Ritu Desai- Top Producer Realtor in Northern Virginia

New Postal price from May 12th

Ritu Desai — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:50:00 GMT

Yes, starting May 12th USPS is increasing the postal prices by 1 penny for first class postage. But the news is not that bad, first time USPS pricing includes commercial volume, contract prices, rebates, online price reductiosn and other new incentives. "These innovative pricing incentives will make our products more attractive to all shippers, especially small businesses. We’re pricing our products to sell in today’s competitive shipping market," said Postmaster General John...(read more)

Not all Condominiums are FHA Approved or Approvable!

Ritu Desai — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:44:00 GMT

Many of you might be thinking of purchasing a condominium which fit into the FHA mold (great for 1st time buyers / priced under 440K) and need the FHA program - (down payments < 5% or 10%, marginal credit) It is very important that you find out if the condominium is FHA approved. Please follow the link attached. You might want to save it on your internet browser. Getting a "Spot" approval is not easy! For a SPOT approvals, in addition to a list of requirements, lenders need to verity...(read more)

Renting Better Than a Vacant Home

Ritu Desai — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:26:00 GMT

If a house doesn’t sell, owners should consider renting – and hiring a real estate professional to manage the property. Property management company will screen your tenants and you do have a final approval about your tenant. Renting out a house rather than leaving it vacant is almost always a better option, I tell my clients to plan to rent the property for several years, get some income and “get on with your lives.” Some are afraid they’ll lose a tax-free sale. But...(read more)

5 Most Dangerous Hazards in a Home

Ritu Desai — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Home owners beware: Several dangers may lurk in a home. If you’re not careful, they could make you sick. Pillar to Post, a home inspection company, reviews how to spot these dangers in the home and encourages you to contact a home inspector if your home may be at risk for any of these potential dangers. 1. Radon: A colorless, odorless gas that can seep into the home from the ground. Radon has been called the second most common cause of lung cancer. What to look for: Basements or anything with...(read more)

New Appraisal Rules for Freddie, Fannie

Ritu Desai — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:13:00 GMT

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that requires them to have independent appraisals of home values. Under the agreement, home appraisals have to come from assessors who don’t have formal ties with a lender or mortgage broker. Lenders wishing to sell their mortgages to the nation's two largest sources of home finance must make sure that they don’t rely on in-house appraisers and don’t own an appraisal firm itself,...(read more)

Northern Virginia New Conforming/FHA Loan Limits

Ritu Desai — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:06:00 GMT

Yes another great news!!! Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA have all adopted these new maximum loan limitations. If you have limited equity or a jumbo loan, refinance now and save thousands of dollars! If you are purchasing a property over $417,000, this year you can qualify for conforming rates! To find out the new limits in your area, simply click on this link: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm , which will take you to the "mortgage limits" page at the HUD web site....(read more)

New FHA Loan Limits!!!!

Ritu Desai — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:16:00 GMT

HUD and FHA announced their new max loan limits this morning (March 6th 2008). In almost all of the Washington Metro area our new loan limit is $729,750 (up from $362,250). This is our max FHA loan limit and is good through the end of 2008 when Congress will determine whether to extend or not. We are still anxiously awaiting word from Fannie and Freddie on our new Conventional Conforming loan limits, but we should hear soon. The bet here is those limits will mirror the new FHA loan amounts... This...(read more)

Grantor's Tax - Update on Refunds

Ritu Desai — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Given the Virginia Supreme Court’s finding that the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) cannot impose taxes, we will all be receiving questions about the additional grantor's taxes that have been paid to the Authority. Northern Virginia Association of Realtors has communicated with local clerks of the court regarding anticipated refunds on grantor's taxes paid since January 1, 2008. The Virginia Court Clerk’s Association has asked the Virginia Attorney General for...(read more)

Are Extra Monthly Mortgage Payments OK?

