Housing & Transportation Calculator-What’s the Cost of Where You Want to Live?
June 25th, 2009 Categories: Buyers Corner
Thinking of buying a home in the Northern Virginia area? Wonder what the cost of owning that home and commuting in the area might cost you per year? Transportation and housing affordability are a big part of the buying process. The Urban Land Institute has developed a calculator to help show how these costs vary among different locations.
One of the first decisions that Northern Virginia buyers look at is whether they should buy a home “inside or outside” the beltway. Commuting is a big part of that decision. The calculator gives you a chance to play with the numbers and compare costs at a number of locations.
“The Housing + Transportation Calculator was developed to help individuals, households, planners, and municipalities understand the true costs of housing and transportation, as well as how these costs can vary from place to place.”
In order to see how the calculator worked I decided to enter neighborhood zip codes that included Alexandria, Burke, Falls Church, Woodbridge & Bristow. The following chart shows the costs associated with each of the areas.
|
City |
Housing Costs |
Transportation Costs |
Total Costs |
|
Alexandria |
$16,632 |
$ 8,757 |
$25,389 |
|
Falls Church |
$24,516 |
$12,275 |
$36,791 |
|
Burke |
$28,128 |
$17,086 |
$43,214 |
|
Woodbridge |
$20,184 |
$13,669 |
$33,853 |
|
Bristow |
$27,084 |
$18,229 |
$45,313 |
Of course as with any of the standard calculators you find on-line some of the data associated with the calculations are open to interpretation. The Urban Land Institute has determined transit connectivity to mean connections to public transportation within a 10 minute walking distance. Woodbridge transportation connectivity gets a rating of “none”. Yet if you live in Woodbridge you do have a variety of transportation options and depending on where you live those options could be within 10 minutes of your home, maybe not walking distance in all cases but certainly driving.
This tool does provide you the options to make individual changes to some of the calculations and can be a bit of an eye opener when you look at some of the transportation costs for the further west you go in Northern Virginia. The calculator is not restricted to Northern Virginia so anyone in the country can use it to see how their communities compare.
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Our Virginia State Legislature has been hard at work and come up with a number of new and amended laws effective July 1, 2009. The tenant landlord laws have a few new changes and one that is important to tenants is the requirement that the landlord notify a tenant in WRITING when a mortgage goes into default or a pending foreclosure notice is received.
This is a good news/bad news situation. In the past tenants have been hit with the surprise of the sheriff showing up at their door with an eviction notice. Surprise you’ve been paying your rent but your landlord hasn’t been paying the mortgage.
Does this mean that landlords will actually provide the written notice? My guess is that most of them aren’t reading the Virginia Landlord Tenant Laws and so it will be up to a tenant to know their rights. Most tenants figure out that not only are they out a place to live but they also are out their security deposit as well.
If a landlord does give the tenant written notice, what should they do? My advice is to check with an attorney. Never stop paying your rent but you may want to pay the rent to the attorney to hold until you can determine whether you will have any rights to remain in the property or that you will be given your security deposit back. Even though your landlord might be in default of their mortgage they could still ruin your credit by reporting your lack of rental payments to the credit bureau.
If you are considering buying a home of your own in the near future the gap in your rental payments might also be an issue for you on your mortgage application. Paying your mortgage to a third party will provide you the necessary cancelled checks and could keep you from any issue with your landlord.
It is great to see the new addition to the law and we can hope that this will mean fewer surprises for tenants but it does mean that you need to be dealing with a landlord who cares and understands tenant landlord laws.
Related Post: Military Families What to Do When the Landlord Stops Paying the Mortgage
Read the entire changes in the Virginia Tenant Landlord Laws (HB 2080) for 2009
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Public Transportation-It Works Around the Country Why Not Here?
June 21st, 2009 Categories: Real Estate Ramblings
As Northern Virginia’s continue to sit in traffic and debate the future expansion of the Metro to Dulles, extension of Virginia Rail Express Service further west and the Pike Transit Initiative in Arlington, other cities are tackling congestion head on.
