Richmond Home Shopper

Buy Your First Home, NOW!!!

What a great time to buy your first home! Richmond area home prices are low making it a buyer’s market, mortgage interest rates are low and the government is now giving an $8000 tax credit that you do not have to pay back. The new tax credit is a great benefit that should be taken advantage of! It’s free money!

First-time home buyers who purchase a home this year can take advantage of the stimulus bill’s $8,000 tax credit, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a news release on Wednesday.

Unlike the previous $7,500 credit available to this group of buyers, the credit outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does not have to be paid back if the home remains the buyer’s primary home for at least 3 years after the purchase date, according to the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site. First-time buyers, for the purpose of this credit, are those who have not owned a home in three years. So even if you owned a home 3+ years ago you still qualify! Read the rest of this entry »

3 Important Tips For Selling Your Home

No matter how bad the Richmond real estate market seems to be these days, home sales do happen because people will always need a place to live. In fact, more than four million homes were sold in 2008. But with Central Virginia home values falling, today’s sellers are finding out every dollar counts when it comes to keeping as much of their home’s sales price as possible.

Since it is a buyer’s market where there are plenty of homes available in the Richmond area, it’s important to be aggressive and make your home stand out. Read the rest of this entry »

Taking Advantage of the Housing Crisis: New Construction

The economic downturn has already caused Richmond area home prices to drop.  Home builders are feeling the pain as well and in some cases they are desperate to turn their inventory of new homes into cash.

How can potential new home buyers turn this to their advantage? Read the rest of this entry »

Tiger Woods Real Estate

Last June Tiger Woods won the United States Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California basically on one leg. He had both a stress fracture and a torn ACL in his left leg and knee. After 8 months Tiger is back this week at the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play at Dove Mountain, Arizona.  To mark his comeback I though it would be fun to take a look at a couple of Tiger’s homes. Read the rest of this entry »

Hot Property! River Road Corridor!

Executive Home in Riverlake Colony off River Road in Richmond’s West End. Tuckahoe/Maybeury/Freeman school district. Near Collegiate Schools, Country Club of Virginia and fashionable West End shopping areas.

Beautiful 5 bedroom brick front home features 9′ ceilings & hardwood on 1st floor, grand 2 story foyer with curved staircase and balcony overlook!

Master Bedroom with vaulted ceiling & fireplace, unbelievable Master Bath with fireplace! Read the rest of this entry »

National Real Estate News Update

Fears about the economy led to a stock market decline and pushed mortgage rates a little lower during the week. Even with Tuesday’s passage of the new $787 billion stimulus plan, economic growth forecasts from Wall Street economists and from the Fed were revised lower.

Wednesday, President Obama announced the $275 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative, which contained broad outlines of three major elements intended to help prevent foreclosures and falling home values. Read the rest of this entry »

Henrico School Redistricting Plan

In the fall of of 2010, Henrico County will open a new middle school and a new high school. Elementary, middle and high school bounderies for many of the county’s schools will be changed as a result. This no doubt is something residents are very interesed in and many are concerned. Anytime you change school boundery lines it leads to very passionate opinions and discussions to say the least. Some families don’t want the change and want to keep kids in the same school for a variety of reasons, others want their children to go to the newest and most modern schools in the county and feel slighted if they are left out. This is always a tough issue! Read the rest of this entry »

Obama’s Foreclosure Plan

President Obama to set aside $75 billion to slow foreclosures! Goal to bring mortgage payments down to 31% of income!

The Obama administration has rolled out a plan to help 9 million troubled homeowners modify their mortgages at a cost of $75 billion to  taxpayers. There are two parts of the plan to help:

#1  To help refinance 5 million home owners in trouble with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

#2  To make loan modifications with government subsidies to lenders to reduce monthly interest payments.

Some highlights…. Read the rest of this entry »

Stimulus Falls Short For Real Estate

Late last week the House and the Senate agreed on a compromise $789 billion fiscal stimulus plan, which is expected to pass within days. The Obama administration estimates that the plan will create 3.5 million jobs. Both the House and the Senate had passed versions which were larger than the final compromise plan, and the reduction in scope helped mortgage markets. A smaller plan means that the government will have to issue less debt. Unfortunately, one of the spending cuts in the final plan was a provision for a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, which came with an estimated price tag of $35 billion. This was a measure which experts say could have quickly energized the real estate markets. Instead, the government will leave in place an existing $7,500 tax credit, applicable to only first time homebuyers. The good news and primary change to the tax credit is that it will no longer need to be repaid. The estimated cost of this $7,500 tax break is less than $3 billion.

In the market for a home in the Richmond area?  Be smart and meet with a knowledgeable REALTOR and mortgage lender. Skye Bruce Properties, The Official REALTORS and Buyer’s Agents of RichmondHomeShopper.com has a support team of industry experts including mortgage lenders. Contact them today!

5 Ways To Control Your Homeowners Insurance Costs

Some great tips from the Richmond Farmers Insurance Team to control your Homeowners Insurance Costs. In our tougheconomic environment this is good advice.  Sometimes we over-look evaluating things like this which can save us hundreds of dollars.  It all adds up!

1. Shop around. Remember, cheaper insurance rarely means better insurance. Ask your friends, realtor, or mortgage broker who they recommend. Seek out a trusted professional to explain vital coverage differences.   You can also check the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (www.naic.org). They will have information to help you choose a reputable insurer in your state.
2. Raise your deductible. Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay a claim. The higher your deductible is the lower your premiums are. A typical Home Owner deductible is $500. If you can afford to raise it to $1,000 you can save as much as 25% in your premiums. Read the rest of this entry »