Foreclosure is one of every home owner's worst fears.  Most people facing foreclosure would do anything in a desperate bid to stop it.  They can get emotional, lost and confused.  These can make them very vulnerable to scam operators.  In their attempt to look for help, they sometimes end up with the wrong people.  A simple problem with default in payments can escalate to losing their home sooner than they expected, to the people who are supposedly going to help them.

The National Consumer Law Center has 7 great tips to avoid being a victim of foreclosure scams:

1. Don't panic. Get detailed information about the deadlines you face in resolving your problems. Pay special attention to the date on which you would lose legal right to ownership.

2. Never sign a contract under pressure. Take your time, and consult a lawyer if possible.

3. Never sign away ownership via a quitclaim deed or other means without consulting a lawyer.  Be especially suspicious of offers to lease back your home, in order to by it back over time. These offers are weighted against you.

4. Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender.  If you can't pay, do not ignore warning letters from your lender; contact them instead.

5.  Beware of any home-sale contract in which you are not formally released from liability for your mortgage.  Make sure you know the rights you are giving up and that you agree to give them up.

6. Don't sign anything with blank lines or spaces; information could be added later without your knowledge and consent.

7. If you do not speak English, never use a "rescuer's" translator.  Instead, insist on using your own translator.

Source:  Bankrate.com

No one wants to face foreclosure. As a Realtor, I'm never happy to see anyone go in foreclosure.  I would rather sell their house than see them lose their homes to foreclosure and to scam operators.  Thus, I wanted to provide as much information as I can to help people be more financially informed, know their options and guide them to avoid facing foreclosure.

As a Realtor, I'm not only here to buy and sell homes on behalf of my clients. I'm here to genuinely help them have a successful real estate transaction.  Part of it is educating them about the real estate process and giving them valuable resources to make an informed decision. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any real estate process whether you're buying or selling, do not hesitate to give me a call.  Let's have a chat on how we can best achieve your real estate goals.

Being an army wife and apart of Bravo Company 3/116^th INF is an eye opening experience. Being a "new" army wife is not only an eye opening experience but has given me a new appreciation for our military. I find myself reading every article, keeping up on what congress is doing and the decisions they are making, as well as noticing men and women in uniform. I see the community board posted in our local Wal-Mart with pictures of those serving and make sure I stop to think about them.

I met my (now) husband knowing he had a military background, but that was not an issue at the time as he was out of the service. With my full support behind him he joined the Virginia National Guard in May of 2006 for a 1 year enlistment. With the many issues going on in our world today it was highly possible that he would be deployed.  As the year passed and no orders came I was starting to relax a bit. We went on a company cruise that my broker Sherry Wilson with RE/MAX Leaders takes us on annually. It was on that cruise that my husband decided he better come forth with information about the orders that he was expecting to come in. I was trying to book another cruise at that time which gave him no choice than to tell me at that moment. I was in shock and was very upset. I had met the man of my dreams and he was possibly going off to war. How would I ever get myself through it?

It was March 2006 when the "stop loss" went into effect. Even though my husband had a 1 year enlistment, he was not going to be getting out in May. If anyone understands the military way of life it is a lot of hurry up and wait....when the details were out and a date was set I realized it was real. June 26^th was the date of deployment. Our wedding plans were moved up and we got married on May 12, 2007 and my husband deployed the following month.

I met a few ladies with the family readiness group. The FRG takes care of the families and keeps everyone posted and current on unit information. I decided if I was going to keep my sanity that I wanted to volunteer my time. I became a board member for the FRG and then became the co-leader of the Soldier Care Group. The SCG does the fundraising for the unit and pays for items the soldiers need while deployed, pays for care packages, and will assist with the coming home ceremony. These ladies became my extended family. There is nothing like the feelings you experience going through a deployment...this being my 1^st I was not sure what I should expect. It is nice to have someone to email, text, or talk with that understands what you are going through.

The day the unit left was heart breaking...I have never witnessed so many tears, heard so many "good bye's", or just been apart of a more emotional ceremony. My emotions were a roller coaster. I was sad, fearful, mad, proud, and thankful all at the same time. Then before I knew it the buses were pulling away. I watched as my husband SPC Pruitt left not knowing when/if he would return. To my surprise after only being gone for a month he came home due to an injury he suffered while at pre-deployment training in Mississippi for 3 months. He is home now and doing well and has re-enlisted for another 3 years. He reports monthly to the armory for duty.

