Roanoke, VA

No money down loans are available for Roanoke Virginia Home Buyers!

There is a lot of good and bad information out there now about different loan programs available. If you live in the Roanoke Virginia area and you need a No Money Down loan there are options! The number one choice amongst lenders now seems to be the USDA Rural Development Loan. I know some of you are thinking that is nice but I don't want to live in Botetourt County, Franklin County, Bedford County or Craig County.....well you don't have to! For some reason our government thinks that Roanoke County is rural! Yes, places as "rural" as Penn Forest and North Lakes qualify!

If you have any questions about whether or not an area qualifies please shoot me an email or give me a call. I have a lender that can put the address in the system and check it in a matter of seconds! The best part of this loan is that there is NO PMI! This can save you tons of money every month and it can allow you to buy a higher priced home since the PMI will not be counted in your payment!

If you are looking to buy in Roanoke City, we still have the VHDA loan product available.This product even has a feature that will allow you to use the $8,000 tax credit (as a loan.....kind of complicated sounding but it is really easy) to pay closing costs so you can get in with no money down!

There is even a loan out there now that will allow you to finance in upgrades or updates to that fix er upper you have always dreamed of!

Give me a call or shoot me a quick email and I will put you in touch with a lender who will help you get into that home you have been dreaming of!

Great Local Painting Company for Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Bedford, Botetourt, Franklin and Smith Mountain Lake!

So, why do I take time to blog about a certain restaurant, a moving company, a painter, ect. the answer is somewhat self serving and relatively simple.....I blog about people who make me look good!

I like to recommend businesses and professionals that have a history of making my clients and customers feel good about the decision they made to go to or use that person that I referred them to. They take care of the customer the way they need to and want to be taken care of. Ultimately, that makes me look good for taking care of my client.

There are a ton of Painters out there, and it seems like they all live in the Roanoke, VA area. When you paint your home or place of business, you want someone who is experienced don't you? You look for someone who is reliable, trustworthy, and most of all will show up, won't you? There are some painters out there who will try to get your business by quoting you any price you want to hear, and then try to squeeze their quality out to fit the price. There are others who pressure you to hire them for the job and then don't show up when they are supposed to, or worst of all, show up drunk. Many of these "painters", if they do show up won't be licensed or insured and you will have all the liability if they mess up on the job, or worst are injured. Bottom line, it is important to hire someone who lives and works in the Roanoke valley, and has a reputation that is at stake. It is equally important to know that that painters reputation has been at stake for years and is still strong.

Jeff Cass from Paint by Design has years of experience Painting in the Roanoke, Virginia area. He has been in Roanoke Virginia for over 6 years, and is licensed and insured. We are not talking about part time painters here, Jeff does this for a living and his and his employees wives and children depend on this company being good at what they do.

So, if you want your free estimate for a residential or commercial paint job in the Roanoke, VA area give Paint By Design a call. You can reach them at (540)292-8530.

Roanoke area Licensed Radon Remediation (Mitigation) Companies Ok...so here is the long and the short of it....in Virginia you have to be a licensed Radon Remediator (Mitigator) to install Radon Remediation (Mitigation) systems. There is a specific license for a Radon Remediator (Mitigator) in the State of Virginia. To be Licensed you also have to be trained and certified through one of several organizations. The company HAS to be LICENSED and CERTIFIED to be legal in the State of Virginia.

For some reason, many real estate professionals continue to suggest illegal "posers" who are not Licensed Radon Remediator (Mitigator's). These "posers" tend to do lackluster, sub-standard jobs. The issue for the consumer is that when these systems are done by the "posers" there is no recourse for a job gone wrong.

I have brought this to the attention of many in the trade organizations in the Roanoke Valley to no avail, so now I bring this information directly to you the consumer.

Be sure you hire a Licensed Radon Remediation Comany to do your mitigation! There are only two currently in the Roanoke VA area:

Blue Ridge Service Company- (540)-598-4474

Nelson Enterprises LLC-(540) 871-5650

There are probably 10 companies in the phone book in the Roanoke VA area claiming to be "Certified" but it is ILLEGAL for them to do radon remediation systems.

Also, there have been several "Radon" Companies in the area that have been bought and sold in the last year or so....please make sure when hiring a radon remediation company in Roanoke VA that you get one with actual, personal experience and not one who just bought the company.

I will post pictures of the "Posers" systems below. Please feel free to email me pictures of your systems!

