LoCo Musings » Real estate advice and tips

Just ‘Cause HUD Said So..

Heather Elias — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:38:22 +0000

…doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. Last week, HUD suspended it’s rule about “fixing and flipping,” which prevented buyers using FHA financing from purchasing a home that had been owned by the seller less than 91 days. This had caused buyers using FHA loans here in northern Virginia (and other parts of the country, surely) to miss out on perfectly good properties that had been purchased and quickly refurbished before being put back on the market. I was ecstatic to hear this news, but after chatting with a lender I work with, I realized that this is only the first step. Scott Fournier, of Integrity Home Mortgage, wrote to me to clarify:

Please remember that this FHA letter is just the beginning… banks and investors have yet to comment, adopt, decline or modify this as an option. This letter being generated by FHA doesn’t mean that financial institutions have adopted this exception… and if they do, we have yet to see their overlays to the exception. Right out of the gate, the FHA letter suggests this exception to the 91 day rule is for properties that don’t have a 12 month history of flipping, that have documented renovation and rehab, and that are less than 20% increased from prior to current price. Those properties above 20% would require home inspection and full 2^nd appraisal. This is FHA’s wording… not yet to say what banks will add to this.

Clarification from HUD

Now, we wait and see. The suspension of the rule is set to begin on February 1, so hopefully we will have some clarification from lenders and investors before then. Questions? Comment below, shoot me an email, or hit the Ask Heather button, I’m happy to answer.

Cheers,
Heather

Perils of Buying a Golf Course Home

Heather Elias — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:28:08 +0000

It's a pretty view, but...

I’m a sometimes golfer…work and children keep me too busy to spend very much time with a golf club in my hands. Being married to a golf pro, though, I know my way around a bit. So whenever I show a home on a golf course, the first thing I do is go look out the back window. Nope, I ‘m not checking out the view (well, I am, a little.) I’m looking to see where the house is positioned relative to the hole that it’s on. If the house is midway up the fairway, it’s time to have a discussion with my buyers.

Listen close: a house that is built halfway up the fairway, in all likelihood, is going to get peppered with golf balls. The frequency of how often you end up with a ball in your backyard (or front yard, honestly) is a function of whether it’s a public course that has a ton of play, a private club with a small membership, or something in between. A home built with a view of the green may be safe, or it may be right in the firing line. If your agent doesn’t know golf well enough to know, and you like the house, enlist the help of a friend (or one of the golf course staff) to give you their opinion.

Go outside and look at the back of the house. Are their trees or deck screens to provide shelter from stray shots? Are their dings in the siding of the house, dents in the gutters? If the owners are there, have your agent ask how many broken windows they have had while owning the house. Look at the next door neighbors’ homes…the home for sale may have fixed all their damaged siding, but the neighbors’ houses could show you more. While the view is beautiful and peaceful, that lovely location can impact how you can or can’t use your backyard space.

There are products available including high impact siding (like the doors on a Saturn) or shatter resistant windows, and your homeowners’ insurance should cover any damage. Please know that when a shot goes awry and damages your home, it is the responsibility of the golfer to leave their contact information with you and work it out. The golf course isn’t liable for the actions of the golfers; the golfer assumes the responsibility for their shots at the time that they step up to the first tee.

Keep in mind that not all homes on a course are in a position to have errant shots hit the house or land in the yard. The beautiful views of a well maintained golf course can help safeguard the value of your home. However, I’m amazed at how many golf community homeowners I’ve talked to who tell me their agent either didn’t inform them of implications of living on a course, or outright lied and said they wouldn’t have any balls in their backyard. As you would with any house, do your due diligence, ask questions, and find out before you purchase the house. Then you can enjoy the peaceful view without regret.

Cheers,

Heather

LoCoMusings Featured at MLBroadcast!

Heather Elias — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:17:21 +0000

I don’t usually toot my own horn (much) but I was most excited to find out that I was featured by Mike Price over at the MLBroadcast blog this week! He picks real estate related blogs to write about when he finds one that is compelling for him. (For those of you that aren’t familiar with MLBroadcast, the good folks there produce professionally narrated podcasts of listings for us real estate types, and do a daggone good job of it, too!)

So stop by and take a gander at his writeup. I have to say I was tremendously honored and flattered at the same time!! Thanks Mike!

Cheers,

Heather

Try the New Homesdatabase.com!

Heather Elias — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:00:16 +0000

If you have ever used Homesdatabase.com to browse for homes on the market, you’ll be excited to test out their newest version which is live in the beta phase right now, here. HomesDatabase is the consumer version of the multiple listing service for our area. I think the new version is much improved over the prior incarnation; you can search by keywords! Think “garage townhomes with sunroom” or “single family Leesburg home with golf course view.” This isn’t your typical home search site. Now, as a Realtor, listing agent, and buyers agent, I have my thoughts on what is nifty with the new site, but I’d love to get some consumer feedback on what is great and what is lacking, from the homebuyer or homeseller’s perspective.

Please stop by the site and give it a test drive, then come back and comment here on what you liked or disliked. Can’t wait for your feedback!

Cheers,

Heather

Virginia Blog Brawl: I Need Your Vote!

Heather Elias — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:13:53 +0000

The Virginia Association of Realtors is hosting its’ second Blog Brawl, to determine the top Realtor blog for the state of Virginia. It’s set up as bracket style voting, with 16 blogs to start. Round One of voting started today, and I could really use your help to win! The winner of the Blog Brawl gets a full conference pass to Inman Connect in NY in January, plus $1000 for travel expenses! It’s a fantastic conference; I went to the midyear version in San Franciso in July, and came away with tons of information to improve my Realtor skills. I’d love to attend the east coast version!

Vote by going to http://varbuzz.com/lets-take-this-outside-virginia-real-estate-blog-brawl-bring-it/ and choosing LoCoMusings in the Zone 1 bracket.

You can vote for other blogs in each matchup, and it’s a virtual who’s who of successful real estate bloggers in Virginia. Round 1 voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th! Once you vote it will direct you to the ‘parking lot’ of the blog brawl, where you can comment about how you voted for me.

You can forward this along to anyone who might be interested in helping out. You can only vote once per IP address, but if you have a computer at work and at home, you can vote twice.

Thanks so much for the support!

Sincerely,
Heather