First Time Homebuyer

Trying to Utilize FHA Financing? Check this List of Condo Communities to See if They’re Approved!

February 10, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

If you’re planning to utilize FHA financing to purchase your next home, you have to use a little bit of caution when considering condos in Charlottesville, as not all of them are approved for FHA financing.

Check out the link below to see whether or not the condo you’re considering is approved for FHA;

HUD.GOV Condos with FHA Financing

If the condo community you’re considering is not on this list, you may need to check with your mortgage lender to see if you will be able to come up with an alternative type of financing. Additionally, if you live in one of the condos that is not able to provide FHA financing, you should be aware that it may limit the potential number of Purchasers who will have the ability to buy your home on the resale market!

Please give me a call if I can help connect you with a lender who may be able to help you find alternative financing, or get you pre-qualified!

[Photo Credit: http://www.radrounds.com]

New Forms to Claim The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

January 17, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · 1 Comment 

The new forms to submit when claiming the first time homebuyer tax credit have finally been released! Form 5405 will now be needed when submitting a tax claim, and this is likely mainly due to the large numbers of tax fraud we were experiencing in res

ponse to the First Time Homebuyer tax credit. Please be sure to file this along with your claim, so you don’t experience any sort of delay in claiming your credit!

Click HERE to directly download a copy of Form 5405 from the IRS website for yourself.

From the Washington Post coverage of the new forms…

“Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit” can be downloaded from the IRS web site.

First-time buyers will have to send a copy (keep your originals!) of one of these documents to back up their claim to the tax credit:

• A copy of their HUD-1 Settlement Statement, complete with dates and signed by all parties.
• Mobile-home buyers can send in a copy of their signed, dated and fully executed sales contract.
• New-home buyers who don’t have a HUD-1 settlement statment must send in a copy of the certificate of occupancy.

All of these documents need to show names, dates, addresses, signatures, and prices.

[From Local Address - New tax forms released for claiming the home buyer credit ]

The experience of my clients thus far has been that getting the credit has been fairly painless. I hope that this will continue through the extension of the credit in 2010, but I would love any feedback you may have!

[Photo Credit: The Backyard Wealth Blog]

January is National Radon Month!

December 28, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with radon, it is an odorless gas that is undetectable by humans. As described on the EPA website;

Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family’s health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually. Learn how you can protect your family. Test Your Home for Radon — it’s easy and inexpensive. Fix your home if you have a radon level of 4 pCi/L or more.

[From Radon | Indoor Air Quality | US EPA]

In Charlottesville, the standard is to test for radon when you purchase your home during the inspection period (and some people will opt not to test at all) but for most people, that is the first and only test for radon that they will do on their home. There are many areas in Charlottesville where radon gas is present in homes, so if you’ve never checked- now is a great time!

Testing for radon is easy and inexpensive, and the EPA Radon site has lots of local and national links to help connect you with how to purchase a self-test, connect with someone locally to administer a professional test, and find people to mitigate a radon problem should you have one.

Locally, one of my preferred home inspectors, John Handloser with Pillar to Post Home Inspections, will be happy to administer a professional radon test in your home- call him a few days in advance to schedule him to come out.

According to NAR, 4 out of 10 Recent Buyers Used FHA Loans

December 23, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

As you probably already know, FHA loans are becoming an extremely popular loan device for purchasers in this marketplace. FHA loans used to evoke lots of negative connotations, a few of which were; lots of extra requirements, much longer time to process, and stringent and difficult home inspection standards. However, these hassles have been eliminated, and FHA loans seem to rarely differ in difficulty from pursuing a conventional loan. I expect that the use of FHA loans will only continue to grow into 2010.

According to the most recent REALTORS® Confidence Index, 39 percent of recent buyers purchased a home with a Federal Housing Administration-insured loan. REALTORS® who took part in the November survey also reported that the number of first-time home buyers continued to climb to 51 percent.

“FHA helps provide affordable mortgage financing to home owners, particularly first-time home buyers who are so important in drawing down inventory to help stabilize the current housing market,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder. “These recent survey results reaffirm that, despite its current challenges, FHA is a critical part of the American housing fabric.”

