SPACIOUS BRICK RANCH IN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD. BONUS 2 CAR DETACHED GARAGE WITH DRIVEWAY. FANTASTIC FLOOR PLAN, 4TH BEDROOM IS FROG. LARGE DECK & GREAT YARD FOR ENTERTAINING.

FANTASTIC PROPERTY, LOCATION AND AMENITIES! EXCELLENT CONDITION. ALL APPLIANCES INCLUDED. READY FOR IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY. SMALL PET AT OWNERS DISCRETION.

LIVE LIKE YOU'RE ON VACATION. 3 BLOCKS TO THE BEACH ON THE BAY. FRESH PAINT, NEW CARPET, SPACIOUS BEDROOMS, MASTER SUITE WITH FIREPLACE. FENCED BACKYARD. JUST MINUTES TO NORFOLK NAVAL BASE OR LITTLE CREEK.

ENJOY THE LIFESTYLE OF THE RIVERWALK COMMUNITY NEIGHBORHOOD POOL,PARKS, PATHS & MORE.EZ ACCESS TO INTERSTATES,AWARD WINNING SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS,SHOPPING AND ENTERTAINMENT. UPDATED FLOORING & PAINT,KITCHEN & BATH UPGRADES,GENEROUS CLOSET SPACE, PRIVATE PATIO,WIRED FOR SURROUND SOUND,GAS FIREPLACE&MORE

WOW! GREAT FOR ENTERTAINING. SIX GENEROUS SIZED BEDROOMS INCLUDE MEDIA ROOM, 1ST FLOOR BEDROOM, MASTER W/SITTING AREA. LOADS OF CLOSETS. KITCHEN HAS STAINLESS APPLIANCES, GRANITE COUNTERS & CUSTOM CABINETS. EXTRA HIGH DOOR & LOFT STORAGE IN GARAGE. PROFESSIONALLY LANDSCAPED.

JUST BLOCKS TO THE BEACH!OVER $20,000 IN RECENT UPGRADES!FRESH PAINT THRU OUT.NEW CARPET,NEW LIGHTING&NEW FENCE.NEW GRANITE COUNTERTOPS&STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES IN KITCHEN. FOUR GENEROUS SIZED BEDROOMS ALL W/ WALK-IN CLOSETS. MASTER SUITE WITH GAS FIREPLACE& SITTING AREA,JETTED TUB & DOUBLE SINKS!

   
Photos courtesy of Cindy Graf

On the real estate side of things, we have had several properties sold within the last few weeks. See link for details. The property located at 2221 Bluebill sold for $551,000, it's the latest bank owned sale in the community. It was an attractive price that received multiple offers. There are several more of these properties in the process of going on the market, if you are interested in finding out more information, just send me an email or call.

It’s looking like a busy summer season ahead, I hear that vacation rental demand has been strong and is significantly better than last year at this time, a true sign that our economy is beginning to recover.

That’s it for now.

By Pat Barton

WELCOME HOME TO THIS BEAUTIFULLY REMODELED TOWNHOME. THIS HOME FEATURES 3 BEDROOMS, 2.5 BATHS. EVERTHING IS NEW, LAMINATE FLOORS, CARPET, VINYL, WINDOWS, BATHROOM FIXTURES AND SO MUCH MORE. DOWNSTAIRS HAS AN OPEN AIRY FEEL.

WELCOME HOME TO THIS LOVELY TOWNHOME WITH TWO MASTER SUITES, HUGE EAT IN KITCHEN, NEW FENCE, EVERYTHING INSIDE IS BRAND NEW. MOVE IN READY, BRING YOUR PICKIEST BUYER. IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER IN THIS PRICE RANGE!

COMPLETELY REMODELED FOUR BEDROOM RANCH WITH OPEN FLOOR PLAN, NEWER ROOF, WINDOWS, SIDING, NEW CARPET, FLOORING, PAINT.  HOME SHOWS EXCELLENT.

WELCOME HOME TO THIS BEAUTIFUL 3 BEDROOM 2.5 BATH HOME IN A CUL-DE-SAC. LARGE MASTER DOWN WITH 2 UPSTAIRS BEDROOMS. NEW PAINT, HUGE FENCED BACKYARD, 1 CAR GARAGE. OPEN FLOOR PLAN! EASY TO SHOW!

I have recently listed a few properties with good locations for investment property, second home or a primary. See following properties at www.sandbridgehouses.com: Blue Lagoon, Giants Treasure and Port O’ Call. As a Sandbridge Beach resident it has been encouraging to see more interest in purchases for primary homes. I think this is due to a few things: one is more affordability on homes and the other is the good school district and proximity to shopping. Red Mill Commons just added a good Thai restaurant called Tida Thai. I went there with several friends this past Saturday and had a great meal.

March came in with a roar with a thankfully short lived Nor Easter. Let’s hope it goes out like a lamb. I know everyone is looking forward to saying “good bye” to the winter of 2010. It’s been rough for many parts of the country and we are all looking forward to warmer days ahead.

by: Pat Barton

Sandbridge, a strip of land approximately fifteen miles in length between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, has been home to farmers, surfmen, fishermen, hunters, vacationers, and permanent residents for over one hundred years. Deeds dating to 1850 reveal that the original name of this beach was Sand Ridge.

