Motivational Monday - Do you live your life with Passion?

Good Monday morning to all!  

As I was preparing for the week ahead last night, I could not help but think how grateful I am to be doing what I truly love and excited about - helping people find their homes to build their lives and memories in.  

When was the last time that you felt passionate about something important in your life?  Did you ever find that passion?  Are you still looking or have you given up?

Have a wonderful Monday everyone and a stupendous week ahead!

New Construction Homes

Being a recent purchaser of a new construction home, I can say from personal experience that one of the most important things one should be searching for in a home builder is a solid reputation. Because other than that, there is little to nothing that you can negotiate when signing a contract for a new construction. I'm not talking about the incentives, promotions and "freebies" they offer, but the body of the contract itself. It is very literally take-it-or-leave-it. And while it is true that home builders will often form a new corporate entity for each neighborhood they are building, I have found that the builders with a well-known "parent" name, if you will, will go beyond what another home builder might be unwilling to do. And the reason for that, is that they have that reputation to uphold. 

A very good friend recently entered into a contract to purchase a new construction home from a very reputable home builder. Her husband, however, began to have buyer's remorse. After the recession period had already expired and passed, they tried to back out. This builder let them out of the contract and refunded their deposit. This came as a surprise to me, until my friend told me who the builder was. It was the same builder that built my new home, and one that had a sterling reputation. As I mentioned earlier, the builders with a reputation to uphold are often more willing to bend over backwards for you. Another personal example I can talk about, is the builder's warranty on a new construction home. My husband and I were coming upon our one-year mark, and needed to do our one-year inspection and walk-thru (this is where the builder will come back after a year and address some of the issues you may have found since it was built). One of the issues was actually supposed to be brought to their attention at our 6-month mark, but our builder said it was fine and proceeded to fix the problem as they would have 6 months earlier. Other builders, in my opinion, may have just simply said to us - you are S.O.L.

So the moral of this story is - new construction homes can be great. You need not be afraid! Just pick the right builder. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Motivational Monday - What if we saw what's inside others' hearts?

Good Morning Everyone!  
I hope today's video reminds you that everyone is fighting a hard battle that we are not aware of...

"Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible." - Dalai Lama

Have an inspiring Monday and a productive week ahead!

Wet Settlement vs. Dry Settlement

A "wet" settlement is one in which the funds from the lender must be received prior to, or at the time of, closing. In contrast, a "dry" settlement is one in which there are no funds available at the closing. So it follows that in a dry settlement, seller does not get their sale proceeds at closing, though the papers have been signed. 

Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia are all wet settlement states. One caveat with Virginia, however, is that the Commonwealth requires that the (1) Deed and (2) Deed of Trust (if there is one) be properly recorded in the county land records office prior to disbursement. Therefore, though Virginia calls for wet settlements, sellers in Virginia still will not receive their sale proceeds at closing, and must wait until the deed goes on record. Generally speaking, that would mean the next business day. 

Sometimes, the date and time of a closing cannot be changed. But if there is some flexibility, and particularly if the property is in Virginia, it might be worth considering the disbursement issues and to plan around that. For example, scheduling a closing on a Friday would ultimately mean that the seller would not get their sale proceeds until Monday. And if Monday is a holiday, then that would mean an even longer wait. Just a thought, for all of you Virginia sellers…

Have a great weekend!

Motivational Monday - "Winning is a Habit!" Vince Lombardi

What habits do you have?  Do your habits position your life to achieving you dreams?  

Is winning one of your habits?

Here is a bit of inspiration from the great Vince Lombardi.

Have a great week ahead full of winning habits!

The finest compliment I can ever receive is the referral of your friends, family, and business associates.

Oxana - Oxana@RitzHomesRealty.com

Home Inspections and FHA loans

I read an article the other day regarding the need for a home inspection, and how using a completed inspection report (with issues found) to get out of a contract under a financing contingency can be both immoral and fraudulent. I partially disagree. 

