Home Buyers: Are You Worth $17.50?

Here’s a question for Loudoun and Fairfax County home buyers: “Are you worth $17.50?”

“Duh!” Of course you are!

So why would I ask such an obvious question?

Because you may be shocked to hear who doesn’t think you’re worth it.

Let me explain…

Background

To make a long story short… The majority of homes being sold through a Realtor in the Fairfax County area will have one type of electronic lock box known as a SentriLock while the majority of homes being sold through a Realtor in Loudoun County will have another type of electronic lock box known as a Supra.

Because there are quite a few Realtors that do business in both jurisdictions (Fairfax and Loudoun), both local Realtor Associations (NVAR and DAAR) have agreed to sell SentriLock and Supra lock box keys to the other association’s members for a nominal fee of no more than $175.00 per year.

If you’re wondering why this is so, drop me a line and I’ll email you the details.

Now back to, “Are you worth $17.50?”…

So let’s say you’re a buyer looking in Reston, Herndon, Sterling and Ashburn or… Fairfax, Centreville and South Riding or…(you get the picture). You will most likely run across both types of lock boxes on homes in those areas. Logic dictates that your buyer’s agent would/should have both sets of keys, right?

Wrong. Some Realtors do not have both lock box keys.

The ones that don’t have both keys have to call the listing agent and/or seller to ask them to let you into the home. This means that you have to work around the listing agent’s and seller’s schedule, not yours. This may also make you a bit uncomfortable considering that the listing agent and/or sellers will be hanging around the house while you’re going through it (aka zero privacy and sales pitches).

Why would an agent not have both lock box keys?

It’s not because it’s hard or expensive. To obtain a GE Supra Key, all you have to do is go to the DAAR offices in Leesburg (45 minutes from the furthest point in Fairfax County) and shell out a measly $175.00 per year. With 10 buyer deals per year (not hard to do), the cost of the key amounts to $17.50 per buyer. If a Buyer’s Agent is even a slight bit concerned about their buyer clients, they should have both sets of keys (as I and other quality agents do). Personally, if I didn’t have both keys, I would feel as though I was not giving my clients the service they deserve.

In my opinion, there is no excuse for not having both keys (except for laziness, lack of caring or too broke working as a Realtor to spend $17.50 per buyer client). Even if a Realtor has never done a deal in Loudoun before, the second they get a new buyer client that’s looking in Loudoun, they should go get a key. The longest they’ll ever have to wait to get a key is three days and that’s only if it’s a holiday weekend.

So, home buyers looking in Loudoun… Are you worth $17.50?

If someone doesn’t think so, contact someone who does - me.

I think you’re worth at least $18.00 if not $18.50

Virginia #1 for Business (once again)

CNBC just named Virginia as the number one place for business in the country and U.S. News and World Report named Virginia among “Five Best States to Start a Business”. Things such as the personal income tax rate (top tier is 5.75 percent), corporate tax rate (has remained at 6 percent for last 30 years), lower than average unemployment and foreclosure rate all helped Virginia regain the top spot.

If you look around Northern Virginia including Loudoun County, you’ll notice big names such as Verizon, AOL, Oracle, Volkswagen/Audi, Airbus, Rolls Royce and Amazon.com as well as a slew of government contractors and small businesses everywhere.

On a related note…though Virginia was number one as a state, perhaps Loudoun could get a bit more business friendly so that we don’t keep losing businesses to Fairfax County and other neighboring counties in Virginia (i.e. Volkswagen/Audi, Hilton, etc). Just my $0.02.

Hat tip to NRVLiving.

NAR Survey Shows Negative Impact of New HVCC Appraisal Guidelines

The National Association of REALTORS® just did a survey of members and appraisers regarding the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) appraisal guidelines. The results confirmed what I and others have been saying since May - the HVCC has made the appraisal and entire real estate transaction process longer, less accurate and more costly to consumers, agents and lenders alike.

Here’s a copy of the survey’s results (click here if you don’t see the embedded document below)…

NAR HVCC appraisal survey results -

In a nutshell, the new HVCC appraisal guidlines have,

• increased the length of time it takes to close a transaction
• increased the cost of the appraisal to consumers
• decreased the quality of appraisals (which has also lead to deals falling through)
• decreased the amount of money appraisers are making per appraisal

Many agents and brokers including myself are sharing our clients’ as well as our own frustrations with the powers-that-be in an effort to get the guidelines revoked or changed immediately. If you’ve had a bad experience thanks to the new HVCC appraisal issues guidelines since May 1, please leave a comment or drop me a line so I can forward it up the food chain (anonymously if you’d like).

