FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA have many questions about mortgages, but the most important piece of information to most of my callers is:

"What would the monthly payment be?"

The second most important piece of information first time home buyers seek is:

"Can you tell me about the FIRST TIME HOME BUYER programs available in Prince William County?"

WHO ARE FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS?  First Time Home Buyers are in all ages and all home price ranges, but, most are relatively young, 29-40 years of age in our experience.  Of course we have First Time Home Buyers that are fresh out of college and many who are in their 40s and 50s.  First Time Home Buyers usually have stable salaried employment and are seeking to buy rather than rent because they have come to a point where they believe that they would like to have a home of their own.  Many just have a desire to stop paying rent.  Low interest rates help to make mortgage payment competitive with rents.    The desire of most Americans to own their home is a strong motivating factor.  Location is also an important interest to home buyers who wish to be closer to METRO, work location, favorite school, or church.  Many families decide to buy their first home when the children reach school age. 

LOWER HOME PRICES ENCOURAGE FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS.  Home prices in Prince William County reached the high point in about the end of 2005.  Prices remained steady for about 2 years.  However, in the past year, prices for Prince William County homes have declined to make buying a very attractive alternative to renting. 

HOME PRICES HAVE BEEN REDUCED DRAMATICALLY IN THE PAST 2 YEARS.

• The average price for all homes listed for sale in Prince William County in September 2006 was $412,893.
• The average price for all homes listed for sale in Prince William County in September 2008 is $230,999.

WHAT WOULD MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT BE???

• The average mortgage payment for a home in Prince William County in September 2006 ($412,893) was $2,582.67.
• The average mortgage payment for a home in Prince William County in September 2008 ($230,999) is $1,390.90.

HOMES ARE MORE AFFORDABLE TODAY THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN SEVERAL YEARS. 

• The income to qualify for a mortgage loan of $412,893 is about $108,000.
• The income to qualify for a mortgage loan of $230,999 is about $60,000.

FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS OFTEN NEED DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE.

Homefinders devotes a considerable amount of time looking for help for First Time Home Buyers.   Some of the programs that will help are:

• $10,000 Grant for First Time Home Buyers.  Funding is due to renew January 1, 2008. 
• VHDA is available and a First Time Home Buyers needs 1% of the purchase price to buy. 
• VA loans for eligible home buyer can buy with no money down and all closing can be paid by the seller.
• FHA 203(k) Home Improvement Loan is available to all home buyers for Fixer Upper homes.
• Special opportunities are available with foreclosed, bank owned homes for sale. 

IS IT TIME TO BUY A HOME?  YOU BET IT IS.

Contact Homefinders.com for an analysis of your home buying needs and qualifications.  Once we have your price range, we can arrange a tour of homes in your area of choice and qualifying price range. 

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.

SEARCH LISTINGS and you can view all active listings offered for sale in Prince William County, Virignia. Homesdatabase works like the Multiple List System, MLS, works for real estate agents. You can search by location, price, features, style, lot size and more. Enjoy and when you find the homes you'd like to tour, contact us. You can also enter your information for daily updates.

THE HOUSING MARKET IS HAVING THE SALE OF THE CENTURY.  HOME PRICES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA ARE THE LOWEST SINCE ABOUT 2003.  Buyers waiting for the market to reach the "bottom", need to go shopping. 

FORECLOSURES ARE SELLING.  Short Sales are moving.  Home owners who must sell because of job transfers, family growth, good deal on new construction or other reasons have dropped prices dramatically and in many cases, will help buyers with closing costs.   

NORTHERN VIRGINIA REAL ESTATE IS ON SALE

FHA Financing is available for financing for all of the average price ranges above. 

VA financing is available for all of the above price ranges with NO DOWN PAYMENT and the seller can pay all of the buyer's closing (negotiable).   Many homes are affordable for VA buyers reassigned to Northern Virginia through BRAC transfers. 

          Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.

REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND AGENTS WORKING TOGETHER can lead to successful home sales and everyone wins.  The key is working with agents who know their business, know the area market, know the stock and are honest.  The below is an example of networking at it's best.

                                   * * * *   WANTED!  A FEW GOOD REALTORS ®  * * * *

REFERRALS SOMETIMES TAKE PATIENCE.  Some time ago I fell in love with a real estate broker, Bryant Tutas, known as Broker Bryant in Kissimmee, Florida.  Shhhhh, he's married to a fiesty lady who wears a sidearm and we don't want to upset her.  She's recuperating from emergency surgery.  I can't say the timing of the emergency surgery was helpful, but when you're working with experienced real estate folks who know how to handle an emergency, they get the job done. 

