Anne Arundel County Real Estate

This story in the Washington Post: Mortgage Rates Change in the Blink of an Eye highlights the uncertainty in today’s real estate market.

A lot of factors go into making things uncertain right now. For instance, the media continues to foster the idea of a national real estate market - when no such market exists. All real estate markets are local or regional. And now that the government is working an economic stimulus plan through the system, more and more volatility is going to be present in the markets as the mortgage industry figures things out.

In the mean time keep the following in mind: if you’ve been in your house for more than three years, and you’re looking to buy another house that you’ll be in for more than three years - then now is an excellent time to move-up. Interest rates continue to be at or near historical lows, government backed lending limits have been raised to all time highs, and your house has still gone up in value (at least in Anne Arundel county and surrounding areas).

Have your lender keep an eye on interest rates and make sure you lock in your rate when the time is right. Locking in the interest rate on a mortgage loan before it goes to settlement can save you money if rates go up after you lock. At the very least, a rate lock allows you better plan for closing - since you’ll know what your interest rate and cash requirements will be at the settlement table.

Keep in mind however that lock-ins only last so long - usually 30 to 60 days - so if you don’t have a firm date for your settlement within that time frame you might have to pay extra to keep the locked in rate if interest rates go up. This is especially worrisome when it comes to new construction which may be delayed due to weather or other problems, and it can also be an issue if you’re buying a home but don’t yet have yours sold - but you need to in order to qualify.

Get yourself ready to lock-in at a low rate by getting the appraisal done early, providing all necessary paperwork to your lender, and staying in contact with your lender.

Once you get everything done and you feel comfortable with where the rates are today - be ready to act if rates drop to where you want them.

I spoke to one mortgage guy last week who said that rates dropped low but only for a few hours. He called up his clients and asked them if they wanted to lock (most did). A few said they wanted to think about or they wanted some additional information. By the time they were ready to make a decision, rates had already gone up again.

Effective October 1, 2007 two laws take effect that affects some contracts/properties in Anne Arundel County.

The required addendum for Anne Arundel County dated 10/1/2007 is to be used with all residential contracts of sale in the county.

Also new, the Anne Arundel County Required Addendum should be filled out at time of listing, and sent with the disclosure/disclaimer to an agent wanting to write a contract.

Here are the changes:

The first is a disclosure of pending enforcement action in a critical area:

NOTICE – CHESAPEAKE BAY CRITICAL AREA. If Anne Arundel County or the State has initiated enforcement action for a violation of a local law described in § 5-106(BB) (1) of the courts and judicial proceedings Article, a contract for sale of the real property where the violation occurred shall disclose:

(I) The nature of the violation;

(II) The status of any ongoing proceedings to enforce the violation; and

(III) Any actions the buyer of the real property may be required to take with respect to the property in order to cure the violation.

The second, is a disclosure of a subject property being located in a historical district in Annapolis:

ANNAPOLIS HISTORIC DISTRICT ONLY-REQUIRED NOTICE-CITY OF ANNAPOLIS-Property is located in the Historic District as defined by Annapolis City Code Section 21.56.030. Buyer should visit the website of the Historic Preservation Commission to learn about the various requirements that apply to properties located in the District.

The days of house flipping appear to be over, but there are still good real estate bargains to be found in many parts of the country — places where homes are affordable, price appreciation is imminent, and the underlying economy is strong. Where can you find these good buys? Many of them are in the South, where the climate is appealing to both retirees and businesses.

With assistance from economists at Fiserv (FISV), Lending Solutions, and Moody’s(MCO) Economy.com, BusinessWeek compiled a list of the best metropolitan areas for bargain homes by looking at affordability, forecasts for price appreciation and job growth, and recent price fluctuations.

Here are their top picks, the median home prices in these areas and the predicted increase in value over the next two years:

* Austin-Round Rock, Texas: $186,600, 5.4 percent
* Baton Rouge, La.: $174,700, 7.7 percent
* Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.: $164,900, 9.2 percent
* Corpus Christi, Texas: $130,000, 10.3 percent
* Durham, N.C.: $180,100, 6.1 percent
* Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.: $154,200, 10.8 percent
* Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: $154,900, 6.4 percent
* Mobile, Ala.: $140,400, 8.1 percent
* Montgomery, Ala.: $150,100, 7.8 percent
* San Antonio: $154,300, 6.4 percent

Source: BusinessWeek.com, Maya Roney (9/18/07)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 -The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today
called on the U.S. House of Representatives to approve legislation this week
that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure more home loans
and address problems in the subprime mortgage market.

Underscoring the importance of this issue to the housing community, NAHB sent a
letter to every House member urging them to support H.R. 1852, the Expanding
American Homeownership Act of 2007, when the bill goes to the House floor later
this week.

“Because this measure is so vital to restoring the FHA’s capacity to support
affordable mortgage financing and to allow the agency to address problems in the
subprime mortgage market, NAHB has designated passage of H.R. 1852 as a key
vote,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a home builder from El Segundo, Calif.

Faced with a deepening constriction in the availability and affordability of
housing credit at time when FHA’s programs have failed to keep pace with
competing conventional mortgage loan programs, NAHB told lawmakers that
“Congress now has the opportunity to modernize the FHA and enable it to play a
key role in stabilizing the mortgage markets, while offering borrowers a safe
and fair mortgage alternative.”

In addition, NAHB is also urging House members to support a bipartisan amendment
to H.R. 1852 offered by Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and
Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) that would enable more creditworthy borrowers to
purchase an FHA-insured home in major metropolitan markets by raising the FHA
loan limits in high-cost areas. Currently, the FHA loan limit is too low to
allow many potential home buyers to utilize the FHA program in markets where
housing costs run high.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) contracted with a nonprofit firm to develop an online, updatable rental housing locator service statewide. –Lists rental properties up to 150% of the area fair market rents –Includes a call center option for those without access to the internet via a toll-free number: 1-877-428-8844 –Provides information in both English and Spanish –Includes fields on accessibility, senior housing, lead certification, cost, Section 8 familiarity, and distance to public transportation –Provides up-to-date info on properties statewide.

WWW.MDHOUSINGSEARCH.ORG