A final push is underway to rescind the down payment assistance ban that is supposed to go into effect on October 1, 2008.A last-ditch effort to head off an Oct. 1 ban on the use of seller-funded down-payment assistance with FHA-backed loans is picking up steam as a compromise bill, that would mend rather than end the practice, gains momentum.

HR 6694, which would allow home builders to continue providing down-payment assistance through nonprofit groups like Nehemiah, is "certain to pass the House of Representatives" and "has the blessing of the Department of Housing and Urban Development" according to Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts.  However, revisions to the program would make it a bit more difficult for home buyers to qualify.  Stronger…

Keeping with the tightening of mortgage requirements that everyone is facing in this market, VA is restricting the use of adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) nationwide.   As of October 1, 2008 VA will only insure fixed rate loans. 

The use of ARMs was very acceptable in our market when values were going up daily and equity on any home in the Fort Meade area was pretty much guaranteed in the short term.  Lenders were issuing loans with ARM's to assist buyers who were marginal on qualification with purchasing the home that they wanted.  For example a buyer who qualified for a $300,000 mortgage at a 6% interest rate may  be able to push the qualfying loan limit to $325,000 or $350,000 by using an adjustable rate mortgage with a starting rate of 4.5%.   They got…

Everyone in the Fort Meade area knows that BRAC is coming.  Or is it here already?  Did I miss it?   We understand that it will bring new jobs to the area and that it is a good thing for the real estate market and our economy but what is it really?    BRAC stands for Base Realignment and Closure.  In 2005 the Department of Defense recommended that certain facilities across the country be consolidated here at Fort Meade.  As it affects Fort Meade, BRAC is a cost saving measure designed to move jobs that are (1) currently housed in privately leased (and expensive) off-base office buildings; and, (2)  jobs that are housed on bases that are being closed completely, to one government owned facility on the secured base at Fort Meade.  These include… Read Full Post

Temporary VA Home Loan Limit Increase

This is the best news for military home buyers near Fort Meade that we've had for a long time.  And a much  need shot in the arm for a sluggish real estate market with loads of inventory.

Previous to today if you were a home buyer eligible for a VA loan your no down payment loan option capped out at $417,000.  If you purchased a home over $417,000 you had to make a down payment on the portion of the loan that was over $417,000. 

As of today VA has upped the limit for no downpyament  loans to match current FHA limits as shown below.
Anne Arundel County       $560,000
Prince Georges' County  $729,750
Howard County                 $560,000
Baltimore                           $560,000

You can view the new no down…

OK, so the new totals and time line for Fort Meade BRAC are in at about 6,000 jobs here at Fort Meade by 2011.  Way down from the original estimates of over 20,000 - 30,000 that were bantered around in the beginning and were slated to start arriving in 2008.  After the March 16th awarding of the construction contract to build the new  1 million s.f.  Fort Meade facility for DISA, they had the ground breaking ceremony on April 16th.  Estimates show DISA being the biggest contributor of jobs with about 4,300 new positions expected.  Other organizations as well as DOD and civilian support teams are expected to bring that total up but it's anyones guess at this point.

I have heard so many Anne Arundel County real estate owners state that they are going to…

Short Sales are the latest real estate buzz words in the Fort Meade area.   I've come across a lot of consumers who have heard this term but don't really understand what it means.  The Maryland Association of Realtors has issued a Consumer Resource Guide for foreclosures and short sales that summarizes it pretty well.  Short sales may seem like a great solution for homeowners whose properties have lost value.  But they can be very complicated and require professional guidance.

A short sale can benefit both the lender and the buyer if done properly.

From the buyer's point of view
You own a home that you bought in 2005 for                                       $100,000
It's now 2008 and the current market value of your home is only           $  90,000 Read Full Post

March 5, 2008
  According to a recent Examiner article, the Virginia company Hensel Phelps Construction Co. has been awarded the $370 million dollar contract to build the new  Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) facility on the site of the current golf course on Fort Meade.  The 1 million square foot facility will house an estimated 4,000 DISA employees who are relocating from the current Arlington VA facility in September 2011.   The DISA organization represents the largest segment of workers associated with the BRAC move.  According to BRAC spokesman Army Colonel Kenneth McCreedy "this is the first tangible step in the BRAC transformation at Fort Meade."   The impact of these 4,000 new workers and the additional 4,000 that are now expected to… Read Full Post

We've had an usually active 1st quarter in the Fort Meade real estate market.  While home prices continue to fall, they are no longer in free fall status and homes that are properly prepared, priced and marketed heavily on the Internet continue to sell in a relatively short amount of time, usually 60 days or less. 

Woe to the home seller who doesn't recognize the current market trends and thinks that it's OK to have dirty baseboards or a long list of preventative maintenance items left undone when their home goes on the market.  Those homes are being passed over by today's ultra picky home buyers as  fixer uppers, and they are traveling right down the street to one of several other homes in the neighborhood that are on the market in the same price…