We don’t hear much about these other commuter projects in our area but they are well worth reading about. I’m not a fan of the “hot lanes” and watching more trees come down to expand I-495 (aka Capital Beltway) doesn’t thrill me. And now the word is out that the proposal to expand the hot lanes south between the beltway and Dumfries (I-395 and I-95) is about to be approved.
The idea of looking at better ways to get more cars off the road and connect people to where they work or want to shop without adding concrete will in the long run be a better idea.
Okay now you know I’m an environmentalist.
The Best US Transit Systems You Never Knew Existed
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3698 Russell Road-Custom Home on One Acre
June 17th, 2009 Categories: Buyers Corner, Featured Listings
This home won’t disappoint Loads of updates & space both inside & out. First floor master suite, with private bath and loads of closet space. Main level great room features woodstove and/walkout to sunroom. Step out to the deck that overlooks your one acre property.
Back inside head upstairs to a second master suite & 2 additional The lower level offers you a recreation room, den, full bath and plenty of storage. Need a place for your toys? Then the two car garage with extra storage is a start. If you have a boat or RV the second driveway is the prefect place to park
Located in the wooded community of Woodmont, this home feels as if it is worlds away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. However multiple shopping centers, resturants and commuting options are only a few miles away.
Priced at $539,900 this one is a deal!
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This week an offer came in on one of my listings. The prospective buyer has been hanging around awhile so we figured it was only a matter of time before an offer would arrive. When they presented the offer it was for almost $100,000 less than the asking price. Now I’ve learned not to be very surprised by anything that rolls off the fax machine anymore, so despite shaking my head I thought lets see how we work with this.
Serious conversations ensued where the buyer defended the offer and explained their rationale. That is terrific but the logic wasn’t 100% on target. We countered with what was a very reasonable offer with appropriate concessions. The response…well let’s just say they didn’t think we had our heads screwed on straight.
Then I started thinking how do I explain this to the buyer in terms that they might understand better. Finally I asked “if a buyer offered you $100,000 less for your home how would you react?” The answer was firm and loud. “I would be insulted, I wouldn’t bother to respond, and I’d think they didn’t have a clue about the value of my home? And then the pause came, you know the one I’m talking about. The long pregnant pause as the realization hit them about their offer and how it might have been received.
I don’t know if we will make a deal or not. But I do know the buyer has a little different perspective on a low ball offer.
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Marketing Data-A Simple Mistake Could Cost You
June 8th, 2009 Categories: Buyers Corner, Selling Thoughts
Marketing reports are always up to interpretation. There isn’t anyone who is involved in the current market in Northern Virginia that isn’t aware that housing prices are down. But they aren’t down the same way in every neighborhood so when an agent puts out a marketing report that is specific to a neighborhood and type of home they need to be careful that the numbers are reasonably accurate.
Recently I noticed a marketing report for a neighborhood that I know well. Not because I am the #1 Agent in the neighborhood but because I track sales, show homes in the neighborhood on a regular basis and even owned a home in the neighborhood for 7 years.
This particular marketing report showed that the average net sold price of a detached home was $428,876, yet when I ran a sold report for the neighborhood I came up with an average net sold price of $482,655. This is a significant difference. So I started looking at why the numbers would be so far apart.
What I figured out is it comes down to a matter of the placement of the “wildcard” that an agent uses when searching the MLS. The movement of the “wildcard” (aka asterisk) made the difference in pulling up only detached homes in the neighborhood and pulling in townhouses with a similar name close by.
As a consumer looking to buy a home or an owner in the neighborhood reading a marketing report with a $60,000 lower average sold price is not something to scoff at. This is one reason why checking and double checking marketing reports is so important and why consumers need to read them with caution. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in a specific neighborhood make sure you double check the data before you make a decision on an offer or list price. You might not be looking at apples to apples comparisions if the “wildcard” was wrong.
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This week one of my sellers received an offer on their home. Usually this is a cause for celebration, even if an offer is low, as it gives everyone a chance to put on their negotiation hats and try to hammer out a deal.
However this offer was a little bit different. It was written on the standard Virginia Regional Contract but the prospective buyer had crossed out a considerable portion of the paragraph relating to protections to both the buyer and the seller regarding default. Of course what they crossed out was not the protection to the buyer but the protection to the seller.
