201504.28
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When a Deal is not a Deal

A wise man once said, and many wise real estate investors have repeated it :  “You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.” The point is that you don’t want to overspend on an investment or you can forget realizing a profit in this lifetime!  Sometimes it makes sense for a buyer…

201503.31
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The Triple “I” Intersection

At the intersection of Inventory, Income and Interest rates, we find the biggest pool of eligible buyers of new homes.     New road projects at that point on the map appear to be moving to a place that will reduce the pool of eligible buyers.   Take a minute and listen to the Real Estate Industry Blog…

201502.04
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Lingering Missinformation on Short Sales

Among our sustained flow of new short sale clients, we still have surprising instances of absolute misinformation about the process that causes many homeowners to suffer from the paralysis of analysis and delay starting their short sale for far too long.   Sources of misinformation are plentiful, and that is before you even get to the…

201501.06
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Another Reason to Avoid Foreclosure

Our firm was recently contacted by a borrower who formerly took advantage of our free consultation on foreclosure prevention cases.   The homeowner ultimately decided to allow his home to go into foreclosure and not fight for a short sale or other remedy.  I don’t remember all the details why the decision was made to take…

201412.30
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Short sale tax break signed into law

No wonder our legislators and President are suffering such low approval ratings right now – with just 2 days to spare, they have finally re-enacted the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief provisions which keep Short Selling home occupants from facing stiff taxes on phantom income.    Unfortunately, 2015 is upon us and once again the collection of…

201412.16
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Timing Your Short Sale

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…

201412.08
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Where to Focus YOUR Lobbying Efforts

In our blog earlier this month we included legislative contact information so that you could let your Senators and Congressmen know how important you feel it is to extend the taxable income exclusion for forgiven debt on your primary residence.   That exclusion was originally part of a tax relief package begun in the Bush era…

201408.11
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When the Going Gets Tough . . .

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…