This home, located in Smithfield, VA, sits on almost 3 acres.

 3 bedrooms. Master bedroom includes

      full bath  and walk in closet.

      Family room with wood burning fireplace.

      One floor living.  

      Above ground pool.

      Garage. Outdoor shed.

30 minute commute to Northrup Gruman or Norfolk.

If you know of anyone who may want to purchase this home,

please give Dan a call at 757-291-6494.

Virtual tour available at our website http://www.TheCurranTeam.com/

                 THANKS,

                Dan and Fabiola Curran

 Equity funding means using a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to finance your home instead of a traditional mortgage. The theory is you will pay off your home faster because you deposit your paycheck into your equity account, and then use the equity account to pay your bills, instead of a regular checking account. By having a lower monthly balance, you will pay off your house sooner. The other plus is that you have credit available in case of emergency, based on the balance.

It is my opinion that the program can be very good for someone who has very strong financial discipline. Lousy idea for someone who would be tempted to use the line of credit to support a lifestyle they cannot afford.

   I was brought in with a group of people, rather then one on one.

  During the presentation, I had questions. I would like to teach you some of the questions I asked. You should ask these questions, and more, before you sign up for this, or any, type of financing.

  Make sure you have all answers in writing.

Here are the questons:

1. The LTV was 90%

   The Loan to Value ratio is high. (The bank will loan you 90% of the homes value)

It should be 70-80%.  Banks do not like to assume risk of more than 80% of the homes value. Anything more, the bank generally requires an expensive insurance policy paid monthly by the consumer.(known as P.M.I. or M.I.P.)

    Question: Who is paying for the 10% risk policy and how much are the monthly payments?

2. What are the closing costs and other associated fees?

3. If the value of the home goes up and you want to increase your credit limit based on the new value of the home, what are the fees, and what conditions have to be met? (appraisel, creditworthiness, etc.)

 4. If I make a late payment, do my rates or fees increase? If yes, by how much do they increase?

   Are the terms of my deal forever locked, or can they change?

5. Are the interest payments tax deductible?

6. Is the interest rate locked or fixed? In the case of the one I checked out, the rate was variable.

(adjustable) . When I challenged the variabe rate, I was told "Hopefully one day the light would come on, and I would understand that variable rates are better than fixed rates." 

 So I asked the cap (maximum the interest rate can climb to) on the rate. They said 5%. That means right now the interest rate is 6% and with a 5% cap the highest the rate can go is 11%. Fine, if you feel like you can afford the payments at 11%, go for it. Yes, rates go down, but they also can go up to the max. They may not, but they can.

 In summary, equity financing can be a vey good deal for the right person. Just be sure to ask all the right questions. Always remember, you can pay an attorney a couple of hundred dollars to explain the terms to you. Could save you money in the long run. And, never, never be in a hurry to sign. If you feel like you are being rushed, stop and ask yourself, am I missing something here?

 Got questions? Post a comment. I will answer your question in an open format.

                                                     Dan

          Check out our website: http://www.TheCurranTeam.com/

9 Edgemoor Drive, Newport News

$183,000

 Nice starter home. Just north of Ft. Eustis.

3 bedroom 1 bath. The garage has been closed off but is not fully converted inside, so you can do with the garage whatever you want. The backyard is pretty good sized, and is fenced in.

You can a take virtual tour on our website http://www.TheCurranTeam.com/ .

The home is on a pretty good street. The street goes down and loops around to another street, so there isn't really much traffic.

The family has outgrown the home and they need to sell so they can buy a bigger home.

 (Teenage daughter wants her own room.)

If you know of anyone who may want to buy this home, please send them to us.

                                                                       Dan

Well, here is the scoop on our market.

First and foremost, if you do not need to sell right now, do not go to market.

 Now is the beginning of the time to get bargains. We are at what should be the height of our buying season (late March-April) and do you know what is happening? Nothing. The listings are not getting showings, the buyers are not coming forth, it's unbelievable. We had the Realtor awards banquet the other night, and a lot of agents were crying the blues. We won Silver, by the way, and thank you to all who bought or sold from us last year, or sent us leads, or let me manage your properties.

 Well..

 The banks are becoming kind of crazy. They have so many foreclosures coming on the horizon, they do not want to foreclose.

What does this mean to you?

You can now start to snap up some homes for less than the people owe, with some very favorable terms. You would want to either live in or rent these homes, they will not be good for quick resale value. WHY RENT? As folks are losing their homes, they need a place to go, so therefore rental rates should be going up. Let me know if me or Fabiola can help you buy one of these bargains. You know we don't mind getting paid.

Okay, I apprieciate the questions some of you asked. I commented back but in reply form. Next time I will use the main blog to comment back, then others will see it quicker.

 Thanks. I'll do it again in a few days.

                                                           Dan Curran

If you are receiving this notice, it is because you are a past or present client of ours, or we go to church with you, or work on political issues with you, or you are lucky enough to be related to one of us.

                       Maybe we have not spoken with you in awhile, (sorry)  but anyway, you are on our email list, so we thought we would take a chance and subscribe you to this blog. (You can easily unsubscribe or you can call Dan and I will take you off. 757-291-6494)

Why are we doing this? 

1. A lot of folks are saying they want rapid real estate market updates, and the opportunity to discuss real estate issues in an open format.

2. The market is kind of slow, and this is an excellent way to help get our listings sold. (Well, at least we are honest about it.)

3. It is a good way to remind people we are still in the real estate business.

So here we go, hope you enjoy reading our blog over the coming months.

Sincerely,

Dan and Fabiola Curran

757-291-6494

A lot of our buyers think the bad loans went away with the current mortgage crises.

Be careful.

Right now, there are some good mortgage products available,

 especially for the first time home buyer,

but you may never know about it.

 (flashing red light)

Here's the setup.

A first time home buyer tends to be very unsure about the home buying process, and usually they are not confident at all in their financial ability to purchase a home.

Here is where the subprimers come in. Now, especially with African-Americans and Hispanics, the subprimers will operate in the churches. They gain trust by getting to know families. They might even help the buyer with credit isues a little bit, in order to build loyality.

 When the buyer is ready, the loan officer will sell a loan product that makes the most possible money for the broker, rather than what is best for the buyer. If someone challenges the loan terms, the mortgage broker tells the buyer, "Trust me, not them. I go to church with you."

What's wrong with making a big profit? That's not my point.

I just think a home buyer should know their options.

Tip: Remember the relationships.

A Realtor is bound by a client relationship with the buyer, meaning the Realtor represents the best interests of the buyer. (provided you have a signed relationship agreement with the Realtor)

 A loan officer has a customer relationship with the buyer, meaning the loan officer has loyality to the mortgage broker, not the buyer.

 Does this mean the Realtor will find the best mortgage loan for the buyer? No, but it does mean a Realtor can help you explore some options. Of course, the final choice is up to the buyer. I just want you to know you have options.

966 Nicklaus Drive

Do you know of a buyer

for this Kiln Creek home?

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2.5 Baths
• On the golf course
• Priced to sell at $305,000

Virtual tour available on our website.

Please give us a call.

757-291-6494

Thank you.