Hill Slowinski • Real Estate: Blog: F. Hill Slowinski, JD (W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, A Long & Foster Co.)

4003 Belle Rive Terrace, Alexandria, VA 22309   ▪   AUCTION:  APRIL 29, 2010  

Belle Rive Estate

Although this riverfront estate on almost an acre on the high Virginia banks of the Potomac River south of Washington is now in service as an elegant private residence, its uncommon security attributes and reinforced construction make it suitable for a variety of exclusively executive or sensitive functions.  The home is located on one of the five farms owned and operated by George Washington. 

The design of the home and its orientation over the Potomac River were influenced by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,  overlooking the river from all corners and several exterior decks and balconies above the main level patio.  Experience virtually the same impressive views of the Potomac River that George Washington had from his home at  Mount Vernon, which is located ~1 mile up river.  

Dramatic panoramic 180˚+ vista of the Maryland shoreline and protected federal parkland: 

Opposite East Shore:  

Piscataway Park (National Park Service) and

Fort Washington Park (National Park Service) 

Virginia West shore: 

Mount Vernon (north) and

Fort Belvoir Military Reservation (south) 

For owners who view security as a business decision, the strategically fortified environments include a subterranean central core complex of rooms with protected access and communications, suitable for secure storage of records, valuables, or arms.  The building includes the usual alarm and security systems with cameras and motion detectors.  The home's solid brick, block, and steel construction and its below-ground lowest level lend themselves to use as a dedicated safe room for executive, military, diplomatic, or embassy potential. 

A central core could be retrofitted with a four-level dumbwaiter.  The open fourth level has been used at various times as a chapel, conference room, recital hall, business center, reception area, and art gallery with a large rooftop deck including separate enclosed external circular stairwell for catering and supplies delivery. 

Its location is well within 5 minutes response time from the Fairfax County Sherriff's office and 2 miles from the fire department.  

General Information:  Over 11,000 square feet, five bedrooms, five and one half baths, enormous master bedroom suite on main level with bath and walk-in closet, gourmet kitchen, breakfast bar, balconies and decks including a roof top deck.  Wonderful space for entertaining or conferences.  Must be seen!  Full riparian rights convey.  Property is offered either furnished or unfurnished. 

 ▪ Open Houses: March 28th, April 11th, 18th, and 25th from 1 PM to 3 PM. 

 ▪ Auction Date: April 29, 2010  

 ▪ Auction Time: 11:00 AM 

 ▪ $50,000 required to bid (cashier's, bank check or cash).  6 % buyer's premium. 

Buyer registration required.

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

F. Hill Slowinski, JD, Consultant, Sloans & Kenyon Luxury Real Estate

7034 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815 

Cell: 301-452-1409  Direct: 301-320-8430  Ofc: 301-634-2330 

Email: Hill@HillSlowinski.com or RealEstate@SloansandKenyon.com

Web sites:  www.HillSlowinski.com  ▪  www.HillSlowinskiRealEstate.com  ▪  www.SloansandKenyon.com

MRIS: FX7254991 

Mortgage Insurance Premium, Credit Scores, and Seller Contribution Affected

On January 20, 2010, FHA announced major changes to ensure its long-term financial soundness. FHA is trying to balance three fundamental objectives:

1. Financial soundness of the FHA insurance fund - ensuring that its capital ratio returns above 2 percent,
2. Fulfilling its mission of serving borrowers not adequately served by the private sector and
3. Facilitating the recovery of the housing industry and the over-all economy.

FHA has carefully balanced the need to make financial reforms with the need to keep FHA insurance available to a large segment of consumers. This is evident by retaining the 3.5 percent minimum down payment requirement and allowing the up-front mortgage insurance premium to be financed. FHA announced changes in the following areas:

• The upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will increase to 2.25 percent up from 1.75 percent. (Effective April 5, 2010)
• Borrowers with a credit score below 580 will be required to have at least a 10 percent down payment. The minimum down payment will remain at 3.5 percent for all other borrowers.
• FHA will seek legislative authority to increase the annual premium (currently capped at .55 percent). Over time, increasing the annual premium may allow FHA to reduce the upfront premium.
• Seller concessions will be reduced to 3 percent from 6 percent.

