The lending environment is getting even more challenging
For some, that is. Matt Carter at Inman news has this report: Sliding home prices have made homes more affordable in some areas, though tighter lender requirements and bigger down payments have locked some buyers out of the market. Real estate agents and brokers say…
Want to know how many subprime and Alt-A mortgages there are in Charlottesville?
If I read the numbers right, 65% of the mortgages in the 22901 Zip Code (the major Charlottesville Zip) are ARMs. Is this opportunity getting ready to knock (for those real estate investors out there) or a major, major issue we need to get a…
Cut mine in half, please
I wish I had written this: "Eliminating failure is the surest way to kill success." Note to my mortgage-holder - As long as you're thinking about cutting principal amounts, I'd like the principal on my mortgage cut in half, please. Please note that I'm not…
Central Virginia real estate market not distressed (yet)
But the markets that are identified by Wells Fargo as being "Distressed" - as opposed to "Soft" (not that bad) and "Severely Distressed" (really bad) - are closer to home than I would like ... Alexandria (City) Arlington County Clarke County …
Hindsight is 20/20
This story from the Washington City paper probably rings true for far, far too many people. Even more than subprime, it highlights the perils of working with a lender who is owned by the builder, and often times there is no Realtor involved, nor attorney…
Community Forum on Lending – Why do African Americans pay more in Central Virginia? Part 4
So, we understand what has happened, heard from the panelists and understand some of the discussion at our roundtable. What should we do from here? I don't pretend to have all of the answers and it will take many of us to make meaningful change. …
Community Forum on Lending – Why do African Americans pay more in Central Virginia? Part 3 of 4
I've provided the backdrop to the situation and introduced the participants on the panel. At the breakout point in the session, our table consisted of four white loan officers, an African American Realtor and an African American Darden student. We were asked by PHA to…
Charlottesville Community Forum on Lending – Why do African Americans pay more in Central Virginia?
This afternoon, Piedmont Housing Alliance hosted dozens of local residents, both white and African American, in order to address a #1 rating that Charlottesville doesn't want. Every year, data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is collected from lenders across the country. In July,…
Buying and Selling Real Estate in Central Virginia
That's the title of Sunday's "The Wake-up Call with Rick Moore" on WNRN. One of the beauties of writing a real estate blog (or any blog, for that matter) is the ability to react, expand on conversations and provide context - in this case, yesterday's…
How to Choose an ethical lender
This is me in today's HooK: The answer to the question, "How do I find an ethical lender?" is simple - Find someone you trust. Ask them. Charlottesville, in spite of its growth, remains a small town. Word of mouth carries faster and further than…