Loudoun Community Spotlight: Goose Creek Bend, Brookfield Homes

This Loudoun County community spotlight falls on Goose Creek Bend, a Brookfield Homes community (click here if you don’t see the slideshow above). Goose Creek Bend is located off of Gulick Mill Rd less than a mile from Sycolin Rd on the border of Leesburg and Ashburn (click here if you don’t see the map below).

View Larger Map

All of the lots are 1+ acres and back to trees. Here’s the site plan:

All of the homes within Goose Creek Bend are luxury single family homes and offer 4 to 7 bedrooms, up to 6.5 baths and up to 4 car garages. The various models offered in the community are:

• Canterbury
• Davenport
• Halley
• Meridia
• Keenan

Base prices range from $599,990 to $709,990 with square footage ranging from 3091 to 3944 on the upper two levels.

Pros

• Large lots
• Private community
• Unique models/floor plans
• Close to ramp on/off Dulles Greenway and Sycolin Rd
• Amount of square footage, upgrades and lot size for money

Cons

• Lack of amenities
• Shopping is at least 15 minutes away (by car)
• Gulick Mill Rd is a gravel road (not good for all you sports car enthusiasts)

Brookfield Homes resumed sales in the community a short while ago and there are a handful of lots still available. If you would like to know more about the community, lots, models or available incentives, click here to contact me.

Clarification, Some Change Coming to New HVCC Appraisal Rules

As some of you know, the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) was supposed to be a good thing for consumers and the mortgage and real estate industries. But it had quite the opposite and negative effect.

But that may be (slowly) changing. The National Association of REALTORS® along with several other groups voiced their opinion to the New York Attorney General’s office, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Fannie Mae.

The result? New HVCC/appraisal “guidance” for lenders.

The two main issues have been addressed (in theory - we’ll have to see what happens in real life)…

1. Inexperienced appraisers conducting appraisals in areas they don’t know much, if anything at all about.
2. Inaccurate appraisals (mainly due to issue number 1 above) with no way to formally object and a total lack of willingness by the appraiser to correct the appraisal.

Make sure you check out the post over at VAR Buzz that goes into more detail about the new “guidance” and clarifies things in greater detail (there’s also a link to Fannie and Freddie’s updated FAQ sections at the bottom of the VAR buzz post).

We’re far from seeing the issues completely resolved, but it’s a start…

Loudoun Community Spotlight: Hawks View Glen in Leesburg

Hawks View Glen is a community of 36 town homes built in 2005 by K Hovnanian Homes. Hawks View Glen is located near the intersection of East Market St (Route 7 business) and the Route 15 bypass in southeast Leesburg, Virginia.

View Larger Map

The typical square footage is just under 2100 square feet with all of the town homes having pretty much the same floor plan. The main differences in the floor plan and square footage is whether the town home has a 3 level bump out or not and how the kitchen is situated. With the bump out, square footage is around 2100 square feet. All of the town homes have a one car garage and are brick front.

You enter on the main (basement) level with the door to the garage immediately to the left or right of the front door. Directly in front of you is a hallway leading to the walk out basement and backyard and stairs leading up to the second level.

As you get to the top of the stairs, the kitchen, eat in kitchen area and sun room (sun room is only there if there’s a 3 level bump out)  is to the rear of the home while the dining room and living room are to the front of the home.

The third (top) floor consists of the master bedroom, master bathroom, 2nd and 3rd bedrooms, full bath in the hallway, washer and dryer and linen closet. The master bedroom and master bathroom are pretty large for a town home especially if it has the 3 level bump out, which puts the bathroom in the bumpout. The master bedroom is the entire width of the town home and almost a perfect rectangle while the master bathroom is made up of the entire 3rd level bump out. The 2nd and 3rd bedrooms aren’t huge, but still a good size for a town home of this size.

The backyards on these town homes are larger (deeper) than average. Most of the town homes in the middle of the community have fences while some of the ones on the north/east side of the community do not and none of the ones on the south/west side of the community have a fence.

The town homes on the south/west side of the community all back to mature trees, the W&OD Trail and small power lines that run along the W&OD Trail. The town homes in the middle of the community back to other town homes. The town homes on the north/east side of the community back to mature trees.