Buyers are advised to be aware of these potential changes as they prepare to make offers on new purchases, as timing in the contract process is important.

Also, remember, to take advantage of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, contracts must be ratified by April 30, 2010 and settled by June 30, 2010. There is no extension of this program being prepared at this time.

New RESPA Regulations, HUD-1 Effective January 1, 2010

Changes under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act provide some improvements to borrowers, making it easier to compare loan terms and committing lenders to stick with their quoted fees.

The new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) will be uniformly used by all lenders so that borrowers will be able to compare settlement charges and loan terms being provided by different lenders. Lenders will be committed, for the most part, to honor the estimates provided. The new GFE will represent all the costs of the entire transaction. The costs are not specified as to whether those costs are borne by the buyer or the seller. The GFE will not include taxes, insurance, homeowner association or condo fees, as those are separate from the loan. It is expected that with the loan transaction information, buyers will be able to make better informed choices among lenders. 

The HUD-1 will be synchronized with the GFE and will show the figures from the GFE on the final settlement sheet. The new GFE is likely to encourage greater consumer shopping for home loan products.

Positive Trend Reverses Declines Since 2004

New sales contracts in 2009 for residential properties were 21% ahead of 2008.   The number of properties on the market at the end of 2009 was 25% lower than the end of 2008 -- a five month supply. This is a market which most housing economists feel is in balance between buyers and sellers. 

Falling property values opened the door for a new group of homebuyers who had been priced out of the market for several years. Average and median sales prices of single family homes, still well below 2008 prices, are affected by the larger than usual percentage of home sales at lower to moderate prices, bringing the average and median down.  For condominiums/coops, where sales are about even, the reverse is true, thereby inflating those numbers.

Single-Family

Fueled by huge increases in the low end of the market, sales of single-family homes finished the year 23% ahead of 2008 in number of settlements and 28% ahead in number of total pending sales.  As a result, sales of homes priced below $200,000 were up an incredible 262% over last year.  Sales of homes between $200,000 and $300,000 had a 32% gain, while homes priced from $400,000 to $600,000 were up 16% over 2008. 

In 2009, 57% of  sales under $200,000 were foreclosures while only 9% of the homes sold over $200,000 were listed as foreclosures.

Sales of homes priced above $800,000 were down 9% for the year, with sales over $1.5 million down 12%.  In the upper brackets, in December pending sales of homes above $1.25 million were up 54% over 2008 and homes between $600,000 and $800,000 saw a 119% increase.  Overall, pending sales in December were up 27% from last year. 

The inventory of available homes at the beginning of 2010 is 28% below 2008 EOY inventory. The effective inventory was 4.3 months, well below the 2008 year-end number of 7.57 months.  Inventory has continued to fall to the point where some neighborhoods and price ranges are suffering from a lack of inventory.

The year ended with the average home price down 17% from 2008 and the median price down 18%. 

Condominiums and Cooperatives

Sales of condos and co-ops ended with a 9% gain over 2008.    Condo/co-op sales also had a large increase in the lower end of the market, with units priced below $150,000 up 66% from last year.   There were also advances in the upper end of the market as sales of units between $800,000 and $1,000,000 jumped 59% over last year, while sales of units over $1.5 million were up 20%.  There were also 13% increases in the $300,000 to $400,000 and the $500,000 to $600,000 ranges.

The year ended on a mixed note for condominium and cooperative sales in December.  The year ended with 6.26 months of inventory, down from the 9.57 months at the end of 2008.

The total inventory of available units ended the year at the lowest point in four years, 22% below the same point last year.  This indicates new condos introduced to the market over the last few years has finally been absorbed, and with very few new condo projects scheduled to come on the market in the next year, the signs are good for a strong 2010 in the DC condo market. 

2010 Outlook

The gains for moderate priced homes were possible because of increased affordability and the availability of financing under the FHA and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac up to $729,750.  Conversely, sales of homes above this limit were affected by the lack of available financing and strict down payment and credit score guidelines.  

Looking ahead to the single-family market in 2010, low inventories and increased sales (hopefully combined with increased availability of credit) should bring a moderate increase to home prices for the first time in two years.  It is more likely that prices for both homes and condos/co-ops have declined by at least several percentage points this year but that this decline is close to bottoming out.