Ritu Desai — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:31:00 GMT

Getting a windfall and using it to pay off the mortgage sounds like it should reduce the monthly amount owed, but often it doesn’t. Fixed-rate mortgage holders who pay off a big chunk of their mortgage are likely to shorten the payoff period, but the infusion of cash probably won’t reduce at all the amount they owe monthly. Holders of adjustable-rate mortgages who are making fully amortizing payments will get a payment adjustment at the point where the payment is recalculated after a...(read more)

10 Best Places for House Bargains

Ritu Desai — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:14:00 GMT

The best place to get a bargain on a home is an area where there is healthy job growth and more houses available than people to buy them. These are markets “where you have high inventories but pliable borrowers, with lenders willing to deal,” says Anthony Sanders, a professor of finance at Arizona State University. Forbes magazine went looking for markets where the damage from risky lending hasn’t been as dramatic as in some parts of the country and where employment growth will...(read more)

Lending Guidelines gets tougher-Countrywide

Ritu Desai — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:45:00 GMT

Countrywide last week sent mortgage brokers a list that categorized hundreds of counties as "soft markets" with rankings from 1 to 5, in ascending order of perceived risk. In areas rated 4 and 5 -- roughly 100 counties in metropolitan areas nationwide -- Countrywide said it will now require down payments that are 5 percentage points higher than from most applicants. If a loan program had previously allowed a minimum 5 percent down payment, applicants in these areas will now be required to come up with 10 percent.

In Virginia following counties
Virginia Fairfax 4
Virginia Arlington 4
Virginia Prince William 4
Virginia Spotsylvania 4

With these strict guideliness it does get harder to get loan but for first time home owners there are other resources still available like FHA, VHDA and other loan programs. Thinking about buying a home....concerned about the market...call me today for free buyer consultation. Email me at Info@eNOVAHomes.com or call me at 703-625-4949.

Avoid Getting Hooked By A Foreclosure-Related Scam

Ritu Desai — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 19:22:00 GMT

There are lots of people out there willing to victimize people in financial difficulty--especially when their troubles become part of public record. Beware of offers involving signing over your deed to someone else who promises to sell your home for you--whether they do or not, you'll still be responsible for the mortgage.

Also, investigate people who offer to buy your property so you can avoid foreclosure. They may be legitimate but, to be on the safe side, check them out by contacting your state Attorney General, the state Real Estate Commission, or the local District Attorney's consumer fraud unit.

Finally, consider carefully any "counseling agencies" that offer foreclosure-mitigation services for a fee. In many cases, they offer services you can perform yourself, such as negotiating a workout plan with your lender.

If you decide to conduct a pre-foreclosure sale, give us a call. We'll work with you to make sure your interests are protected in the transaction.

Keep in mind that if you have a loan ensured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers a toll-free number you can call to find a HUD-approved housing counseling agency: (800) 569-4287. For more information about foreclosures provided by HUD, go online to: www.HUD.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/econ/econ.cfm.

Foreclosure Fact

The type of foreclosure procedure followed in a state depends on whether real property is purchased there using mortgages or deeds of trust. (Some states use both.) In general, states that use mortgages require a judicial procedure through which the lender must get court approval to initiate foreclosure. Where a deed of trust containing a "power of sale" clause is used to purchase property, the lender can initiate a foreclosure sale without going to court.

10 States with the Highest Percentage of ARMs

Ritu Desai — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:51:00 GMT

Don't Blame it on the ARMs
Aggressive lending is the real culprit behind high foreclosure rates — not just adjustable-rate mortgages, say many of those who are trying to analyze and cure the foreclosure problem.

"I blame the builders who needed to unload their product and the nonprofessional loan officers," says David Zugheri, co-founder of First Houston Mortgage in Houston. "Everybody was putting loans together just to get them sold. We were treating the housing market like a used-car lot."

While some states with high percentages of ARMs also have high levels of foreclosures, the two don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. In Midwestern states where there have been high numbers of job losses and other economic troubles buyers are losing their homes because of old-fashioned economic hardship — not ARMs.

"It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility that even without resets some of the borrowers who took out these loans are ill-prescribed for homeownership," says Keith Gumbinger, vice-president of mortgage-research firm HSH Associates.

Here are the states with the highest and lowest percentage of ARMs.

10 States with the Highest Percentage of ARMs

Nevada: 40.3 percent
California: 38.2 percent
District of Columbia: 33.2 percent
Arizona: 32.1 percent
Florida: 29.5 percent
Colorado: 27.2 percent
Washington: 24.5 percent
Virginia: 23.6 percent
Hawaii: 23.3 percent
Illinois: 23.1 percent

Source: BusinessWeek, Prashant Gopal (01/11/08)

All Real Estate is Local-Top 10 reason why you should buy in Virginia

Ritu Desai — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:03:00 GMT

We all understand the local economy, job market and investment trend in the area. Listing and reading about all the negative things about the Real Estate industry, I wish we only had access to local media information. On the other hand living in this globalization and technology growth era we have more information and tools to draft the realistic trend of the local market compared to the rest of the world. I have put together few of my thoughts why it is a idea to buy a home both of primary and investment purpose

