Archive for August, 2008
The latest edition of the Washington Business Journal (WBJ) has named Town of Occoquan and the Occoquan River Communities in the top 13 communities to watch in the DC Metro area in the future.
Having recently posted about New Urbanism in Northern Virginia it was interesting to see the WBJ cover some of the same thoughts expressed in my post. Stating that Gen X and Gen Y buyers are looking to finding live, work and play neighborhoods with good transportation options to Washington DC.
Occoquan was selected due to its historic charm and it’s location between Fort Belvoir and Quantico. In addition to the Town of Occoquan itself the WBJ recognized Belmont Bay and Lorton as smart growth developments which are contributing to the success of the area. With multiple Virginia Rail Express stations close by, the area is ready to grow with the new jobs (BRAC) slated to move to the area.
As a member of the Occoquan River Communities it is nice to see our vision for the area being recognized. We are meeting with economic developers and community leaders to continue our mission of making Belmont Bay, Lorton and the Town of Occoquan the next destination that residents of Northern Virginia will want to call home.
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Meteoric Fall in Prince William Prices Lead to Scorching Summer Sales
August 15th, 2008 Categories: Focus on Prince William
Scientist around the world are studying the phenomena of global warming and wondering why the temperature around the world is rising. Perhaps they should take a look at the meteoric fall of prices in Prince William County leaving the county the hottest real estate market in Northern Virginia.
Even though the press likes to focus on the negative on aspects of the market the buyers who are out today are not flip and run investors. It is also interesting to notice the distribution of price ranges. The majority of the sales aren’t at the lowest price point of available homes but closer to the mid-point of prices.
Sales over $500,000 are still happening and the majority of the homes sold in this price range are the newer homes in the western Prince William County cities of Bristow, Gainesville and Haymarket.
The price volume of sales is up 22.5% from the same time in 2007 and the number of homes sold is up 95.5%. This is as always tempered with the fact that average sold price is down 37.3%. The majority of new loans used to purchase properties were FHA and VA and there were 52 all cash transactions recorded in the MLS as well.
The sales numbers this fall are going to be the one that we are going to be looking be paying close attention to. With the changes in the FHA loan programs, the elimination of the down payment assistance programs and how first time buyers view the $7500 tax credit will begin to be reflected in our sales in late September and October.
For now buyers who have been sitting on the fence have an opportunity to make a grab for homeownership in an area that is offering some of the best values in Northern Virginia.
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Do You Disclose Mold in Your MLS Description
August 13th, 2008 Categories: NOVA Foreclosures, Real Estate Ramblings
This might be considered a rant by some but it could also be a serious issue for agents who are listing homes with “environmental hazards.” Last night was a miserable night for me with a severe headache and coughing. Today the symptoms include a runny nose and sneezing. But even worse is the fact that my clients are suffering from the same symptoms. The reason is simple. Yesterday we toured five foreclosure properties each of them with a wet and moldy basement.
None of the listings for these properties mentioned mold and there were no notices published on the properties or at least on doors leading to the basement. None of the listing agents thought it was important to warn potential buyers that they were being exposed to a toxic situation and none of the agents provided masks at the property to help protect potential buyers from exposure to an unhealthy situation.
Now many will blow this off and say listing agents shouldn’t be worried about the health of prospective buyers or other agents. Perhaps this is true but there are agents who do list in the MLS that the home has mold and to enter at your own risk. Those agents are smart enough to realize that mold is a serious health issue and understand the potential of liability if they don’t warn others about the risk.
So the questions raised after yesterdays experience are:
When agents are doing the pre-listing BPO do they check the box that says “environmental hazards” when they find the presence of mold?
Should banks be required to do mold abatement prior to listing a property?
Should agents as representatives for the banks be required to disclose environmental hazards to prospective buyers in the MLS listing?
How long will it be before an agent is the target of a board complaint or a lender sued by a prospective buyer for not disclosing the presence of mold in a home?
My foreclosure tool kit that rides in the trunk of my car is now expanding. Besides the hand sanitizer, flashlight and flea spray it is now going to include disposable masks as well. I know well enough that I need to protect my clients. Hopefully other agents will realize that they need to protect them as well.
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Touring foreclosure properties can bring up a lot of emotions. Sometimes seeing what a family leaves behind can be sad and other times seeing the condition of a home can make you angry.
Yesterday while showing Northern Virginia foreclosures we caught a glimpse of where thousands of dollars can go instead of toward the mortgage. Rooms full of discarding magazines. Suitcases full of magazines. Bookshelves full of magazines. With the cost of these magazines averaging about $6.00 a pop it didn’t take long to see at least one mortgage payment that had been spent at the local bookstore.
Looking at all of the money wasted in this home made me wonder about credit counseling. Not the late night we can fix your credit type of counseling but true budgeting and accountability type of credit counseling. How many families who are facing foreclosure are getting any type of help to look at where their money goes? Actually the answer is fairly obvious, very few of them.
Part of the new Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 included a provision for pre-foreclosure counseling funds:
“S. 2636 would help to keep struggling families in their homes by:
· Increasing pre-foreclosure counseling funds. Title III of S. 2636 would provide $200 million in additional funding that would help housing counselors continue their outreach to families at risk of foreclosure. These added funds would help as many as 500,000 additional families connect with their mortgage servicer or lender to explore options that will keep them in their homes.”
This is one of the parts of the new Foreclosure Act of 2008 that makes good sense but there are some serious unanswered questions.
How are the lenders going to connect with homeowners to let them know about the service?
Do the homeowners have to know to call to ask for help? Are the lenders going to set up counseling centers in the areas hardest hit by foreclosures?
Once an owner is in the counseling program will the lenders extend the timeframe before foreclosure to try and give them time to work out their finances?
The amount in the bill that was set aside for the counseling isn’t nearly enough to make an impact for the families who need help now. However if the lenders and the housing counselors work hand in hand perhaps a few families might be able to stay in their homes and learn that spending thousands of dollars on magazines is not good money management.
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