 Price trends always trail those of unit sales by up to a year; so with sales starting to increase it is likely that prices will follow sometime by the middle of next year.  But gains for both sales and prices are most likely to be in line with the moderate recovery projected for the overall economy.  

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Current Program Extended and Revised; Expanded to Repeat Home Buyers

Despite the many rumors, projections, and hopeful expectations presented in the press in very recent weeks, the final legislation for the tax credit afforded home purchasers has several new features and requirements that distinguish this program from the one which is due to expire November 30. 

Here are important requirements of the new plans, signed into law November 6.

The $8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit

• The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

The $6,500 Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit

• To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010 However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Vacant Property Tax, ‘Economic Interest Tax' on Co-operatives

Focus Now On "Blighted" -- But Wait For Final Release

From October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009, the District of Columbia taxed vacant properties at $10 per $100 of assessed value (rather than the residential tax rate of $.85 per $100 assessed value) , unless property owners applied for one of several exemptions within 30 days of the property becoming vacant.  As of October 1, 2009, DC has changed its focus to ‘blighted' property, not merely vacant property.  However, since DC has not released the relevant amendments and legislative language to the public, owners should continue to treat their ‘vacant' property as requiring a vacancy exemption or risk being re-classed at the higher tax rate. 

Co-operatives Sales and Transfers Now Taxed

In another change, buyers of co-operatives in Washington had been exempt from paying transfer and recordation taxes because ownership of shares in a co-operative corporation was viewed as a security interest and not ownership of real property.  This change is effective October 1, and the DC government has begun charging an "economic interest tax" on the sale and transfer of co-operatives. The rates are 1.1% on co-operatives with a market value of less than $400,000 and 1.45% for co-ops valued at $400,000 and higher.  

Third Quarter Results Show Prices Stabilizing, Confidence Building 

Led by a surge in single-family sales, new contracts for all residential properties jumped a very impressive 38% from last September.  Nine months into 2009, combined sales are 13% ahead of those at this point in 2008 and the gap between the top of the market in 2004 and now has narrowed to 28%.

There was a slight (2.4%) increase in the number of properties on the market at the end of this September from the same point last year; but with the increase in sales, the effective inventory of homes and units on the market today is down to 3.7 months (higher for condos and co-ops than for single family homes) as compared to 4.9 months in September of 2008.

The average sales price of single family homes, condominiums and cooperatives declined slightly from mid-year but the decline was small enough (in the 2.5% range) to suggest that we may be approaching the bottom.

Single Family Homes

There was a sudden sharp upturn - up 40% from last September -- in the number of new single family contracts in September.  Year-to-date, new contracts were up 21% from a year ago with these gains largely coming from homes priced under $800,000 (over 80%). Home sales are lagging above $800,000 and particularly those over $1,250,000.

Rather surprisingly, fewer new listings came on the market this September than a year ago and with stronger sales the inventory is down nearly 19% from this time in 2008. Some potential sale homes may have been diverted to the rental market for a year or two  (See recent articles at: HillSlowinskiRealEstate.com and HillSlowinski.com).  This has left only a 3.4 months supply of homes currently for sale, which is lower than it has been for years.

Average sale prices are presently off 16% from the end of last year but they are down only 1% from mid year. Median prices are down a similar amount from 2008 but they were actually up a fraction from the end of the second quarter in June.

Condominiums and Cooperatives

New contracts on condominiums and cooperatives rose 35% over September of 2008.  The largest increases over last year were in the $200,000 to $300,000 range (up 48%) and the $500,000 to $800,000 range (up 52%). 

Through nine months of 2009, contract activity on condos and co-ops is up 5% from the same point last year.  Most price categories show slight losses or gains from 2008. The most activity for the year has been in the $300,000 to $400,000 range (28% of the market) and that range is ahead of 2008 by 12%.

The inventory of available units at the end-of-September is 13% lower than at the same point last year.  The effective inventory actually went up slightly to 4.17 months.  The average price of a condo/co-op in the District is even with 2008 prices at this point, while the median price is down 1%. 

