HAP – The Homeowner’s Assistance Program - Virginia Beach Neighborhoods

While I don’t particularly care for the idea of government handouts, I am a supporter of at least one, the Homeowner’s Assistance Program, also known as the HAP. In 2009, Congress expanded the benefits to include military members who are required to relocate and face financial loss when selling their homes in areas where real [...]

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It’s actually more of a theory than a rule, but the $50,000 Rule applies to anyone looking to buy a home in Virginia Beach. It gets its namesake from the difference between the amount a homebuyer really wants to spend and the price of the home they really want to buy. After a day or [...]

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Mortgage rates are tied to the 10 year US Treasury bond. While the Chicken Littles were screaming that we were going to default on our debt and mortgage rates were going to shoot up, exactly the opposite happened. The yield on the 10 year note (the interest rate that the US government pays to investors [...]

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Does having a swimming pool increase the market value of your home? The answer is “most of the time.” If you create a beautiful oasis in your backyard, including a swimming pool, your home will be more appealing to more people. You will have increased the market value of your home. On the flip side, [...]

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There is a catch 22 when it comes to calculating the market value of your home. You need the market value to price it right before you sell it, but you can’t find the true market value until it sells. At the end of the day, you peer into your crystal ball in an attempt [...]

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This is it! $1400 per month, 2 bedrooms upstairs and an office, both bedrooms have a full bath and there is a half bath downstairs. Beautifully maintained, centrally located, the pictures tell it all. Click the picture below for a full screen slide show. Click here for an interactive map showing the neighborhood and nearby [...]

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What was the percentage of distressed sales (foreclosures or short sales) in March and April of this year for homes under $200,000? a. 15% b. 26% c. 37% d. 48% How about homes over $400,000? a. 15% b. 26% c. 37% d. 48% In March and April, 48.5% of home sales below $200,000 in Virginia [...]

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I loved being a do-it-yourselfer. When I needed a new “camera” (insert your passion here, instead of camera), I would spend hours online becoming a camera expert so that I would have the knowledge to make the right decision. It would have been a lot easier to just trust the guy at the camera store, [...]

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I recently sat down with Veronica (name changed), a Realtor at the model home in a new development. I had clients from out of town who were interested in building a new home and I wanted the process to go as smoothly as possible for them. Veronica insisted that she write up the purchase offer [...]

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Answer: A. $119 Your monthly payment would be $247.97 more on the $450,000 house compared to the $400,000 house. But… $68.89 goes towards the principle. That money is yours. You are just transferring it from your checking account to your mortgage account. $177.08 is interest, but this is tax deductible. At the end of the [...]

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