Choice Real Estate®'s Blog: All Categories

Homeowners who don’t have enough deductions to make it worthwhile to file an itemized return can take an additional standard deduction for the amount of property taxes they have paid, up to $500 for single filers or $1,000 for joint return filers.

This tax change is in effect for 2009 returns, but it's fate for next year is uncertain. This option especially benefits older homeowners and others who have paid off or paid down their mortgage and no longer have the big interest deductions that usually are the major reason for itemizing. © 2009, Real Estate Information Services, Capitol Assets, Choice Real Estate, Inc.

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1) Know your wants & needs- If you’re not certain about your requirements and desires, then you may find they’re not met when the house is completed and you’re ready to move in. Try going room by room and figuring out what features of your current home are lacking or need improvement.

2) Know your builder- A great floor plan isn’t worth much if the builder doesn’t deliver what’s promised. Check past customers, suppliers and subcontractors for references. J.D. Powers and Associates conducts an annual survey of home-builder satisfaction in 24 large markets (www.JDPower.com). Small builders warrant a Dun & Bradstreet check by your agent to determine their financial soundness, especially under current market conditions.

 

3) Get it in writing- Make sure…

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Buyers of newly constructed homes too often go it alone when they don't need to and probably shouldn't.  Yes, builders usually have a sales office with a friendly representative (who may not be a Realtor) who can show you home designs and site plans, answer questions and write up a purchase contract. 

What could be easier? Why would you want or need to enlist the assistance of a Realtor? Because going it alone isn't the best idea for a number of important reasons.  And having a Realtor on your side shouldn't cost you a dime, so why risk it? 

Just as with the purchase of an existing home, having the aid and counsel of a "buyer's agent" can help you get the most out of the process, while helping to prevent all kinds of problems.  To make sure that the…

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New disclosure procedures

Fall homebuyers and refinancers will be seeing new disclosure procedures. The Federal Reserve Board has issued regulations that significantly change the disclosures you get during the mortgage application process. The change to Truth in Lending Regulations (also known as Regulation Z) took effect for loan applications made after July 30.   The revisions implement the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA), which was intended to ensure that consumers receive cost disclosures earlier in the mortgage process. Under the regulations, a lender must mail or give you a good faith estimate of loan costs (“early disclosures”) within three business days after receiving your mortgage application and before any fees are collected from… Read Full Post

If you are first-time Maryland homebuyer who has put off getting into homeownership, you only have a few short weeks left to take advantage of a fabulous incentive: the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit.  Because the purchase must close before December 1, you can’t delay any longer. Mortgages are taking over 45 to 60 days to process, so don’t wait. 

Making the first-time buyer credit even more attractive is that FHA is permitting the credit to be advanced to a purchaser to cover closing costs, an interest-rate buydown or to increase their downpayment beyond the 3.5% minimum.  To be a “first-time homebuyer” you may not have owned a principal residence in the three years prior to the date of purchase of the home for which the credit is being claimed. …

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Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages have increased from 4.9% to 5.6% in the last two weeks alone.

Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds have doubled in the last year--with no end in sight for further increases.

The Federal Government is overspending its resources this fiscal year alone by $2 trillion, will do virtually the same thing again next fiscal year, and will be running something like $1 trillion annual spending deficits as far as the eye can see.

The Federal Government already has a $13.4 trillion debt and an unfunded future liability whose present cost is already over an additional $100 trillion.

The Nation has a $10 trillion accumulated trade deficit which is growing at the rate of well over half a trillion additional dollars…

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The below listed properties are close to a METRO station in Fairfax County, Virginia along the Orange Line.
These below links show all active listings for sale and rent in the MRIS as of today.  This is a keyword search, and sometimes you will also see homes listed from other areas. 

Whenever you check back you will be updated with the latest listings, as this info is updated daily. 
 

ORANGE LINE INTO FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA:

walk to Rosslyn metro

walk to Clarendon metro

walk to Ballston metro

walk to east Falls Church metro

walk to west Falls Church metro

walk to Dunn Loring-Merrifield metro

walk to Vienna/Fairfax metro

 

 

 

 

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Here are some helpful tips for making a successful mortgage application in the 2009 lending world so your loan officer can help expedite a legitimate financing letter for you to give your Real Estate Agent BEFORE you start home shopping.

1. Be prepared when you apply.

Get your documentation together for the first meeting with your mortgage professional. Saying you can’t find a document won’t relieve you of the responsibility for getting it.

2. Be sure to disclose everything

An IRS form 4506 (tax return request) will lead to discovery of any write-offsfor the home business you are running. Your pay stub will show any child support you are paying if it’s court ordered. Disclosing it up front is betterthan having it turned up by your lender.

3. Work…

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