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CITY

Select a City: No Preference Accokeek Aldie Alexandria Annandale Annapolis Arlington Arnold Ashburn Baileys Crossroads Bealeton Beltsville Bethesda Bluemont Bowie Boyds Bristow Brookeville Burke Burtonsville Calverton Catharpin Catlett Centreville Chantilly Chevy Chase Clarksburg Clifton Clinton College Park Crofton Crownsville Damascus Davidsonville Derwood Dumfries Edgewater Fairfax Falls Church Falmouth Frederick Fredericksburg Gainesville Gaithersburg Glenn Dale Goldvein Great Falls Greenbelt Hamilton Hanover Haymarket Herndon Hyattsville Kensington Lanham Laurel Leesburg Lovettsville Manassas Manassas Park Marshall Mclean Middleburg Millersville Mineral Nokesville North Potomac Oakton Occoquan Odenton Oldtown Olney Pasadena Poolesville Purcellville Remington Reston Rockville Round Hill Severn Severna Park Shady Side Silver Spring Spotsylvania Springfield Stafford Sterling Stone Ridge Suitland Takoma Park The Plains Triangle University Park Upper Marlboro Vienna Warrenton Washington Winchester Woodbridge Choose a property type: All Property Types Detached Homes Condominiums Townhouse Multi-family Land Commercial

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Number of rooms required? Beds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Baths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

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SCHOOL

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What is your price range? No Minimum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000 No Maximum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000

Number of rooms required? Beds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Baths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

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ZIP

Enter Zip Code Choose a property type: All Property Types Detached Homes Condominiums Townhouse Multi-family Land Commercial

What is your price range? No Minimum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000 No Maximum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000

Number of rooms required? Beds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Baths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

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MLS #

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MAP

Select a Starting Point: No Preference Accokeek Aldie Alexandria Annandale Annapolis Arlington Arnold Ashburn Baileys Crossroads Bealeton Beltsville Bethesda Bluemont Bowie Boyds Bristow Brookeville Burke Burtonsville Calverton Catharpin Catlett Centreville Chantilly Chevy Chase Clarksburg Clifton Clinton College Park Crofton Crownsville Damascus Davidsonville Derwood Dumfries Edgewater Fairfax Falls Church Falmouth Frederick Fredericksburg Gainesville Gaithersburg Glenn Dale Goldvein Great Falls Greenbelt Hamilton Hanover Haymarket Herndon Hyattsville Kensington Lanham Laurel Leesburg Lovettsville Manassas Manassas Park Marshall Mclean Middleburg Millersville Mineral Nokesville North Potomac Oakton Occoquan Odenton Oldtown Olney Pasadena Poolesville Purcellville Remington Reston Rockville Round Hill Severn Severna Park Shady Side Silver Spring Spotsylvania Springfield Stafford Sterling Stone Ridge Suitland Takoma Park The Plains Triangle University Park Upper Marlboro Vienna Warrenton Washington Winchester Woodbridge Choose a property type: All Property Types Detached Homes Condominiums Townhouse Multi-family Land Commercial

What is your price range? No Minimum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000 No Maximum $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000 $150,000 $175,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $425,000 $450,000 $475,000 $500,000 $525,000 $550,000 $575,000 $600,000 $625,000 $650,000 $675,000 $700,000 $725,000 $750,000 $775,000 $800,000 $825,000 $850,000 $875,000 $900,000 $925,000 $950,000 $975,000 $1,000,000 $1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,150,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,300,000 $1,350,000 $1,400,000 $1,450,000 $1,500,000 $1,750,000 $2,000,000 $2,250,000 $2,500,000 $2,750,000 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $3,500,000 $3,750,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,500,000 $6,000,000 $6,500,000 $7,000,000 $7,500,000 $8,000,000 $8,500,000 $9,000,000 $9,500,000 $10,000,000

Number of rooms required? Beds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Baths 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

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Lender Drama, Appraisals and What You Can Do to Prevent

Latest Market Trends for Arlington Virginia Mortgages and Appraisals

Being a real estate blogger I'm on the front end of the market on many fronts.  Telling people towards end of 2005 to NOT BUY ANY new construction Arlington condos was an example as well as my warning that prices would fall big time in North Springfield real estate due to a 40% swell in inventory a couple years ago.  When you blog about the local Northern Virginia real estate market and Arlington you have to stay on top of things.  Not to mention the JustNewListings.com team has about 6 homes under contract right now so we've got our pulse on the market more so than other realtors.

