HR 6694 the FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee on September 16th.  This is a great step forward in bringing back a reasonable, balanced and managable solution that will allow Sellers to contribute some or all of the downpayment to a buyer that wants to purchase their home.
This program rasied great controversy and was deemed part of the downfall of the housing market as it incorrectly got pulled into the BCD lending "scandal".  The truth is this is a great program that can make a big difference for families with responsible credit histories that want to step into home ownership.
The revamped program has some very sensible restrictions on… Read Full Post

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…

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

It’s coming and so are the budget issues.  Below is a summary from a recent Baltimore Sun Article.  See full article at link below.

State and county officials are hoping that the Army will pitch in to assist with infrastructure upgrades needed to keep pace with the anticipated BRAC growth.  However, with a planned office complex to be built on the base, the building will not generate any tax revenue for the surrounding areas.   That’s right, because it’s on the base they will be tax exempt including impact fees.  This 15 building $700 million dollar office complex is expected to have over 2,000,000 s.f. of office space and two golf courses that would accommodate around 10,000 BRAC related defense contractor employees.  This information is according to a…

Workforce development needed to handle BRAC jobs

By JOSHUA STEWART, Staff Writer
CAPITAL NEWSPAPER
Published September 07, 2007

As tens of thousands of high-tech jobs come to Maryland, state and federal officials are trying to ensure that enough local workers will be available to fill the positions. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process is set to bring an estimated 60,000 new jobs to the state. But Maryland's work force needs to be ready to capitalize on the opportunity, officials said yesterday at the Maryland Military Installation Council meeting in Crownsville.

"The needs and challenges exist from GED to Ph.D.," Tom Perez, state secretary of labor licensing and regulation, told the military council, which included installation…

There are several schools of thought on the issue of how BRAC  will affect Fort Meade area residents, commuters, business owners, and home owners.   Some think that BRAC is the biggest thing to come to Anne Arundel County ever.  Others recognize that with the growth of the intelligence industry we are seeing thousands of new jobs added to our area each year.   They've just come up a little more quietly without the trumpets and press releases.  But, we can certainly feel their arrival during rush hour can't we.   Traffic is not what it was just two short years ago anywhere in the Fort Meade area.  So what is another 14,000 jobs really going to mean to us?  And will it really be 14,000, or 5,000 or 7,000?  Will the impact of BRAC be felt over two years or…