The community that had continued to grow throughout the 1950s was devastated by a storm on March 7, 1962, the Ash Wednesday Storm, that brought tides up to 8.9 feet. The storm whipped the sea, splintered houses, and washed away dunes. The owners cleaned up the residue and rebuilt Sandbridge. Subsequently, houses had to be constructed upon pilings.

The decade following the Ash Wednesday storm was one of rapid growth. Sandbridge was extended to within a mile of Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. Plans for further expansion were curtailed with the passage of the Federal Wet Lands Act. However, houses continued to sprout along Sandpiper and Sandfiddler Roads.

Announced FHA Policy Changes:   

Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending. 

The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.

If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.

This shift will allow for the capital reserves to increase with less impact to the consumer, because the annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at the time of closing

The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and will go into effect in the spring. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.   

New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA's 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.

This allows the FHA to better balance its risk and continue to provide access for those borrowers who have historically performed well.

This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%.   

The current level exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value. This change will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards on seller concessions.

This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.

By:Samuel Meekins III

Direct:    757.286.6225

email: SMeekins@MonarchMTG.com

Searching for a home at the Virginia Beach and Surrounding areas has never been easier when you utilize our automated home search system at www.forhomeinfo.info .  This free service will help you find your Virginia Beach dream home quickly and easily.  This service can locate homes ranging from condos and single family homes  to waterfront homes and any type or price home in between.  If you have a specific price range or budget in mind you can choose to be notified of only the homes within your selected price range saving you the frustration of sorting through homes that you have no interest in.

If you would like to get started just visit Virginia Beach Real Estate and the Hampton Roads real estate listings will be sent automatically to your email inbox as new area listings come on the market and are entered into the Real Estate Information Network  MLS System.  In most cases you will be notified as fast if not faster than the majority of real estate professionals working in and around Virginia Beach Area.  If our home search system doesn't cover a specific feature or detail you would like, be sure to utilize our "Comments" section on our online form and tell us exactly what you want and we will customize your search specifically for you (All custom searches will be completed that business day).

You may be asking yourself why am I willing to provide this service to you for free with no real obligation when many real estate agents won't even put the street address or price in their advertisements?  The answer is simple... TRUST.  I put a lot of trust into people and I believe that the vast majority of folks we come in contact with are good, hardworking and honest people.  I would like an opportunity to earn your trust and become your Virginia Beach Real Estate Agent. 

Virginia Beach Home Search System 

A couple weeks ago FHA announced changes to the condo approval process.  These changes were to make condo approvals much more difficult and essentially undermine the recovery effort.  These changes, however, were postponed until December 7^th in order for a further in-depth analysis to be completed.  This is VERY VERY good news for all of us.  We do not want these condo changes to take place!

Rates remain strong.  Remember, Monarch has hired additional staff to help with the rush we are seeing as closings try to take place before the tax credit expires.  Our current underwriting turn around time is three days – much quicker than larger national institutions.  If you have a new buyer trying to make the deadline don’t hesitate to contact me.  I can think of nothing worse than a first time homebuyer closing December 1^st.

By Samuel Meekins III

Senior Loan Officer

Monarch Mortgage

Amid mounting speculation over the future of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, Congress moved today to give American service members another 12 months to claim the popular incentive. The House of Representatives voted 416 to 0 to pass the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009, which pushes the credit's current November 30 deadline back an additional year for members of the military, Foreign Service, and intelligence corps who served at least three months of qualified overseas duty in 2009. "This bill makes sure that the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day get to enjoy the same benefits as every other American who benefits from their service," said Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat who introduced the bill. "By extending the first-time homebuyer tax credit for service members overseas, we give these families more time to utilize the benefit, while also helping our economy continue its recovery." Here are five things you need to know about the development:

1. Missing out: The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit was part of President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package, which he signed into law in February. The incentive has since been popular with home buyers; Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, expects the program to generate as many as 400,000 additional new and existing home sales by the end of November, when the program is set to expire. But since many American service members have been living overseas, it has been difficult for them to take advantage of the program. "If you are in a conflict zone, you don't have time to get together with your spouse and family to go house shopping," says Rep. Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat. Rep. Dave Camp, a Republican from Michigan, expressed similar concerns. "A lot of service members get called overseas at a moment's notice," Camp says. "And because of the time limit on the legislation now, they can't always take advantage of it, not because of anything that they did or didn't do but because of the unique nature of serving in our armed forces." The legislation the House passed today provides American service members with additional latitude to take advantage of the credit.

2. Impact: Robert Dietz, the director of tax issues for the National Association of Home Builders, estimates that the new legislation will result in an additional 10,000 home sales. (Kind projected a similar outcome.) And while these additional sales are unlikely to affect the real estate market at the national level, since service members tend to live in clusters—around Army bases, for example—the extension could end up benefiting some individual housing markets more profoundly, Dietz says. "Ordinarily, I would say 10,000 [additional home sales] is not a big deal," Dietz says. "But in this case, in certain communities—since housing is local—it could be a decent [boost]."