Above is a system that a Roanoke VA "poser" installed. Notice that they did not screw any of the joints together and so a year later is has fallen apart.

I have been engaged in a 45 day process of helping my clients buy a bank owned property. It is a 100 year old farmhouse, partially remodeled, 5 acres, small pond, and 3 outbuildings.

The original list price was $179,900, we made our first offer after the price had been reduced twice to $154,900. It was a low ball offer, about 20% below the list price. The Management Company countered, we countered, they countered, we countered. Their last counter arrived on Friday evening, my clients stated their desire to "think about it" over the weekend. I contacted the listing agent and was told that the offer was only good for 24-48 and would expire by Monday. My clients felt pressured, we discussed it and much to my dismay they decided to walk away.

Fast forward to Tuesday: My clients decide this is the house for them, we submit another offer based on the final offer made on the previous contract. I received an email within 3 hours of submission that our offer had been declined due to the financing being FHA based. Same exact terms as the original offer. I contacted the listing agent and was told they were not accepting FHA funding and that the home would not pass an FHA inspection. I ask her if they will accept an FHA 203k Renovation loan, she replies that they would.

I contact our in-house loan officer, who happens to have a long history of FHA 203k renovation loans. We discuss the home, she tells me to get a property condition report from the Management Company. My clients contact a contractor, he prepares an estimate for the repairs, provides the loan officer with all the relevant documents, insurance and bonding info and is approved by the FHA to perform the repairs. I meet with my clients and prepare a third offer, we submit and get immediate acceptance, except for the 60 day closing date suggested by the loan officer, the bank wants a 30 day settlement. There is also a $150 a day per diem for missing the closing date. The loan officer explains that she cannot process the loan that quickly due to the extra requirements of a 203k loan during underwriting. We counter with the same closing date and the reason why. Five days pass and I contact the listing agent, she calls the account manager, we get another rejection.

I am now dumbfounded. I call my clients, they are upset and confused. I call the l;isting agent and she says that the account manager doesn't understand the difference between the standard 203b FHA loan and a 203k Renovation loan. I ask if I can provide documents showing what a 203k is designed for, that the home does indeed qualify for a 203k, and my clients have taken the appropriate steps and that they are more than prepared to proceed. The loan officer sends me the appropriate documents, I forward them on to the listing agent, she forwards them to the account manager. Three more days pass, I receive an email from the listing agent saying to make another offer.

Wednesday , Thanksgiving Eve, my clients and I meet at the local Denny's to sign a 4th offer on this home. In the preceding 45 days the price has been reduced again to $139,900. Wow, my clients are ecstatic, we offered full price & 45 day closing due to the loan officer continuing the 203k process while we were proving the home actually would qualify for this type of funding. I am anxious to see what tomorrow brings!

This is a cautionary tale for all the buyers out there looking to purchase foreclosed/ bank owned properties. The people behind the scenes are not all professionals, are unaware of the different types of funding available to purchase these properties and worst of all are overworked and seemingly unmotivated to put in the work to get these properties sold. Find yourself a Professional Realtor, who will be able to bring other professionals in to assist and provide the necessary expertise to get your offers accepted. Please understand that there will be a need for patience, as I am sure there are more complicated and difficult examples out there than the one I have described.

How you can never be late on a payment, never go over your limit....and have your credit score drop!

Impossible you say?!?!? This is what is happening every day in America! For decades we have heard about how much debt the average consumer is in. For years we have listened to financial gurus tell us to pay off our revolving debt....well....now you might just have to!

With the credit crunch going on in America today it is imperative for the consumer to realize what is happening to their credit scores that is absolutely out of their control. Your credit scores are determined by mathematical algorithms developed by FICA. Those algorithms take into account the ratio of credit used to credit limit (you need to stay less than 50% if at all possible).

Here is the issue, credit card companies are raising interest rates and lowering credit limits! No problem you say, you only use 50% of the credit limit anyway....well....if you have $5000 on a card with a $10,000 limit, than you are at 50%, not too bad. But, if your credit card company lowers your limit to $6000 you are now at 83% and your credit score just dropped! Now to get your credit score back you need to drop your balance to $3000. The more cards you have the worst it can affect you!

I would highly recommend that anyone who is carrying a balance on their credit card start paying down the principal as soon as possible. I would not do it to the detriment of cash on hand for emergencies but I would definitely start addressing the problem to protect your credit scores.

Damon