—NAR

[From REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-4 out of 10 Recent Buyers Used FHA Loans]

An interesting thing about interest rates and value…

December 23, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I have spoken to many of my clients about this previously, when saying that often a 1/4 point increase in interest rate can result in a higher monthly mortgage payment than would a 5% increase in sales price. What this means, is that the buyers out there who are waiting for the market to “hit bottom” may end up finding that their dream home becomes more expensive, even as the price drops. Marc Roth, writing for BusinessWeek sums it up nicely (emphasis added);

So, what can we learn from the historical trends and numbers?

First, rates have far further to move upward than downward; for more than 30 years, 7% was the low and 18% the high. The norm was 9% in the 1970s, 10% in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, 7% to 8% for much of the 1990s, and 6% only over the last handful of years.

Second, the last time the long-term trends reversed from low to high, it took more than 20 years (1970 to 1992) for the rate to get back to where it was, and 30 years to actually start trending below the 1970 low.

Finally, the most important lesson is to understand the actual financial impact the rate has on the cost of purchasing and paying off a home.

Every quarter-point change in interest rates is equivalent to approximately $6,000 for every $100,000 borrowed over the course of a 30-year fixed. While different in each region, for the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that the average person is putting $40,000 down and borrowing $200,000 to pay the price of a typical home nationwide. Thus, over the course of the life of the loan, each quarter-point move up in interest rates will cost that buyer $12,000.

[From If You Don't Buy a House Now, You're Stupid or Broke - BusinessWeek]

Don’t just look at list prices when trying to determine the cost of your home- your interest rate may actually have a significantly higher impact.

If you could use a recommendation to a good local lender, who can walk you through all of the stipulations of your financing and help you determine if now is the right time for you to buy, please don’t hesitate to call.

[Image courtesy of http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/files/interest_rates.gif]

New Tax Credit for Current Home Owner's Making a Home Purchase and the Extended First Time Buyer Credit

November 7, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Today, President Obama signed off on the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, now to include a credit for current Home Owners.

This new initiative will continue the current $8,000 first time home buyer credit to eligible participants until 2010- July 1, 2010 to be exact, which is when all closings must have occurred. In order to be eligible for this credit, you must have the property under contract no later than April 30, 2010.

It has also expanded the credit to current home owners. Anyone who has used their residence as a primary residence consecutively for 5 our of the last 8 years are also eligible for a tax credit when making their next home purchase. This is a $6,500 credit and the same deadlines still apply; April 30, 2010 for homes to be under contract, and July 1, 2010 for the sale to have closed.

Many of the details are explained in the following PDF document- please contact me with any specific questions!

Click here to download the November 7, 2010 Extended and Expanded Tax Credit.

Purchasing a Short Sale

July 18, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Charlottesville is currently seeing a handful of short sales, and for every short sale that we can successfully achieve, we are avoiding a foreclosure hitting our market. Short sales, however, are not for the faint of heart! They are highly unpredictable, and while they can result in an incredible deal on a home, they can also result in frustration and confusion. Here are a few tips and warnings for anyone who is considering making an offer on a short sale.

SHORT – SALE DEFINED: The term “short sale” is used to describe a sale where the debt owing against a property combined with the costs associated with the sale exceed the property’s market value. In a loan default situation (pre-foreclosure) creditor(s) may be willing to agree to allow the property to be sold for less than the loan amount and/or accept less than (or “short”) the amount owed, and may or may not accept the net proceeds of sale as payment in full of the debt.

The sales contract will be between YOU (the Purchaser) and the SELLER, not the LENDER. The sales contract will then have a contingency in it that states that the LENDER must approve the agreement and that allows the SELLER a chance to open this dialogue with the LENDER.