GOOD BUSINESS BEGINS WITH TRUST.  Several months ago, about a year ago in fact, Broker Bryant kindly responded to my request that we work together to seek referral business whereby I would seek home buyers relocating from MD and Northern Virginia to Central Florida.  It was a long shot, but shucks, life is an adventure and I thought it worth a shot with prices so low in Bryant's area, how could retiring buyers resist. 

WORKING TOGETHER IS WHAT MAKES IT WORK.  The idea was for me to add a few web pages to Homefinders.com and refer contacts to Bryant.  We were looking at a small market area, but then, once the initial few hours to develop the site, it would be self sustaining.  There isn't any out of pocket expense for me to add a page or two.  Of course we needed a Florida map.  Bryant contributed valuable content and we were on our way.  The site went live and was indexed and on page 1 in Google SERP in a couple of days.  Then, the web site went on autopilot.  A few calls and e-mails came in but were not worthwhile.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE A GOOD BUYER IS COMING FROM.  A few months ago, I received a contact from a lovely lady who was interested in buying a home in Central Florida.  I contacted Bryant and alerted him about the buyers.  Bryant took over from there and maintained a relationship with the buyers until they arrived to buy a home about 3 weeks ago.  Unfortunately, TLWs suffered a critical medical crisis the very morning the Bryant was due to show our buyers homes.  Can anything else go wrong this year???

QUICK ACTION SAVED THE DAY.  Knowing that he wouldn't be able to leave TLW to show homes, he contacted an ActiveRain Goddess, Allison Stewart.  Allison went into action and took these lovely buyers by the hand.   

SUCCESS!!  Allison sold our buyers a home in a matter of hours and sent them back to England to wait for settlement.  Settlement went smoothly (cash buyers) this week and we have some happy buyers. 

TLW is back home where she belongs, agitating for chocolate brownies.  Broker Bryant is playing nurse and happy that things are right with the world.  Allison has the knowledge that she's a trooper and a good Buyer's Agent.  Lenn's happy because, after a year, the Florida web site has produced a good buyer and a good referral fee. 

I love it when a plan comes together!

The Victorian Homes in Montgomery County, Maryland are very popular with home buyers who want to enjoy a taste of American history.  Victorian Homes in Montgomery County are often in the quiet neighborhoods close to the conveniences of the down town areas.  These Colonial era properties offer much for home owners, size, style, flexibility for renovation and remodeling.   There are foreclosure opportunities in many towns in Maryland that offer wonderful opportunities for fixer upper purchase and financing. 

Some of the lovely homes in these communities.  Many Victorian Homes will benefit tremendously through the use of Fixer Upper Purchase and Finance Loans.  Upgrades for the interior and exterior can be upgraded, repairs made and all financed in one home loan. 

BEFORE and AFTER idea for renovation of older homes. 

Upgrade and/or repair the roof, windows, door, steps, porch and railings, add garage and more. 

Towns were many Colonial and Victorian style homes are located include Darnestown, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Kensington, Laytonsville, Rockville, Silver Spring, Takoma Park. 

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-mail.  Experienced in Renovation purchase and financing. 

                                              * * * * ATTENTION ALL PROPERTY OWNERS * * * *

• QUESTION:  What is a real estate tax?
• ANSWER:  Fee levied by government against property owners.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENT IS???

DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN ASK FOR A REASSESSMENT??

In November 2007, I wrote a post to my ActiveRain blog about property assessments.  The response was not overwhelming.   But, being the stubborn old coot that I am, I'm writing it again.

For real estate agents and brokers who market to past buyers, send them a letter with the name and address of the tax assessment office for their home.  This may be the best piece of marketing material you can send a former buyer client.  If they are successful in having their tax assessment reduced, they will save real money and remember that the advice came from their real estate agent. 

EXAMPLE:

ASK YOUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT FOR A REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENT.   

FACT:  In many geographical areas, real estate values have fallen significantly in the past 24 months.

FACT:  Some local governments do not reassess every year.  Some local governments reassess every 3 years or so.   If your tax assessment was over a year ago, it may be high.

FACT:  Local governments are losing money because most of their budget is funded through real estate taxes. 

FACT:  Local governments have no incentive to reassess properties in a declining real estate market.

FACT:  Citizens can be pro-active in getting property assessments lowered. 

FACT:  Many state and local governments must, by law, balance their budget. 