It took us awhile to compare an original contract to their changed copy to determine exactly what had been done. As we know every state has contracts that have been written and reviewed by every manner of attorney to make sure that they are solid. When we start to make changes to those contracts we can leave our clients open to litigation or take away the protections offered by the contract.
It turns out that the buyer has a relative in another state who is an attorney who decided to make the changes. As an agent there was no way that I would comfortably recommend that my client accept the offer. It didn’t matter what price they offered, what the other terms or conditions were but taking away the sellers rights in case of the buyers default is never going to be a recommendation I would make.
If you are searching for an agent this summer who will put your interests first then give me a call. Our contract may not be perfect but it does offer you protection that shouldn’t be given up just to sign a deal.
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If you’re moving to the Northern Virginia area you’ve found a great area to call home. For families who are moving to the area with children figuring out the local school systems is a top priority. As an agent we can not make recommendations about area schools but we can provide you public information and reports provided by other sources. Fairfax County Schools were recently ranked #5 in the nation by Education Weekly and Thomas Jefferson HS in Fairfax County as been ranked the top high school in the nation by US News and World Report.
When it comes to learning more about the schools in the neighborhood where you are considering buying or renting there are a number of resources that you can check. With most of the county websites you can put in the address of the property you are interested in and it will give you the schools for each grade level. You then can read more about each individual school. Many families also check the Great Schools site to check on individual school ratings and you have friends or family already living in the area they are a good resource for you to check with as well.
If you are enrolling a child for the first time in a Northern Virginia Schools you will need to come with the child yourself and have the following ready when you arrive to register. Some counties may have additional requirements but this list covers the basics of what you need:
Birth certificate for the child
Your proof of residence (lease or sales agreement)
Original Transcripts from their previous schools
Physical report within the last 12 month
TB test results
Immunization record
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There are plenty of agents who believe that the only way to win friends and influence people is to dominate a deal. Making solid professional connections can make the difference between a SOLD sign or a deal that falls apart at the last minute. Valuing those relationships and acknowledging them should be part of what any agent does.
Selling real estate has never been an individual effort. Even if an agent works alone they don’t really. They need the assistance of home inspectors, mortgage professionals, settlement attorneys and other agents. And when a deal has last minute issues, working those relationships in a positive manner can make the difference between settlement and a lawsuit.
Agents are a lot like elephants, we have long memories and when another agent does us “wrong” we remember it. Trying to dominate is not the way to build constructive relationships. So I always give kudos to the teams that get my listings closed.
So kudos to the team that managed to get my listing closed in the Potomac Club in Prince William County.
Brandy Brizinski Buyer’s Agent- Long & Foster
Alice DeShield Loan Officer-BB&T Mortgage
Denise Brown Processor-MBH Lake Ridge
David Field Attorney-MBH Lake Ridge
Jeanetta Byrant Customer Relations- Pulte Homes
Alice DeShield Loan Officer-BB&T Mortgage
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HAP-Military Families There May Be Help for You
May 27th, 2009 Categories: Military Relocation, Selling Thoughts
Military families stationed at Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon, Quantico and other Military District of Washington installations who purchased a home prior to July 1, 2006 may find that Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) may offer some relief if you have upcoming PCS orders to move.
This week I had the opportunity to start working with a family applying for HAP benefits. The official guidelines for the program are still pending but the counselor I spoke with in Savannah says they already have over 1300 applications waiting. We have a listing agreement in place (one of the requirements) and as soon as the final program rules are announced we will be ready to market their home.
The HAP program is aimed towards helping:
Active Duty Military Personnel with PCS orders who are upside down on their mortgage
Wounded soldiers who must relocate due to medical conditions (wounded after 9/1/2001)
Surviving Spouses (death of military member after 9/1/2001)
According to the Homeowners Assistance Program information the Department of Defense (DoD) will reimburse the covered groups up to 95% of their loss if their homes was purchased prior to July 1 2006.
If you live in Northern Virginia and you are anticipating PCS orders this summer and you qualify for HAP, now is the time to start gathering your documents and call the HAP Field Office for our area (located in Savannah) at 800-861-8144 for additional information.
Download information on how to apply for the HAP program.
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