Prince William County First Time Home Buyers

We keep saying what a great time it is to be a buyer in this market. Well there was a recent article in the Washington Post that echoes our same thoughts. I just wanted to share this article from this weekends Washington Post real estate section. If you need any help selling, buying or just have some questions, please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you.

---

These Days, First-Time Home Buyers Are Primed to Cash In By Ilyce R. Glink with Samuel J. Tamkin Saturday, March 21, 2009; Page F05

In the nearly 16 years that I've been writing this column, I've never seen a better market in which to be a first-time home buyer.

The rising tide of foreclosures has pushed down home prices significantly over the past 18 months. Homes, relative to income, are about at the historic norm, which means they're more affordable than they've been in at least a decade.

Beyond that, if you buy a foreclosed property, you might wind up spending even less, as lenders struggle to process all of the foreclosures and short sales that are piling up. (If there were no more foreclosures in Florida, it would take the courts nearly two years to process all of the foreclosures on the docket today.)

Not only have homes come down in price significantly, but 30-year fixed-rate loans are at about 5 percent. Some first-time buyers are getting 15-year rates at 4.5 percent or lower. These are historically low interest rates that will seem downright cheap if rates rise above 7 percent, which they will probably do several years from now.

Spending less to finance a property means you can get more for your money or save more for retirement or other purposes. With interest rates so low and home prices falling, homeownership becomes affordable to many first-time home buyers.

Also, first-time home buyers (defined as those who have never owned a home or have not owned a home in the past three years) who close on a home purchase by Dec. 1 can get up to an $8,000 tax credit on their 2009 income tax return. If you bought a house after Jan. 1, you can file for the credit on your 2008 tax return.

This year, about 4 million people will buy a new or existing home.

For the rest of the article follow this link--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031904138.html

---

Read more!

Great Time to purchase a cozy single family home with land in Prince William County, Manassas!

Many of us have dreamt about owning a property that is located away from noise, surrounded with beautiful mature trees and has some land. Well, just couple of years ago that dream was not so easy to become true for many people but the situation has changed now. These days you can easily find homes with 1200-1800 square feet of living area with an acre or very close to it lot. Perfect residence for anyone who likes quiet country setting but doesn’t want to move out to Fauquier County or even passed it. It is still close to everything but offers privacy for country lovers.

Prince William County homes have suffered a great decline in values. And it applies to not just homes that were purchased in
2004-2005 time frame when values were going through the roof but also homes that were purchased a lot earlier and still lost a lot in value due to housing crisis and now available for sale at great affordable prices. While it is very stressful and in some cases devastating for sellers, it is a great time for buyers to look for a dream home.

The link below show Active homes in Manassas area (20112) with square footage of 1200 up to 1800 and with 1 acre or close to it lot size(please note that the link will expire 7 days after this post is made – contact us for an updated list at anytime):

http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=29311860233

Would you like automated emails with properties matching your search? Maybe you would like some regular updates on homes where you live now. Sign Up Today! Or Contact Us! or sign up for automated emails that you can easily unsubscribe from at anytime.

Read more!

Avoid Foreclosure Legally!

Visit our New Short Sale Web Site located at www.BGIshortSALES.com. This web site is free and offers information about short sales and your options to avoid foreclosure.

The more information you have as a home owner the better you will be able to make the decisions that fit your needs best. There is so much confusion out there. Some services are promising that for a flat fee they will save your home. Others offer to negotiate a modified loan with the bank for you. All I can share with you at this point is that "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is". I know you might be desperate for a solution but use your head and ask as many questions as you can before handing over your money to people you don't know or trust.

Read more!

Short Sales are Getting Easier! (?)

Well it is true, banks are getting things together but the biggest impact of your short sale progress and turn around time starts with your Realtor. If you are having some challenges please take the time to interview your short sale listing agent thoroughly.

Over the last year especially we have changed significantly how we submit or packages to the banks. These evolutions of our short sale package delivery have had a very positive impact on how fast we get responses from the banks we are communicating with.

With all of that said we will still run into some challenges with some banks. Often if the loan is backed by investors or if the second loan in a HELOC there will be additional challenges. That is okay because while they do add challenges it does not eliminate the ability to get them approved. Getting them approved takes a bit more patience, finesse and of course knowledge.

Read more!

New Fannie Mae Guidelines Encourage Short Sales

Fannie Mae recently released updated underwriting guidelines for new mortgage loans that directly address individuals with various types of foreclosure history.

Potential borrowers with a foreclosure on their credit record must wait 5 years to be considered for new funding, and are subject to additional credit and down payment requirements for 5 to 7 years. Deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosures warrant a 4 year wait with additional requirements for 4 to 7 years. Finally, the silver lining...Short Sales require only a two year wait with no additional requirements. These new guidelines make short sales a more attractive option for homeowners as well as provide realtors with a tremendous opportunity to assist distressed homeowners with a short sale AND future home ownership. This information can be very valuable when meeting with short sale prospects.

Full guidelines can be downloaded directly from FannieMae by Clicking Here!

Read more!