1. Timing is everything! A short sale can take up to 6 months to be approved by a bank. If you are a first time buyer looking to take advantage of the 2009 First TIme Home Buyer Tax Credit, I do not recommend looking at short sales. There is no way to predict whether or not a short sale will close in alignment with any sort of deadline. If you absolutely need to close and be in your home by a certain date, a short sale is probably not for you.
2. What you offer on the home and what a SELLER may agree to and ratify into a contract MAY NOT be the sales price. The LENDER still has to approve any agreement that is made in a short sale, so don’t get your hopes up about the sales price that you’ve agreed upon with the SELLER. The LENDER may counter-offer and ask you to pay a completely different, higher price. The price that the LENDER is willing to take is going to be determined through the help of a third-party broker, who will do a BPO (Brokers Price Opinion) on the home, and who will recommend a value for the home based on recent comparable sold homes.
3. It is recommended that you do your inspections immediately. The PURCHASER will need to take on some risk of lost investment on items like a home inspection or an appraisal. Once the SELLER and PURCHASER have a ratified contract, it is recommended that the PURCHASER go ahead and conduct the home inspection. This inspection will likely be for information only, as the SELLER likely cannot make repairs, and the LENDER likely will not. It is possible that the PURCHASER will spend money on a home inspection only to find out that the LENDER does not approve the sales price and the contract may fall apart, with the PURCHASER being out the cost of a home inspection.
4. Once the LENDER approves the short sale, they will likely require the PURCHASER to close immediately. The lender will often request closing to occur within 7-14 days, so the PURCHASER needs to have their finances in line by then.
5. During all of this, the home is still in pre-foreclosure and CAN progress to foreclosure. A ratified contract on a home does not necessarily stop the foreclosure process from occurring, as sometimes the short sale department (loss mitigation) does not have contact with the foreclosure department, and foreclosure proceedings may begin. If a home does progress all the way to a foreclosure sale, the contract between the PURCHASER and the SELLER becomes void.

All of these items can make purchasing a short sale a very lengthy and sometimes confusing process. Please make sure that you are in a position to purchase a home under all of these conditions before you begin to seek out short sales.

For those of you who DO have the flexibility to purchase under these conditions- happy hunting, and congratulations on the great deals you may be able to find out there!

What is a Zestimate?

January 10, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Just today I was in a class where we were discussing the different online resources for home buyers and sellers that are often perused prior to enlisting the help of a Realtor. You will find that several of these websites are not yet able to provide any sort of accurate information about Charlottesville whatsoever, but it is moving our way fast. I am going to try to explore a couple of these with readers, beginning today with Zillow.

Zillow.com (Home of the Zestimate);  Zillow is a site that aggregates real estate data from several different real estate websites out there and attempts (among other things) to help you find the value of your home, by way of a “Zestimate.”  Evidently there are some cities, even here in Virginia, where the Zestimates are at least within the ballpark of the actual market value of a home.  Unfortunately we can’t really test this here in Charlottesville, as they have not gotten enough market data about our area to even attempt a Zestimate for many of the properties around here.

Zillow defines a Zestimate as follows; 

 

The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home’s value. The Zestimate is pulled from data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. Variations in price also occur because of negotiating factors, closing costs, and timing of closing. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow’s information by doing other research such as:

• Getting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
• Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
• Visiting the house (whenever possible)
• Creating your own estimate using the My Estimator home valuation tool

The information that Zillow has about Charlottesville certainly seems to be lacking.  Currently Zillow shows 767 active properties in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region. The Charlottesville MLS, however, shows 1154 active properties in the area, and this number would not include FSBO’s (For Sale By Owners), foreclosures, and any number of miscellaneous listings that could be out on the web.  Also, for the 5 most recent sales I’ve had, I found that only one home was even able to be located on the Zillow map, none provided Zestimates, and even then the tax assessment for the one property it found was completely incorrect (about $20,000 below the current assessment but also completely random- not an old assessment or any number remotely related to the actual number.) For now, Zestimates are not accurate nor are they especially helpful to the Charlottesville area.

What Zillow IS able to do in most markets and will be able to do even in Charlottesville in the not-so-far-future is help consumers visualize other homes for sale in their area.  Zillow has a “Make Me Sell” feature, which allows people to map their own home on the website and then tag it with a price that they would be willing to sell the home for in the off-chance someone might come along with an offer. This may be a fun feature, but due to the multiple sources of the information that can be loaded into the site and the speed with which even correct information will become outdated, Zillow’s credibility will probably be questionable for a while to come.

What Zillow will NEVER be able to do, even with every real estate aggregator they can get their hands on, is account for the hundreds of intangibles that every property boasts. Zillow will never be able to tell you about nightmare neighbors, heavy traffic noise, the beautiful interior decor, or the extremely noticeable scent of moisture in the basement.  Even if it does eventually enter the Charlottesville market with force and accuracy, buyer beware.

Something to keep on your radar; will Zillow’s Zestimates create perceived values that will eventually infiltrate our market and what people are willing to buy and sell their homes for? After all, perception is reality and market value is just the agreed price that is reached amongst a buyer and a seller. If Zillow can alter perceptions of worth, we may see an alteration of market values of homes.

