Licensed in Virginia, Washington DC & Maryland Changes to the Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers • Available to first-time homebuyers
• Credit amount up to $8,000
• Eligible for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009
• Available on single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums —
newly constructed or pre-existing homes
• The tax credit does not need to be repaid unless the home is sold within the first
three years after purchase Fannie Mae Tries Short Sales Over Foreclosures
Fannie Mae has launched pilot projects in Phoenix and Orlando intended to reduce foreclosures by pre-approving short sales, agreeing on a price and the loss it will take prior to a deal even being made. It is hoped the program will improve the popularity of short sales among
real estate agents.
Property professionals initially had welcomed short sales but soon found the process to be a frustrating one--due to squabbling about the sale price and slow approval times by the mortgage companies--that often ended with no sale at all.
"Short sales have received such a bad reputation among real-estate agents that, as a portion of the overall mortgage market, they have gone down," says Tom Popik of the research firm Campbell Communications, whose November survey of realty practitioners found that agents had to wait as long as 8.1 weeks to receive a response from the lender on a short sale. That was nearly double the 4.5 weeks the process took earlier in the year.
Fannie Mae's pilot will focus on homes that are listed at less than the
mortgage balance and carry a Fannie Mae-backed loan serviced by Countrywide Financial Corp. If it proves successful, the concept could be expanded to other geographical areas and additional lenders. There are concerns, in the meantime, about the program's success, with real estate agents noting that property prices could decline before the pre-approval is issued.
Foreclosures and Short Sales If you are a first time buyer or an investor looking to buy real estate in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Vienna, Burke, Annandale, Springfield, Lorton, Prince William County or Loudoun County in Virginia, Washington DC, Montgomery County or other counties in Maryland close to Washington DC, you will be amazed how affordable properties have become in this market. Foreclosures and short sales are prevalent in this market but other listings are competitively priced as well. To search for foreclosures go to www.VirginiaForeclosureFinder.com. Contact me at 571-215-1143 or by email to barbara@virginiahomefinder.info and ask for listings to be emailed to you. You must include your price range, type of property and counties, neighborhoods or areas of interest. Please be as specific as possible. If you are not sure of your price range, please talk to a lender about getting prequalified for a loan. Getting prequalified is the smart way to go. You won't waste time looking at properties that are not in your price range. |