NewHomes.SnipesProperties.com

Buying a Condo in Richmond, VA? Ask questions!

admin — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:18:02 +0000

The problem with condos in Richmond, VA right now is two fold. The first is supply. Development Lenders are not lending to developers for condo projects. When supply is limited it makes that product type less liquid. In a market with lots of condos units like New York or Boston, then there is amble supply and demand, so that the condo market is more liquid, meaning if you want to sell your condo, you can. The other issue with Condos in the Richmond, VA market is a lack of financing for purchasers. Granted supply is an issue, but the main issue is that banks will not write loans for condo buyers in the Richmond, Va market.

In the financing world, there is what is called Warrantable and Unwarrantable Debt. Unwarrantable means that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA will not underwrite (or warrant) a loan, therefore a bank like Bank of America can’t write a mortgage on it. I just listed 12 units in a building and those could not get warranted because the developer had rented them all up. To be Warrantable, Fannie Mae requires that 75% of the units be owner occupied. It used to be that only 50% had to be owner occupied. For smaller condo projects or ones where there are investors who have rented out the units, there is no way to have it underwritten by a bank for a mortgage, unless that bank takes on the loan as a portfolio loan.

A portfolio loan is when the bank is going to keep the loan in-house and not sell it on the secondary market via Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. So although condos do allow buyers to purchase in an urban market where prices are out of reach to buy a single family home, like in the Fan District or Museum District in Richmond’s historic downtown, they are a more complex purchase in my opinion. The financing is a major part of the equation, so make sure you ask these kinds of questions and have professional representation helping you with the sale.

4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:44:00 +0000

By: G. M. Filisko

Published: March 11, 2010

By knowing how much mortgage you can handle, you can ensure that home ownership will fit in your budget.

1. The general rule of mortgage affordability

As a rule of thumb, you can typically afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. If you earn $100,000, you can typically afford a home between $200,000 and $300,000.

To understand how that rule applies to your particular financial situation, prepare a family budget and list all the costs of homeownership, like property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable, as well as costs specific to your family, such as day care costs.

2. Factor in your downpayment

How much money do you have for a downpayment? The higher your downpayment, the lower your monthly payments will be. If you put down at least 20% of the home’s cost, you may not have to get private mortgage insurance, which costs hundreds each month. That leaves more money for your mortgage payment.

The lower your downpayment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for and the higher your monthly mortgage payment.

3. Consider your overall debt

Lenders generally follow the 28/41 rule. Your monthly mortgage payments covering your home loan principal, interest, taxes, and insurance shouldn’t total more than 28% of your gross annual income. Your overall monthly payments for your mortgage plus all your other bills, like car loans, utilities, and credit cards, shouldn’t exceed 41% of your gross annual income.

Here’s how that works. If your gross annual income is $100,000, multiply by 28% and then divide by 12 months to arrive at a monthly mortgage payment of $2,333 or less. Next, check the total of all your monthly bills including your potential mortgage and make sure they don’t top 41%, or $3,416 in our example.

4. Use your rent as a mortgage guide

The tax benefits of homeownership generally allow you to afford a mortgage payment—including taxes and insurance—of about one-third more than your current rent payment without changing your lifestyle. So you can multiply your current rent by 1.33 to arrive at a rough estimate of a mortgage payment.

Here’s an example. If you live in Richmond, VA and If you currently pay $1,500 per month in rent, you should be able to comfortably afford a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment after factoring in the tax benefits of homeownership.

However, if you’re struggling to keep up with your rent, consider what amount would be comfortable and use that for the calcuation instead.

Also consider whether or not you’ll itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction, you can’t also deduct mortgage interest payments. Talking to a tax adviser, or using a tax software program to do a “what if” tax return, can help you see your tax situation more clearly.

If you have more questions or would like a quote contact Carter Snipes at Carter@SnipesProperties or 804-869-4404

How FICO Credit Scores Work

admin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:56:42 +0000

Buying a house, refinancing it, getting a loan, getting a job—they’re all dependent on your FICO credit score. It pays to learn how it’s calculated.

How are FICO credit scores computed?

