This week I had a client ask me if I’d had much experience with internet lenders. A visit to a website, an email exchange, and a voice on the phone and my client had a quote on his interest rate that fell into the category of “too good to be true”. “Can I trust…
For the past several quarters, many of our closings for home buyers in the starter home or first move-up category have revealed a loss of FHA market share. It seems that the traditional market for FHA appeal was the 1st or 2nd home market with buyers lacking a substantial down payment. FHA loans can allow…
As 2016 comes to a close and I reflect on the reasons for various real estate transactions going into an adversarial mode, a couple of trends stand out: Real Estate Closings, despite centuries of experience and practice, can be complex monsters. . . and Dodd Frank and all previous attempts at consumer protection consistently…
The ever entertaining and thought provoking NREP (National Real Estate Post), formerly known as TBWS (Think Big Work Small) challenges our national leadership and loan regulators to promote home ownership by easing qualification regulations. /Shocking Zillow Renter Report The NREP blog also points out that the 50 year low in the home ownership index may…
On occasion we lose great employees, lawyers, staff, and friends of the firm as they go on to new callings or perhaps to meet their Maker. Thankfully, this edition’s ‘WHERE ARE THEY NOW” is about the former. Matt Pittman, former law firm digital maintenance expert, network and computer guru, file scanning department leader and firm…
We try to maintain a fairly objective and only mildly editorial real estate blog. Admittedly, the road to Hades is paved with our good intentions at times. So in the interests of keeping a clear conscience, I tell you unashamedly that the following is total editorial and opinion. Read no further if that bothers you. …
For those of you that check back on this website and blog periodically to find out whether your forgiven debt from your short sale in 2015 will be taxable or not . . . . the year is 3/4th complete and we still don’t know. As you may recall from 2014 . . . it…
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…
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…
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…