I've seen a lot of low appraisals this year and a lot of late appraisals as of the last few weeks.  My favorite drama free lender and business partner, Flagstar Bank, sent me an email a few days ago and it is the most cutting edge info on the market place as far as lending and appraisals are concerned.  They gave me permission to post to the blog.

Scott Hardy, CMPS
Sr. Branch Manager
8001 Braddock Road, #101
Springfield, VA 22151
Office: (703) 426-6973
Cell: (703) 856-7641
Fax: (888) 314-2844

www.flagstar.com
Apply On-Line@www.homeloansforlife.com

Mortgage Processing Trends and Smooth Transactions for Virginia Real Estate

As a Premier Business Partner I wanted to update you on the current situation with getting loans closed in the mortgage industry.  With the exception of some small local banks or correspondent lenders  the industryis running over capacity in terms of appraising, processing, underwriting and closing loans within the standard 30 day time frame.   During theslowdown in  '07 & '08  banks greatly reduced staff to a level where currently there simply is not enough qualified, experienced people to handle the number of loans applications being generated.  Everyone including Flagstar is looking to hire people as quickly as they can. We have heard that Wells Fargo is locking refinances at 90 days, others are initiating similar  lock terms.   Today I received an email from a friend at Bank of America who is a loan officer.  She has a loan closing on Thursday and it hasn't even been seen by anyone yet in Processing/Underwriting.  Another
friend at Suntrust informed me that loans are running 46 days.

Last month I closed a loan in less than two weeks.  Today that loan would
be 30 days.  FHA loans are taking the longest due to volume.  One positive note is that conventional
loans are being handled in a shorter time frame.  Appraisals are also taking longer.  Direct Lenders have to use appraisal management companies to order their appraisals per government regulations.   Brokers and Correspondence Lenders have not had to, but that changes for them as of May 1st.   Appraisals now go through a much tougher review process which also delays their delivery to the us the lender.

So what can you do to assist in your clients settling on time?

   Start preparing your clients for 30 - 45 day closings on purchases
   (this is for loans not already under contract.  For those under
   contract we and am sure every other lender is doing all they can to
   meet contracted settlement dates).  Purchases always take precedent
   over refinances.

   Make sure your clients make a decision on their lender early and get
   their paperwork in before they have even found a property.   This will
   allow the file to be submitted and approved with the only condition
   being title work, contract and appraisal.   Shopping for a lender after
   a contract is ratified may delay the loan closing on the contracted
   date.

   Provide your clients with the attached Checklist so they know what
   information to gather, copy and send to their lender in the beginning
   of the process.  One of the main reasons for delays is the buyer not
   getting their documentation in to their lender early.   (fyi - There
   are approximately 103 flowchart steps that take place from the
   initial call to the lender to the closing at the settlement table).
   If the loan is FHA make sure your clients, you and the sellers sign the
   attached FHA Amendatory Clause / Real Estate Certification Form  when
   the contract is ratified.

Regards,

Darius

 Final Word from Jay Seville

My own home loan is through Flagstar and about 3 out of 4 of my clients use them.  Like I said before I call them my drama free lender.  So far I've had a lot of lender drama this year as a realtor and it's usually through bigger institutions like Bank of America where you're a number from my the experience of my buyers--to the point that there is a serious lack of diligence in turning in paperwork, processing, returning calls, etc.  Nightmare city....Your lender is important and what's best for you is not always the "lowest" interest rate which often is a hook on the front end that is not as attractive at the end of the process including the so called interest rate you thought you were getting versus quality service throughout the process with good communication.  I can reach my guys Sunday 10pm if necessary which is to the buyer's advantage....