FICO uses five broad categories to calculate credit scores, and each category is weighted accordingly:

Payment History	35%
Amounts owed	30%
Length of credit history	15%
New credit	10%
Types of credit in use (is it a “healthy” mix?)	10%

Why are there three FICO credit scores?

There are three main bureaus that collect data on your credit history: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. FICO takes data from each credit bureau and runs it through its system. This leads to three different FICO credit scores because:

Each agency may have information one or both of the others don’t have. For example, a collection agency may have reported a bad debt to only one of them.

Errors that occur just in one agency’s data may affect that agency’s results, but not the results from the other two.

And to make it even more complex, many lenders augment their credit decisions by adding particular criteria they want to consider.

Also, although FICO is the best-known credit score, there are many others. Some lenders generate their own credit scores using data from the same three credit bureaus. Experian, in fact, has developed its own scoring system separate from FICO.

However, FICO remains the most common; when big lenders refer to your credit scores, they’re usually referring to the FICO scores.

Why can a credit check by itself reduce a FICO credit score?

FICO’s research shows that more credit shopping, resulting in more inquiries, correlates with a higher risk of future default. However, multiple queries in a short period for one purpose—such as when you’re shopping for a HELOC—would count as only one inquiry.

The FICO score ignores any mortgage, student loan, or auto loan inquiries made within the previous 30 days. The system limits itself to inquiries made in the 11 months before that, and reduces similar inquires within any 45-day window to a single inquiry. For example, if you approach five banks over two weeks on a HELOC, it will only count as one inquiry.

The inquiry formulas can get rather complex; the FICO site has more details.

How long does major negative information stay on my credit report?

Generally, the impact of adverse information on a FICO score lessens over time.

Foreclosures	7 years, with rebound beginning in as little as 2 years.
Deeds in lieu and short sales	7 years—they usually appear on credit reports as foreclosures.
Late payments	7 years. It doesn’t matter what the late payments are for. Recent late payments hit your credit score harder than older ones, and the amount and frequency of the late payments are also factors.
Bankruptcies	7 years (10 years for “full discharge of debt”—i.e., if you’re absolved of your full debt, the bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years). Because they often involve more than one account, bankruptcies generally have a greater negative impact on your credit score compared with a foreclosure, short sale, or deed in lieu.

How does loan modification affect my FICO credit score?

Until November 2009, if you were in a loan modification program, your credit report likely notes that you have made only a partial payment. This significantly lowered your FICO score.

However, in modifications made since November 2009, the credit reporting system was changed to reduce the credit score hit. But as of October 2010 FICO hadn’t completely bought into this system and may at some point decide that everyone in a loan modification program, whether under new or old rules, deserves a significantly lower score.

For now, your best bet is to obtain your free credit reports, as noted later in this article, and see how your particular situation was reported and handled.

Do reductions in credit card or HELOC limits affect my credit score?

The impact will be unique for each consumer. The FICO formula considers many aspects of your balances and behaviors, including whether you have a high percentage of available credit at the time the report was pulled.

For example, if you have high debt and use a substantial proportion of your available credit, you’re at a greater risk. Opening a new credit card to increase available credit, after another card was reduced, may backfire and reduce your credit score.

Do lenders have to tell me if they’re basing a quote on my bad credit score?

New regulations taking effect in 2011 require lenders to tell you if they’re giving you a particularly high interest rate or other less favorable loan term than other borrowers who qualify for the best deals. In the past, the lenders may not have told you that you were getting an especially high rate—you were penalized without knowing it.

Starting in January, you’ll be forewarned.

Then if your credit score is lower than you expected, you can investigate it—maybe it’s just an outdated report or a simple mix-up. At least you’ll know the deal before signing on the dotted line.

But don’t wait until you apply for a loan to discover your credit is a mess. By law, you can get a free report from each agency once a year at Annualcreditreport.com. (And no, this isn’t the company advertising with the slacker band on TV.) This is the only site authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide free reports.

However, these reports don’t include your FICO scores. You can purchase TransUnion and Equifax FICO scores from MyFico.com for $15.95 each. (Experian continues to provide a FICO score to lenders but no longer sells its score on a retail basis.) Some consumers will qualify for free FICO scores starting in mid-2011 or early 2012.

