Oceanfront Property in OBX You know that sad feeling you get when you pack up your gear at the end of the summer and leave that vacation home on the beach? You know how everyone says, “I wish we could live here all year long?” Well, you can! Current conditions in the real estate market make it easy to find a place on the beach that you can call home all year long! Give me a call today.

TBA Announces location for Homearama 2011 North Suffolk

Homearama will be held in North Suffolks winning neighborhood " The Riverfront" in Harbourview

Spring is here and buyers are stirring

I've noticed my phone is ringing off the hook.  Rates are still low and there have been lots of price reductions on Foreclosures.
Nice homes will sell this spring.
People are starting their exercise programs and spring sports.  Is the weather holding up it's end of the deal.

Before we know it our spring/summer market will be gone.

Military families that need to relocate, there are resources available for you.

e mail me at christineparrish@charter.net

Lets talk Real Estate

Vacation Rentals in Outer Banks of North Carolina, Affordable

Vacation rentals have held up on the Outer Banks.  Rental income has increased in the past several years in spite of our tough economy.  why?  Partly because the Outer Banks is a drive to beach accessible from all areas of the east coast and the Carolina's with a nice easy drive.  This makes it affordable..  Also, the more popular vacation homes are at least 8 bedrooms and can comfortably handle 20 guests.  They are equipped with private pools hot tubs and gourmet kitchens with the equipment to cook big meals saving money from having to go out to eat for every meal.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter are perfect times to gather with your families and enjoy the area where there are shopping outlets and just relaxing by an ocean front fireplace.
Planning a wedding.  The beach is known for weddings and there are services that can accomodate your needs.

This and much more makes for a great memorable vacation or event for you and your family. Interesting?
Want to hear more?  Contact me at 757-816-7000

OBX North Carolina

Did you know that when you purchase a vacation home in the early spring that you get all the income from the summer at the closing table.  This makes the sale very attractive.

There are great deals on the beach and good properties getting lots of activity.  Need to sell or looking to buy?
Contact me for a talk.
Christine Parrish 757-816-7000

Second Home Sale of Resort Property surge See Video

Click the link to see the video from Clark Howard.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/01/20/exp.mxp.clark.second.homes.hln

FHA extends suspension of 'anti-flipping' rule for another year

The rule was intended to prevent speculators from defrauding the government, but it also stifled the purchase and renovation of foreclosed homes by legitimate investors.

Reporting from Washington —

For years the federal government prohibited the use of Federal Housing Administration mortgage financing by buyers purchasing homes from sellers who had owned the property for less than 90 days. The idea was to prevent speculators from defrauding the government through quick flips of houses — often involving straw buyers and corrupt appraisers — at wildly inflated prices.

One side effect of that policy had been to stifle purchase-and-renovate projects by legitimate, small-scale investors who buy houses after foreclosure or loan defaults and then resell them in substantially improved condition. In many parts of the country, first-time and moderate-income buyers often sought to buy these fixed-up houses using FHA-insured mortgages with 3.5% down payments, but were prevented from doing so by the "anti-flipping" rule.

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This left large numbers of foreclosed, vacant houses sitting unsold and deteriorating, with negative effects on the values of neighboring properties.

Last January, FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens announced a one-year suspension of that rule, permitting qualified buyers to obtain FHA mortgages on properties that were acquired by rehabbers less than 90 days before. The plan, set to expire at the end of this month, came with safeguards for purchasers, including inspections and multiple appraisals in some cases to document the amounts spent by investors on the improvements.

Vicki Bott, deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing at the FHA, confirmed in an interview that the agency expects to continue the policy for another year. Not only have first-time buyers responded overwhelmingly to the opportunity to buy "turnkey" renovated homes with low down payments, she said, but they have performed well on their mortgage obligations.

"Obviously we have concerns about flipping in general," Bott said, but the FHA has seen none of the fraud problems, defaults and re-foreclosures that cost the agency millions in insurance payouts in earlier years.

Investor Paul Wylie, who with a group of partners and contractors specializes in acquiring, renovating and reselling foreclosed and distressed houses in the Los Angeles area, says the government's policy "has been a very positive approach" because "it recognizes the role that [private investors] can play in helping the housing market get back on its feet."

In the L.A. market, Wylie said, FHA financing accounts for 40% of all home purchases and 60% of purchases in predominantly Latino and African American communities.

Buying foreclosed houses "comes with a lot of risk factors," Wylie said. "There's no title insurance. We don't have a good idea of the extent of the defects" inside properties that have been sitting vacant or vandalized for months. Some houses come with delinquent property taxes, which Wylie's group typically must pay.

Then again, the profit opportunities can be significant as well. Most of the Wylie group's houses sell for more than 20% higher prices than Wylie paid at acquisition — a quick turnaround gain that potentially works for buyers, sellers, neighborhoods and, yes, the FHA itself.

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times