Archives for August 2011

VAR property management forms have been revised

August 26, 2011 MGeslock

Yes, you read that right: Nine of our property management forms — leases, addenda, disclosures, etc. — have been updated.

This is a major overhaul done in collaboration with FutureLaw, the Northern Virginia and Richmond associations, and VAR’s Standard Forms Working Group to make these forms more user friendly, and to ensure accuracy. If you do any work in property management you need to head to VAR’s Forms Center and get the new documents.

The forms affected are:

* Residential Lease (Form 200)

* Application for Lease (Form 300)

* Listing Agreement – Exclusive Right to Lease (Form 975)

* Property Management and Exclusive Rental Agreement (Form 900)

* Pet Addendum (Form 220)

* Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint And Lead-Based Paint Hazards (Form 1300)

* Guaranty of Lease Agreement (Form 230)

* Move-In Move-Out Inspection Report (Form 1100) * Tenant Consent Form (Form 240)

~~http://varbuzz.com

5 Reasons You Should Use a Real Estate Professional

August 16, 2011 MGeslock

Should you spend the money on a real estate commission or save that money by selling your home by yourself? That is a question many home sellers ask themselves. Today, we want to discuss why it is crucial to have a true professional guiding you through the minefield of challenges that exist in the current real estate market.

The housing market today is more challenging than it has ever been and seems to be becoming more difficult each day. What impact will foreclosures have on prices? Which loan products that were available just last month are no longer available? How do you convince perspective purchasers to pull the trigger on an offer when everyone is telling them that they should see another 100 houses before they make a decision? These are tough questions for a trained, experienced professional. The lay person would find it almost impossible to keep abreast of this rapidly evolving industry.

Here are five important reasons to use a real estate professional:

1. Pricing Is Difficult

Just a few years ago, you didn’t have to worry about overpricing your home. If it was too high, all you needed to do was wait as historic appreciation was taking place. The situation is quite different today. With experts calling for another drop in home values, overpricing your property will cost you time. In this market, time costs you money. A professional real estate agent will discuss how increasing inventory could dramatically impact the value of your property in the months to come. They will help you set the right price in today’s market.

2. Negotiating Ability Is Crucial

Buyers today have an almost unlimited supply of homes from which to choose. They realize that puts them in a great negotiating position. Most buyers are now being represented by an agent. Sellers need to also be represented by a professional expert trained to negotiate real estate contracts.

3. Mortgaging Is Key to the Deal

The biggest impact of the housing market collapse is that lending standards are much stricter today than they were a few short years ago. Rules are constantly changing. Even FHA has gone through a guidelines overhaul in the last several months. You need a real estate expert who has teamed up with a knowledgeable mortgage professional to make sure that the buyer in the deal is in fact capable of obtaining a mortgage. Losing time with an unqualified buyer costs you money in a market where prices are falling.

4. Your Family’s Safety

We have always found it puzzling that the same person that will lock every door and window and set the alarm today will then allow total strangers into their house tomorrow. The real estate industry trains its practitioners to take steps to protect themselves and their clients. Take advantage of putting a person between you and the person calling on an ad or yard sign.

5. You Probably Have More Important Things to Do

Selling a home could turn into a full time job. Learning the necessary disclosures, coordinating the dates of your closings, dealing with a challenge regarding your appraisal and re-negotiating the offer after an engineer’s report are just a few of the concerns you may face. You would probably be better of spending that time with the items important to you and your family and leaving the challenges to your agent.

Bottom Line

To make sure the sale of your home is handled professionally – hire a trained professional. In the long run, you will wind-up with more money in your pocket and have less challenges with the move.

The potentially devastating pitfalls of turning REOs into rentals

August 12, 2011 MGeslock

The potentially devastating pitfalls of turning REOs into rentals.