10 Responses to "Lender Drama, Appraisals and What You Can Do to Prevent"

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This entry was posted

on Friday, May 1st,[...]

Posted on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 9:04 PM.

---

James wrote:
Jay, you should pick up and read one or both of the following books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
or
Fooled by Randomness

I think most Real Estate agents and buyers need to read these books because they really open your eyes on just how little anyone knows and even how history cannot show us what's ahead (kinda talking about Real Estate/Business people saying we're starting to see signs of recovery when they don't know whats around the corner). Good reads...highly recommend them.

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 1:08 AM.

---

Jay Seville

My only problem with that, James, is that a book cannot generalize about recovery issues. Real estate is hyper-local and there may be areas or zip codes that have full recovery already while 75-95 of areas may have not hit bottom yet. So one can make any blanket statements in real estate unless it's understood from the beginning of the discussion that you are only talking in macro terms about the national real estate market.

Here's houses in 22201 Clarendon for all quartiles for the last year:
https://charts.altosresearch.com/altos/app?s=median:l,&ra=c&q=t,u,l,b,a,&st=VA&c=ARLINGTON&z=22201&sz=m&ts=e&rt=sf&service=chart&pai=5801872&co=0&d=

Not that dramatic. and if you go back to 1/1/2008 here's the same graph:
https://charts.altosresearch.com/altos/app?s=median:l,&ra=c&q=t,u,l,b,a,&st=VA&c=ARLINGTON&z=22201&sz=m&ts=z&rt=sf&service=chart&pai=5801872&co=0&d=

Another thing that is interesting is inventory. Inventory for houses in Woodbridge is 50% lower than a year ago and in Fairfax 25% and Ashburn 25% lower than a year ago. All that decrease in supply does is stabilize the market and home values. Keep in mind values in those places in some instances dropped 35-50%. That combined with dramatically lower inventory feels sort of "bottomy" .

j

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 7:55 AM.

---

Jay Seville

Oops, here's the inventory graph for past year:
https://charts.altosresearch.com/altos/app?s=inventory:l,&ra=c&q=a,&st=VA,VA,VA&c=ASHBURN,FAIRFAX,WOODBRIDGE&z=a,a,a&sz=m&ts=e&rt=sf&service=chart&pai=5801872&co=0&d=

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 7:57 AM.

---

James wrote:
Good points Jay, but again, recovery and bottoming is based on many things.

When you look at the Washingtons Post 2000 baseline of condo/housing prices and how much of a % increase in value they went up, almost everything in this area is still over-priced. When you talk to people and see how stretched they are and how good paying people cant even afford to live here, the numbers still don't add up.

The main thing most aren't 'factoring' in is the governments monetary policy. My best guess is that we're looking at some tasty inflation. We're taking on so much debt in the US (along with promising even more government programs) that I expect the government to inflate their way out of it. The alternate is to reduce it through budgetary discipline (i.e., spend less than we take in - something our government seems to be incapable of). The budget deficit this year is going to be $1.85 trillion (13% of GDP) which is quadruple 2008 (hardly a banner year for fiscal prudence). That's insane. If we reach a point where t-bills become undesirable to the rest of the world, then I'd say pre-bubble pricing isn't all that far-fetched. You know what they always say...never say never.

Debating is always fun. =)

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 8:42 AM.

