Now May Be the Perfect Time to Buy

Fairfax, Virginia: There’s no place like home for creating memories. And no place like home for the holidays. While it may sound a bit crazy to add this to your shopping list…this holiday season could be the very best time in history to give yourself the gift of a new home.

While there are a number of advantages to purchasing a home Fairfax or Vienna Virginia there is a confluence of factors that make this year’s season a bit more special than past years.

Rates at Historic Lows
Interest rates have been dancing around the all-time-low mark for some time. But did you know that rates hit the lowest ever in October?  This season, FHA, VA and conventional interest rates in Fairfax and Vienna, Virginia are about 0.5 percent lower over this time last year – which translates to a payment savings of approximately $60 per month on a $200,000 mortgage for qualified borrowers.

Today’s lower rates give you an increase in buying power. Rates have already begun to move higher since November 4th, following the announcement of Quantitative Easing 2 by Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke. As rates increase, your buying power will diminish.

Home Prices at All-Time-Lows In Fairfax and Vienna Virginia
Once school begins, the real estate market tends to slow down and by the holidays, it is at a snail’s pace. The lack of buyer demand is reflected in home prices as sellers become anxious. Homes are more affordable now than at any other point in time since 1970 according to the National Association of Realtors’ housing affordability index. And as the holidays approach sellers may reduce prices further or offer additional incentives.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said home sales still remain subpar. He explained, “The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit. Despite very attractive affordability conditions, a housing market recovery will likely be slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty.”

Sellers In Fairfax and Vienna Virginia Are Motivated
With the current economic slowdown many sellers are willing to negotiate – not just on price, but also may be more open to entertain requests for other concessions such as appliances, or paying closing costs. In addition, they may be eager to get the home sold prior to the holidays to avoid scheduling their holiday plans around viewings by prospective buyers. This may give you extra bargaining power.

Once home prices stabilize and begin to improve, these same sellers will be less willing to bargain. As Warren Buffet has said, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Once the market begins to improve, sellers may become greedy as buyers panic to secure home purchases as prices start to climb.

Plenty to Choose From In Fairfax and Vienna Virginia
While real estate is local, most markets remain saturated with inventory. Being in the buyers’ shoes right now is akin to being a kid at Christmas – all the choices make it a bit overwhelming.

If you’re serious about buying a home, the first step is to define what you are looking for in a home and at what price…and then get qualified! Once you find a house you love, be willing to negotiate a fair deal and grab it. Waiting around for things to improve from here could cause you to lose the opportunity on that “perfect home.” It’s important to remember you are not looking solely for the best deal…but the best home.

Tax Advantages Of Buying A Home In Fairfax and Vienna Virginia
Buying a home can give you a tax break. Here’s how: Mortgage interest (including points) and real estate taxes are tax deductible. That doesn’t sound very sexy, but it adds up. Since most of what you pay for your mortgage in the first year is interest, on a $200,000 mortgage at 4.25%, you get to deduct about $700 a monthin interest. That reduces your taxable income by about $8,400 a year. If you’re in the 25% tax bracket, that deduction is worthabout $175 a month.

To see the benefit, you can either wait for a big payout after you file your income-tax return, or adjust your withholdingsand keep your hard earned money. Your employer’s benefits department can help you with this.

Closing on a home purchase in Fairfax and Vienna Virginia before the end of the year may provide you some additional tax deductions for the current year. You may be able to deduct any money you pay for points to reduce the interest rate on your loan. Consult your tax advisor to see how the mortgage interest deduction applies in your situation.

Getting Started
Buying a home during the holidays could benefit your wallet for years to come, and there may not be a better time than now. If you are thinking of purchasing a home during this holiday season, get started now and call me to discuss your options.

90-Day Seasoning Waiver Expanded

Fairfax, Virginia: This update from FHA Virginia Loans was released on Friday January 15th, 2010, as an excerpt from the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) without a corresponding Mortgagee Letter and contains information about FHA’s policies regarding the waiver of the 90-day seasoning required for sellers.

Here are the 6 things you need to know about these changes:

1. Waiver takes effect February 1st, 2010 for a period of one year unless extended.
2. Investors are now exempt from the 90-day seasoning rule.
3. All transactions must me arms-length.
4. No identity of interest can exist between buyer and seller.
5. If sale price is 20% or more of the seller’s acquisition cost, the lender must:

            a. provide supporting documentation and/or a second appraisal and
            b. order an inspection of the property and provide it to the buyer.

6.  The waiver is limited to forward mortgages only. 

To read the text of this waiver and specific details: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf

This is going to help a lot of home buyers get into a home. The seasoning rule was essentially locking people of bidding for certain homes. The next item that must be addresses is sellers and listing agents from eliminating all government loans (FHA, VA and UDSA loans) from submitting purchase bids.

Fairfax, Virginia

From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, I decided to dedicate this post to the incredible speech he gave on August 28, 1963. The speech gives you the opportunity to see compassion, enthusiasm, and the opportunity to inspire others into action, just as Dr. King did during his short time on earth.  Here is a portion of Dr. King’s speech.

“I Have a Dream” from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

What a speech—what a speaker!!

I hope you get the chance to watch the You Tube Video of Martin Luther King’s—“I Have a Dream”. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk.

Look at the video closely when Dr. King gets to the part “I have a dream”. The emotion that comes from his heart, not reading any notes shows why on August 28, 1963 the perfect example of how inspiring and uplifting Dr. King was as a speaker and a person.