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Charlottesville Homes For Sale – How Do Interest Rates Affect Price?

Charlottesville Homes For Sale | How Do Interest Rates Affect Price?

Buyers and sellers alike have been keeping a close eye on interest rates.  Rates are still low by historic standards, but the reality is that they are slowly creeping up and many experts predict that they will  be up one to one and a half percent  by the end of the year.  What does this really mean to you if you are considering purchasing a home?

Rate Payment Relationship 2 small.png

A ½% increase in interest rate may not sound like much but it is roughly equivalent to a 5% increase in price.  It becomes obvious when you compare the payments.

If you financed 100% of the cost of a $250,000 home at 4.5% interest for 30 years, the payment would be $1,266.71 per month.  If the mortgage rate went up to 5%, the payment would be $1,342.05.  If the home increased 5% in value, the $262,250 loan at the lower 4.5% rate would have payments of $1,330.05.

The two payments are close enough to justify the statement that a ½% change in interest is approximately equal to 5% change in price.

Each time interest rates go up, fewer people can qualify to buy a seller’s home.  The mortgage rules that went into effect this year require buyers to meet specific payment to income ratios.  As demand picks up for the seasonal market, most experts expect rates to increase.

Buyers will be doubly challenged in the current market because prices are rising (NAR reports 11% last year) along with the anticipated mortgage rates.  Buyers who wait will inevitably be paying more to live in the same home had they acted sooner.

Check out on how Interest Affects Price for a home in your price range.

If you have a Charlottesville home for sale, the increase in interest rates will also affect you.  It may mean that you will have a smaller pool of buyers who can qualify to purchase your home.  Also many sellers are waiting for prices to rise before putting their home on the market.  But the reality may be that a rise in home prices in tandom with rising interest rates will price many buyers out of the market.

If you are considering buying or selling a Charlottesville home, it may be a good strategy to to act now, if you are able to, rather than waiting for later in the year.

My Charlottesville Home is Sold But How Do I Choose A Moving Company?

My Charlottesville Home is Sold But How Do I Choose a Moving Company?

Your home is sold, the closing date is coming up and you still have to choose a moving company.  Do you know what questions to ask or do you hire the first company that you find in the yellow pages or online?  All moving companies do not offer the same services.  Here are some factors that you should consider before you contract with a particular mover.

Moving to a Charlottesville Home

Moving to a Charlottesville Home

Fees

  • What is the charge for packing?
  • Does it include boxes? If  not, what do they cost and will you deliver them?
  • Is there an additional charge to deliver some items to a storage unit?

Insurance

  • How is a damage claim handled?
  • What insurance do you provide and is there a cost?
  • Does the insurance cover  items packed by the owner?
  • Can additional insurance be purchased and what will it cost?
  • If items are covered by my Homeowner’s insurance, whose insurance pays first?

Unusual Items 

  • Can you ship my car(s)? Will  they be in the moving van or towed?
  • What are the charges for shipping cars, lawn tractors, etc?
  • What items cannot be shipped?
  • If a shuttle truck is needed  because of the location of my house or size of the drive way, is there an additional charge?
  • If packing and loading are on  different days, can you leave the beds and other basics out for us to use?

Dates 

  • What dates are available for our move?
  • What date will you pack and how long will this take?
  • What date will you load the  van?
  • What date will the van arrive at my new location?
  • If my new home is not ready for delivery, how many days can it be delayed before there is a charge?
  • What is the charge for additional days or weeks?

Terms 

  • Are there any additional fees  that I’m responsible for that have not been discussed?
  • What are the terms of  payment?
  • Is a down payment required?
  • When will the balance be due  and who is authorized to accept it?

As you can see there is a lot to consider, but getting these things straight ahead of time will save headaches later.  When you know what questions to ask, you will have the ability to select the best mover and the final step of selling your Charlottesville home will be a breeze.

What Inspections Do I Need During a Land Purchase?

What inspections do I need for a land purchase?

Instead of buying an existing Albemarle County country home or Central Virginia farm you may want to find a parcel of land and start from scratch building things exactly to your taste.  You may think that all yyou need to do is to find a pretty property and put it under contract…Not so fast, you may want to do your due diligence before closing.

Virginia Farm

When writing the contract, you should ask for a study period.  Think of it as a home innspection for the land.  This will give you time to make sure that the property will be suitable for your intended use.  

The first thing that you may want to have is an environmental study.  In this study the environmental expert will look at old aerials and satelite pictures of the parcel as well as property records.  They may see an old hole on the property, that they will want to examine to make sure that nothing toxic was buried there.  Or they may see an old dwelling on the property and will want to look for the existence of buried fuel tanks.  Or they could find an old apple orchard and would want to test the soil for chemicals.