 I remain involved in the SCG and FRG and kept my position as the co-leader. After all, we still had soldiers and a unit overseas that needed our support. Our 1^st large fundraiser was coming up the "Support Our Troops" craft show. Jane LeHew and I had weeks and months of planning and the big day was coming. Money needed to be raised to pay for shipping cost of care packages and the coming home ceremony. Our show was this past Saturday November 17^th, 2007 and it was a great success! We had about 35-40 vendors register for our show and the community came out to show their support for their home town heroes. We made the front page of the Northern Virginia Dailey.

Click Here for article

 My National Guard experience over the last year has given me a new appreciation for our military and what the families go through. These men and women miss birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, 1^st steps, births, and even sometimes deaths. The families deal with the deployment as well as the soldiers. We are looking for heroes for our children why don't we look to these soldiers who give all they have? Some even make the ultimate sacrifice. I will continue to lead the Soldier Care Group and show support for my husband's unit. We are planning a basket bingo in April and another craft show May 10^th.

The next time you see someone in uniform just say "thank you", offer to buy their lunch...anything you can think of at the time to let them know you appreciate what they do for our country. When my husband was on the return flight from Mississippi and in uniform he told me a story that brought chills to my arms. When he got onto the plane and was walking through the 1^st class seating a gentleman stood up and asked where he was sitting. He replied 26C and the gentleman stated "well now you not, you are sitting here soldier". That gracious man gave up his 1^st class seat to my husband just to say "thank you for serving". That story gave me chills when my husband called after landing. It is when I hear and see stories like that which make me grateful and proud that my husband is a soldier! I am proud of him every day for protecting our family and America!

Give Thanks To Our Troops This Thanksgiving Day 2007!

 Crystal Pruitt - REALTOR

1021 East Main Street

Purcellville VA 20132

Direct: 540-338-6300 Ext. 133

Fax: 540-338-4916

Cell: 540-336-6755

Email: crystal@sherrywilson.com

Web: http://www.sherrywilson.com/

Real Estate Tip: The Inspection Report

Are you looking for a home and becoming tired of house-hunting? If so, you may be tempted to buy a bargain-priced home "as is" and forego the home inspection. But without the inspection report, do you know what the "as it" refers to? Wouldn't it be better to know what condition the home is in before you buy it?

The inspection contingency allows the buyer to enlist the services of a licensed home inspector within three to seven days after the purchase agreement is signed. The inspector will go over the property from top to bottom, evaluating the condition of all the basic systems and structures of the home in order to identify conditions that may be considered material defects and thus may affect the market value or the safety of the home.

The inspector's report is the only documented proof of the actual condition of the property that is being sold. It is a valuable tool that helps you negotiate the sales contract and gives you information about future maintenance projects. The cost of an inspection is well worth the peace of mind it provides.

• See Sherry Wilson & Co.'s Feature Properties: www.RealEstateinLoudounCounty.com/myhomes.asp

Buying your first home can be very exciting.  Most first time buyers are so keen to buy their home that most of their efforts are concentrated in searching, inspecting and comparing the different homes available on the market.  Very few would do they research in the type of loan most applicable to their situation. Some don't even bother to get pre-qualified or even pre-approved before they start their search for a home. This could lead to a lot of heartaches for all the parties involved from the buyer, agent to the seller.  All their efforts can go in vain if the buyer is not financially capable of buying the property after all.

However, things can get worse as we often hear in various foreclosure stories. Some buyers took up a loan and signed an agreement without barely understanding the terms and conditions of the loan.  There were cases of loans approved for borrowers who can't really afford to pay for the loan in the first place.  Meanwhile, many took up adjustable rate mortgage (ARM's) with low initial rates that resets to higher interest rates after a certain period.  Many were badly hit by this type of mortgage because they could not afford to pay the higher repayments.

Here are some of the different type of mortgages:

• Fixed-Rate Mortgage
• Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)
• 1-yr. Treasury ARM
• Intermediate ARM
• Flexible Payment Option ARM
• Interest-only ARM
• Convertible ARM
• Jumbo Loans
• Assumable Mortgage
• Balloon Conforming Mortgage
• Balloon Mortgage
• Veteran Administration Loan
• Federal Housing Administration Loans (FHA)

You can read more about these type of home loans, the pros and cons and things to watch out for here.

Choosing the right home loan is as important as choosing the right home for your family.  Do your own personal research of the different types of mortgages, so you can have an overview before you talk to a lender.  It will be easier to understand what your lender or mortage broker is explaining when you have a bit of background.  It will also make you more resilient to fraudulent mortgage brokers.

Lastly, you have to make sure that you can afford to pay for the loan.  It's easy to get tempted to take out a bigger loan to be able to buy your dream house.  Some mortgage brokers can encourage you to take out a loan you can never really afford to pay.  Some can do it unintentionally because they don't know your overall spending pattern.  Thus, it is better to trust what you know you can afford to pay than to take a loan amount you've been pre-approved.