buyer

Home Buyers on Google overload?

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, I’m sure you have used  Google to do most of your research. In a recent conversation with a REALTOR colleague in Falls Church, Virginia, she shared how home buyers walking into her Sunday open-house already knowing the tax assessment, local school scores, neighborhood comparables and much more. They were well versed in the subject matter (buying a home in that neighborhood) and had brought their A-game. Agents love buyers who are willing to make decisions quickly because our real estate market remains one of the most active in the country.

Home sellers have always reviewed recent comps…

now home buyers are getting well prepped

This change is good and going to get better. But there is something all the Google-ing can’t answer, and that is where a talented agent is going to shine. Knowing the Walkability Score, the school test scores, the Zestimate or the impact the power lines may have will not help understand the true motivations of the decision makers.

Here are some of my musings as I drive through the Wendover Community in Vienna, VA along Lawyers Road between Vienna and Reston.

Please contact me if you are interested in confidentially discussing your home buying options. Many of my clients are senior level technology people, established professionals, and transferees from around the country.

My e-mail address is doug@dougfrancis.com

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It’s a race to finish the Home Buyer Tax Credit for 2010?

REVISED for the extension (see new post below)

If you are or have a friend who is thinking about buying a home and taking advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, then there are some facts you need to know, and we need to talk today. Especially since everyone and their little brother/sister knows about the current affordability index… more on that below. And this isn’t just information for my real estate clients in Northern Virginia, but for any home buyer out there across the USA!

Home Buyer Tax Credit info you should know:

• There is a deadline: Have a contract by May 1, 2010 and settle before July 1, 2010
• The income caps for the full $8,000:

Individual Filers with a modified AGI of $125,000
Joint Filers with a modified AGI up to $225,000

• First-timers are defined as someone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years
• Primary residence only (main home)
• A fast transaction from contract to closing is 30 days
• Most lenders suggest giving FHA loans a 45 day window
• The Fairfax County Courthouse is closed for Memorial Day.
• If rates change, your lender may have to give you a new estimate with a new review period.

So your strategy needs to start right now because I am seeing multiple offers on many places as buyers are rushing to beat the Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline. Work the time frame backwards for a minute because the big “crush” on mortgage companies will probably come at the end of June (code for delays). I am going to feel a bit uncomfortable if settlement is after the 19th and will advise you of the risk. With many loans today being of the FHA variety, lets move back another 45 days meaning you need a ratified contract by early April!

So what is this affordability index?

Prices are down about 15% since last year, and 30-year fixed rates that were at 6.5% last year are now lower than you may think. For example Curt Gilbert at Bank of America sent me a rate sheet on 10/30/2009 showing an FHA rate at 5.00% with 0.50 points. Conventional financing to $729,000 has rates close to 5.00% too.

For IRS details, (I will update this)

Time is passing quickly and we should be discussing a game plan right now or you may just miss the Home Buyer Tax Credit for 2010. My contact information is on the Contact Me page.

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buyer

Your Maryland lockbox doesn’t work in Virginia

In the past two weeks, I have shown up at two vacant homes in Fairfax, Virginia with clients wanting to take a look-see, only to find that the SentriLock lock-boxes did not work. You know, SentriLock’s are the little blue boxes on the front door handles of homes for sale.

In the Washington D.C. metro area, we have Realtor Associations in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, plus many Realtor sub-associations in each state. Some agents get licensed in all three jurisdictions which also means they need to join each association (yes, it does sound like a racket to me too). But, this is where some agents may be trying to skip a step when working on the other side of the river.

Well, the first time the box did not work I just called the agent and left a message. The second time I left a message too. I figured out the Maryland connection through a little detective work… their telephone numbers were area code 301.

Maybe a trench coat would help my business? Or maybe that’s a 301 redirect (too geeky?)

Silence.

No response, no thank you’s, and no call saying that they changed the box so please come back.

They did not care about the situation… probably because driving from Maryland into Northern Virginia almost requires you to go through Tysons Corner where the Capital Beltway is torn up and traffic is snarled 18-hours a day.

The lesson for the Sellers: If your agent installs an out of area lock-box, then you have a gross negligence case.

Maybe it’s time to find someone who cares about selling your home!

buyer

4587 Derring Lane, Fairfax Virginia can settle quickly!

NEW PRICE!… look at the interior photos! This home is not asking a 3rd party for approval! Not a foreclosure either… super clean and ready to settle by the end of the year!

Mint condition town home located close to Fair Oaks, Fairfax, and some of the best shopping on the East Coast including Wegman’s, Whole Foods, REI, Costco, Target and the Merrifield Garden Center. Walk to an almost new Fairfax County Elementary School (Eagle View), Fairfax County parks and walking trails and so much more.

3 level, rear load two-car garage, almost new condition. 3 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half baths

All ready to close quickly. But we need to set up a time to see it this weekend… 703-304-6827.

Equal Housing Opportunity!

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