Appealing Your Tax Assessment

January 4, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I have had several clients and friends ask me about their most recent Albemarle County Tax Assessments (just sent to home owners yesterday) and if there is any way to fight the numbers.  I found a really great article that summarizes everything you need to know about this subject and then some.   Many thanks to Sellsius Real Estate Blog!

Some reassuring words of wisdom…

Public tax assessors do not visit your home to value it. They don’t even do a drive-by. And they have less information than the MLS– sometimes only beds, baths, square footage. Besides being incomplete, the data may be inaccurate (just ask Zillow, who uses public data). In determining your home’s market value, the tax assessor usually just looks at recent sales in your area and picks a number, often based on the highest sale. Don’t fret. You can fight city hall, if you know how.

So will this really work?

What are your chances? According to the National Taxpayers Union, your chances of getting a lower tax bill are about 1 in 3. But like most statistics, ignore them. You lose little by trying. And if you lower your tax bill, it helps on a future sale to have property taxes lower than your neighbors. Also, in a time of falling house prices, you have a better chance of winning, since the public data, like Zillow’s, is lagging the market.

This agent’s advice;

A few pointers when fighting your tax assessment:

• Ask to see a written notice of your appeal rights
• File your appeal promptly (use certified mail RRR), according to the instructions. Make a copy for your records.
• Ask for an “in person” appeal. It’s much better than just sending in paperwork.
• Ask the assessor for the information used to calculate your assessment, including all comps and data on your home — remember, the public data may be wrong, right David Gibbons?
• Get your local broker to gather evidence to dispute the market value– recent sales and current list prices of appropriate comps– and put it in a written report, very much like a CMA report.
• Document (photos) the unzillowables, like the sewer drainage pipe next to your shore house or the steep (useless) lot you’re on, as opposed to your neighbors. Remember, the tax assessor is unaware of these unzillowables when it comes to your individual house, right David?
• Hire an appraiser if you are allowed to (some jurisdictions forbid it)

New Home Construction Contracts; Financing

January 3, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

 

For part two of my new home construction contracts analysis, I thought I’d add financing information;

Who do I have to use for my loan?

“If one or more loan amounts are set forth in Section 3, then this contract is contingent upon Purchaser obtaining one or more commitments… at the prevailing rate of interest in Charlottesville, VA. If purchaser receives such commitment for the financing… Purchaser agrees to accept the same.”

“If Purchaser’s application for financing is not approved in 45 days, Seller may ’submit another applications on substantially the same terms to a lender chosen by the Seller… and if such applications results in the issuance of a loan commitment… Purchaser shall be bound to accept such commitment.”

“Purchaser is required to complete a Mortgage Application with the Seller’s preferred lender, Countrywide Home Loans.”

What happens to my earnest money deposit?

While the Virginia Association of Realtors’ Standard contract provides for the earnest money deposit to be held in escrow until closing, this is not always the case with non-standard contracts. Here is a paragraph that is in 2 contracts that we see quite often here in Charlottesville.

“If the escrow agent is the SELLER, the DEPOSIT need not be kept separately (i.e. in escrow) but may be used in SELLER’s business.”

This should be a major red flag with so many builders currently in financial trouble- it essentially means that it can be used for whatever that builder deems necessary in the course of business, but doesn’t provide the buyer much protection in the case that a builder goes out of business.

New Home Construction Contracts; The Actual Home

January 3, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

In Charlottesville, we have several new home builders whose contracts differ pretty extensively from the Standard VAR contract that we typically use in re-sale transactions, and I felt that some of these differences were worth pointing out, just so that potential buyers are aware of the things they may find in contracts that stray from “the norm.”  While I have worked on a handful of new construction contracts and we were always able to find a meeting of the minds and I’ve most often had very positive experiences come from them, I do think that it is very important to advocate for my buyer clients and make sure they fully understand what they are signing.

I recently went to a great luncheon held by Compass Home Loans, where local attorney Stacey McDonough from Martin & Raynor spoke to us about some of the interesting things she has noticed in these contracts, which intrigued me to look through them a little more carefully.  I have put some of the most interesting of the stipulations below.