One drawback of the community is that there are no amenities within the community - no clubhouse, no pool, no tot lots, etc. If you want access to such amenities, you’ll have to turn to neighboring communities or general county amenities. But then again, if you’re not a pool person nor care about tot lots or a community club house, you may not care.

The community is currently going through a foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale frenzy. As of yesterday (July 15, 2009), there are 8 properties for sale or under contract - 5 are short-sales and 3 are foreclosure/bank-owned properties. Everyone who bought a home in this community paid considerably more than what their property is worth today. That can often lead to a high level of foreclosures and short-sales, which seems to be the case in this community at the moment.

On the bright side, these properties are now being purchased at much more affordable prices and during a time when lending guidelines are much more strict than in years past. This should help lead to increased mid to long term stability within the community.

P.S. Click here if you can’t see the slideshow of Hawks View Glen at the top of this post. And click here if you don’t see the embedded Google Map near the beginning of the post.

SEARCH FOR HOMES FOR SALE IN HAWKS VIEW GLEN

Why Buyer Agents Should Attend Home Inspections

From what I’ve seen and heard within the real estate community, some Buyer Agents attend their Buyer client’s home inspections while some do not. Personally, I believe that a Buyer’s Agent should attend every one of their Buyer client’s home inspections for a variety of reasons.

1) A home inspection almost always brings up questions and concerns that are best answered by the Buyer Agent, not necessarily the Home Inspector. For example, the Home Inspector finds out that there is a condensation leak in the HVAC unit and that the unit is near the end of its life expectancy. How does a Home Warranty affect that? And if an item is noted on a home inspection report, will the home warranty company consider it a “pre-existing condition” and not cover it in the future if it’s not fixed prior to settlement?

2) Being at the home inspection saves a lot of future emails, texts and calls back and forth between the Buyer’s Agent, Home Inspector and Listing Agent. Having everyone present at the home inspection allows the Buyer and Buyer’s Agent to get all their questions and concerns out on the table and answered right then and there. This is especially important if you’re coming up on the home inspection contingency deadline and need to submit your home inspection addendum and inspection report right away.

3) As the Buyer’s Agent, it is you who will conveying and negotiating the home inspection items with the Listing Agent. If you don’t have first hand knowledge of the issues, it will be difficult to properly explain the issues to the Listing Agent and negotiate them properly. Home inspection items can range from a few bucks to thousands of dollars so negotiating them properly is not a “small” deal.

4) As a Buyer’s Agent, your Buyer client is paying you thousands of dollars to represent and guide them throughout the entire real estate purchase transaction. Even though your Buyer’s Agency Agreement with your Buyer clients may not say, “I will attend the home inspection”, go the “extra mile” - your Buyer clients will love you that much more.

The Ideal Office Work Schedule

Sometimes I feel as though some short-sale/loss mitigation offers at some banks are on this schedule…

Hat tip to 123funny.blogspot.com

Buyers Lose Offers, Pay More Thanks to New HVCC Appraisal Rules

The new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) rules that went into effect May 1, 2009 were supposed to protect consumers purchasing and refinancing homes by eliminating fraud and inflated appraisals. But the new appraisal rules are having a completely different and negative effect. They have made buying real estate harder and more expensive for home buyers. And it’s not only buyers getting hurt - it’s sellers, appraisers, real estate agents and lenders.

I’m not going to go into detail as to how the new process works here on this post. For a great explanation of that, check out Chris Griffith’s post entitled, “The HVCC Wal-Mart Effect”.

What I am going to discuss is how buying and selling real estate has changed since the new rules went into effect. Let’s take a look at real life examples involving either my or fellow agent’s clients…

Real life example #1: Appraisals are coming in low. And sometimes ridiculously low. Buyers who don’t have a hidden stash of thousands of dollars to make up the difference between the appraised value and purchase price are left to try and convince the seller to lower their purchase price. Any seller and their listing agent who knows the local real estate market and values will know that the appraisal is not accurate and tell the buyer to take a hike (in this market, there’s another ready, willing and able buyer nearby).

This just cost the buyer the chance to buy a home they love and they have to start back at square one. The seller has to go back on market in order to avoid losing thousands of dollars thanks to an inaccurate appraisal.

Real life example #2: Many Listing Agents and sellers no longer want to see FHA or VA financing on an offer. They’re either taking lower offers that are doing conventional financing or flat out saying, “No FHA or VA financing.”

