Another Teaser

Here's another sneak peek of the exterior of a great four bedroom, two and a half bath home we are renovating in Brandermill, in Midlothian. We have done countless updates and renovations (new deck, fresh paint, and new kitchen just to name a few) and are looking forward to completing this project! We are hoping to get this home on the market right after the new year, so be on the lookout! If you know anyone interested in this property, please get in touch with me at erica@rcgva.com.

I should also mention that this property is being renovated thanks to some of our great investors, who will most likely make a nice return on their investment as soon as the property is sold. I wanted to give a big thanks to them and to all of our investors for working with us and being so amazing! If you know anyone interested in investing with us, please visit the following site for a free report and we will be sure to contact you as soon as possible!
www.richmondreinvesting.com

A Sneak Peek!

I wanted to post a picture of one of the houses we are working on right now. This one is located on Strath Rd. off Rt. 5 out towards Varina. It's a great home and I'm looking forward to finishing up the inside so we can get it on the market! We have already had a couple of calls inquiring about it, so I'm thinking it will sell fairly quickly (fingers crossed)!

Have a look!

Tightened Lending Standards courtesy of Fannie Mae

As of December 12, Fannie Mae will tighten their lending standards. Part of the new lending guidelines state that borrowers who are putting at least 20% down will need to have a minimum credit score of 620 (as opposed to the current score, which is 580). The new cutoff for total debt cannot exceed 45% of borrower's monthly income.

Why the tightened standards, you ask? On average, loans to borrowers with less than a 620 credit score are about nine times more likely to go into default.

The Surge of the Decade!

I made this sound really exciting, I know. As we all know by now, the first time homebuyers tax credit has really helped boost home sales as of late. According to an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, it seems that the tax credit has given the housing market its biggest surge in a decade (a 10.1% increase in the past month). I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited that Congress decided to extend the tax credit deadline and open it up to other buyers. I'm hoping this means good things to come for real estate in 2010.

Of course, the economy is still slow to recover due to other factors-- job creation being one of the biggest. The building of new homes contribues to job creation, but that area has slowed significantly recently. So we still have a ways to go before the economy can fully recover but the boom in home buying definitely helps!

Be on the Lookout!

Housing Virginia and the Virginia Board of Realtors are coming out with a tool to help consumers figure out how much they can afford when it comes to owning (or renting) a home. This index will be available in January on a quarterly basis, so be on the lookout. I'm hoping people can use this valuable tool to measure how much they can afford ahead of time, so we don't see the same kind of mortgage/credit/debt/foreclosure crisis we saw before. Only buy what you can afford, people!

Check out the story from the RTD:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/local/article/B-INDE21_20091120-221604/307045/

Some good, some not-so-good news

I have attached an article from the Richmond Times Dispatch addressing the current foreclosure rate in Virginia. Looks like foreclosure filings in the area have declined compared to a year ago, but foreclosure rates across the nation are still up. Check out the article here.

Hooray for Home Buyers Tax Credit Extension!

That's a mouth full! In case you haven't heard, that wonderful Congress of ours has just signed the bill to extend the tax credit for home buyers. This will extend the current credit of $8,000 to first time home buyers or those who haven't owned a home for at least three years. However, a new group will also benefit! Buyers who have owned their home for five years or more will be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, and will be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

And good news for those brave people serving our country. The credit will be extended an additional year (until June 30, 2011) for members of the military serving outside the U.S for at least 90 days.

President Obama is expected to sign the bill so fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly! I'm really hoping this will continue to turn around the real estate market and boost the economy. I'm also really hoping that the friendly finger-printing/background checking people will let me know that I have passed so I can get on with this real estate career thing! Times a tickin'.

The Beauty of a Self-Directed IRA

What is this, you ask? An opportunity to invest your money in any way you want! Ok, maybe it's not that flexible. The IRS does have a few guidelines on what you can and can't invest with your IRA, but many people don't know about Self-Directed IRAs because there are some custodians and brokerage firms who don't offer the option, meaning you are only allowed to invest in stocks and bonds and the like. There are other things you can do with that IRA though...





