Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Real Estate Market

New Postal price from May 12th

2008-04-21T16:50:00Z

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!

2008-03-25T16:44:00Z

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

2008-03-18T02:26:00Z

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

2008-03-12T18:30:00Z

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

2008-03-10T13:13:00Z

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

2008-03-07T03:06:00Z

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!!!!

2008-03-06T18:16:00Z

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

2008-03-03T20:03:00Z

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?

2008-02-16T02:31:00Z

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

2008-02-16T02:14:00Z

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

2008-02-03T19:45:00Z

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

2008-02-03T19:22:00Z

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

2008-01-18T20:51:00Z

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

2008-01-18T20:03:00Z

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?

2008-01-01T23:12:00Z

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