Also located nearby is the shopping and dining, all located within walking distance. Local favorites include the Lost Dog Cafe, Scoop Beauregard Ice Cream and Coffee, and Lebanese Taverna, but there are countless other places to eat, drink, and relax.
A neighborhood located in Arlington, VA 22205 made up over 200 homes. Typical styles of homes in this neighborhood are Colonials built at the end of the 1930s, early 1940s, on small lots (most are within .10 to .20 acres).The majority of the properties are detached homes, but there are some duplexes scattered throughout the neighborhood. Westover Park is located in the middle of the neighborhood on 1001 N. Kennebec Street.
The IRS has released the form (IRS Form-5405) that will be used when you file your 2009 tax return in order to claim the $8,000 tax credit. Due to the new instructions, you’ll have to do a paper return in order to claim the credit. In addition, you’ll have to attach a copy of your settlement statement (the HUD-1) as proof of your purchase (sounds like a sales receipt, doesn’t it?!) Your CPA should be able to do all of this for you if you use one! Just make sure you bring them a copy of your HUD-1.
To download the form, you can find it here.
For instructions and details (both in English and Spanish), visit the IRS website.
If you’re thinking of buying in 2010 in order to qualify, read my
step-by-step guide of what you’ll need to do in order to qualify!
There were 205 properties that sold in December 2009; there were 186 in 2008. Of the 205 sold, 9 were short sales and 17 were bank-owned properties, accounting for about 12.7%. The average sales price for Arlington county condos was about 5% less than December 2008, but townhouses and detached properties were 8% and 10% HIGHER than December 2008, respectively. Detached Properties (Houses) North Arlington South Arlington For townhouse and condo pricing, please continue reading here.
Average Net Sales Price: $750,691 after 41 days
Range: $407,350 – $1,525,000
Average Net Sales Price: $554,428 after 66 days
Range: $284,000 – $1,050,000
So i’m sure everyone knows by now there’s an $8,000 check waiting to be claimed if you haven’t owned a home in the past 3 years…but how the heck do you go about getting it? Well, let me walk you through the process:
Step 1: You haven’t owned a house in the past 3 years? Move on to step 2.
Step 2: If you’re single, do you make $125,000 or less? If you’re married, do you make $225,000 or less? If yes, move on to step 3. (*Note: for those of you just on the cusp of these income restrictions, there are tax-credits that phase-out up to $20,000 above these limits, so you may not qualify for the whole $8k, but you may be able to get at least something from Uncle Sam.)
Step 3: Decide you want to buy a home!! Congratulations – this is a big decision, but a VERY exciting one! Move on to step 4.
Step 4: Find a Realtor(R)..oh look, you’re here, why not just knock this step out now by emailing me? Finding a good real estate agent will help all of the following steps become much easier…if you’re not in the D.C. area (D.C., Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax) feel free to email me for some recommendations of great agents in your area. Once you’ve found someone you’re comfortable working with, move on to step 5.
To read on, please click here.
There was a Glee Episode on Fox (yes, I love this show and I am not afraid to admit it!) where Sue Sylvester says:
“Like the time I sold my house to a nice young couple and salted the earth in the backyard so that nothing could grow there for 100 years. Know why I did that? Because they tried to get me to pay their closing costs.”
So is it REALLY that offensive to ask for a contribution towards your closing costs from the seller?
First of all, let’s define a seller subsidy: a lump sum from the seller the buyer may use to pay their closing costs. There is no actual cash exchanged or check written…it appears as a simple line-item in your closing cost statement (known as the HUD-1). Here’s what it looks like:
Things to consider:
Sellers pay a Grantor’s Tax of $1 per $100 in Arlington County on the GROSS sales price. So they’re paying higher taxes to give you the subsidy.
A buyer’s mortgage/loan amount is based on the GROSS sales price, so your monthly payment may be higher every month, but you’ll have more cash at the time you close.
Buyers pay a Recordation Tax on the GROSS sales price, just like a seller.
So is it offensive?
In 2009, almost 47% of ALL of the sold transactions in Arlington had a seller subsidy of some sort – they can range from a few dollars to 3-4% of the sales price. We factor about 3% of the sales prices for closing costs (in addition to your down payment), that’s how many people achieve a number they ask for as a subsidy. There has been legislation that limits the amount that may be contributed by a seller, but it varies by lender.
My general opinion on the matter is that IF you need the cash – ask for it. Sellers have a number in their head they’re trying to net – if that price is $600,000 and you want $20,000 for closing costs…you may have to give an offer of $620,000 with $20,000 in closing costs, because to the seller this is still a sale of $600,000. It’s a NET value.
