r/DMV_RealEstate

I am looking at listing a house in Montgomery County and it seems like 2% should be a reasonable commission for a selling agent these days. Am I way off base or is this the new normal? What have people been paying recently?

ETA: selling price will be around $600k.

I am looking to purchase a home as a SINK and my budget seems to be limited to condos unless I go outside of the area I'm looking at. I've decided this is where I want to live so I'm not interested in compromising on location. And I still think a townhouse (most likely with an HOA as well) is unattainable or going to be too much of a fixer upper. And I don't want to be a forever renter.

That being said I've been watching the market for weeks to months and I've seen some patterns.

I'm curious to know if anyone has knowledge around certain condominiums I'm eyeing. Most places seemed to be older bldgs from the 60s and 70s. I know one concern is the strength of reserves, last assessments, upcoming major repairs, etc. How can I figure out if there are more renters or owners?

Bldgs I'm intersted in:
Watergate
Olympus
Alexandria Knolls
Greenhouse

I'm pretty much priced out of Kingstowne and Cameron Station, which are two other areas I'm considering. Open to other Landmark/Alx/West Alx options.

Lastly, I know folks are generally against condos but it's what I can afford and it fits my lifestyle. I'm not looking to get talked out of this. I just want to know if people have insight on these buildings or any other guidance I can walk away with.

TIA

Hello everyone! I am new to the area and looking into buying something with the idea of house hacking in Northern DC (or in Maryland north of DC but close enough to the city). I have had a very hard time finding any kind of duplex-quad in a location I want to be in and also in my price range. I am trying to find a way to buy a place with two or more separate living spaces so I can rent out one, without necessarily having a roommate. I have a budget of about 500k and I can stretch it a little if the potential rental income would be high enough. Some of my current ideas are to:

- Buy a town-home with a fully finished basement

- Buy a town-home and convert the basement into its own ADU. (I have no idea if this is would make any sense cost wise)

- Buy a duplex somewhere outside the city but near a subway station.

- Buy a single family with the same entrance but transform a basement into a livable unit (with or without a kitchen) so it still feels like I am living separately.

Essentially I want to earn an income with a property I buy and live in but do not want to live with roommates, and in DC it seems borderline impossible without a higher budget than mine. What are your thoughts on these ideas? Do you have other ideas on how you might make this happen?

I don't think enough people realize how much being in the DMV changes the math on a VA loan. If you're PCSing here and already have a VA mortgage, don't assume your benefits are tapped out.

Depending on how much entitlement you have left, you may be able to keep your current home and buy another primary residence when you PCS to the DMV. Around here, that's more common than people think because our loan limits are so much higher than they are in most parts of the country.

People also tend to think figuring out remaining entitlement is a complicated VA formula. It really isn't. First, take the loan limit for the county where you're buying and multiply it by 25%. That's your total entitlement. Then take 25% of your original VA loan amount, and subtract it. Whatever is left is your remaining entitlement.

Let's say you bought a $400,000 home near Fort Cavazos using your VA loan. That used $100,000 of your entitlement. Now you get orders to the National Capital Region.

Because the loan limit here is $1,249,125, you have a much higher ceiling to work with. In this example, you could buy roughly an $849,000 home with no down payment while keeping your original house. That's one of the advantages of buying in a high-cost area. The higher loan limits give your remaining entitlement a lot more buying power.

Let's say you find the perfect house, but it's above what your remaining entitlement will cover. Most people immediately think that means they need 20% down or can't use their VA benefits at all.

You can still finance 100% of the purchase price up to your entitlement limit. For anything above that, you only need to put down 25% of the difference. You're not putting 20% down on the whole house. You're putting down 25 cents for every dollar over your entitlement limit.

You still have to qualify for the new mortgage of course. But if your plan is to keep your current home as a rental, that's another area where VA loans are flexible. The VA has some of the most borrower-friendly guidelines for using projected rental income from your departing residence, which can make qualifying for the new mortgage easier than people expect.

I've had this conversation enough times that I figured it was worth posting. If you're getting orders to DC, Maryland, or Northern Virginia, don't assume selling your current house is your only option just because you already have a VA loan. Spend five minutes figuring out your remaining entitlement first. You might have more options than you realize.

Specific to the faiefax county market. Seems like houses are sitting and a buyer market now.

Selling my place. My agent is getting 2.5%. Received an offer that I feel is fair but then realized their agent put in that we pay her a 3% fee. We countered with paying 2.5% - which is now standard in the area - and they are holding firm. What gets me is that the agent didn't even find my home, the buyer knew I was selling because we had discussed previously on social media so the agent literally opened a lock box for her and wrote up a contract. It doesn't feel right to pay the buyers agent more than mine when the buyers agent did far less work. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

I visited a house today in Woodbridge area. The price seems to be slightly over (they didn’t upgrade the original home). Trying to figure out to offer. Will someone who recently bought shed some light ?
Thanks

My lease (1 bed apt) expires at the end of September. Cheapest renewal options are 11 and 12 month terms (both having same rent amount). After negotiating a bit they offered a 9 dollar/month discount but only for the 11 month option.