Buying A Home Cheaper In Nearly Three Quarters Of Big U.S. Citis: Trulia

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:46:19 +0000

This report from Trulia demonstrates that home prices have come down enough so that renting is not an affordable option to housing in most US Cities. That is good news for real estate home sales in richmond, va. It means that price equilibrim may be near and that the market may be approaching a recovery. More on the article here. However, many factors play into whether or not a full housing recovery is under way. If foreclosures continue to mount, that could push home prices down even further.

Housing numbers signal recovery taking shape.

admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:25:26 +0000

A string a economic indicators have been signaling a firm recovery is taking shape. Mounting foreclosures still pose risks to the housing market in Richmond, Va and at large, but at the same time it offers buying opportunities for those looking to purchase right now. Sales volume has picked up. Prices are stable, but still floating near multi-year lows. Rates are historical low, but showing signs of heading upward.

Questions about Buying? Call Carter Snipes at 804-869-4404

or Email at Carter@SnipesProperties.com

(Reuters) - U.S. home resales jumped more than expected in December and claims for new jobless claims last week posted their biggest decline in nearly a year, showing two key economic trouble spots on the mend.

Other reports also offered reason for optimism, with mid-Atlantic factory activity holding up well and an index of leading indicators surpassing economists’ forecasts.

The raft of positive data on Thursday renewed hope that 2011 growth will surpass last year’s performance, which was not robust enough to put a meaningful dent in the nation’s elevated 9.4 percent unemployment rate.

“Most of the reports today were fairly good. For anyone skeptical about the U.S. recovery, these should ease concern,” said Kathy Lien, director of research at GTF Forex in New York.

Despite the barrage of better news, stock prices were dragged lower by technology and materials shares. Bond prices dropped, pushing the benchmark yields that help determine mortgage rates higher. The U.S. dollar rallied.

U.S. existing home sales soared 12.3 percent to an annual rate of 5.28 million units as sellers cut prices, the National Association of Realtors said. Economists had only expected a rise to 4.85 million. Still, a rise in distressed sales raised questions about the rebound’s sustainability.

Applications for new jobless benefits posted their biggest decline in nearly a year, pointing to steady if slow improvement in the labor market. Claims retreated to 404,000 from 441,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank measure of Mid-Atlantic manufacturing showed a modest pullback to 19.3 in January from 20.8 in December, but strong underlying components.

Prices paid jumped sharply as global commodity prices remained high. The new orders index more than doubled, while the survey’s employment index, though still soft, reached its highest level since April 2006.

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators spiking up 1 percent, above forecasts for a 0.6 percent gain.

Strength overseas appeared to be helping the United States along by boosting demand for U.S. exports, a key goal set by President Barack Obama. China finished 2010 with a bang, with a report showing GDP growth surging to 9.8 percent in the fourth quarter released just as President Hu Jintao wrapped up a state visit to Washington.

The U.S. economy has been growing for a year and a half but the pace of growth has not been enough to significantly lower unemployment, which stood at 9.4 percent in December.

A weak job market could thwart housing activity further by denting consumer confidence.

That’s part of the reason Federal Reserve officials, who will meet next week to discuss monetary policy, made a controversial commitment in November to purchase an additional $600 billion in government bonds to support the recovery.

Property Management Services For Richmond, Virginia

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:02:21 +0000

At Snipes Properties, we strive to be the industry leader in single-family property management in Richmond, VA. Our Property Management Specialists have expertise with maintenance and construction, investor services, rental and resale market values. We offer a complete package of services in a bundled package or a la carte. We handle the following:

Advertising and Marketing

Year-round Property Management

Leasing and Tenant Screening

Maintenance and Construction

Single-Family and Multi-Family

Investment Analysis & Sales

Resale and Projected Rent Rates

If you would like to receive a proposal please call Carter Snipes at 804-339-8550 or send an email to Carter@SnipesProperties.com

Corporate Relocation Services for Richmond, Virginia

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:20:35 +0000

At Snipes Properties, we offer a variety of Corporate Relocation Services for the Richmond, Virginia Metro area including Buyers and Tenants. Our firm specializes in helping clients relocate to and from Richmond with ease and efficiency, by offering a turn-key relocation package. Each Client is placed with a dedicated Relocation Specialist who handles the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County; or Hanover, Powhatan, Amelia and other outlying counties.