Of course I am talking about investing in real estate, what else? If you invest your IRA in real estate, it is fully secured by a Deed of Trust and insured, which makes it fixed, secured, insured and tax free! It's really the best of both worlds.





As I mentioned, most custodians don't offer self-directed investments, so in order to do this an investor will need to roll their current IRA into a new account with a company who offers a self-directed IRA. This could be a long process (no one wants to lose business!) but well worth the wait.





We know of a couple of companies and resources that can help you invest in a self-directed IRA. If anyone you know is interested, please visit our site http://www.richmondreinvesting.com/ and we will be sure to get in touch to begin this process, or at the very least talk to you about it.





**On a side note, we are wrapping up the renovation process on yet another great property so stay tuned for an update and some before and after pictures!

On the Market

We have just put a newly renovated home on the market! This four bedroom, 2.5 bath home is in a great neighborhood (Monacan Hills) in the Midlothian area. Great schools and a great location. It has a roomy back deck with a seating area and a spacious backyard. It is freshly painted inside and out with new kitchen countertops, appliances and floor, and we polished it off with new accessories in all of the bathrooms. This is a great family home at a great price. We are hoping it sells fast!

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Back to School

HSV girl started her real estate classes this week, so the blog will be a little slow going for the next couple of weeks. If there are any exciting updates with Home Solutions I will definitely put it on the blog. In the meantime, I will be working my way towards earning my license so I can buy and sell real estate, which I'm really excited about!

A Couple of Fun Facts...

Just a few minor updates to report on the current real estate market...

- An index of home prices shows improvement for the sixth month in a row and prices in all 20 cities rose from June to July.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities released a couple of days ago rose 1.2 percent from June. Though home prices are still 13.3 percent below July a year ago, they have risen for three months straight.

This is good news and although we are nowhere near the home prices at the peak of the market in 2006, I am confident that slowly but surely things will start to turn around for residential real estate.

- The volume of signed contracts to buy existing homes rose for the seventh straight month in August. I'm assuming this was because people were rushing to take advantage of the tax credit (please oh please, federal lawmakers, renew this program)!

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 6.4 percent from July to 103.8. It was the highest since March 2007 and 12 percent above a year ago. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would rise to 98.6.
Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer of future sales.

Let's hear it for the....market!

**Oh and by the way, I got my facts and figures from articles published in the Richmond Times Dispatch, so they get the credit!

Works in Progress

Home Solutions has a few balls in the air right now in terms of properties. There are two currently being renovated for resale and three others will close in the near future, one of which is being funded by a private investor who will be getting a great return on their investment.

Behind door #1 is a home in a great Midlothian neighborhood. We are currently working on upgrades to this house and will be done in a week or so. We are painting the house, inside and out, upgrading the kitchen with new flooring, countertops and appliances, upgrading the deck, replacing some outdated light fixtures and doing some landscaping work. This is a great family home with a big backyard in a great school district. It's sure to sell fast (fingers crossed)!

Behind door #2 is a cape cod property off of Staples Mill. We are also currently renovating this home, with the biggest upgrade coming in the form of a master suite. The upstairs was never finished, so we are completely renovating this space into a master suite, which is bound to impress potential buyers!

The three other homes we are waiting to close on are in locations like the near west end (my personal favorite), the east end and Brandermill. All great locations scattered throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. The property in the near west end is being completely renovated, and we are adding a master suite to it as well. This home, also a cape cod, will be the biggest project we've done to date and I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to buy it for myself when all is said and done!

Stay tuned to the blog for before and after pictures of our properties! And remember, if you are interested in investing with Home Solutions make sure to check out our site http://www.richmondreinvesting.com/ for a free report on how to safely invest your money!

