Archive for the 'Local Issues' Category
No More Visual Litter ???
September 18th, 2008 categories: Local Issues, Loudoun County
Loudoun County is getting board….
The board of supervisors is working with the department of transportation that would allow zoning inspectors to remove signs on roads and prosecute repeat offenders. Seriously???
You are telling me that people have nothing better to do than to drive around removing temporary signs calling it “visual litter?” I can understand that there are times, especially during an election, when there are hundreds of the same signs on filling the road ways. However, an OPEN HOUSE sign that is there for 3 hours 1 day a week or a church sign that is placed outside of a building that is rented on a weekly basis and charging these people fines. This is ridiculous.
Here is an article concerning it in the Leesburg Today….
| Discussion: No Comments »
New MLS Rules Should Help Market And Home Searchers
August 18th, 2008 categories: Local Issues, Real Estate News
Searching for homes has become a lot like digging through a bag of your friends thrift store pile to hopefully find one good shirt that may fit.
You can find 80 homes within your price range. But to actually find one that is not a short sale or foreclosure in decent condition has become an art form.
Who has time for this?
The good news is that MRIS (the Northern VA MLS provider) is now requiring Short Sale homes that have contracts signed by the seller on them but are simply awaiting bank approval to be removed from active status in the MLS. They now go under a status called Contingent Kick Out which in the computer looks like “Cko.”
This is good news for buyers who don’t want to waste their time looking at homes that already have offers on them. For those who want to bid on these homes while they wait bank approval, they still can.
Many Realtors have not adapted to this rule yet and some do not like it since they want to receive multiple offers. However, it is much better for the market as a whole and makes it a lot easier for purchasers to find the deals they are looking for.
| Discussion: No Comments »
Dulles Metro Is One Step Closer
May 5th, 2008 categories: Local Issues
Many of us have become a little too comfortable with disappointment and bad news this year with all that is going on with politics, the national economy, housing market, and the Redskins loosing to the Seahawks. Not to play the philosopher but it can be a dangerous thing when you begin to be suspicious of optimism and good things happening.
It is at times hard to believe a person in sales like myself when it comes housing optimism but today I am only ECHOING the article in the Post about the extension of the Dulles Metro Rail. If you live outside of the Beltway between Tysons Corner and Ashburn this is some the best news heard in a while.
For months now, the 4 decade vision of the Silver Line extension of the Metro that would connect Falls Church to Loudoun County has been at a stand still as decision makers have been working out the details of how this costly project would continue. The current plan only has the rail extending to Wiehle Avenue in Reston while the extension to the Western locations including Dulles Airport has but put on hold.
This doesn’t solve the whole problem but for now this will work. I seriously doubt that having this rail end in Reston will last for long. Nevertheless, to receive Federal funding this is what is needed to get started. According to the Post, the second half of the Rail is not contingent on federal funding. It will be paid for in part by Loudoun and Fairfax County and tolls collected on the Dulles Toll Road.
As a Realtor and homeowner, I am very excited about the opportunity of the Metro extending to Ashburn. I believe Ashburn is one of the best locations in the Northern VA/ DC Metro area to live and there is no telling the amount of value it will bring to Ashburn once it FEELS A LITTLE EASIER TO ACCESS!
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Give Me Back My Money!
May 1st, 2008 categories: Local Issues
If you were one of the home owners who sold your home between January 1st of this year through March 3rd you most likely paid WAY TOOOO MUCH to Uncle Sam for your Grantor’s Tax. You can read about it more in this previous article that I wrote called “So Long Grantors Tax”
How much? Try 5 times too much!
The good news is that you have a refund coming. How do you collect it?
Here is the time table….
- Clerks of Courts will receive funds from NVTA no later than May 1.
- Clerks have until May 23 to get the funds to the settlement agents (Where you signed your papers).
- Settlement agents have 90 days from receiving the funds to get them back to the seller. No later than August 22.
- If sellers didn’t use a settlement company, a system will be set up through the Circuit Court for them.
If you are a little anxious for the money as I would be, I would stay on top of the settlement company to ensure a quick refund.
For more info check out: Loudoun.gov/clerk
Related Articles:
What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
So Long Grantors Tax- Huge Update
| Discussion: No Comments »
Loudoun County 2008 Property Tax Increase
April 10th, 2008 categories: Local Issues, Loudoun County
Since the property values assessed by the county have declined, Loudoun county decided to make it up by increasing our tax rate to $1.14 per $100 of the assessed value. This increase will affect the average home owner by an average of $308! Oh how I love big government. Sorry, I can’t help myself at times for having an opinion.
Interested in knowing where all of that $1.14 goes?
$.69 ………… Schools
$.132………… Public Safety
$.133………… Other County Agencies
$.154………… Debt Services
$.025……….. Capital Projects
$.006……….. Comprehensive Services Act
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag On Short Sales
April 3rd, 2008 categories: Local Issues, Short Sales & Foreclosures
There has been a conspiracy for years that Walmart will offer the lowest prices and when everyone else is out of business they will raise prices since we will have to use their services. I am not convinced of this argument, but their is a similar issue taking place in the housing industry.
How would you feel if you awoke tomorrow morning to find that the house that you are competing with in re-sale has dropped their price 70k below yours and is selling it as a short sale? Nothing new, so after a few curse words and frustration you decide to drop your price 40k lower and so do 3 other surrounding homes.
You wonder why people keep visiting your home but no one is putting in an offer. You begin to feel that the sky really is falling and that it is the Presidents fault.
QUESTION 1# How would you feel if you found out that the short sale that caused everyone else to lower their price had a low dummy price to get offers and that the bank wasn’t willing to accept it in the first place?
The seller no longer cares. The seller just wants out and isn’t making any money on the listing any way. They are just trying to save their credit a few points compared to a foreclosure.