1. Northern Virginia has a low unemployment rate of 2.0 compared to 5.0 national.
2. Interest rate is at the lowest
3. Housing inventory is highest in the year which means lot to choose from.
4. Rental market has become hot which means if you are renting your monthly rental payment versus an average priced home mortgage will be about the same.
5. With the financing guidelines getting tighter it may be better to jump now then wait on the side till you cannot find any lender to finance your loan.
6. FHA loans are back. With incredible loan programs offered by local (County), State (VHDA) and Federal (FHA) are big. They want to boost local economy so the funding are still available to getting into their programs.
7. Seller pays closing cost. In most of the instances you can get upto 6% as closing cost fees from the sellers.
8. A home purchased in Northern Virginia in 2002 at the median price of $265,300 could sell for $425000 today, a 60% increase.
9. Builders are willing to work with a qualified purchaser more than ever before.
10. " There is no such thing as a perfect market."

So why wait call me today and get started...I am just a phone call away at 703-625-4949 or email me today at Info@eNOVAHomes.com

How Frequently should I get updated CMA?

Ritu Desai — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:12:00 GMT

Your home is on the market for sale, you did a competitive market analysis before listing your home. Its been couple months since then. You have few showing but nothing turned into contract. What next is always the questions. First thought that comes to seller's mind is switch Realtor may be other person can do some miracle and sell right away. Lets face some fact. We are in the changing market place. Every seller has very different motivation to sell. Instant of playing games let's get down to business. Understand your market. Get bi-weekly CMA . Review them see where the competitiors are standing and where you are. Sometimes knowing bit more information about your neighborhood pricing may help you get the best deal. Ask your Realtor to show your competitor's home and see it stands with your in terms of update, staging and pricing.

Need more information please feel free to email me at Info@eNOVAHomes.com

The Courtyards at Falls Gate- Coming Soon

Ritu Desai — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:26:00 GMT

Stanley Martin's new community -The Courtyards at Falls Gate in Falls Church is soon going to start selling. The community consist of 19 homesites with anticipated price from $700K-$800K.

Great location: Just off Seminary Road, Route 7 and Columbia Pike near Bailey's Crossroad. Close to metro, shopping and dining.

Want more information or have a questions please feel free to contact me at 703-625-4949 or email me at Info@eNOVAHomes.com

2007 Loudoun County Monthly Sales Statistics

Ritu Desai — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:59:00 GMT

Month	Residential Units Sold	Average Sales Price	Median Price	Average Days on Market	Active Listings	New Listings This Month	New Pendings This Month	Average S/P as a Percentage of L/P
January	358	$556,878	$419,500	138	2856	926	509	92.54%
February	370	$486,292	$419,900	135	2894	817	436	91.38%
March	440	$513,066	$447,450	129	3254	1247	551	94.05%
April	467	$498,610	$431,900	114	3501	1105	459	94.52%
May	457	$513,949	$435,000	111	3713	1166	498	94.21%
June	466	$503,933	$435,000	111	3775	1036	461	94.16%
July	478	$509,846	$440,000	94	3746	1034	433	93.96%
August	411	$511,208	$444,500	93	3712	1009	352	93.45%
September	288	$536,883	$425,500	111	3752	846	260	92.01%
October	304	$489,228	$414,000	111	3616	880	335	90.99%
November
December

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. :: Last Updated on 11/09/2007

Stop Foreclosure --Get Credit Counseling

Ritu Desai — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:13:00 GMT

You cannot make your mortgage payments, bill and your home is going to get foreclosed. Contact a credit counseling companies that can help you migitate and stop the foreclosure. Here are 3 companies I came across:

http://www.mymoneymanagement.net/

http://www.995hope.org/

http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp

HOPE NOW initiative

Ritu Desai — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 14:55:00 GMT

Past Oct. Bush administration launced a new initiated against the lending crises called "HOPE NOW". This new program will bring together mortgage lenders, service companies, counseling agencies, investors and large trade organizations.

The program aims to help homeowners retain their homes, through a direct mail campaign which will begin in November, as well as developing best practices for counseling groups across the nation to ensure speedy and efficient modifications to their loans.

The companies already involved include Bank of America, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Fannie Mae, First Horizon National, Freddie Mac, National City, Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo.

