via Never Shovel Again! Condo Living is Easy Living!Leave Your Car in the Garage and Stroll to Politics and Prose, Buck’s Fishing & Camping, grocery stores, CVS, and the metro . This 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Condo located at 4700 Connecticut Ave. NW, Chevy Chase, Washington, , D.C. is presented by Lise Howe Associate Broker, Attorney, GRI of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage..

Half of overall condo sales in 2009 occurred in the District, and is expected to continue to be the most active market in the near term. Big new condo projects aren’t planned to deliver until at least mid-2012, though, so in the interim small projects will fill in the gaps. There is also a strong possibility that some of the big rental projects currently under construction will actually deliver as condos. Current new condo inventory in DC stands at 1,368 units.

Arlington

After DC, Arlington is the second healthiest market in the metropolitan area and currently has more residential units under construction than any other city or county. The Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor – the stretch that starts in Rosslyn, passes through Courthouse and Clarendon, and terminates in Ballston – is the dominant market in the county, and it has already started to feel a shortage of new condos. As a result, it is likely that residential construction will be more active in the RB Corridor than in any other market in the region over the next one to two years. There are already more than 2,000 residential units expected to break ground in 2010.

Shirlington is also an active market, and the West Village of Shirlington was the second fastest-selling project in the whole metropolitan area in 2009. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for only 9 percent of resales in 2009 in the RB Corridor, while in the rest of Arlington they accounted for 25 percent. Current new condo inventory in Arlington stands at 571 units.

Alexandria

 There are only four new projects that will have inventory in Alexandria in 2010. One of those, Abingdon Row, has only a few left. When it sells out, The Duke, 900 North Washington in Old Town and The Jamieson in Carlyle are the only remaining new projects with units to sell. There are over 1,600 units planned and/or approved across Alexandria, but they have not broken ground and so most, if not all, won’t deliver until at least 2013. Old Town is Alexandria’s healthiest submarket.

Only 6 percent of resales in Old Town were foreclosures or short sales compared with 45 percent city-wide. Current new condo inventory in Alexandria stands at 141 units. Montgomery County New condo sales are slow but sure in

Montgomery County.

North Bethesda and Rockville are expected to sell out or lease their remaining inventory by the end of 2010. In Bethesda and Potomac, 15 to 20 percent price reductions have spurred sales activity. Downtown Silver Spring is one of the county’s weakest markets, with no new condo units on the market and condo resales in 2009 seeing a high level of foreclosure and short sales. Despite all of the above, McWilliams|Ballard considers Montgomery County a healthy market for the future and notes that it has the second largest number of approved residential units in the region.

Bethesda is the county’s healthiest submarket. In 2009, only 9 percent of resales were foreclosures or short sales, compared with 43 percent across the rest of the county. Current new condo inventory in Montgomery County stands at 608 units.

Fairfax County

Aside from a few bright spots, Fairfax is having a hard time selling out its remaining new condo inventory. The bright spots include steady sales at Midtown Alexandria Station, Midtown Reston, and Elan at East Market, while North Point Villas in Reston and Morgan at McLean both sold out in 2009.

Currently, over 50 percent of the remaining condos are concentrated in two projects: The Spectrum at Falls Church and One Park Crest in Tysons Corner. 2010 will be largely uneventful in Fairfax, with no new development scheduled to break ground. Even most approved projects “are likely to sit on the shelf for some time longer,” according to the report.

Looking further out, the Metro extension through Tysons Corner will have a predictably big effect on residential development in Fairfax. Foreclosure and short sale rates are high across the county. McLean and Oakton were the least affected, and the only areas that had rates below 40 percent in 2009. Herndon, Centreville, Lorton, and Annandale were harder hit, with rates between 70 and 80 percent. Particularly bad was Chantilly, where 86 percent of condo resales in 2009 were foreclosures or short sales. Current new condo inventory in Fairfax County stands at 615 units.

As lending requirements tightened up over the last two years, more and more buyers have turned to loans through the Federal Housing Administration. FHA insured almost 30 percent of all purchase loansand 20 percent of total refinances during the 12 months ending Sept. 30. First-time homebuyers accounted for nearly 80 percent of FHA-backed purchase loans in the second quarter of 2009. Now FHA lending requirements are tightening too.

