Archive for the 'Sellers' Category
With Long & Foster – It’s Easy Being Green
May 6th, 2009 Categories: Going Green, Home Improvements, Sellers
Kermit was ahead of his time. He warned us that is wasn’t easy being green– but that was then and this is now.
Long & Foster is now committed to being green. Green in the workplace & green for it’s clients.
Green is the latest marketing effort for corporations– Alcoa is selling Reynolds Wrap from 100% recycled aluminum, AT&T is replacing its automobile fleet with it’s new “green fleet” and Ford plans on selling electric cars by 2011. It’s time. It’s time for all of us to make the world a better place. Even if it’s just our little part.
So stay tuned– I will be writing about how you can make your home more efficient, local efforts to improve our environment & what products are out there that will make your world a little more green.
Let me know what you think. I’d like to hear from my readers what they think of this latest green effort. Is it something you take seriously? Are you looking for green features in your next home? Do you need some guidance on how to make your home more energy efficient? I’d like to hear what you are interested in learning about.
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Great First Step Mr. President: Here’s 3 More Things You Can Do.
February 19th, 2009 Categories: Buyers, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
Yesterday, President Obama announced his first step to stop the hemorrhaging of the housing market. It’s a good first step. (For the full speech, click here) After eight years of leaders who were throwing money at a problem, by either lowering interest rates or giving cash to bankers, a plan that has some real action is welcomed. This new approach is going to take a little getting used to. But bring it on.
One thing this plan isn’t going to do it save everyone. As it should be. The public is suffering from bail-out overload. The general public doesn’t want to help someone they think caused the problem in the first place. So before you pass judgment, read the goal of President Obama’s actions.
Why This Plan Will Help
If you bought a home after 2005 & possible 2004 after this year is out, you are upside down on your mortgage- meaning that you owe more on your mortgage than you can sell your house for if you were to put it up for sale. So– if you have a 3–1, 5–1 or 7–1 ARM– it will be almost impossible for you to refinance your mortgage if your short term interest rate is getting ready to mature. This plan will help you.
It’s aimed at people who are current on their mortgage, lost value in their home & need to refinance.
There are other parts of President Obama’s plan, but guidelines will be issues in early March- so stay tuned for what happens next.
Why This Plan Won’t Solve Everyone’s Problems
The plan is not targeted to people who who invested in a risky market & lost; or, to people who have jumbo loans outside the FHA limits. Many people aren’t going to get a free ride when they find out the limits on any loan adjustments they are offered.
This is a complicated problem & everyone isn’t going to like the results. We have to focus on solutions that make sense in the long term while curbing the short term crisis.
Foreclosures & short sales aren’t going to evaporate from the market overnight. We drove up housing prices to a place where the average buyer couldn’t afford to buy their first home. We had artificial housing prices driven by artificial mortgages. We have taken the artificial mortgages off the market. We are experiencing a free market that is adjusting the artificial housing prices. I worry that in our attempt to stop the foreclosure madness, housing prices won’t fall back to an affordable level for average people. The president’s plan may get to that affordable level– but at a slower rate. This plan won’t have any impact in the market for at least another 6 months. It won’t be until next year until the real estate market gets back on its feet. Will this program be the catalyst? I hope so.
Now that President Obama has taken the first step to stabilize the housing market, there are 3 more things he can do to advance the housing market for some marginal growth during the next four years. Keep in mind– the actions that President Obama has taken over his first month in office were to stabilize an economy in a free fall; his next step is to introduce policies at advance that economy.
Three Steps President Obama Can Take To Advance The Housing Market
As someone who works in this housing market everyday– I see first hand the issues people who are trying to buy a new home face. These are not people who are trying to game the market, or expect buy a new home & have 40% equity in their home in 3 years. These are regular people who are first time buyers, people who need more space because they are recently married or have increased their family size. While the rest of the world is in crisis– there are people around us who are just trying to live their lives.
A few years ago, these same people could have gotten a mortgage with little or no money down; they have good jobs & therefore were & still are good risks; they could sell their current smaller home to buy a larger one. Now the rules of the game have changed & they need some direction on how to play it. So these are my ideas.
1. Make It Easier For People To Buy Short Sale & Foreclosed Homes
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This Just In: VA Supreme Court To Northern Virginia: No New Taxes!!
February 29th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Outside The Beltway, Sellers
Today the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is unconstitutional. You can read the entire decision here.
The NVTA was created by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year, to levy taxes for Northern Virginia transportation projects. I wrote about these increases in more detail back on July.
In an unanimous opinion, the court said that legislators improperly delegated taxing powers to the unelected members of the NVTA.
This decisions affects the recent increase in the grantors/transfer tax homeowners pay when they sell their homes, in addition to some other taxes that were increased in in January to help pay for the $300 million needed in bonds to finance planned transportation projects.
Itâ
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Arlington County Plans to Raise Your Property Tax: Time To Have Your Say
February 27th, 2008 Categories: Around Arlington County, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Sellers
Mark your calendars for public hearing at the county.
WHEN: March 27, 2008 (Budget) March 29, 2008 (Tax rate)
TIME: 7 PM, scheduled (could be sooner if other agenda items end quickly)
WHERE: Room 307 #1 Courthouse Plaza, 2100 Clarendon BLVD.
What Are The Countyâ
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Freddie Mac Reaches Out
December 14th, 2007 Categories: Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
Itâ
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Bush’s Rate Freeze: An Early Christmas Present or Coal in Your Stocking?
December 6th, 2007 Categories: Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
President Bush plans to announce, today, a compromise policy to freeze interest rates for some sub-prime mortgages for a period of 5 years.
Expect an afternoon joint press conference with the Treasury Department and members of the mortgage industry that negotiated this deal.
While the exact terms of the plans have not been officially announced, the Internet in buzzing with most of the planâ
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3Q07 Arlington Sales: 1,831 Reasons Why Arlington Beats the National Trend
November 20th, 2007 Categories: Around Arlington County, Ballston, Buyers, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Courthouse, Crystal City, East Falls Church, Local Real Esate Sales Numbers & Things, Nauck, Pentagon City, Real Estate News, Rossyln, Sellers, Shirlington, Virginia Square
I havenâ
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It Ain’t All Bad. A Historical View of Interest Rates
November 5th, 2007 Categories: Buyers, Mortgages & Loans, Real Estate News, Sellers
At least once a week my broker forwards an email to all her agents from the head of Prosperity Mortgage. In case you donâ
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A Week in the Life of A Busy Realtor
October 21st, 2007 Categories: Buyers, Real Estate News, Sellers, The Road Less Taken
Itâ
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Good Fences Makes Good Neighbors
September 5th, 2007 Categories: Around the City of Alexandria, Buyers, Condos, Sellers, Shirlington
They are putting a new fence up in Windgate. I live in Windgate. Itâ
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