Next you will want to do a soil and perk test, just like you would need if you were buying a building lot.  It is important to know that the land around your prospective house site will support a septic field.

Finally you might want to actually drill a well before you purchase the property.  That way you make sure that you are satisfied with the water availability.  You might spend $10,000 drilling a well, but this is a lot less than the thousands of dollars you will spend to purchase your future farm.

When you are investing in a future Virginia farm it pays to have a study period.

If you are looking for land to turn into a Central Virginia farm, Charlottesville horse farm, or a private country home there are some lovely large parcels of land offered for sale in our Central Virginia counties.

Copyright 2013 by Pam Dent all rights reserved “What Inspections do I need during a land purchase?“

Five Tips To Make Moving To Your Charlottesville Home Go Smoothly

Five Tips To Make Moving To Your New Charlottesville Home Go Smoothly

I have spent the past couple of days helping a friend move. She was lucky to have the help another friend to organize every step of the move. These are some of the things that they did which made this move go smoothly.

1. Make lists – There were to do lists for everyone involved with helping with the move. The lists were organized with things to do each day.
2. Plan where the furniture is to go ahead of time. This step made everything go faster. If you are able to go over to the home and measure before the furniture arrives.
3. Have your boxes labeled with the name of the room where the items will go on the box. We often just label boxes with something like glasses, then when someone is carrying the box in they don’t know if that box is going in the kitchen or the dining room.
4. Declutter and sort through your belongings ahead of time. Then when you are ready to move you will only have to deal with the items that you are taking with you.
5. Have a plan for the animals. This is a stressful time for your pets. Provide them with a safe, quiet place to be away from the confusion of the move.

With a little bit of planning, your move can go smoothly.

Copyright 2021 by Pam Dent all rights reserved “Five Tips To Make Moving To Your Charlottesville Home Go Smoothly“.

Does “As Is” Mean I Can’t Have A Home Inspection?

Does “As Is” Mean I Can’t Have A Home Inspection?

Most foreclosures and short sales are sold “as is”.  Many homebuyers are confused as to what this means for them.  I am often asked whether this means that they won’t be allowed to have the home inspected.Charlottesville Foreclosure

You will be able to have a home inspection but it will be for informational purposes only.  This means that the seller will not perform any repairs if something shows up in the inspection.  However it is important for you to have the home inspected anyway so that you will know what problems you might have to deal with.   Also, I like to write into the offer that the contract will be contingent on a satisfactory home inspection.  That way if something is found that the buyers are not prepared to accept, they will have the opportunity to declare the contract null and void without penalty and their earnest money deposit will be returned.  Some banks have similar terms written into their addenda.

In addition the home inspector may find something that needs to be repaired that the lender such as FHA will not accept.  In this case the loan will not be approved unless the repair is performed by the seller before closing.  Sometimes the bank will agree to perform the repair, but other times they won’t and the contract will fall through.  Homes that will obviously need a lot of work are good candidates for FHA 203K loans, in which the cost of the repairs is rolled into the mortgage up to a specified amount.

When you are considering the purchase of a distressed property, a home inspection is especially important.  Remember the owners of these properties have been struggling for sometime to be able to hang on to their homes.  It was all that they could do to make the mortgage payments, and their was no extra money for repairs.   Routine maintenance has been deferred.  Even the rare foreclosure that appears to be in move in condition may have unseen issues.

There are some great deals on short sales and foreclosures in our area, email me if you would like a list of distressed property listings in any of the central Virginia areas.

Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure Multiple Offers

Buying A Foreclosure In Charlottesville – How Much Should I Offer

Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure

Copyright 2012 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved “Does “As Is” Mean I Can’t Have A Home Inspection?“

Why You Should Use A Horse Property Specialist To Buy A Charlottesville Horse Farm

Why You Should Use A Horse Property Specialist To Buy A Charlottesville Horse Farm

There is a wide range of Charlottesville horse farms for equestrian buyers to choose from.  Sorting through all of the Central Virginia farms that are currently on the market requires more than being able to evaluate the homes.  There are so many factors that go into the make up of the perfect equestrian estate.  What may be the ideal property for a pleasure rider may not meet the needs of a hunter/jumper professional.  It is helpful to have the guidance of a real estate agent who can combine the knowledge of real estate with the experience of the professional horseman.

 

First Published at Charlottesville Horse Farms.   Written by Pam Dent.