The article states that if a lender doesn't have a real reason to deny you the loan, the lender shouldn't deny it -  that it isn't honest and it forces the lender to act in a way that could carry severe repercussions.  Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. But the article goes on to say that the lender should deny the loan only for real financial reasons, not at the whim of every remorseful buyer. The part that I disagree with is that sometimes, a loan denial is not always about financial reasons, per se. Sometimes, a home inspection report IS the reason why you cannot get proper financing - especially if you have applied for an FHA loan. 

There are minimum standards that a home must be in, in order for FHA to fund the loan: Safety, Security and Soundness. FHA does not require the repair of cosmetic defects, or even minor defects, if they have nothing to do with these three standards. But if they do fall within those categories, then FHA will require the repairs to be addressed prior to the purchase of the home. If not, then your loan will be denied, and the seller will need to find another buyer that can purchase in cash or get a non-FHA loan. (A non-FHA loan, however, can also sometimes face the same problem if the inspection findings are severe - it really just depends on the lender and their underwriter). 

So comes the question of whether to waive the home inspection contingency in order to "win" the contract. If you are an FHA applicant, then it might be smart to just nip this issue in the bud and simply limit your search of homes to those in better "turn-key" condition - otherwise you might find that you are losing a property that you have your heart set on. Because whether or not you waive the home inspection contingency, you may still lose the home no matter what your take is on what to do about repairs needed on the home. Sometimes, an appraisal will find some issues, but only if they are not latent defects (an appraiser is not trained to do what a home inspector would do). And any issues found by an appraiser may cause the appraisal to fall below the minimum value needed for a loan approval. And FYI - an appraisal contingency cannot be waived in an FHA loan. 

If you are a non-FHA applicant, and especially if you are purchasing in cash, then ask yourself whether it is worth the potential repair costs involved if a non-contingent home inspection report finds major faults with the property - because in that case, you will face the dilemma of addressing the problems yourself, and cannot rely on the seller to do anything about them.

As always, feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. Hope you have a great weekend!

Motivational Monday - Teamwork at its' finest!

It's Motivational Monday Time!  

Are you surrounded by the people that support you in achieving your goals?  People that will be there for you no matter what?  People that will share their resources?  People that will hold your ......

Hope you had a good laugh to start a very successful week ahead!

As always, please contact me for any real estate needs that you or people you know might have at oxana@ritzhomesrealty.com

What the government shutdown means for the real estate market

If this shutdown is short-lived, which many believe it will be, there will likely be little to no impact on the larger real estate market. There could be some delay to those seeking a government-backed mortgage (i.e. FHA loans, VA loans, etc.) - more so for those that have not yet begun the loan process, as FHA will not underwrite or approve any new loans during the shutdown. At the moment, delays are coming from the inability to verify tax returns and social security numbers, for example. But again, if short-lived, we could pick right back up and be alright. 

If the shutdown lasts more than 30 days, however, it could spell trouble for new home buyers and those wanting to refinance. 

The last government shutdown occurred in 1995 and lasted for 21 days. I won't comment on my thoughts of the shutdown or even try to guess how long the standoff will last, just that I hope it ends soon. 

Let's cross our fingers, and in the meantime just enjoy the weather. Have a great weekend!

New Listing!

Just Listed - $699,000

11755 Taneytown Pike, Taneytown, MD 21787

MLS# FR8194850  

Beautiful, custom-built home with 4500 Sq. Ft of living space on 18 Acres of natural and picturesque land.  This home includes all new, advanced, energy-efficient amenities, and high-efficiency, dual-opening windows on all levels. No HOA, so the land is yours to enjoy without limitations.

Quiet and safe neighborhood with established families and estates.  This home is just a short drive away from Emmitsburg, Mount Saint Mary's University, Liberty Mountain Ski and Golf Resort, Frederick, and Gettysburg Outlets. 

Click here for the Virtual tour

Contact me for a showing at 240-994-0150 or Oxana@RitzHomesRealty.com