Beginning early this summer, however, borrowers with credit scores below 580 will be required to make downpayments of at least 10 percent in order to participate in FHA’s mortgage insurance program rather
than the current 3.5% which FHA buyers put down now. If your FICO score is 580 or better, you can rest easy that the pending changes won’t affect you. Another major change scheduled for this spring will
affect all FHA buyers: the upfront mortgage insurance premiums paid by all FHA borrowers will increase to 2.25 percent, up from 1.75 percent now. The increase — some of which may later be shifted to annual
premium payments — is intended to build FHA capital reserves back to statutory minimums and bring back private lending. (The Bush Administration had increased the upfront mortgage insurance premiumsfrom 1.5 percent to the current 1.75 percent.) Enforcement of FHA lenders also will be stepped up, and allowable seller concessions will be reduced from 6 percent to 3 percent early this summer.

There has been some concern that any tightening of FHA underwriting standards or increase in fees would come around the same time as two other events that could also have an impact on home sales. The
Federal Reserve will wind down a $1.25 trillion program at the end of March that’s helped keep mortgage rates low, and the recently expanded homebuyer tax credit expires for buyers not under contract by April 30 and closing by June 30.

If you are planning on buying or selling a home and need more information about the FHA guidelines, please call Lise Howe, Coldwell Banker Chevy Chase, Washington DC, at 240-401-5577. Lise is a local real estate expert in the Washington DC area, an associate broker and attorney.

The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Nov. 6, 2009, extends and expands the first-time homebuyer credit allowed by previous Acts. The new law:

1. Extends deadlines for purchasing and closing on a home.
2. Authorizes the credit for long-time homeowners buying a replacement principal residence.
3. Raises the income limitations for homeowners claiming the credit.

• Under the new law, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. For qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 return.

• For the first time, long-time homeowners who buy a replacement principal residence may also claim a homebuyer credit of up to $6,500 (up to $3,250 for a married individual filing separately). They must have lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the replacement home is purchased. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit.
• The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. The credit phases out for individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) between $125,000 and $145,000 or between $225,000 and $245,000 for joint filers. The existing MAGI phase-outs of $75,000 to $95,000 or $150,000 to $170,000 for joint filers still apply to purchases on or before Nov. 6, 2009.
• Several new restrictions apply to homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009. Purchasers must attach a properly executed settlement statement to their return. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
• The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement. A dependent is not eligible for the credit.
• The new law gives the IRS broader authority to deny first-time homebuyer credit claims, without having to first audit a taxpayer’s return. Known as math error authority, this authority applies, retroactively, to credits claimed on original and amended 2008 returns, as well as to claims yet to be filed.
• Additionally, there are new benefits for members of the military and certain other federal employees: Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011.
• If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule.
• It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.
• In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. This relief applies where a home is sold or stops being the taxpayer’s principal residence after Dec. 31, 2008, in connection with government orders received by the individual (or the individual’s spouse) for qualified official extended duty service. The credit is still allowable even if this happens during the year of purchase. Qualified official extended duty is any period of extended duty while serving at a place of duty at least 50 miles away from the taxpayer’s principal residence (whether inside or outside the U.S.) or while residing under government orders in government quarters. Extended duty is defined as any period of duty pursuant to a call or order to such duty for a period in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period.

• Question and Answer Q. Are both spouses required to be overseas for the requisite time period in order to qualify for the 2011 extension to claim the credit? A. Only one spouse must be overseas on official extended duty for the requisite amount of time for either spouse to be eligible for the 2011 extension of time to purchase a principal residence and claim the credit.

The Georgetown “social” Safeway, at 1855 Wisconsin Ave, NW, should be completed by May and neighbors will welcome its return – missing since it was demolished in April 2009.  The new building was designed by Torti Gallas- and will be submitted for LEED certification review by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Safeway also is proposing to renovate the Tenleytown Safeway at 4203 Davenport St. which DEFINATELY needs to be updated. That plan is before the ANC for review and will go before the Zoning Commission on January 14th, 2010.  Safeway plans to build a two story building on the Tenleytown location, but will not start until the Georgetown Safeway is completed to avoid closing two nearby stores simultaneously. 

The Tenleytown neighbors are definately going to be eating well soon.  Whole Foods will open another DC-area store this summer, just five blocks up the street from Safeway’s Davenport location, and Giant will open new store on Wisconsin Avenue in 2011.

If you are looking for a new condo, please call Lise Howe at 240-401-5577. She looks at new condos nearly every day, and she probably saw one this week that was perfect for you!  You should definately call Lise before your dream home gets away!

TRADE UP! 5 Reasons why this is the BEST market to upgrade!

Have you thought about getting that bigger, better house in a better neighborhood?  