FACT:  Real estate taxes and assessments are determined by local governments.

FACT:  Citizens can exert pressure on local governments to trim spending to balance their budgets and not merely tax their property owners to pay for their spending.

Homeowners who purchased a home in the past three years may be able to obtain a market valuation from their Buyers Agent.  

Real estate agents may wish to contact former buyer clients and suggest that they ask for a reassessment of their property.  You can't increase the value of their property but you may help them lower their monthly/annual tax payment.  Most home owners are paying their annual real estate taxes through an escrow account with their mortgage lender.  As the tax bills are sent to the mortgage company, the escrow will be adjusted downward and refunds and/or result in lower monthly payments.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.

LIST PRICE vs. CLOSED PRICE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD, Market Report SEPT, 2008 - Rockville.

Montgomery County Maryland real estate markets offer a market where negotiation is popular.  Home buyers often call asking "What is the lowest price the seller will take?" 

The only way to discover the lowest price is to make an offer and negotiate the price, terms and conditions until both sides believe that they have the best that they are going to get.  Negotiation is more than price in real estate in Montgomery County.  How quickly a buyer can close the sale is important for properties that are vacant.  Cash buyers can often get better prices because there will not always be a financing contingency.   Any contingency included in a contract offer deminishes the value of the offer. 

Contingencies often include but are not limited to:

• Financing
• Closing date
• Inspections
• Inclusions/Exclusions
• Earnest Money Amount/Payment
• HOA and Condo Documents
• Acceptance

ROCKVILLE MD CLOSED PRICES IN SEPT, 2008.

Communities in Rockville in the average price range include:  Manor Lake, Bel Pre, Manor Woods, West End Park, Halprin Village, Twinbrook, Hungerford, Aspen Hill, Weaton Woods, Rockwood, Sycamore Acres, Franklin Park, Brookehaven, Maryvale. 

EXAMPLES of SOLD prices in Montgomery County for Single Family Homes for September 2008.  The list below shows the list price AND the closed price.  The close price reflects the final list price and final closed price.

Examples of homes in the average sold price range:

List price vs. Sold Price Rockville MD September 2008

MARKET REPORT FOR ROCKVILLE ZIP CODE 20852.

• Average List Price all properties - $406,643
• Average Sold Price all properties - $375,754
• Average List to Sold price - 92.40%

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, e-mail.

LAUREL FIXER UPPER HOMES IN LAUREL MARYLAND CAN HELP HOME BUYERS SAVE WHEN YOU BUY AND REALIZE VALUE IN YOUR NEWLY PURCHASED WHEN THE UPGRADES OF YOUR CHOICE ARE ADDED.  The best part of a Home Purchase and Renovation loan is that you can buy your home and finance the improvements, all in one mortgage payment. 

For more information about Home Improvement Purchase and Renovation Loans, visit Homefinders Fixer Upper Series for MD and VA.

Laurel, Marylandis a friendly town in the area where northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County and Howard County meet.  Laurel has a home style and type for everyone.  Laurel also has some wonderful Victorian style homes that make wonderful properties for FHA 203(k) or Conventional Purchase and Renovation Financing.  Laurel real estate is priced right.

FIXER HOMES IN LAUREL  YES!  Select a home in Laurel among the beautiful Victorian style homes along Laurel's Old Town wide streets.  Or, select a home in the popular Montpelier community in Laurel and have a home built in the 1960s that are ready for upgrading with a new kitchen, new bathroom fixtures, tile and probably new heat and air conditioning.  Perhaps a new roof is due.  Many of these homes are over due for landscaping.  The lots are ample and decks can be added to enjoy the quiet evenings in this suburban town.  Many homes in the Old Town areas of Laurel are walking distance to Main Street with shops and conveniences including the best meat market in the area.  Homes in Laurel are very convenient to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Rockville, Annapolis and just about any place you need to be between Baltimore and DC. From the wonderful historic Victorian homes in the Laurel Historic District, to the Levitt community in Montpelier and new homes under construction, Laurel has a home for every Laurel home buyer.

                 
THE ADVANTAGES of buying a Fixer Upper in Laurel.   With a Renovation Loan the home owner equity is recognizable once the renovation is completed.  You, our home buyers, also have the pleasure of designing the features in your customized home. 