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Providing real estate expertise in Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Washington, D.C.
Laura is an upstate New York native, but now calls Arlington home. Prior to becoming a full-time Realtor, Laura served as an analyst and consultant in the finance realm of the Federal Government. Laura completed her undergraduate work at the University of Rochester and holds a dual degree in Economics and Statistics, as well as a Master's Degree in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., Laura focuses her business on helping first-time home buyers and sellers navigate the real estate process.
Professional Affiliations and Designations
Business Experience
Education
Licensed in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland
Use this section to write about your specific areas of expertise. Do you specialize in first time buyers - listing high end homes - etc. Are there specific market area's that you specialize in? The more you write about your area's of expertise the more knowledgeable you'll sound to a potential buyer or seller.
"My fiance and I met Laura by chance when we stopped in on an open house in the very beginning of our home search. Laura was paying her dues, spending her Saturday showing of a not-so-glamorous rundown home with a smile on her face. It wasn't until months later that we really got serious about finding a home, but we remembered Laura from the one interaction we'd had and gave her a call. The positivity, poise, and professionalism we saw in Laura that day was what made our entire experience working with her such an excellent one. Laura was very clear and professional about her expectations of our working relationship from the very beginning. She spent time explaining each process and procedure to us, until the night we sat down together to write our first offer at 9 PM on a weeknight (when I'm sure she had other things she'd rather be doing!). Laura is always responsive by phone and email, always on time for appointments, and has continued to be available even since our home purchase was finalized. She offered just the right amount of knowledge and opinion no matter how many questions we asked, allowing us to form our own thoughts about each home we visited. Laura is also extremely good with numbers, organized, and able to effectively articulate intracacies of the home-buying process that not everyone might understand right away. She sent us all the information and home listings we needed but also looked through them on her own and ended up finding the home we live in now after I had passed by it in the listings. We are so thankful to have had a wonderful home-buying experience and to be living in our amazing home in Arlington. We'd recommend Laura to anyone interested in having an experience like ours!" - Pam & Greg, Arlington, VA
"As a first time home buyer the entire process was very daunting to us, however Laura made it very easy. She made us feel very comfortable from the start and never made us feel like any of our questions were "dumb questions". I would absolutely refer her to any of our friends and family in the area searching for a home." - Nick, Washington, D.C.
"When my business partner and I moved into the DC area looking to invest we sent out a list of criteria to several real estate agents hoping to find one that could help us accomplish our goals, thank goodness we found Laura. She worked quickly to compile a list of over 100 properties, most of which we visited in a short two day period. Without Laura's dedication and hard work I'm convinced that we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now. We plan on continuing our professional relationship with her and look forward to working with her in the future. Thanks Laura!" -Stephen E., Alexandria
"We are happy to say that in less than six weeks, we were in our new home and it is all thanks to Laura's dedication to us. She really listened, her commitment to us was reflected in her professionalism, timely communication and service to us and that made all of the difference. She was very knowledgeable and there were no questions or concerns that she was unwilling or unable to address. She has so much energy and goes above and beyond what a Realtor should do. She restored our confidence in the home buying process and I have since recommended her to anyone interested in buying or selling a home." -Maxine and Mustafa, Washington, D.C
"We recently had a baby and needed to move to a bigger home. A friend recommended Laura, so we contacted her. We thought we wanted to rent for another year before buying, but we told Laura that if she was able to find us a "steal" we'd consider it. When she got back to us with a list of for sale and for rent properties, we were surprised how many homes were on the market close to our price range. In the end we decided to stick to our original plan and rent. Laura never put any pressure on us to decide one way or the other- she let us decide what was best for us- even when it would have been better for her had we chosen to buy. We were planning to move in September but Laura's work was so fast that she was able to help us get into a place in August which worked out even better for us. She showed us the properties on last minute notice and was overall very flexible, friendly and helpful. We would recommend her to anyone who asked!" -Jess & James, Falls Church
"Laura did an amazing job of finding me a condo that fit exactly what I was looking for. Her extensive knowledge of the area and the outside research she did for me made the process very fast and easy since we didn't waste time looking at properties that she knew I wouldn't be interested in. She was very low-pressure about making the sale by letting me move at my own pace.
As a first time buyer, I wasn't sure exactly how the process worked after finding a place to put an offer on, so Laura helped me every step of the way, from the initial offer through the mortgage approval and closing. I always felt very comfortable with how things were working, and anytime something came up she would contact me right away and we'd resolve the issue asap. I couldn't have asked for a better experience!" - Mark, Arlington
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