If you are having trouble with your mortgage payments don't waste more time contact your lender or a credit counselor. Visit www.HopeNow.com.

Great Winter Getaways Places in Virginia

Ritu Desai — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 14:39:00 GMT

Living in Virginia gives you a great opportunity to truely enjoy all seasons. Beaches in Summer, beautiful foilage of falls, bossoms of spring and crisp, clear sky of winter. Here is link to jump start your winter blues this season...Virginia is for lovers.

Enjoy your holidays!

Virginia's Top High Schools

Ritu Desai — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:22:00 GMT

List is out of the country's top high school and number of our local high school made the list this year again.

Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2006 divided by the number of graduating seniors. All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000; they are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way

Rank	School	Location	State	Index	Subs. Lunch	E & E
Rank	School	Location	State	Index	Subs. Lunch	E & E

13	H-B Woodlawn	Arlington	Va.	5.948	13	69
32	Clarke County **	Berryville	Va.	4.73	13.2	74
33	Washington-Lee **	Arlington	Va.	4.723	37	52.2
59	Yorktown	Arlington	Va.	4.127	17	62.3
63	George Mason **	Falls Church	Va.	4.06	7	71
65	W. T. Woodson	Fairfax	Va.	3.941	6	57.6
72	Langley	McLean	Va.	3.716	1	72
74	Warwick **	Newport News	Va.	3.666	45	19.5
76	McLean	McLean	Va.	3.605	6	67
100	Lake Braddock	Burke	Va.	3.397	10	53.6
103	Oakton	Vienna	Va.	3.328	9	54.2
112	Centreville	Clifton	Va.	3.264	15	48.5
133	Chantilly	Chantilly	Va.	3.07	11	47.6
141	James Madison	Vienna	Va.	2.969	5	50.4
157	Fairfax	Fairfax	Va.	2.888	37	32.3
158	Robinson Secondary **	Fairfax	Va.	2.882	8	55
161	Herndon	Herndon	Va.	2.866	18	49.3
172	West Springfield	Springfield	Va.	2.805	9	52.3
179	Westfield	Chantilly	Va.	2.773	11	48.7
189	Falls Church	Falls Church	Va.	2.702	37	32.3
193	Dominion	Sterling	Va.	2.672	7	32.7
194	Potomac Falls	Potomac Falls	Va.	2.67	9	36.7
198	West Potomac	Fairfax	Va.	2.657	30	42.4
211	Marshall **	Fairfax	Va.	2.628	17	53.4
213	Princess Anne **	Virginia Beach	Va.	2.62	19.1	31
244	Stone Bridge	Ashburn	Va.	2.51	36.7	50.9
259	Loudoun Valley	Purcellville	Va.	2.442	4	44.1
273	John Handley	Winchester	Va.	2.39	31	32.7
311	Hylton	Woodbridge	Va.	2.306	17	23.5
318	Wakefield	Arlington	Va.	2.294	54	31.6
330	Blacksburg	Blacksburg	Va.	2.257	16.7	-n/a-
331	Menchville	Newport News	Va.	2.256	31	28.8
389	Loudoun County	Leesburg	Va.	2.137	10	34.6
418	Heritage	Leesburg	Va.	2.068	15	36
460	Western Albemarle	Crozet	Va.	1.972	7	47.8
462	Stuart **	Fairfax	Va.	1.969	49	40.7
495	Broad Run	Ashburn	Va.	1.921	8	32
557	Stonewall Jackson **	Manassas	Va.	1.828	26	38
578	Osbourn Park	Manassas	Va.	1.798	10	39.1
595	Gar-Field **	Woodbridge	Va.	1.776	35	29
604	E C Glass	Lynchburg	Va.	1.765	32.7	27
612	Monticello	Charlottesville	Va.	1.759	20.8	26.1
621	T.C. Williams	Alexandria	Va.	1.742	40	28.7
645	Ocean Lakes (tie)	Virginia Beach	Va.	1.719	17	22
678	Woodside (tie)	Newport News	Va.	1.68	34	19.7
688	Charlottesville (tie)	Charlottesville	Va.	1.668	39.6	28.6
700	Maury	Norfolk	Va.	1.648	43	27.3
709	Edison **	Fairfax	Va.	1.63	27	37.2
713	Brentsville	Nokesville	Va.	1.626	4	21.5
723	Tabb	Yorktown	Va.	1.613	8	29.1
736	Park View	Sterling	Va.	1.598	27	31.1
759	Poquoson	Poquoson	Va.	1.582	5	34
776	Clover Hill	Midlothian	Va.	1.568	5	39.1
781	Denbigh	Newport News	Va.	1.565	44	13.9
797	Mount Vernon **	Alexandria	Va.	1.544	34	32.6
800	Hayfield	Alexandria	Va.	1.541	20	29.7
802	Lee **	Springfield	Va.	1.54	31	39.4
849	Cox	Virginia Beach	Va.	1.488	11.3	34.8
850	Heritage	Lynchburg	Va.	1.488	43.2	24.9
859	South Lakes **	Reston	Va.	1.475	27	36.3
862	Atlee **	Mechanicsville	Va.	1.468	1.8	29.7
863	Potomac **	Dumfries	Va.	1.468	28	12.5
906	Albemarle	Charlottesville	Va.	1.423	15	35.1
914	James River	Midlothian	Va.	1.417	-n/a-	25.5
927	Woodbridge	Woodbridge	Va.	1.407	23	23.9
941	Annandale **	Annandale	Va.	1.394	40	-n/a-
942	Courtland	Spotsylvania	Va.	1.394	21	27.3
956	Midlothian **	Midlothian	Va.	1.381	-n/a-	1088
972	Riverbend	Fredricksburg	Va.	1.364	14	28.9
976	Galileo Magnet	Danville	Va.	1.358	30	30
1012	Fauquier	Warrenton	Va.	1.308	10.3	21.2
1013	First Colonial	Virginia Beach	Va.	1.306	21.5	22.2
1014	Heritage	Newport News	Va.	1.306	57	41.3
1015	Osbourn	Manassas	Va.	1.305	13	22.8
1021	Forest Park	Woodbridge	Va.	1.3	21.7	-n/a-
1031	Granby **	Norfolk	Va.	1.29	47.6	100
1044	Colonial Forge	Stafford	Va.	1.276	8.2	26.4
1066	Chancellor	Fredericksburg	Va.	1.252	19	-n/a-
1068	Battlefield (tie)	Haymarket	Va.	1.25	8	21.1
1082	Brooke Point	Stafford	Va.	1.239	10	19.8
1128	Massaponax	Fredericksburg	Va.	1.198	22	15
1225	Manassas Park	Manassas Park	Va.	1.11	28	13.3
1234	Freedom	Woodbridge	Va.	1.102	47	6.2
1244	Spotsylvania	Spotsylvania	Va.	1.084	34	16.5
1256	Monroe	Fredricksburg	Va.	1.075	30	24.6
1266	Salem	Virginia Beach	Va.	1.065	17.9	15.6
1269	Kempsville	Virginia Beach	Va.	1.063	15.2	23.7
1304	Stafford	Falmouth	Va.	1.035	11.8	17.8
1317	Hampton	Hampton	Va.	1.028	38	15