So, what kind of house do we actually get?  Here are a couple of good ones, all pulled from just one builder’s contract that we use quite a bit here in Charlottesville.

“The home to be erected hereunder may not necessarily conform to the model home or model home area”

“Seller makes no representations with respect to Lot grades, Lot area, options, facades, home lay-outs, location of walks, driveways, personal property, fences, patios, decks, recreational facilities, landscaping, or any other representations whatsoever unless otherwise expressly provided herein…”

“Seller makes no representation with respect to the home type, size, style, price range or location of other homes to be built in this subdivision.”

“In its marketing brochures and documents, Seller may use different methods of calculating the square footage of the home and makes no representations as to the actual square footage of the home, regardless of the method utilized.”

Where Do I Start?

January 2, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

So I guess my attempt at creating a blog is also an attempt to streamline “frequently asked questions” into a canonical resource, so that when friends and clients ask questions that I’ve heard before once or twice, I don’t have to re-invent the wheel.  One of the questions I hear most often from my close friends, the majority of which will be first time home buyers, is  ”Where Do I Start?”

Unfortunately, most of these people have left the Charlottesville area after our fantastic college years, and are now looking to make purchases in New York, LA, DC, and the like- lots of different markets where I would never venture to represent someone!

My answer- the very first thing you need to do as a first time home buyer is get a Realtor!  Shameless Realtor promotion it’s not- I just do not believe that the average first time home buyer is equipped with the information to go at it alone.  The very worst thing you can do for yourself as a first time buyer is guess-timate the amount that you can afford on a house.  This scenario often looks a lot like this; 

1. Assume the amount you can afford for a house.
2. Do tons of research on everything in that price range.
3. Memorize listings inside and out.
4. Research neighborhoods inside and out.
5. Choose the home you love.
6. Find a Realtor to help you make sure you’ve seen everything and then to help you buy the one you’ve already chosen anyways.
7. Be put in touch with a lender by way of your Realtor.
8. Lender throws a wrench in your entire plan because s/he has to tell you that you can only afford $200,000 and not $250,000 and now everything in your price range is hugely disappointing compared to what you were shopping.

My advice:  save yourself the time and the effort and hook up with a Realtor immediately.  Your agent will not pester you.  Be clear about your expectations; if you only want to be contacted by email, let them know.  Your Realtor should be able to set you up in an automated search that will update you on properties in your market that meet your requirements, and it should save you the effort of going online to a home search aggregator that often will force you to look through many more listings than you’d like by not allowing you to narrow your search as precisely as you could.

Your agent will also recommend one or several local lenders to you, and unless you have a strong lending or banking relationship elsewhere I would recommend you use someone who they’ve had good experience with.  In the current mortgage market, I would absolutely recommend a local lender, and do not think that your mother’s lender two states away who helped her finance your family home in 1994 is a great choice.  Although there is a strong relationship there and probably several years of trust and reliability built in, it just isn’t the right choice for most people to go outside of their local lending sphere.  More about this later. 

You can share as much or as little financial information with your Realtor as you feel comfortable.  I have had clients whose entire financial history I’ve been privy to and who have wanted to tell me about every last penny to make sure we weren’t forgetting any major funds and could get them approved for the highest mortgage possible since one of the pair had just gotten a major promotion and would be making much more money in the near future.  I have also had clients who went to a lender I recommended, returned with a strong pre-qualification letter in hand, and who I rarely spoke to again about finances until we hit the closing table.  The clients in the latter situation are usually the one who have done this more than once or twice, understand their financial limits, and don’t need several opinions on what they can afford- I am willing to help either group and point them to the advice they need. 

You may have noticed that this entire post is made under the assumption that you have or can find a good Realtor and can trust their recommendations on who to use for the several different steps in the process; financing, the home inspection, home warranties, insurance, the closing company or attorney, etc.  I will try to address that topic in the next post!

"Can I Buy/Sell a Home Without Being Present?"

March 2, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Another question posed on Trulia but that I’ve been asked before and thought was relevant;

“Can I buy or sell a home without being physically present?”

Typically, the answer is yes. If you inform your closing company or attorney early in the process, it is usually not extremely difficult to draft up documents that allow a “power of attorney” in your absence. If all of the parties on one side of the transaction will be absent (i.e. both Mr. and Mrs. Seller) this can be a little more difficult because a separate, trusted individual must be chosen, and this person will need to be present in your absence. Regardless of which parties will be absent, this is something that should be discussed with your attorney or closing company immediately, to avoid delay of closing.

