Courtesy of Dan Green : Effective December 13, 2008, Fannie Mae will enforce the following single-family residence restrictions: * Primary residence, “cash out” refinances are limited to 85% loan-to-value * Second home, cash out refinances are limited to 75% loan-to-value * Investment properties cannot be refinanced without a 25% equity position Each bullet point represents a 5 percent tightening over the previous guidelines. … … But, we do know with 100% certainty that guidelines will tighten effective December 13, 2008, and it will prohibit Americans from getting access to mortgages.
Date Archives October 2008
Hauser Homes offering Huge “Discounts”
A sign of the times … 
Note the “Realtor Bonus” being offered … These types of bonuses (bribes) are why I negotiate my fees with my buyers up front.
This is What a Foreclosure Auction Looks like in Charlottesville
It was actually quite boring until you think about the pain that the builders, homeowners, contractors, community members and banks are suffering. 
Here is my Twitter stream from the auction –
Basically, the bank bought all the properties for themselves; they believe there is a market for the properties and they’re right … it’s the price that matters.
Election Day Traffic in Charlottesville area should be heavy
As of October 4, Charlottesville had registered 2,889 new voters in 2008 alone, an increase of 10.7 percent, which is the fifth highest growth of the state’s 134 localities. … (I’d forgotten that the Green Party has national candidates) Now, if everyone who was going to vote would just educate themselves a little bit first …
Lots of Foreclosures in Today’s HooK
Read ’em all here . I’ll be Downtown tomorrow at 11, as will lots of locals, I suspect.
From the Archives – Do Days on Market Matter?
Even More about Days on Market and Realtors Gaming the MLS . In my opinion, Days on Market absolutely matter – it’s why Realtors market low Days on Market and why it’s one of the first questions buyers ask.
Realtors – Be Careful Whom you Follow On Twitter
Not everyone wants to be followed. Sometimes a little bit of discretion is called for. 
I’m @JimDuncan if you’re curious.