Don't Sell! If You Can Keep Your First Home As A Rental Property, Do It!
If you own your first home now, and are looking to move up to your next home --- I urge you to carefully examine the potential benefits (and risks) of keeping your…
Buying A Foreclosure: Before, At, After The Trustee Sale
There is often confusion about what it means to "buy a foreclosure" -- and it really all revolves around whether your potential purchase is happening before, at, or after…
Has The First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Pulled More Buyers Into The Market In Harrisonburg, Rockingham County?
Warning: This analysis, though numerically and statistically based, is an abstract answer to a nearly impossible question. The question, raised today by Chad, is whether…
October 2009 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report - Sales Steady, Prices Inch Lower
I just published my monthly market report on Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Read on for a summary, or jump right into the report by reading it online or downloading…
Are Smaller Homes Faring Better Than The Overall Market In Harrisonburg and Rockingham County?
My hypothesis was that smaller homes were performing better in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County than the market at large. After all, there is a significantly greater…
Is Harrisonburg Nearing Break Even Again On 80% LTV Investment Properties With Conservative Calculations?
Many (many, many, many) townhouses were built in Harrisonburg between 2002 and 2007. They are still being built, but not at the same pace. The principal reason for this…
What Are Your Home Buying Goals: A Place To Live, An Investment, Or Both?
Why do people buy homes? In a context stretching prior to 2002, people bought homes mostly because they needed a place to live --- and buying a home provided stability…
Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Median and Average Sales Price Increase in September 2009, but . . .
Perhaps as a result of the $8,000 tax credit, this month's home sales were not as low as could be expected given the year-to-date trends. During the first nine months of…
Buying a Home and Selling a Home Simultaneously
Just buying, or just selling, can be challenging --- but doing them both at the same time often seems over daunting, especially if this is your first time to do so. There…
If You're Buying A Big Or Expensive Home, Will It Be In The City of Harrisonburg, or Rockingham County?
Every five years (or so) the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority conducts a detailed analysis of City housing. In 2005, S. Patz & Associates, Inc conducted…
Buying Real Estate in Harrisonburg As A JMU Student Or Parent To Qualify For In-State Tuition
PLEASE NOTE: This post has been updated since it was originally published to reflect my now more thorough understanding of this issue based on additional input from some…
Pricing Competitively, But With Room To Negotiate
Here's an interesting conundrum for a home seller... In today's market, it is imperative to price your home competitively. Over-pricing will often lead to significantly…