About Ashburn's K. Hovanian Four Seasons

The 2009 fall buyer's market in Northern Virginia was crazy. First time buyers were out trying to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it's original November 30th deadline.

I met one of these buyer's in mid September. He wasn't picky or unrealistic. In fact, this buyer was very reasonable in his requests for location, price, and household amenities. However, it was the competition that was driving us mad. We were shopping in Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn and South Riding.

My buyer wrote competitive offers on six different Northern Virginia properties. With the influx of cash buyers into the $200,000 and below market, anyone,like my client, with an FHA loan, has very little shot. The first property he lost was a foreclosure townhouse. My buyer lost simply because of the financing contingency. It was seven days, but a full market value offer! The bank that owned that particular property left $30,000 on the table by choosing a cash buyer with no contingencies. By the time that buyer had fallen through and the bank was back to us, we were on to property three or four.

The property that my buyer had always kept at the top of his list, but hesitated to write on, was the property he ended up buying today. A two bedroom, two bathroom condo in excellent condition in an Ashburn development for agest 55 and over. It was a foreclosure. His hesitation was that there was no deck. No patio. For lacking that small outdoor space, my buyer got an abundance of storage (which he desperately needed), reserved & covered parking, and a residence that exceeded all of his other wants and desires.

The property was purchased for less than the FHA appraised value and the bank (seller) paid for over 75% of my buyer's closing costs. My buyer, having written his winning offer on October 19th, knew that there was a good chance he would miss out on the tax credit. What a blessing that it was extended and he will get the benefit of that $8,000. Best of all, my buyer has time to move in and get his Christmas tree up. There is no place like home for the holidays!