Southeastern Virginia is blessed to have a relatively high percentage of military homeowners and therefore a higher percentage of homes than in most parts of the country with VA loans and therefore, thanks to the low down payment requirements for VA loans, a higher lingering inventory of “upside down” or “underwater” homes. Military homeowners…
The good news is that according to the Wall Street Journal the current temporary spending bill passed by the House of Representatives DOES have a provision to extend the Mortgage Debt Relief Act for another year! Call your Representative and thank them if you completed a Short Sale in 2014. The bad news is that…
Since the early days of Perry Mason, and LA Law, and all the many legal shows that followed, I have often lamented the omission from mainstream media of the exciting part of the legal calling that some of us hold dear, that is the practice of Real Estate Law. Dirt Law. An integral…
Over the past five years, our short sale practice has become ever more streamlined and efficient. We’ve seen time required for approvals drop as all the major lenders in the Virginia market recognize our firm name and even have first name relationships with some of our staff members who have been with us throughout the…
Still no news as of this post on the resurrection and extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act passed by President Bush in the final days of his administration. A proposed bill cleared the Senate subcommittee on finance several months ago but it has not made progress through the full Senate or House yet. President…
We try not to wander too far afield into the political end of things. But sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due and point out some of the obvious consequences of laws affecting lenders, borrowers, default, and legal ramifications. Dodd-Frank and the ensuing Quality Management or QM regime enforced upon the…
The House Bill and budget has been sent to the Senate as I write today. It does NOT include an extension of the exemption that expired 12-31-13 for treating forgiven debt as income. There are still advocates for the extension of the exemption and this is the latest information available as of today: Bill Seeks…
Whether it was Perry Mason, LA LAW, or an actual relationship with an attorney, most of us have stereotypes of attorneys. Not only attorneys in general, but the way you think of an F. Lee Baily or Johnny Cochran type litigator is probably not the same way you feel about a Tax Attorney. When you…
Perhaps no other profession in North America is in more dire need of respect and appreciation than that of realtor/real estate agent. Setting aside the jokes about the world’s 2nd oldest profession, even early caveman needed an “MLS” and an efficient way to evaluate all the important aspects of a prospective cave’s suitability to the…
First and foremost, a Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Secondly, despite the great relief that many homeowners have gotten over the past year by “getting out from under” the crushing weight of a home mortgage gone bad, “Adults have maintained a positive view of homeownership five years after the biggest housing crisis hit the nation…
