Northen Virginia Home Sales on the Rise

Multiple offers....'Best and Final by Friday at 5pm'.....'Sorry, we're submitting the best of the 5 offers we have received'.......'Cash Offer for above list price'. These statements are becoming more commonplace as the Spring market is upon us, rates remain low and more quality homes come on the market. Several of the close in counties of Northern Virginia and Washington DC remain competitive in pockets and it's fairly clear that some of the Investor money is coming out to capture some of the low hanging fruit. As Tierney Plumb of Washington Business Journal captured in the following article, buyers are taking advantage of falling prices and great rates.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/04/13/daily1.html?surround=etf

Are you HASP Eligible?

Our friends at Bank of America provided the following information regarding the The Homeowner(s) Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). Our friendly Mortgage Advisors are always happy to inform you further.

The Homeowner(s) Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), also known as the Making Home Affordable Plan, was announced by the Obama Administration in February 2009. Although all lenders are waiting for final guidance and a "roll-out" date from Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae, we have included a few of the high levels details below.

Only loans owned by Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae are eligible for this plan. A second option known as "DU Plus" will be available to more homeowners by late April. Unlike HASP, you can use any lender (not just your current servicer) for the DU Plus program. See the tools at the bottom for determining who owns your loan.

The refinance programs allow for:

· Refinances of existing lender portfolio customers (Lender-to-Lender)
· LTVs up to 105%
· Mortgage Insurance (MI) is not required on loans with greater than 80% LTV IF the previous loan was <= 80% LTV
· The existing MI coverage continues if the previous loan had MI
· No delinquency on the loan in the past 12 months
· Non-owner occupied and second homes are eligible
· Stated income and stated assets are allowed
· No minimum FICO score is required
· Requires no DTI calculation

Use the below numbers or web links to determine if either GSE owns your mortgage.

Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae - 1-800-732-6643 (800-7FANNIE)
http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

Freddie Mac
1-800-373-3343 (800-FREDDIE) - Freddie Mac
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/index.html

35-Acre Mixed-Use Community Receives First LEED-ND Silver Designation in Va.

Reston, VA
April 2, 2009

Anyone that is watching the development of the metro in Northern Virginia closely, knows that Reston plays an enormous part in the route to Dulles Airport. The following article highlights the JBG Companies development of Reston Heights and its designation as the first LEED-ND Certified(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development) project in Virginia. Article thanks to Erika Schnitzer, Multi-Housing News Online.

http://www.multihousingnews.com/multihousing/content_display/news/e3ie9ac42d5eeee81581b259f5704bff2e8

http://www.reston-heights.com/

Ready, Set, Blog

As an addition to our website and real estate portfolio, we have decided to enter the world of blogging as a way to share our insight and experience of Real Estate in the Metropolitan Washington DC area and Nationally. We welcome and encourage discussion, feedback and suggestions for our blog. Our team will monitor and update this blog periodically with articles of interest, information and of course our thoughts and suggestions.

Looking forward to hearing from you!!!!

The Karen Parker Team
www.karenparker.com