QUESTION 2# How would you feel if you found out that the reason you aren’t getting any offers is because there are 6 contracts that are pending on the short sale and have been frozen while waiting 5 weeks for the bank to respond?
There really are people buying at this time. There is a good chance that you aren’t getting an offer because buyers already have contracts on other homes so they are FROZEN. They can’t put out multiple offers. They are also afraid to pull out from the short sale because their lucky side tells them that they could get a steel.
Believe it or not, we are paying a steep price for these types of transactions. Short sales are not bad on their own. Nor are all Short Sales listed at fake prices. But prices that a bank has not approved are detrimental to our market. It hurts neighborhood values which cause more foreclosures and short sales which ties up the only people that can help fix the issue: BUYERS (not government).
Our Century 21 Redwood Realty office is currently working with our local MLS board and NVAR to address these issues. Wouldn’t it be much better if the financial institution had already approved the listing price BEFORE it was advertised? The complaint will be that the bank doesn’t respond quickly enough to approve a price. Sorry…. It is not fair that buyers are being deceived and restricted because banks are slow and backed up.
Related Articles:
3 Reasons You Should NEVER CONSIDER A Short Sale
4 Terms You Must Know As A Buyer
Short Sales Are Fake Listings (By FranklyRealty)
| Discussion: 4 Comments »
So Long Grantors Tax- Huge Update
March 4th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Local Issues, Real Estate News
This past Friday I posted one of the few articles in the area concerning the VA Supreme Court ruling concerning the Grantor’s Tax in the article:
What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
Up until now we have not known what the effects of this judgement would mean. NOW WE DO!
Here is the quote from Gary Clemens, the Clerk Of Circuit Court:
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, my office will be making plans to refund the regional transportation tax collected since January 1, 2008. It is my understanding that the NVTA is meeting on March 6, 2008 to develop a refund policy and procedure. Once I receive information from the NVTA regarding their recommendations, I will announce the refund procedures on March 7, 2008.”
Therefore, if you were one that settled on your home since January 1st of this year - EXPECT A REFUND!
I will keep you up to date on any new information that I receive.
| Discussion: No Comments »
3 Reasons You Should NEVER CONSIDER A Short Sale
March 3rd, 2008 categories: Buyers, Local Issues, Short Sales & Foreclosures
I had a stroke of metaphorical brilliance this morning while speaking with a client.
The more I deal with and learn about short sales the more I see them as the worst thing that has ever hit the real estate market. The problem is that clients are easily allured by them like some kind of bright glow so I continually have to work with them: which I will.
I was able this morning to deter a client from even considering them by offering them a metaphor of what they are like. Afterwards, I felt so good that I decided to create a few more. Feel free to add to the list….
Trying To Buy A Short Sale Is Like…
- Planning your honeymoon cruise with a street vendor and not knowing if the ship will let you on until it is about to depart from the port.
- Buying a dog with fleas and a heart murmur with a questionable life expectancy because he is $30 cheaper than the puppy (this one is a stretch-sorry).
- Putting all of your retirement funds in to a lottery account and hoping that the guy that pulls the ticket out of the hat will choose yours 30 days before your retire.
There is no question whether or not some people will score a good deal from time to time with a short sale. However, the risk and percentage of transactions that are short sales that work out are questionably ever worth it. I do encourage buying a home that is a foreclosure or REO. The bank turn around time is much closer to 1-7 days instead of 45-60 days while everyone else puts in their offers.
Another great article that exposes some of the issues with short sales can be found at by Frank at Frankly Realty. Click Here.
If you are looking to buy a foreclosure property in Ashburn, Sterling, South Riding, Gainesville, Herndon, Leesburg, Fairfax, Brambleton, Belmont, Broadlands, Lansdowne, or Chantilly contact me as I would be happy to respresent you.
Related Articles:
Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag On Short Sales
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
February 29th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Local Issues, Real Estate News
1. Northern Virginia has transportation issues. Northern Virginia has a large population. Northern Virginia is growing.. Quickly. Northern Virginia roads need help.
2. Northern Virginia homeowners trying to sell don’t have extra money to pay for the road problems.
At the beginning of 2008, the Northern VA Transportation Authority increased the VA Grantor’s Tax (Congestion Relief Fee) paid when a seller sells their home by 500%! Therefore, instead of sellers paying .10 cents per $100 of what their home sold for, they would pay .50 cents per $100. In other words, on a $600,000 home, sellers no longer pay $600, they pay $3,000!
The fee was increased to help fund our transportation costs. It was the largest transportation investment in the last generation.
This morning the sweet wind of change blew across the Virginia Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling that ” Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: No Comments »
4 Terms You Must Know As A Buyer
February 28th, 2008 categories: Local Issues, Short Sales & Foreclosures
I attended an investor meeting around a year ago in the area. People were going around the room and talking about transactions that they were working on at the time. A guy spoke up to mention that he was working on a “short sale” transaction. The leader of the meeting interrupted him to take a count of people who understood what a “short sale” was.
At that time there were only around 3 people out of 200 in the room who had ever heard of a “short sale!”
Who would have thought that a year later, we would not only know more about them, but hundreds of the listings on the market would be “short sales?”
I wonder now how many people still don’t know what some of the terms we use mean? Here is a short list to help you understand 4 major types of sales transactions you may see when looking at homes online: (these definitions were taken from a friend over at the San Diego Housing Blog).
- Traditional Sale: Owner needs to or wants to sell and has equity. At closing, seller will receive proceeds from the sale.
- Distress sale: Owner needs to sell due to personal circumstances. Time is of the essence, they are highly motivated (not selling is not an option).
- Short sale: At closing, proceeds from the sale will be Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