We are now beginning to see entire transactions occur electronically, and as this becomes more commonplace it will definitely make these scenarios easier.

782% APR- What A Deal!

February 20, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

So there has been quite a fuss over this nationally, but I thought I would talk about it just because it DOES effect us locally as well.  Payday loans involve using a check as collateral for a loan for the time period between one paycheck and the next.  These are primarily used because they require no credit check and loans can easily be given without regard to the borrower’s ability to re-pay.  While these are NOT related to mortgage loans, they are related to predatory lending and the several different ways you can get yourself into financial trouble if you aren’t very careful.  To get a payday loan, a borrower provides a personal check to the lender including $15 in interest for every $100 borrowed. As the Virginia Organizing Project puts it best, “Loans of 15% each week means that the lenders are charging interest at an annual rate (APR) of 782%.  Even for a two week loan the APR is 391%.”  The excuse behind the continuance of these loans?  The lenders claim that this is the only source of “emergency money” for people who wouldn’t have the creditworthiness to get it otherwise.  A more likely cause?  It is probably same to say that many of our legislators receive generous contributions from these lenders.

What does 391% APR look like?  If you borrow $500 for 52 weeks, you would pay back $1955 in interest plus the original $500 for a total of $2455.

On the other hand, 36% APR would look like this; Borrow $500 for 52 weeks and pay back $180 in interest for a total of $680. 

With the efforts in Charlottesville towards Affordable Housing, it is certainly worth mentioning affordable lending and borrowing and making an effort towards educating people in the many different ways that predatory lending can creep into their their lifestyles and pocketbooks.  My ultimate job is to help put people into their homes, but there is also a responsibility to help educate people on the different circumstances that might keep them out! 

Some interesting things to know;

• Since 2002 almost 800 offices of payday lenders have sprung up in Virginia, more than twice as many McDonald’s and more than three times as many as Starbuck’s.
• The Center for Responsible Lending reports that 99% of payday loan customers are “chronic borrower’s.  Only 1% of borrowers pay their loan back at the time of their next payday and don’t take out another.  
• Maryland, West Virginia, and North Carolina all prohibit these loans- Virginia hasn’t yet committed to this.  If such loans were prohibited, we would expect to see a return to the 36% cap on interest under usury laws that apply to other loan institutions. 

Want to help?  The Virginia Organizing Project suggest you contact your local Delegate and  Senator in the VA General Assembly and ask for their support in repealing the Payday Loan Act during the 2008 General Assembly Session. Here in Charlottesville it is expected that David Toscano is on board with repealing this act, but Rob Bell could use some persuading.

 

Don't Delay- Buy Today!

February 1, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I found a great article by Greg Swann out of Arizona today, and it touches on the harsh reality of the difference between being a buyer in a buyer’s market, and a seller in a seller’s market- the buyer’s situation just isn’t as sweet.  [Click here for the full article.]

While sellers in a seller’s market can take their time, have a strong upper hand, and can pit buyers against each other in some very competitive situations, buyer just don’t have that luxury.  A buyer typically looks/shops for months, only to narrow their search down from 100 properties to 1, and then become just as heart-set on the property as they would in any other market-  only now they fool themselves into thinking they have time to spare, and they wait.

I personally have worked with two escalation clauses in the past 6 months, and have heard at least one other story of a potential buyer of one of my properties just barely missing out and not submitting an offer in time, only to find the home of their dreams under contract to be sold to somebody else.  It is a buyer’s market, but buyers tend to inevitably get more emotionally tied into the transaction and thus will never experience the true effect of having a strong advantage, and having true time to spare once they’ve found “the one.”

Note to home buyers- IF you have the discipline and restraint to do it, try to choose 2-3 homes that you would be happy living in and negotiate with no true “#1″ choice.  As we all know, this is next-to-impossible to do, as there is always that one home that sticks out heads above the  rest!  However if you CAN do it, you can truly take advantage of a buyer’s market.

If you can’t force yourself into this sort of discipline or just can’t control your excitement over that perfect home, don’t delay!  That property that sticks out heads above the rest to you is the same one that is sticking out to other buyers, and no matter the market it just might not be there next week.

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