For complete list of schools please visit: http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?sort=Rank&count=1236&start=0&limit=100&year=2007

Prince William Will Mow Lawns of Foreclosed Homes Sooner

Ritu Desai — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:45:00 GMT

Prince William County is planning a new law that would allow maintenance crews to mow the unkempt lawns of foreclosed homes sooner than is currently allowed.

That's because of the county's rising foreclosure numbers. Inspectors cited 800 homeowners in the past two years for lax landscaping. And the number of lawns the county had to cut in 2007 -- 135 -- was more than triple the previous year because nobody was in those houses.

The current law makes the county wait until lawns are 15 inches high at vacant homes before they can cite the property owner and begin the notification process. That sometimes takes a month, and the grass gets worse.

If the new law is passed, the height minimum for the grass would be 12 inches, regardless of whether someone owns the property.

Information from The Washington Examiner

Grantor's Tax Increases Jan 2008

Ritu Desai — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:38:00 GMT

The Grantor's Tax increase approved as part of the 2007 transportation funding package will take effect Jan. 1, 2008. The Virginia General Assembly and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) voted earlier this year to increase the rate to a total of $5.00 per $1,000. This increase, along with revenues from six additional taxes and fees, will be dedicated to transportation projects in the region.

The localities affected by the increase are: the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, Fairfax County (including the Towns of Clifton, Herndon and Vienna), Loudoun County, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, and Prince William County.

If you are thinking of buying or selling team up with Ritu & Samson Realty for all your residential needs in Northern Virginia. I am just a phone call away at 703-625-4949.