Harrisonblog

Lets face it, the economy is cold, bad, not fun right now. When the economy goes sour, so does the financial welfare of most of us. For the housing market, this means that many folks need to sell their homes, foreclose, or do a short sale. What is the difference between a foreclosure and a [...]

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We’ve been keeping you up to date on the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, and wanted to remind you that this credit expires on November 30th — that is just over 2 months away! To clarify, what we mean by “expires” is that first time home buyers — those that have not owned [...]

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School is not out forever, and in fact, most schools are starting up again next week. Harrisonburg is beginning to see the flood of college students returning from Summer vacation and ramping up to start the 2009 - 2010 school year. I personally love this time of year! New beginnings, new opportunities, a fresh start… [...]

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Do you ever find yourself having conversations in acronyms and abbreviations? I guess it makes sense to shorten phrases, especially when using those terms frequently in conversation, but not everyone knows what they are all the time. So to increase your list of known acronyms, I provide you with information about TILA, HERA, and HOEPA.
The [...]

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If you keep up with real estate news, you’ve surely heard about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). If you don’t keep up with that stuff, you’re in the right place! Here is a brief summary on what this is, what it means to you, and how things are changing in the real estate [...]

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The home buying process can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before — and sometimes even if you have! A common concern that we hear from first-timers is whether or not they are ready to buy, and how they know when to start looking once they are ready to take that next [...]

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I just read an incredible article entitled “Why Home Prices May Keep Falling” published by the New York Times. It describes, in pretty good detail, why home prices fall, and fall slowly. The most interesting part of the article is when the author describes the points of view held by a buyer in a market [...]

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Renting-to-own is an option that many have been considering lately, especially with the economy the way it is. So, what are the pros and cons of this option? Is it a good choice for you?
These deals, also called rent-to-own and lease-option, usually require buyers to pay extra rents each month plus up-front fees of about [...]

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A lot of chit-chat has been darting back and forth on the web about whether or not folks can actually use the new $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit for a down payment. Well, the facts are in! If you qualify for the tax credit [click here to read up on qualifications for this credit] [...]

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By now you’ve probably heard all about the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit passed by Congress a few months ago. Before now, though, folks couldn’t use the $8,000 toward a down payment because they’d have to file their tax returns in order to receive the credit. Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. [...]

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