Buyers with FHA or VHA financing are getting their offers rejected or can’t even submit an offer on many properties.

Real life example #3: Based on the average time from contract to settlement date (30 to 45 days), buyers are locking in their interest rates, setting up movers, contractors, turning in notices to their landlords, terminating leases, etc. As little as only 1 week before settlement date, the appraisal is nowhere to be found. Sometimes, not even the appraiser is anywhere to be found. Either the appraiser has to be hunted down or another appraisal has to be ordered. Either way, settlement is delayed.

To the buyer, this could lead to their rate lock expiring and their interest rate becomes higher than at the time of contract. It could also mean that they now have to pay a penalty for rescheduling movers, contractors, the lease termination date, etc. And even worse, it could mean that the buyer is in default of the contract - this could lead to a $100 per day penalty and/or loss of earnest money deposit.

Real life example #4: Appraisal fees were an average of $300 to $350. Now they’re an average of $400 to $500.

Who pays the appraisal fee? The buyer.

Real life example #5: A mortgage broker goes with lender “A” for the buyer’s financing only to find out that lender “B” has a lower interest rate and lower closing costs. Rather than lender “B” being able to use the completed appraisal from lender “A,” lender “B” has to order a new appraisal costing the buyer another appraisal fee.

The buyer has to pay another $400 to $450 for the second appraisal.

These are just some of the real life examples of what’s going on out there. As long as the HVCC stays in effect, home buyers will continue to pay more money for crappier service and, in many cases, their chances of getting their offer accepted will continue to be diminished. Not only is the HVCC screwing the transaction up for buyers and sellers, the new HVCC rules could be the single largest hurdle to US home price recovery.

The HVCC needs to be rescinded or changed - ASAP!

Beazer Homes to Pay $50M to Victimized Home Buyers

I’ve warned homebuyers before, “Don’t get taken to to the cleaners by home builders and their lenders”. And here’s why: In order to avoid prosecution on criminal fraud conspiracy charges, Beazer Homes agrees to pay $50 million in restitution to homebuyers who were allegedly victimized by the builder’s mortgage company.

Beazer and its subsidiary, Beazer Mortgage Corp., admitted to engaging in several fraudulent mortgage origination practices, prosecutors said, including keeping discount points that should have been used to provide some homebuyers with a reduced interest rate.

Other homebuyers were told they were receiving a “gift” from a charity to cover their down payment when, in fact, the purchase price of the home they purchased was increased to offset the supposed “gift.”

Beazer also accepted responsibility for fraudulently circumventing HUD’s “Neighborhood Watch” and “Credit Watch” programs, and of instituting a strategy of “willful blindness” with regard to some stated-income loans, prosecutors said.

Beazer Homes said Wednesday that it also reached a settlement agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the civil division of the Department of Justice. The company also said several of its subsidiaries have entered into a settlement agreement with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Despite the $50 million agreement, neither Beazer nor homebuyers may be out of the woods. Prosecutors are also accusing Beazer Homes of mortgage and accounting fraud. And sources say that Beazer may declare bankruptcy, which would put homebuyers at the bottom of the list for getting money once the builder’s assets are liquidated.

And if you think that Beazer was the only one doing this and you’re in the clear because you bought from different home builder, you may be in for a rude awakening. There have been several state and federal lawsuits over the past few years involving many other home builders, small and large and I’m willing to bet more will follow.

The more of the story?

If you don’t know exactly what you’re doing nor what pitfalls and shady practices to look out for, you can, and as in this case, will get taken to the cleaners. Hire a Buyer’s Agent who is familiar with new home builders (aka has done numerous new home builder transactions) and take them with you whenever you visit a new home builder’s sales center.

A Buyer’s Agent who knows the ins and outs of new home builders will help you avoid getting ripped off and keep you out of trouble. They will be able to tell you if the builder is telling the truth or feeding you lies or if their “special deal” is really a deal or just fluff (as was the case with Beazer). Your Buyer’s Agent will also be able to guide you through the builders gazillion page contract and addenda, mortgage/financing process, builder’s Design Center process, pre-drywall inspection, final inspection, settlement, etc.

What will your Buyer’s Agent cost you? Not a penny more than what you would pay if you did not have an agent - the builder has already built the commission into the sales price. And no - the builder will not refund or credit you that amount of commission if you don’t have an agent.

Additional sources: Inman News

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