---

James wrote:
This was posted on another blog about the Post calling people Pessimists vs Realists and it's pretty spot on.
----
Perhaps a lot of us are potential first-time buyers who have carefully watched the Case-Shiller index and income and rent to mortgage ratios and feel that a one-bedroom condo (coupled with outrageous condo fees) is not a starter home. We saw people in our same predicament six years ago be able to buy small brick ramblers (not fixer-uppers or foreclosures) or town homes for the same percentage of income as the condo developers are trying to foist crackerbox properties on us now. Perhaps we graduated several years ago, saved up a down payment, but can’t afford property like someone who graduated with the same degree and same job a couple of years before that. Perhaps we think it makes more sense to pay an 8% mortgage rate on a $200k house than 5% on a $500k house. Perhaps we also don’t want to reward people with our tax dollars who took out irresponsible loans, gambled, and lost. No one was forced to borrow money. Conversely, what is the harm in lower prices? It allows our children to be able to afford a reasonable first time home. To quote Patrick.net: “ . . .government leaders never talk about how lower house prices are good for pretty much everyone except bankers, instead preferring to sacrifice American families to make sure bankers have plenty of debt to earn interest on. If you own a house and ever want to upgrade, you benefit from falling prices because you'll save more on your next house than you'll lose in selling your current house. Every "affordability" program drives prices higher by pushing buyers deeper into debt.”

Here is an interesting little web app that I came across recently. It allows you to project house prices forward from saner times (say, mid to late 90s) according to inflation: Results will blow most people's minds. We've been so conditioned to the off-the-charts pricing that we actually believe that 10-15% off the tippy-top is a good deal.

http://re-calculator.com/index.php

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 8:49 AM.

---

Jay Seville

Budgetary discipline will almost never happen. The only time it did that I know of is when conservatives ruled the day in Congress in the 90s during the Clinton administration as Congress comes up with budget not the President. Regular republicans, ie moderates, have NO fiscal discipline so there is no reason for many voters to vote for them. Hence the past 2 elections republicans hammered with their big spending ways. Of course that looks like little spending now compared to Obama....

Inflation. yes it should be coming soon right? All this debt and budget deficits in the extreme...inflation must come. But won't that only solidify home values???? Often it's said that real estate is a hedge against inflation. I have investors that have been saying lately that now they want to buy because inflation is coming.

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 8:53 AM.

---

James wrote:
Good points...and we each have our ears to the ground. Just from my group of friends that have good money saved, could buy, none of them remotely feel the Arlington market is priced right at all and none plan to buy in this market because all felt this way during the boom and their views were backed-up by what happen with the market. Real Estate is location, but a lot of us feel a time bomb is waiting to go off in Arlington's real estate market (especially the condos)...proof kinda in the pudding of all the condos converted to apartments (which can't even rent them out) and the # of foreclosures in 1021, Odyssey, 1801, etc.

With the news, they just seem to report 1 good thing and we're on our way to recovery, where out on the street and in the work place, most of us see nothing 'positive' to report...businesses are struggling, salaries are getting cut 10-20% (or losing jobs), gas is going back up, etc...

In terms of #'s, there are many that have removed their listings because they cannot get what they want in value and are hoping for a recovery in prices. As some say, take your worse guess and double that and that's probably whats going on. I just do not see from the people I know from friends, relatives, co-workers any 'positive/optismistic' view that anything is turning around or has taking a turn for the better. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, I'm just saying what I've been privy to. Obviously everyone has different information.

Lastly, even if the dollar amount price for a property goes up, you can lose money because the value of the dollar is going up faster than the asset in question (real estate).

Posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 8:31 PM.

---

James wrote:
Jay, did you see this article today? I'm trying to find the full report to see what the other cities were listed.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1905085,00.html?cnn=yes

"New York City's big problem is not so much the financial-industry meltdown as it is an intense lack of affordability. As the report notes, metropolitan-area New York home prices peaked in the second quarter of 2007 at $552,000. By the first quarter of 2009, the median price had dropped 19%, to $446,000, but the market swoon was less than half the drop recorded in many other areas of the country. Today among the 10 biggest metropolitan areas, New York ranks as the least affordable."

Kinda sounds like the talk about Arlington from the people I talk to...nice place but just not realistically affordable (and NYC has no land to build, unlike this area).

Posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 10:02 AM.

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terra condo wrote:
Wow, awesome real estate blog. Bookmarked, thanks

Posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 1:33 AM.

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