11 months would make my renewal date end of Aug next year instead of end of Sept but would save me $9/month for that year.

Some people told me to keep it in September as its closer to end of peak season while others told me just take the discount because theres not much difference between Aug and Sept. Im worried the leasing office will take advantage next year and raise my rent alot and refuse to negotiate because its "August".

Hi everyone! My husband and I are relocating to Alexandria this September for a military PCS, and we're hoping to find a townhome through a private landlord.

We're looking in Potomac Yard, Del Ray, Old Town North, or Old Town Alexandria with a budget of $5,000/month or less. Ideally we're looking for 3+ bedrooms, 2 bath +, 2 parking but but we'd also consider a spacious 2-bedroom if the layout is large enough for our growing family.

A little about us:

- Married couple expecting our first baby this winter.

- My husband is active-duty Navy. (E8)

- I'm a full-time established Realtor in Hawaii and will continue working remotely with my team.

- We've been homeowners for years with excellent credit, strong income, and can provide references, proof of income, and anything else you may need.

- No pets.

We've spent hundreds of dollars on rental applications through property management companies, but homes are being rented incredibly quickly, and in most cases we haven't even received a response after applying. We completely understand it's a competitive market, so we thought we'd reach out here in case anyone is planning to rent out their townhome or knows someone who is.

If you have an upcoming rental or any leads, we'd be incredibly grateful. Thank you so much!

I have an agent with Keller Williams for a prospective purchase of a lot. They are indicating they have a $750 administrative fee on top of the 3% buyer commission (less whatever the seller is willing to pay).

Is the $750 standard for DMV? Additionally, are sellers still paying buyer commissions from proceeds typically? How about for land purchases, same norms?

Ty much

What happened to the good old days when people only had one bank? Don’t move your money from one account to another! Don’t consolidate your funds to one account! Just leave everything as is until your loan officer gives you the all clear. Moving money around inside 60 days of a closing will require a trail to each large deposit exceeding 50% of your monthly income. Save yourself a ton of documentation- don’t do it.

Base income limit $131,280 in most of DMV. You do not need to be a first time buyer! Read more at r/mortgageratesDMV

I made a post last week about DC homebuyer programs, and by far the program I got the most questions about was the DC Tax Abatement. So here’s a deeper dive, because this one is super valuable and ironically the one that is missed the most by non-local lenders.

Despite the name, this is not just a future property tax break. If you qualify, the program can wipe out your recordation tax at closing, apply the seller’s transfer tax as a credit to you, and then waive your DC property taxes for up to five years after that. That’s what makes it such a big deal. There’s the upfront closing cost benefit, and then there’s the longer-term property tax savings on top of it.

On a $350,000 home, the estimated closing credit is $6,388 and the estimated total savings is $17,650.

On a $450,000 home, the estimated closing credit is $9,788 and the estimated total savings is $25,300.

On a $550,000 home, the estimated closing credit is $11,962 and the estimated total savings is $31,725.

Those total savings figures include the estimated five-year property tax abatement, based on an estimated tax bill for that purchase price.

A few important things to know, because this is where things get missed. This is not just for first-time buyers. The program is for buyers who will occupy the home as their primary residence in DC, and it can be used on condos and single-family homes.

There are income limits, and they’re based on current gross household income from all sources. So if someone in the household has bonus income, overtime, Social Security, investment income, etc., that can matter. In lending, mortgage companies often don't use income they don't need - but programs like this that have limits will find it and count it.

There’s also a purchase price cap. For now, the max sale price is $576,000. And if the property is in an Economic Development Zone, the income limits are higher, which can help more buyers qualify.

One other thing worth knowing - even if the property taxes are going to be abated after closing, lenders still qualify you using the full property tax payment when they calculate your debt-to-income ratio. So from a mortgage approval standpoint, you usually don’t get the benefit of pretending those taxes aren’t there.

Timing matters too. The application has to be submitted within 30 days of closing, and the settlement company is usually the one helping put that paperwork together. This makes it important to choose a title company that has a good rep when it comes to the tax abatement program - and I assure you they don't all.

This is one of those DC programs that can meaningfully reduce the cash needed to buy and lower the cost of owning the home for the first five years. But I think a lot of people hear “tax abatement” and assume it just means a modest break on future property taxes, when the closing cost savings can be a huge part of the benefit too. Not to mention you don't have to go through all the craziness of HPAP with the class, etc. If you qualify, you can just get it.