Real Estate News Provided by Cyndy Hornbaker

Cyndy's Real Estate Guide

Cyndy Hornbaker
Long & Foster Real Estate
8227 Old Courthouse Rd.
Suite 100
Vienna, VA 22182
703.556.8600
ext 791
703.472.7192
Contact Me
Visit My Web Site
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Real estate contingencies make comeback
During the recession of the early 1980s, when mortgage interest rates hovered near 18 percent, few home buyers could qualify for financing, particularly if they already owned a home that needed to be sold before buying a replacement home. Offers made contingent on the sale of the buyers' current home were popular. Contingent-sale offers are increasing in the current housing market. Most buyers who want or need to make a move to a home that better suits their current lifestyle can't qualify to buy before selling their existing home due to stringent mortgage-qualifying criteria.
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Seller financing for today's market During the recession in 2001, a strong home-sale market was instrumental in pulling the economy back on track. The opposite may be the case now. The economy, particularly employment, needs to improve before the housing market stabilizes. Low interest rates are helping the home-sale market today, but the housing market is far from stalwart. ...more


Is “do it yourself” in your DNA? In many ways, this is a tough time to be a homeowner. Finances might be tight, but that doesn't stop the roof from wearing out, or the plumbing from starting to drip. ...more

	Should I Refinance?
	Estimate Payments
	Fixed or Adjustable?
	Should I Make Extra Payments?
	Will I Qualify?
	How Much Can I Afford?

	Cyndy Hornbaker Long & Foster Real Estate 8227 Old Courthouse Rd. Vienna, VA 22182 703.556.8600 ext 791 703.472.7192 Contact Me Visit My Web Site



	Get yourself some green for going green One way to make a home more valuable (read: good for sales, good for property values) is to make it more energy efficient. Green sells, and green pays. ...more

Pay attention to home inspection For just about anyone, a home is the single-most expensive and single-most complex thing that you'll ever own. So when making that purchase, you certainly want to do everything possible to be an informed buyer and to protect yourself and your investment. ...more

Playing the real estate waiting game Buyers often are reluctant to make an offer to buy a home they find early on in their search. After looking for months and not finding anything comparable, some buyers regret not having moved quickly on a listing even though they saw it early on. ...more

Pricing to sell in today's market Putting yourself in the right mindset to sell is essential. It's the most difficult aspect of selling for most sellers. Your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay, which may not be what you think it is worth. Detaching yourself emotionally from your home is difficult. Clearing out years of clutter, depersonalizing your home by removing personal memorabilia, and staging your home for sale can help you step back and view the home as a commodity that needs to be sold rather than as your personal sanctuary. Putting your home on the market at a price that reflects what you want and not what the market will bear can cost you time and money as it sits on the market unsold. ...more

Loan modification “blackmail” DEAR BENNY: My wife and I received from our lender a repayment agreement for our original mortgage. This was a result of the bank initiating a foreclosure sale, which was temporarily suspended because we agreed to enter the Home Affordable Modification Program. ...more