Home buyers, here’s yet another great way to save money on your purchase of Northern Virginia real estate: Assume an existing FHA or VA loan. The recent low interest rates on FHA and VA loans make assumption an attractive choice for many buyers who meet the qualifications.
Home Security – Summer Safety Reminders
Whether you are a renter or an owner of Northern Virginia real estate, home is a place that we all would like to feel safe and secure. Unfortunately, we cannot become complacent with our home safety habits, because burglars are especially active during the summer months, when many people vacation and leave their homes unoccupied.
Whether you are looking to buy Northern Virginia real estate, or are refinancing, it is worth it to consider entering a 15 year mortgage over a 30 year one. If you can handle payments, which will be a bit higher, you’ll enjoy the lower interest rate and faster equity accumulation. Take the example in the […]
I am always on the lookout to help owners of northern Virginia real estate benefit as much as possible from their home investment. Did you know that you can rent out part or your entire home and not have to declare that rental income? You as a homeowner can benefit from a little known provision […]
Here is another easy way we can save money as homeowners of northern Virginia real estate: automatic thermostats.
The extra costly weekend call to the repairman to fix an item that really wasn’t “broken”; it has probably happened to most of us owners of northern Virginia real estate. The feelings of relief that it wasn’t a serious problem are overshadowed by the frustration that we have to pay for the service call.
Beginning April 1, the FHA will raise the annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) to 1.25% of the loan amount. MIP is a requirement on all FHA loans, and covers lenders when borrowers default on their mortgages. Also, starting June 1, the premium on high dollar FHA loans (larger than $625,500 in high-cost areas) will increase […]
Fairfax VA – A homeowner – we’ll give him the alias Peter – recently asked me a question about foreclosures. Peter, who was facing foreclosure himself, asked, “I am six months behind on my mortgage payments. I just got the tax bill for 2010 in the mail. Should I pay it?” Peter asked me what […]
Fairfax VA – I recently wrote a post about how banks will lose more money through a foreclosure than a short sale. In fact, a recent study by Boston Consulting Group showed that a lender will net 20% more money on a short sale versus a foreclosure. The reason for this is because short sales […]
Fairfax VA -Recently I read a book by former real estate agent Robert Ringer. The book addressed the power of persistence in ensuring success. He told a story about phoning a call center and I’d like to share it with you. When he called, the first person told him that he wouldn’t be able to […]
