Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Fairfax County Will Buy Forclosed Properties As Part of Affordable Housing Initiative
July 1st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Fairfax County, with some of the highest median priced homes in the greater Washington, DC area, has announced a bold new step in its Affordable Housing Initiative. The landmark housing program, announced yesterday by the County Board of Supervisors, will spend more than $10 million to buy foreclosed properties outright and help families buy others through subsidized loans.
Board chairman Gerald E. Connolly noted “Fairfax, like the rest of the country, is facing a foreclosure crisis that’s unprecedented. The county has to use its resources and influence to try and stem the tide.”
Initial plans call for the county to buy as many as 200 homes. Tax revenue will purchase 10 houses outright and the rest will be purchased by qualifying buyers with help from government backed, low interest loans.
Assistance will be directed to first time buyers earning up to $75,600 or 80% of the county’s median income. Purchases will be limited to $385,000 and will exclude condominiums. In addition to the subsidized mortgages, buyers will be eligible for second trusts up to $70,000.
One of Fairfax County’s primary goals is to expand the stock of affordable housing for a category known as “workforce housing.” This category includes middle-income professionals like teachers, police officers, firefighters and some medical personnel who otherwise could not afford to live in one of the nation’s most affluent jurisdictions.
Although it lags behind neighboring Prince William County in Virginia and Prince Georges County in Maryland, Fairfax County had 1700 foreclosures in the past year. Several neighborhoods in Fairfax County, including Herndon, Centreville, Vienna, and Falls Church, are at risk of becoming foreclosure clusters according to a recent report commissioned by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Do you qualify for this new program? Look here for homes in Fairfax County and then call me at 703.927.4554 and let’s figure out the details together.
Michael
| Currently No Comments »
Identity Theft with A Real Estate Twist
June 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
As part of its sweeping Operation Malicious Mortgage, the FBI is finding that mortgage scams are just the tip of the iceberg. Reporting for National Public Radio’s Legal Affairs, Dina Temple-Raston noted that officials have started arresting people for scams tied to home equity lines of credit.
Raston says: “Instead of stealing an identity to secure a credit card, scammers have been zeroing in on people they think have a lot of equity in their homes. They steal their identities, then go online and get a home equity line of credit on that person’s house and take the money. The FBI said the possibilities seem to be endless, and even in a down market, there are many opportunities for scam artists.”
Be sure and read Raston’s full report. The good news - for the honest, hard-working real estate agents, brokers, appraisers, developers, bankers, etc. who are in the majority - the FBI intends to catch and prosecute ANYONE involved in mortgage fraud.
Stay tuned,
Michael
| Currently No Comments »
Boom, Bust, and Aftermath - What Happened to the Biggest Housing Boom Since the 1950’s
June 17th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Over the past three days, the Washington Post has run an excellent investigative series - “The Bubble” - about what happened to the biggest housing boom in this country since the 1950’s.
As much as I have railed about the seemingly endless BAD news about the real estate market in both national and local newspapers, this series is worth your time.
A cautionary tale, it is also a classic tale of - is there any nice way to say it - greed. Like David Zimmer, former CEO of now defunct People’s Choice says, “Everbody’s culpable in this - everybody - Wall Street, investors, originators, brokers. At every point in the process, something broke down.”
The good news? Home ownership is still a good investment; buyers have time and inventory on their side; and the mortgage business has returned to the basics.
Sunday: The Boom - How homeowners, speculators and Wall Street dealmakers rode a wave of easy money with crippling consequences.
Monday: The Bust - How homeowners’ missed mortgage payments set off widespread problems and woke up the Fed.
Tuesday: The Aftermath - How the housing bust started a panic in Florida, felled a storied bank and raised the specter of recession.
Your thoughts?
Michael
| Currently 1 Comment »