Summary

All of this strongly suggests that the decline in single family home prices is nearing an end, but it will take months, probably into next year, before we begin to see even small gains.  With sales apparently on the upswing we can anticipate seeing prices stabilize by late this year or early 2010 but price increases are likely to be modest, at best, after that.  Sales were stronger than any other month this year and all the way back to June of 2005.  Favorable interest rates and concerns that the first-time buyer subsidy may not be renewed certainly contributed to this, but the strength of this upturn certainly indicates at least some improvement in consumer confidence about our local housing market.

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REALTORS®, exclusive affiliate of Christie's Great Estates, or with Sloans & Kenyon in its marketing
association for their luxury real estate needs, they find my service levels cannot be matched. 
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Careful Consideration Needed Before Removing Homes from Sale Listings

In May and June, many sellers, who saw little buyer interest during the Spring market at the prices they were seeking, removed their homes from the market.  They feared home values had not stabilized or would not meet their expectations, and they anticipated the market would return stronger in 2-5 years.  Renters benefited, in the meantime, as many owners listed their homes for rent in the interim, increasing the rental inventory.  To get them rented quickly, though, owners wisely resorted to offering concessions (e.g., first month free, price reductions) because each month vacancy reduced overall income opportunity.

This strategy may or may not be successful in the long term, depending on the attributes and characteristics of the home, the neighborhood, comparable sales, nearby foreclosures, and regional economy.  There are many factors owners need to consider in transitioning a home from a primary residence to a rental property.  Among them are:

• Research the market for vacancies and comparable rentals and realistically assess your neighborhood's market rate for rent
• Check federal, state and local regulations - some require the owner to obtain a license and lead certifications
• Check your homeowners insurance coverage and convert to a rental housing policy
• Co-op, condo, or homeowners' association rules often limit the number of rental units
• Check with federal, state, and local authorities for landlord-tenant regulations
• Know your fair housing laws, lead paint regulations, and disclosure responsibilities
• Perform a thorough background and credit check on applicants
• Renting your home may adversely affect your ability to refinance the mortgage later, so determine whether to refinance before renting
• Consult your financial planner, lawyer, and tax advisor if you plan eventually to sell and take the federal capital gains exemption   
• Account for management fees, legal fees, vacancy periods, insurance, repairs, time, and monthly expenses including mortgage payment, property taxes, etc.
• Prepare for the unexpected: default rent payments, eviction procedures, damages and repairs, legal fees, etc.  These can easily wipe out any profit
• See www.irs.gov for IRS Publication 527 on Residential Rental Property
• Assess whether a property management professional should manage the property

- Hill Slowinski, serving clients in DC, MD, and VA

To Discourage Rush Closings, Reduce Last Minute Rescues, and Cut Down Closing Table Changes

Both buyers and sellers need to be aware of the changes brought about by the HVCC (see article below) and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), which goes into effect July 30, 2009.  HERA is intended to better inform the consumer, slow down the settlement process, and ensure more accuracy and transparency in the lending terms. 

HERA requires that a lender must provide two initial disclosures to the customer -- the Truth in Lending (TIL) statement and the Good Faith Estimate -- before the lender can collect any fee to process an application for a loan.  The lender can then collect the application fee, but he cannot order an appraisal before the fee is collected.  The customer must receive the disclosures from the lender at least seven business days before closing. 

Further, if the Annual Percentage Rate increases by more than 0.125% from that stated in the initial TIL statement, the customer must receive from the lender at least three business days before closing a Pre-Closing TIL statement, which is the final binding TIL statement.

It is wise to plan for at least a 30-day close. Here are 4 things you can do to help keep the process on track:

1. Obtain a credit-checked preapproval before you start to shop for a home. (Applying in person, instead of over the phone or Internet, may help expedite the process.)
2. Upfront and throughout the process, review the timeline and potential impacts with your home mortgage consultant so you can keep your REALTOR or Builder informed.
3. Review the initial disclosure packet you receive. It contains important details about your loan transaction.  Make sure to pose any questions to your home mortgage consultant.
4. Review the appraisal delivery disclosure and determine whether or not you wish to waive the 3 business-day prior-to-close review period.

Hill Slowinski, licensed in DC, MD, and VA

W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors, A Long & Foster Company

4701 Sangamore Road,  Bethesda, Maryland  20816

Cell: 301-452-1409  Direct: 301-320-8430  Ofc: 301-229-4000

         Email: hslowinski@longandfoster.com or Hill@HillSlowinski.com