after Sept. 15 1940
è National Guard members completed six years of service
è All members must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable
VAMC, one of the nation’s leading VA Lenders and an A-Rated company by the Better Business Bureau for its overall dedication to customer service and ethical lending practices, has a skilled team of VA Specialists who will take you through the VA loan process.
“I could not have asked for a better experience then the one you and VA Mortgage center has given me. I do believe your service is the reason I got into my home and without it I could not have bought a house… Thank you for serving the American Veteran.”
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