The Tax Credit Extravaganza

As everyone probably realizes already, the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit has put a little giddy up into the housing market this year. Locally, this has had a great effect even when it comes to new homes being built. Chesterfield and Henrico have issued a growing number of building permits in the recent months. Fewer than last year but still much more than in the first half of 2009. The trend we are seeing though is that people are building smaller homes, likely an effect of the recession. That's why we, at Home Solutions, have been investing in smaller single-family homes. We usually look for homes that will be assessed in the $175,000- $250,000 range, which have been selling much quicker than the more expensive properties (nearly 70% of the homes in the Richmond area sold this year have been under $250,000, according to the Richmond Association of Realtors). Just today we put a contract on a house in the Brandermill area that should be able to sell in that range...and with four bedrooms in a great neighborhood, you really can't beat it. Especially with all of the improvements and upgrades we will be making.

Many buyers have attributed the tax credit for the recent purchase of a home. Without it, many people would still be renting. Combined with lower interest rates, though, the tax credit helped encourage potential buyers to take the plunge into home ownership. Unfortunately, time is running out to take advantage of this credit. The program ends on Nov. 30 and the buyer must have closed on the home by that date, not just have a contract. For practically the first time in my life, I'm hoping that the government spends more money to extend this program (on a side note, the credit is not only available to first time home buyers but also to those who have been out of the housing market for three years or more). Of course, extending the program would cost about a bajillion dollars (that's a rough estimate) and we already have a pretty handsome sum of debt in this country so who knows what the law makers of our great land will decide.

This is obviously an excellent time to invest in real estate, as I've said before. No, I'm not on repeat...I just firmly believe this. We are constantly looking for new properties to invest in and often times find more than we can handle. If you'd like to get in on the fun (seriously, it's a hoot), I suggest you go to our website www.buyfastrichmond.com. You can get put on our "Hot List" so you are immediately updated whenever we come across a bargain property. We'd love to have you or anyone you know along for the ride!

Good news all around!

HSV girl was on vacation last week, but while I was out the company had a meeting with a new private investor. The meeting went well and hopefully things will be up and running with this investor soon so we can invest in a property and make them some money! If you or anyone you know is interested in our free report on lending, please visit our site http://www.richmondreinvesting.com/. The report is entitled "How You Can Safely Invest Your Money in Today's Market through Private Lending." It will be worth your while! There's no better time to invest in real estate than right now. It's the safe bet...and can be lucrative as well!

Home Solutions also picked up a property in the east end off of Route 5 in a great neighborhood and super convenient to downtown Richmond....pictures to come soon! Looks like this could be a great new home for some very lucky buyers by the time we are done with it. I will keep the blog updated with the progress of this house while improvements are made.
I should also mention that we are coming across more deals than we know what to do with. Needless to say, we need to move these properties fast! Check out http://www.buyfastrichmond.com/ for some great deals on homes we need to sell!

And it looks like there is good news for Richmond area real estate. The Federal Reserve has reported an increase in sales in the past six weeks. It also looks like the tax credit for first time home buyers has driven home sales in our area, which is great to hear! We are all hopeful that the real estate market will make a turn around soon, as it looks like the economy is slowly making it's way out of the recession.

Introduction to the blogosphere

I'm Erica and this blog is all about my adventures in family business. Our company is Home Solutions of Virginia and we specialize in buying distressed homes that need face lifts. We pride ourselves in doing excellent work and fixing these homes with quality materials and craftsmanship. We are looking to work with all kinds of people...those who need to sell their home quickly, those who are looking to buy a home and those who are interested in making a very smart (not to mention lucrative) investment in real estate.

I am also getting my real estate license so that I am able to sell the homes that we rehab as well as work with people looking to buy their dream home. I have lived in Richmond, VA my entire life and feel as if I know the city and surrounding suburbs like the back of my hand, so this should be a breeze.....right??

I encourage everyone to follow us on Twitter (@HomeSolutionsVA) and become a fan on Facebook (Home Solutions of Virginia) to stay updated on our latest and greatest projects!