NOW IS THE TIME!

Whether you need more space, want to upgrade your location, or for any other reason, the current real estate market presents a unique opportunity to capitalize by trading up! 

5 reasons why this is the best market to trade up!

1. You will make money NOW on the trade!  

Here’s how this works. You currently own a condo that was worth $1,000,000 three years ago, and now it’s worth $700,000 (that’s right, it’s gone down 30%!).  You may be thinking, I’ve lost $300,000, right?  Wrong!  

What you do is go out and sell your condo and purchase the home of your dreams for $1,400,000.  That house, three years ago, was worth $2,000,000 and you probably couldn’t have afforded it.  By buying it now, what you’ve just done is bought your new home at a $600,000 discount!  Just like that, on the trade, you’ve made $300,000!  This doesn’t even take into account the money you’ll save on property taxes because you’re paying taxes on a $1.4M house, and not on a $2M house.

2. … AND you will make money LATER when you sell your new home!

OK you’ve listened to my advice, bought that new home of your dreams and traded up. YES!  Fast forward five years and the real estate market has gone up 20%.  Let’s take a look at what has happened.  Your old condo is now worth $840,000, for a $140K gain over today’s value.  Your new home is worth $1,680,000, or $280,000 more than when you bought it today.  Just like that, you’ve made an extra $140,000 on the trade!

3. You can likely buy a house you otherwise could not have afforded, and may not be able to afford again!

Going back to my example above, you probably couldn’t have afforded that $2M house three years ago when you bought your condo.  You also may not be able to afford it again in 3 – 5 years when the market rebounds. If you’ve been dreaming about a bigger home or one in a nicer area, now is really the time to capitalize.

4. It’s much easier to trade up in a down market than in an escalating market!

I’ve had clients say that they will trade up when the market “goes back up.”  Let’s take a close look at that.  Let’s say that 5 years from now, the market is back up 20% from today’s values.  You then sell your condo for $840,000 and your dream home is now worth $1,680,000.  You’ve gained $140K on your condo (from today’s values) BUT your dream home is now worth $280,000 more!  That means that, by waiting, you’ve now spent an extra $140K to buy that house!

5. You’ll probably get a better house by trading up in a down market!

The current market presents some very unique opportunities.  In most areas, inventory is pretty high and buyers have a lot of great choices.  By shopping in this market, you can really get the home of your dreams and take your pick of all the inventory available.  In most cases, you can get a good deal on a great property in a terrific area like Kenwood Forest.

The bottom line is that if you can afford it, now is a terrific time to upgrade!  Interest rates remain at historic lows and there is plenty of financing available. Just give me a call!

As your broker I want you to make as much money as possible. Stands to reason – you make more money. You are happy. You tell all your friends about your great realtor, and I get more business.

Sometimes though I will advise you to start at a lower price than your neighbors and friends might have suggested. Now, that is a big risk. We are just starting our professional relationship and I am taking a chance by telling you the truth and sharing the market reality with you.

The market reality is that THE MARKET IS THE MARKET. THE MARKET DOESN”T CARE WHAT PRICE YOU WANT OR I WANT. IT DOESN’T CARE WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS THINK.  The market will tell us what price your house can sell for.

When I advise you to start at a lower price it is because you need to start at a lower price. Most of my clients understand; I give them the market data as well as my knowledge of the market and current listings. Some sellers don’t get it, and they are the ones whose listings linger.

What is sad is that a stale listing sells for less than it would have if the seller took my advice because the public sees the days on market and assumes there is something wrong with the place.

Sellers who won’t reduce their price typically have one of two reasons. One is a rationalization, another is a lame alternative. Both ideas will result in a lower sales price.

“People can make an offer.”  The reality is that buyers don’t make offers on a home they won’t bother to see. If you’ve been on the market for 3 months without any offers, do you think that the next buyer is going to be the buyer at your price? Buyers do not make offers (or, in some cases, even bother to check out) a property that they deem overpriced. In fact, the only offers you are likely to receive are those low ball offers from people who will only buy your home if you chase them down the street begging them to negotiate.

“I’ll pay a bonus to the selling agent” or “I’ll help with closing costs.” Don’t do this, PLEASE.  Just reduce the price and get the buyers’ attention. They are the ones searching the MLS within their price range.  Put the property in their price range.People who need help with closing costs will ask for it even if it isn’t offered.

People search for homes in strata. If they place their ceiling at $475,000 and you are priced at $479,000 you are missing good buyers.  Put your home at $474,900 so that the buyers see your house. People tend to search in $25,000 increments. Stay just under one of those search points, rather than just over it.

