The Woodbridge house

Recently, we listed a home at 14925 Enterprise Lane, Woodbridge VA 22151 for $89,000.  Within 22 hours we received 23 offers, the highest being $142,000.

If you’re considering buying a similarly priced home in Prince William County or anywhere else, you should understand how an escalation clause works.  It starts with finding a home you like, and making an initial offer with the listing agent (let’s use $120,000 for this example).  The agent will likely tell you that he/she is receiving numerous offers for the home, and that you should create a contingency plan in case a better one comes along.  This will involve mentioning in your contract that you’re prepared to go up by increments of $2000 if the seller receives any higher offers (naturally, you’ll set a “do not exceed” cap, $180,000 in our scenario).  If you’re wondering about this process, you aren’t the only one: what guarantee do you have that there are other offers, or that there were enough that you had pay the full $180,000?  Unfortunately, this is very often how the game is played, and the escalation clause can be an effective way of giving yourself a fighting chance of winning the battle for a new home.  If this is the path you choose to take, then be sure to factor the added costs into your overall buying budget from the get-go.

The bottom line is, now is the time to buy a home, whether in Prince William or elsewhere; in fact, it may be the best time to buy a house in the next 30 years, especially if you’re planning on unloading your current one first.  For details on either of these two processes, feel free to give us a call.

Negotiating

Scammers often claim they can help you bargain for a loan modification, but the truth is there isn’t much a third party can do to get you a better deal.  This isn’t the same as bringing a mechanic when you scope out a used car, or asking a friend who knows the language haggle for you at a flea market.  The servicer determines whether or not you qualify for a loan based on a pre-established set of criteria; this isn’t a decision that can be influenced by a third party.

All that paperwork…

It’s true that a long, detailed questionnaire can look daunting, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay someone to fill it out for you.  If you’re unsure of how to proceed, there are a number of free counselors and websites that can guide you through the process.  Calling an organization called Hope Now at 888-995-HOPE can line you up with free counseling.  If your issue is finding the information required by the lender, give www.mtgprofessor.com a look; the site does a good job of explaining the requirements and information you’ll need to have ready and where to locate it.

Modifying a loan isn’t as hard as it looks.  If you’re the type whose eyes glaze over when you see a stack of official-looking forms, get yourself a free counselor to go over the fine points with you, or check out a website that talks you through each step.  What you need to remember is that you have options, and paying someone a hefty fee to help you with a process you can do on your own should not be one of them.