Silver Spring Gets Made in the Shade

A recent assessment of Montgomery County’s tree canopy showed that while Bethesda and Potomac are some of the shadiest places in the county, Silver Spring is in need of more shady spots. The Silver Spring Central Business District in particular has only 14 percent canopy coverage, compared to an average of 50 percent for the county. (Tree canopy is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems that cover the ground when viewed from above.)

As a result, the county will be planting trees in Silver Spring and in other areas that need it, according to an article on the Gazette web site. The funding for this is possible thanks to an amendment of the county’s forest conservation law to match a state law allowing fees collected from developers to be put towards creating more urban tree canopy. This money also funds a Leaves for Neighborhoods program which gives residents a discount to plant trees on their property.

Having lots of tree canopy in urban areas also has environmental importance. It lessens the “heat island effect” which is the temperature increase that happens in most city areas. And buildings under a tree canopy often see reduced energy costs.

The program in Silver Spring is just beginning, and no budget has been set so they don’t yet know how many trees will be planted. Bethesda folks would also like to see more trees planted, feeling that many older trees have been lost due to development, storms or just old age. Down the road, the County Planning Department wants to create an online tool that property owners can use to see the canopy coverage of their individual lots.

So get out your lawn chair, pour some lemonade, and get ready to enjoy more cool shady spots in Montgomery County.

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.

Prevent Closing Cost Surprises

So you’ve found that perfect house in Silver Spring, or Rosemary Hills, or Rock Creek Forest, and you’ve secured a great low mortgage rate. But there may still be something that takes you by surprise: high closing costs. There are over a dozen of these fees, such as credit reporting, appraisals, and document preparation, that can cost borrowers from $1,000 to $3,000 on a $200,000 mortgage.

Whether you’re refinancing or buying, there are ways to lower or even avoid some of these up-front fees, says CNNMoney.com.

Check with Your Current Lender

Since you already have a relationship there, all your critical information is on file. This could streamline the lending process, eliminating extra paperwork for applications and appraisals and the fees that go with them. If you’ve recently refinanced with this lender, you can ask them to request a reissue rate for title insurance to save up to 50 percent on this fee.

If you’re buying a new home in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area and you’ve been a good client with your current lender, they might give you a better-than-market deal.

Negotiate When Possible

Lenders must provide a good-faith estimate of closing costs within three days of your loan application, but many will provide this prior to applying if you ask. This will let you see what kind of closing cost fees you’ll be paying and allow you to possibly negotiate for a better deal—especially if you’re a good credit borrower.

Remember, though, that lenders don’t control a lot of the closing cost fees, and the estimate won’t include some required costs such as state mortgage taxes, homeowners insurance, and property taxes.

Consider the Big Picture

While it makes sense to pay attention to closing costs, remember that your first priority is to get the lowest interest rate possible. If you can pay 5.5 percent versus 6.0 percent on a $23,000 30-year loan, even if you have to pay slightly higher closing costs to get the lower rate, it’s worth the additional money for what you’ll save in the long run.

Up-front closing cost fees can vary from lender to lender, and are not guaranteed. Some lenders and their vendors will even add or inflate fees just as a transaction is closing. The government has been working on regulations to simplify the mortgage process and save consumers up to $1,000 in fees, but it could be years before this rolls out. In the meantime, following these strategies could help keep a little more money where it belongs: in your wallet.

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.

Children Are Growing Bethesda

Have you noticed a change in Bethesda? Based on the 2010 Census, the city’s population has increased by 5.7 percent since the year 2000. What makes up the difference? According to an article on the Bethesda Gazette website, the factor growing Bethesda is children.

Ken Hartman, director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, stated, “Every house has got a school-age child, and that wasn’t the case 10 years ago.”  And while some seniors have left the area, many have chosen to stay resulting in community support programs called “Senior Villages” that help get young families involved with seniors to bridge the area’s age gap.

The great schools in Bethesda are one of the biggest draws for young families, specifically Walt Whitman, Walter Johnson, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. As a result, the elementary and middle schools that feed into these high schools are also seeing increased enrollment, so Montgomery County is looking into building new elementary and middle schools in Bethesda.

There isn’t a lot of space for new development in this area, so it’s the turnover of single family homes that fuels the real estate market, particularly those surrounding the downtown area which young families prefer. According to the Bethesda Urban Partnership, children’s activity centers and child-friendly restaurants are popping up all over downtown Bethesda. Anjali Varma, owner of Kidville, an early childhood learning center, says you’ll see “stroller after stroller” along Bethesda Avenue.

So if you’re looking for a great place for your children to grow, consider Bethesda, since it’s going to grow right along with them!

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.

Annual Percentage Rate – Knowledge is Power

Buying or refinancing a property in Chevy Chase, Bethesda, or the surrounding areas? Understanding the Annual Percentage Rate (A.P.R.) will give you the power to buy smarter.  A recent article on the New York Times website offers great information on how a lender’s A.P.R. compares to their regular interest rate and which one to focus on when buying.

The A.P.R. is believed to provide a better overview of what you’ll pay each month, but according to some mortgage experts it’s really not a true cost of credit. Often it includes costs such as origination fees, loan processing fees, and factors in the cost of points—the money you shell out to pay down the regular interest rate. As these upfront costs increase, so does your A.P.R., to the tune of half a percentage point or more over the basic interest rate.

It’s also important to know that the A.P.R. doesn’t include third-party costs you’ll have to pay for credit checks, surveys, inspection, and title insurance. It also does not capture total costs for adjustable-rate mortgages.