A Charlottesville Seniors Real Estate Specialist Can Assist Equestrians

A Charlottesville Seniors Real Estate Specialist Can Assist Equestrians

You may have heard of using the services of a seniors real estate specialist to help seniors with their transition as they downsize or move to an age restricted home.  However an equestrian may not feel that a real estate agent with a SRES designation would be a good choice to help them.  But  what about if you could find a seniors residential specialist who was also a horse property specialist?

Helping Equestrian Seniors Move

Downsizing with horses has its own challenges.  It may be a difficult transition if you are used to totally caring for your horses yourself.   Or you may be used to having a large farm with many horses and are faced with whittling down the numbers to just a few.  Your seniors real estate specialist – horse property specialist will guide you through your options.  He will be able to assist you with the sale of your farm and find professionals who can help with packing and also the sale or donation of extra farm equipment.

Equestrian seniors may still wish to maintain their equestrian activity at some level.  They may just wish to find a smaller farm with less acreage to take care of and an easier barn to work out of.  Or a home in an equestrian community could be a good choice.  Another option would be boarding your horses and letting someone else be responsible for the care.  If you are from out of the area, a horse property specialist can help you find the barn that is closest to where you want to live that would be a good fit for you and your horses.

Downsizing with horses is a transition in an equestrian’s life and a Charlottesville seniors real estate specialist can help, especially if they are an equestrian property specialist as well.

Copyright 2011 all rights reserved by Pam Dent  “A Charlottesville Seniors Real Estate Specialist Can Assist Equestrians“.   Written by Pam Dent.

Central Virginia Farms Real Estate Market Report – May 2011

Central Virginia Farms Real Estate Market Report – May 2011

This Central Virginia Farms real estate market report will examine the sales of properties containing ten or more acres in the Central Virginia counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson,during May 2011.

May 2010 average list price $743,800.
May 2011 average list price $651,950.

May 2010 average sale price $680,000.
May 2011 average sale price $528,475.

May 2010 median sale price $635,000.
May 2011 median sale price $390,950.

May 2010 %sold/list 91.42%.
May 2011 %sold/list 81.06%.

Central Virginia May farm sales

1/1/2010 – 5/31/2010, 42 Central Virginia farms sold.
1/1/2011 – 5/31/2011, 38 farms sold on the Central Virginia real estate market.

The above figures are from the mls and while they are presumed to be correct they are not guaranteed.

Copyright 2011 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved “Central Virginia Real Estate Market Report – May 2011“.

Albemarle County VA Real Estate Market Report Farms – March 2011

This Albemarle County VA real estate market report will focus on the sales of farms during March 2011.

Since Albemarle farms can run the gamut from a minifarm to a working Charlottesville farm, for the purpose of this report we will consider all property sales in Albemarle County of at least 10 acres.

March 2010 average list price $810,950.
March 2011 average list price $1,090,000.

March 2010 average sale price $687,500.
March 2011 average sale price $1,075,000.

March 2010 median sold price $662,500.
March 2011 median sold price $1,110,000.

March 2010 %sold/list 84.77%.
March 2011 %sold/list 98.62%.

Albemarle County VA Farms Sold March 2011

1/1/2010 – 3/31/2010 farm sales – 10.
1/1/2011 – 3/31/2011 farm sales – 8.

Albemarle County Farm Sales & Inventory March

Albemarle County VA Farm sales & inventory March 2011

As you can see the sales of Albemarle farms continue to be very slow.  Today April 8, 2011 there are 135 Albemarle farms listed in the Albemarle County real estate market.  At the rate of only 8 farms sold in the first quarter of 2011, it is obvious that activity will need to pick up considerably to sell down the inventory and get us back to a balanced market.  However opportunities abound in the current market for buyers.

The above figures are from the mls and while they are presumed to be correct, they are not guaranteed.

Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate News

The March edition of my newletter Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate News is hot off the presses.

You may be interested in reading this issue which deals with the following topics:

  • Buying a distressed property, foreclosure or short sale, takes patience.
  • Why it is important to verify the information in the public records before putting your home on the market.
  • Selling your home – Find out what improvements are cost effective.
  • More information for sellers – Spring cleaning for the exterior of your home.
  • Make sure you understand disclosure requirements when you are selling your home and avoid a lawsuit later.

Read Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate News.

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, email me at pam@pamdent.com and I will put you on the mailing list.

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Contact Pam

Pam Dent
Phone: (434) 960-0161
Email: Pam@PamDent.com
McLean Faulconer Inc.
503 Faulconer Dr. #5
Charlottesville, VA 22903


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