3. Costs: The housing tax credit components of the bill are projected to trigger a $77 million loss of federal revenue over the next 10 years. Other parts of the bill, however, generate enough new income—by raising penalties associated with late filings of certain partnership and corporation documents, for example—to ensure that it will not add to the government's yawning budget deficits. "It's revenue neutral," Camp says. "It was fully paid for.

4. Political outlook: From here, the action now moves to the Senate, which must also pass the measure before it can be signed by the president. "I would expect it is going to receive wide bipartisan support," Kind says. "It's the least that our government can do for our service men and women." Scott Talbott, a top lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, agrees. "It probably has even better odds in the Senate," he says. "Service men and women need it as much as anyone."

5. Extension for all first-time buyers: The development comes as lawmakers step up their efforts to extend the tax credit for all first-time homebuyers. The issue was raised yesterday during a meeting at the White House between congressional leaders and President Obama." We need to continue working toward ensuring that more families can stay in their current homes and continue efforts to strengthen the housing market by extending the homebuyer tax credit," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said after the meeting. Senator Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, has introduced legislation that would extend the credit for an additional year. Reid, meanwhile, has endorsed a bill introduced by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, pushing the deadline back for six months. Talbott says the six-month extension is "very likely" to become a reality. "It threads the needles of politics and costs," Talbott says. "The U.S. economy and the housing market desperately need it."

U.S.News & World Report

The credit, which applies to sales as of January 2009, is good for 10% of the price of a home, up to $8,000, and supporters assert it has helped stabilize the housing market. It's available to anyone who has not owned a home for three consecutive years prior to purchase, and to qualify for the full credit buyers must be purchasing a primary residence, and couples can earn no more than $150,000, while individuals must make less than $75,000.

The credit has been an important stimulus tool for two reasons. It's fully refundable, meaning that even if buyers owe no taxes whatsoever, they'll get an $8,000 check from the IRS. And this refund will put money in consumers' pockets for good, as opposed to the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit that could be applied to sales made between April 2008 and July 1 2009.

Buyers must close on their homes before Dec.1. But because much of the recent uptick in home sales has been attributed to this tax credit, housing industry advocates worry that the market could quickly turn down again after the credit expires.

"Just like the Cash-for-Clunkers program, there could be a hangover effect," said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst for Weiss Research.

That's why housing industry participants are pushing Congress to keep the tax credit in place.

"We're calling for extending the credit until the end of next year and expanding it to all homebuyers," said NAR spokesman Walter Molony. "We do think that housing will recover without it but the market will come back faster and stronger with it."

Some 1.8 million people are expected to participate in the program by the time it lapses and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) estimates that it will result in an extra 350,000 sales. The NAHB more conservatively predicts 165,000 more home sales than would have occurred. The associations don't want that momentum to slow. The associations don't want that momentum to slow.

"If we don't extend and expand the program, the seeds of growth planted could [die]," said NAHB president Jerry Howard.

There are six bills before Congress that would extend the tax credit, two in the Senate and four in the House of Representatives.

On Wednesday night, Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., along with Senators John Ensign R-Nev., Harry Reid, D-Nev., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mic., introduced a bill extending the tax credit program for six months.

Reid released a statement saying, "Yesterday we learned that new home sales have increased in Las Vegas, and that's good news. I hope this credit will build on that so more Nevadans can realize the American dream of home ownership."

Senator Isakson, a former real estate broker himself who has become a leading voice on housing market issues, had introduced his own bill several weeks ago. That would not only extend the credit for a year after it's renewed, it would allow all homebuyers, not just first-timers, to claim it, as long as the property is for a principle residence. The bill would also increase the tax refund to as much as $15,000.

The house bills all extend the deadline through at least the end of December 2009 and two of the bills, introduced by Howard Coble, R-NC and by Dan Burton, R-Ind., would have it run through 2010. They would also open it up to all homebuyers.

Sentiment backing efforts to extend the credit appears to be on the rise, according to Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Concept Capital's Washington Research Group. He put the odds of an extension at 2 to 1. Isakson's version has already attracted 16 co-sponsors, according to his deputy chief of staff, Joan Kirchner.

But the NAHB's Howard, whose background includes extensive tax lobbying, said that he's seen "a couple of red flags lately," threatening to derail any of the bills.

For one thing, the White House has made it known that it is not supporting the extensions. That doesn't mean the administration is against it, it just means that it won't work towards passing any of the bills.

Another hurdle: The growing sentiment among fiscal conservatives that any extension must be paid for by finding savings in some other areas. There has already been $14 billion allocated to the program -- and any extension would surely cost billions more. Finding that money may be very difficult.

Howard contends that while extending the tax credit may be costly, generating home sales can fire up the entire economy.

When people buy homes, especially new homes, they put a lot of cash into circulation. They buy furniture and appliances, new rugs and drapes, do landscaping and painting.

"When I bought my first home, I begged borrowed and, since the statute of limitations is now over, I can admit I stole from my parents to furnish it," he said. "For our second home, my wife and I bought all new stuff." 

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer