BUYING A HOME
For most of the Washington Metro area, it’s a STRONG sellers market. What that means is there will be multiple offers, you may have to wait outside during your showing appointment before you can enter the home, to win an offer you will need to submit a strong offer by increasing the purchase price from list price, not asking the seller for closing costs, shorter contingency timelines or none at all.
Keep in mind that real estate is local. What happens in one area may not apply in another area. Consult a real estate professional for the market trends in your area.
DOWN PAYMENT PROGRAMS
- In Virginia, there’s Virginia Housing formerly VHDA, they offer down payment assistance and grants. For the down payment assistance programs, the income is higher than the grant programs. For a two person household, the income is $138,200 and for the grant programs the amount is $110,500 with a maximum sales price of $525,000.
- In Maryland, there’s Maryland Mortgage Program, they offer down payment assistance programs and grants. The income is going to vary based on where you purchase a home.
- In DC, there’s DC Open Doors and HPAP, they both offer down payment assistance programs. Maximum income of $145,560, household income is not counted like other programs and it’s available throughout DC, Maximum loan amount is $510,400
CREDIT SCORE
You can buy a home with a score of 580 though, you will need your own down payment and have a higher interest rate. A good number to aim for is at least a 660. Keep in mind that websites such as CreditKarma give you a gauge of your credit profile but lenders use different metrics and you may be off by a few points.
STUDENT LOANS
When you buy a home, the lender looks at your student loan current payment amount and future payment. Let’s say you owe $100,000 in student loans but you are on an income based program, the lender will calculate your monthly payment as 1% of the total amount to come up with a monthly payment. This case the lender would be $1,000 which is 1% of $100,000. At some point in the future, the income based program may change and you will have to pay a higher amount. The lender does this to minimize their future risk.
HOME TOURS
Some homeowners have elected to not allow interior tours and only virtual are allowed which is about 15% of the market. The remaining market allows tours with no more than 3 people including the agent with no more than 15 minutes in the home.
SELLING A HOME
It’s a sellers market so chances are you will have a multiple offer situation if the home is presented and marketed the best way to agents and the public. To minimize non-serious buyers, I take a different approach to marketing real estate by using the latest technology.
HOME TOURS
Home tours are allowed and recommended. As long as the agents follow guidelines, I would recommend allowing in person showings.
REFINANCE
Should you refinance? It depends on your situation.
Refinancing is like buying your home all over again. If you are limited on equity and thinking of selling in the next 2 years, I would recommend that you not refinance.
If you have an FHA loan, you can do a FHA Streamline
You don’t need to have equity to do it because there is no appraisal needed.
You have to wait at least 6 months before you can refinance
You can have at least 1 late payment in the last 12 months and your current loan must be paid current.
No income or assets need on application (only employment info)
Looking for a down payment program in another state - CLICK HERE
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