A common misconception

First, let’s clear up a misconception. Foreclosure is a process, usually involving a court of some kind; the process can vary depending on the state. REO means Real Estate Owned; it is what a house becomes after a foreclosure, when a bank or government entity purchases a home back. It actually comes from the term, OREO, meaning Other Real Estate Owned, meaning a non-performing asset on the banks books. The two terms are not interchangeable, and do not mean the same thing. With that being sorted out, let’s get down to business.

The government, as in the Treasury Dept, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has issued a Request for Information on how to deal with all the REOs that Fannie, Freddie, and FHA have on their books. There is a fairly big push coming from The Obama Administration, and Sen. Reed who wrote a letter to the FHFA director earlier this month, encouraging the GSEs to start renting out their REOs. They are asking for either outright purchases, in bulk, or possible joint ventures with the GSEs, to maybe even some other kind of partnership. The public and other entities have until September 15^th to comment.

Over 250,000 REOs between FHA, Fannie & Freddie

These are the ones that have actually completed the foreclosure process, some are currently listed, about 77,000, and some are pending, waiting to close, about 22,000, according to DSnews. Shadow inventory, the ones in the pipeline, the homes that have received a NOD, the ones that are still going through the foreclosure process, in other words, are not mentioned. Because of the way notes have been sold, and resold, there may not be way to determine how many are actually out there waiting down the line. We really are looking a lot of houses potentially flooding the market, just from the GSEs.

It’s no secret that the GSEs have been losing money. A lot of money. Part of the push for converting REOs into rentals may be coming from the idea that non-performing assets could generate cash flow, if as above, some of these were done as a partnership with the GSEs. We are talking about rentals en mass, here. Not 3-10 at a pop, but entire geographical areas. In theory, this should stabilize housing by not selling crappy REOs at a discount, it’ll also make rent more affordable in some areas, it could also create jobs since many will need rehabbed.

Theories usually suck though. We have to look no further than The Washington Post’s investigation into HUD’s HOME program. What had transpired were many incomplete projects, lost money, money that didn’t get used, money that came from the government and was dedicated to these projects no less, and projects that were completed, but sitting vacant. Some things were done correctly, yes, but not a lot compared to what was screwed up. The potential for the same types of things going awry with a rental program is huge. What is the Government going to do, make investors sign a piece of paper saying “I promise to be a good landlord, treat tenants right, rehab all the properties according to code, not be a jerk and defraud anyone?” Uh-huh. Sure. ~~Katie Cosner ~~http://agentgenius.com

Income and Sales Price / Loan Limits

August 1, 2011 MGeslock

Income and Sales Price / Loan Limits

New Income Limits

VHDA is pleased to announce increased income limits.Now, more homebuyers can benefit from our loans and the special features they provide. All of our First-time Homebuyer Loans have maximum income and maximum sales price / loan limits based on the geographic area in which the home is located. Limits listed in the information below apply to the following loans: 30-year Fixed Rate, Conventional, FHA, VA, Rural Development, FHA Plus. VHDA’s First-time Homebuyer Loans are limited to borrowers who have never owned a home or who have not owned a home in the past three years, with the exception of Federal Targeted Areas. Higher sales price/loan and income limits are available for properties located in these designated areas. Please review the Federal Targeted Area limits information for specific details.

Effective: 8/3/2011
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Area	Gross Household Income		Maximum Sales Price/Loan Limits
Area	2 or Fewer People	3 or More People	New & Existing Construction
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria MSA	$120,900	$140,000	$450,000
Charlottesville MSA Richmond MSA Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News MSA Winchester MSA	$87,400 $85,000 $79,600 $72,000	$101,200 $98,400 $92,200 $82,800	$325,000
King George Culpeper Rappahanock Warren Essex Louisa	$92,600 $85,000 $79,600 $72,000 $72,000 $72,000	$107,300 $98,400 $92,200 $82,800 $82,800 $82,800	$310,000
Statewide (All areas not listed above)	$72,000	$82,800	$231,700

http://www.vhda.com/Homebuyers/VHDAHomeLoans/Pages/IncomeSalesPriceLoanLimits.aspx