And if you’re going to sell or refinance your property in five to seven years after purchase, you shouldn’t necessarily choose your loan based on the lowest A.P.R. quoted. Here’s why. The A.P.R. for a thirty-year loan spreads interest out over the whole 30 years. But if you sell after five years, you’ve only spread the financing over those five years, so the A.P.R. is actually higher. You really need to crunch the numbers ahead of time.

There is a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will look into mandating an “all-in” definition of finance charges when calculating the A.P.R. But until that happens, use all the information you can get about how a lender ends up with the A.P.R. number they quote to you. Then you’ll be able to make the best deal for your budget.

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.

Comparison Shop Online—for Mortgages

Most of my friends and clients in Bethesda, Chevy Chase or other neighborhoods wouldn’t think of making a major purchase without a little comparison shopping. Neither would most Americans—unless they’re looking for a mortgage. But according to a recent article on the New York Times website, mortgage shopping is now a whole lot easier: it’s online.

A December 2010 Harris Poll of 1,300 homeowners revealed that 96 percent of Americans would comparison shop for most anything, but only 61 percent did this for mortgages. The other 39 percent got just one quote for their loans, even though most knew that rates varied among lenders.

As a result, some of the nation’s leading mortgage lenders have revamped their websites so that borrowers can review lender rates and terms, learn about market trends, and read comments from other shoppers.

Lending Tree, an online site that helps borrowers connect with lenders, now provides not just lender quotes but also industry articles, research tools, calculators, and consumer-generated ratings of lenders. They offer how-to tips for first-time buyers. Borrowers can also post mortgage-related questions which a loan specialist will answer. 

At the Quicken Loans site, you can see positive and negative customer reviews on buying and refinancing.  And in March 2011 you can download their iPhone application to track appraisals, closing dates, and other time-sensitive processes of home buying.

Bank of America offers separate information and tools for first-time versus experienced buyers, using simple language that anyone can follow.

All of this is meant to keep home buyers, especially first-time buyers, from getting overwhelmed by the choices, time pressures, and decisions that come with such a key purchase. During the holidays, Quicken took a novel approach to this on its website by posting directions for turning excess paperwork into Origami!

Whether you’re experienced or a novice, home buying and refinancing is worth the time and effort of comparison shopping. Only now there’s a lot less effort and potentially much better results.

2011 Closing Cost Award Contest

As a member of the Board of Directors for the Affordable Housing Conference, I'm happy to announce the 2011 Closing Cost Award Contest.

If you are a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, and a first-time home buyer, you could win $5,000 or more toward either a down payment or closing costs on a home purchased in Montgomery County. This program was created to help those with moderate incomes to become first-time home buyers. Generally, the grants are between $5,000 and $7,500 per person/family, and funding is provided at time of settlement.

The deadline has been extended to March 15, 2011. Please click on the link below for the application form and a flyer with more details. Print out the application form and mail to the address on the flyer. Good luck to all applicants!

Click here to download the 2011 application

First Time Home Buyer Seminar

You’re invited to learn about all the benefits of being a first time home buyer in the MD, DC, and VA area. Come and join us at this free seminar!  Space is limited, so reserve you place now.

DATE:   Saturday, February 19

TIME:    11:00 a.m. – Noon

PLACE:  Weichert, Realtors Bethesda Chevy Chase 
             Office, 7200 Wisconsin Avenue

            (Corner of Wisconsin & Bethesda Avenues;
              former Montgomery Grill)

             Free parking behind Farmer’s Market

Decorate Your Living Room – on TV!

If you and your significant other want to decorate or redecorate your living room but have very different ideas about color, furniture, and general style, here’s an opportunity for you.

The Nate Berkus Show (www.thenateshow.com) is searching for just such a couple for an upcoming feature segment.

If you think you meet the criteria and want more information, please contact me at mynor.herrera@gmail.com.

Contact me today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA area! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, & Whitehall Condominium.

Walkable Neighborhood = A Seller’s Advantage

There’s good news for my friends in the East Bethesda area who are selling a home: we have an excellent “Walkability Score.”  And according to an article on Marketwatch.com, it is a very big advantage to live within walking distance of basic conveniences.

A recent report titled, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities,” reveals that homes within walking distance of schools, shopping and other amenities are worth more than homes where driving is required. This study looked at 94,000 real estate transactions in about 15 markets to develop a Walk Score algorithm which rates locations from 0 to 100 based on nearby amenities such as coffee shops, restaurants, parks, and libraries.  A score of 70 or higher means it’s very easy to get around that area without a car, and the average score is 49.

East Bethesda scored a 94, which puts us in the top ten percent of all scores—a walker’s paradise!

The study also found that in neighborhoods with above-average Walk Scores, home premiums ranged from $4,000 to $34,000.  Even a one-point increase in the Walk Score was linked to anywhere from a $500 to $3,000 increase in home values for that area. Compare two actual neighborhoods in Charlotte, NC. One neighborhood’s score was 54, and the median home price was $280,000. In a different neighborhood, where the average Walk Score was 71, similar homes were valued at $314,000.

Walkability doesn’t always equal higher home values, and sometimes home values vary even among places with high Walk Scores. One reason for this might be that some places with high walkability aren’t very attractive in other ways. But where it works, it works very well—and that includes East Bethesda.

If you’d like to check out the walkability of a specific area, click on this link: www.walkscore.com.

Contact me today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA area! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, & Whitehall Condominium.