Price position matters. The more buyers that see your home, the sooner you will sell.

Whether  you are buying or selling a home in DC, Montgomery County, Chevy Chase DC or MD, Bethesda, or somewhere else, Lise Howe can help!

If you haven’t bought or refinanced a property in the past 24 months, you’ll notice a more detailed process is in store for you as the mortgage industry has experienced an overhaul in guidelines, the variety of loan programs available and a more complex appraisal process. Although it has become a more detailed loan process, the good news is that mortgage rates are historically low and Bethesda real estate prices are the lowest they’ve been in years.

After a long period of lax loan qualification guidelines, a return to common-sense underwriting has prevailed. Borrowers will need a down payment of at least 3.5%, a middle credit score of at least 640 and they will need to have documentable income. Self- employed consumers, for example, will be required to show tax returns as qualification will be based upon their adjusted gross income.

Furthermore, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have expanded their Risk Based Pricing, resulting in a pricing penalty to borrowers with imperfect credit and even those buying a condo. FHA requires that condos are already on FHA’s “Approved Condos” list at the time of purchase. Fannie is now requiring condo buyers to put down 25% to avoid a bump to the rate- just because the property is a condo.  Don’t worry – there are lots of FHA approved condos in the DC area!

So, someone with a 680 credit score, putting down less than 25% will get a rate approximately 0.25% higher than someone with a credit score of 740 who is putting down 25%. Then there’s the issue of appraisals.

This past summer, new laws were implemented to prevent lenders from having access to appraisers. Born out of an appraisal-fixing scandal in New York, in which some banks were charged with colluding with appraisers to inflate housing values, these new guidelines aim to prevent similar cases in the future. The new law, called Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), added another step in the appraisal process.

Now, instead of a lender ordering an appraisal through a licensed, local appraiser they’ve dealt with for many years, they have to order the appraisal from an Appraisal Management Company (AMC). This middle man, the AMC, then randomly passes out the orders to appraisers affiliated with them. The result has been appraisals of questionable quality with values that vary wildly.

Finally, the variety of loan products has changed from the past. For example, stated-income loans and negative amortization loans are sparsely. Investment property loans are requiring a larger down payment while true jumbo loans (those above $729,750) are 1% higher than non-jumbo loans and require larger down payments.

If you are starting to think of buying a new home, then you need to take two major steps. Find a realtor and get your financing lined up.  Lise Howe is familiar with the entire DC metro area – from Frederick to Fredericksburg! She can certainly find you that perfect dream house. Then you should talk to a good lender like Mark Zaidan at Choice Finance to find out how to structure that dream mortgage.

What is the right price for my home?

How many times do sellers start pricing discussions with the statement, “We really need to net this amount of money.”

The declaration usually goes hand-in-hand with the seller’s decision to try that higher price,  which is usually followed by the caveat, “We can always come down later, but we can never go up.”

If you focus on how much you need from the property, you set yourself up for a costly error.

No matter whether you’re selling real estate or any other offering, pricing must reflect what the market will bear, not what you need to net.  Your pricing deliberation should focus only on the value as determined by recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood.

IF you overprice your house, you have to hope for (1) an uninformed buyer with lots of cash or (2) an uninformed buyer with a generous lender and an uninformed appraiser.  In other words, you can put any list price you want on your house, but it is unlikely that the buyers or their lenders will go along with that price. Reality will set in – regardless! Aiming high and hoping for that you will hit your mark is not a good idea in this case.

The only time you can afford a “start high come down later” seller is in a market environment where prices are rapidly appreciating and inventory is low. Even then, you must be careful not to waste time while you tests the market’s pricing tolerances.

On-the-button pricing is a great pricing strategy – though too few sellers use it.

Most sellers pad listing prices by adding 5% to 10% to a home’s current market value. This strategy is detrimental because even though sellers realize the overpricing is meant to provide a negotiating allowance, they begin to hope to receive at least some of the padding in their own pockets.  The upside is that padded listings create a real pricing advantage for homes that come on the market priced at their fair market value.

Homes that are listed at market value stands out from the competition. Compared to all the overpriced options, they strike buyers as a rare value. This leads to traffic and a high number of showings by other agents.  Net result – more money in your pocket.

If you are thinking of selling, you should definately call Lise Howe. She will make sure that your list price is the best price to get your home sold for top dollar in the shortest time possible!

Lise Will Get Your Home Sold!