EXAMPLE
Home purchase price:    $350,000
Cost of renovation:         $  35,000
Value after renovation: $390,000

Some of the home improvements that may be financed in your Purchase and Renovation Loan are:

STRUCTURAL ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS Chimney repair Additions Additional bath(s) Skylights Finish attics Finish basements Repair termite damage Treat termite infestations

REMODEL Bathrooms Kitchens replace appliances

UPDATING Exterior siding Adding a second level Add porch(s) Add stair railings Attach Carport, Garage

ADD OR REPLACE SYSTEMS Plumbing Connect to Public Service Heating Air conditioning Electrical systems New plumbing fixtures including whirlpool bathtubs

CONTACT US FOR A TOUR OF HOMES IN LAUREL and if you find a jewel in the rough that would be perfect for a renovation loan, Homefinders can help you arrange for a 203(k) or Conventional Purchase and Renovation Loan.   Your Homefinders REALTOR will help you from search to settlement.

Montpelier 1068 home, $389,900.                                              Laurel MARC Station

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail. 

A FIXER UPPER HOME IN DAMASCUS is a good way to maximize your buying power.  Damascus, Maryland is a wonderful community in Northern Montgomery County.

Homebuyers with a "vision" can benefit from the purchase and financing of fixer upper homes.  Many foreclosures on the market today are wonderful candidates for this type of purchase.  All a home buyer needs ia an experienced Buyers Agent and a "vision".

• EXAMPLE:  Buy a house in Damascus for $425,000
•                 Invest $50,000 in Renovations.
•                 Value after Upgrades, $550,000.
  
  WHY DAMASCUS?
  
  DAMASCUS WAS VOTED ONE OF THE TOP 100 PLACES TO LIVE BY MONEY MAGAZINE IN 2007.
  
  THE ADVANTAGE of buying a Fixer Upper in Damascus with a Renovation Loan is the home owner equity available when the renovation is completed.  You, our home buyers, also have the pleasure of designing the features in your customized home. 

                                        

DEPENDING ON THE EXTENT OF THE RENOVATIONS YOU ELECT TO MAKE:

• If you decide to upgrade the kitchen, you select the appliances, counter tops, flooring, paint.
• If you decide to upgrade the bathroom(s), you select the bathroom fixtures, flooring, tiles, paint. 
• If you decide to upgrade the exterior of the property, you select the siding, windows, doors.
• You may decide to open the floor plan for a more contemporary look and feel.  It's up to YOU.

Some of the attractions in Damascus include

*  Highly ranked and popular public schools.
*  Homes in moderate prices when compared to real estate in other locations in Montgomery County 
*  Larger than average lot size for Montgomery County.
*  Convenience to Route 270 for Montgomery County and DC commuters.

Local shopping in the Town of Damascus for everyday needs.  Just look at the variety.

• The Damascus Library, 9701 Main Street, Damascus
• Shining Stars School of Performing Arts, 9870 Main Street, Damascus
• The Red Rooster Restaurant, 10005 Damascus Blvd., Damascus
• Little Far East II, 26043 Ridge Rd
• Other commercial outlets and services include, Starbucks, Best Buy, Target
• Giant and Safeway Super Markets
• Car dealerships, auto repair.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-mail. 

SUGGESTED LIST OF IMPROVEMENTS, UPGRADES, RENOVATIONS AND REPAIRS FOR FHA 203(k) or Conventional Home Improvement Purchase and Finance Loans. 

GENERAL, Chimney repair, Additions, Additional bath(s), Skylights, Finish attics, Finish basements, Repair termite damage, Treat termite infestations

REMODEL Bathrooms,Kitchens, replace appliances

UPDATING Exterior siding, Adding a second level, Add porch(s), Add stair railings, Attach Carport, Garage

ADD OR REPLACE SYSTEMS, Plumbing, Connect to Public Service, Heating, Air conditioning, Electrical systems, New plumbing fixtures, including whirlpool bathtubs.

WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS, Add or replace well, Add or replace septic system (depending on lot size),

EXTERIOR, Roofing, Gutters, Downspouts, Siding.

INTERIOR, Flooring, Tiling, Carpeting.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY, Double pane windows, Insulated exterior doors, Insulation, Solar hot water systems, Caulking, Weather stripping.

LANDSCAPING, Patios and decks, Erosion control, Grading, Tree removal if safety hazard, Repair walkways, Repair driveways, Fencing (if in addition to first $5,000 minimum),

ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES, Remodel kitchens for wheelchair access, Lower kitchen cabinets, Install wider doors and ramps.

Purchase and Renovation Loans in Maryland and Northern Virginia, Local Information

• Maryland and Virginia Fixer Upper Opportunities.
• Montgomery County, MD.
• Bowie, Maryland.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.