Your Relocation Specialist can offer the following services:

Coordinating Move-in/Move-out
Utility Set-up Service
Listing And Selling
Market Analysis
Staging, Photography and Video Marketing
Internet and Social Media Marketing
MLS and Realtor Networking
Buyer and Tenant Representation
Temporary Housing and Corporate Furnished Rentals
Unfurnished Rentals
Buying and Purchasing
Buyer Contract Negotiation & Inspection
Property Management
Maintenance and Winterization
Leasing and Rental Management
Tenant Screening and Placement
Lawn care and Landscaping

For a Complete Relocation Packet

please call Carter Snipes at 804-869-4404

or Email – Carter@SnipesProperties.com

Richmond Homebuilder Report 2010 vs 2009

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:13:04 +0000

Below is the most recent Richmond Homebuilder Report which tracks the Richmond, VA area’s top 10 builders. These stats are accurate as of Nov. 2010. New Stats will be posted as they are published. Obviously, some area new home builders are doing pretty well while others have had to scale back their production. Most of the builders that are increasing production of new homes have been able to acquire or had lots that were priced lower. Across the board, lot value, proffers and location seem to be the main drivers in communities that are still selling well. At Snipes Properties, because we are also a New Home Builder and Developer, we have specially trained Real Estate Agents that help buyers with the New Home Buying process. Here are the stats:

COMPARISON OF 2009 SALES VS. 2010 SALES TO DATE

2010 vs. 2009

BUILDER

Boone Homes, Inc. -5

Centex Homes -80

Eagle Construction 59

Finer Homes -17

HHHunt Homes -15

LifeStyle Builders -15

Mainstreet Homes 15

Orleans -28

Ryan Homes 34

StyleCraft Homes 40

TOTAL -12 %

Increase (Decrease) -1.05%

Sanctuary at Watermill

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:35:07 +0000

“…set along federally protected wetlands, this community lends to an outdoor lifestyle…”ck

Available on the Snipes New-Home Tour! Call Ashley at (804)901-2627 or email him at Ashley@snipesproperties.com

Welcome to Sanctuary at Watermill, a place where wildlife runs free whether it wears feathers, fur or clothes. Here, scores of growing families living in these federally protected wetlands along the Tomahawk Creek are enjoying winding nature trails, canoeing, fishing and just watching some of the locals in their natural environment. Sanctuary at Watermill has been designed so that more than 25% of the homesites back to the federally protected wetlands that are home to local wildlife. Over 13 acres of preserved open space and extensive trails bordering the wetlands will further enhance the homeowner’s interaction with nature. Homeowners can witness Blue Heron nesting in areas along the Tomahawk Creek, ducks and swans gliding across the waters, deer, birds, and more.

Community Features
ClubHouse/Concierge, Nature Trails, Home Owner Assoc, Pool, Tennis, Water Front, Biking Trails, Wooded

Snipes Properties is not the exclusive listing agent.

Aston

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:20:44 +0000

“…the convenience of location, the joy of a quality community…”ck

Available on the Snipes New-Home Tour! Call Ashley at (804)901-2627 or email him at Ashley@snipesproperties.com

Located in historic Powhatan, this community is defined by gorgeous views with majestic old trees. With lot sizes averaging from 2-5 acres, it is already apparent how the curving, rolling streetscape will create a neighborhood of which you and your family will love to be a part. Steeped in history, yet only a short drive from Rt. 288 – puts Short Pump, Innsbrook and Chesterfield at your fingertips. Now offering pre-construction pricing with your choice of home sites. A variety of floor plans showcases something for everyone, including first floor master suites, finished third floors and basement availability. This is the premier new community in Powhatan. Come and see what all the talk is about – you’ll be glad you did!

Snipes Properties is not the exclusive listing agent.