I live less than a mile from this community and can tell you it’s being built in a absolutely prime spot!!  Within a mile or so of this community are super stores such as Best Buy, Target, Costco and Kohls just to name a few, but more importantly its right around the corner from the Leesburg Premium Outlets and the mega centre Villages of Leesburg (Wegmans, Movie theatres, LA Fitness and 30 other shoppes and restaurants).  Being and Estate Community, River Pointe will fit right in with the gated golf community of Rivercreek.

The owner has recently had the house painted and the carpeting replaced.  He also had a brand new A/C unit installed.  The home is in move in condition.

The Lansdowne  Town Center has lost another one of its original tenants.  Emilios closed its doors this past weekend for good marking the exit of another restaurant in the prestigious Saul Center location.  In the last 24 months the Town Center has seen Silk Road, California Tortilla, Mariachi’s, The Dock and now Emilios make untimely exits.  BF Saul, the owner of the Lansdowne Town Center also owns the Ashburn Village Shopping Center and Broadlands Village Center which also have seen a mass exodus of tenants over the last 24 months.

What in the world is going on with Saul Center?  It’s very difficult to find past or current tenants to say anything nice about the landlord that managed to chase Starbucks out of Ashburn Village, and 40% of the tenants out of the Broadlands.  I dont have a problem with a tough landlord not wanting to reduce rents for fear of resetting the market.  But in what has turned out to be a horrible economy, Saul took a hardline stance with renegotiating with current tenants.  Being a previous owner of subways, UPS stores and California Tortilla’s, I’m pretty sure I’m qualified to comment on this since I for one, had negotiate with BF Saul Co and am intimately familiar with their tactics, and am also familiar with about a dozen of leases they’ve done locally with loudmouth tenants such as myself.

New tenants seem to getting the better deals, but who wouldnt want to get a desirable lease and a restaurant full of free equipment such as what Velocity 5 is getting as the Docks replpacement.  It’s sad to see Emilios close but I’m glad that he was able to pull most of his furniture and fixtures out so as not to make it easy for the next tenant and to salvage some of his loss.

Lansdowne has such a poor mix of stores that the Village at Leesburg featuring Wegmans, LA Fitness and Movie theaters will certainly continue to pummel Lansdwone as well as some other up and coming centers in the county.  Saul Centers have one of the highest vacancy rates in the county which really isn’t unusual in the county, however, to be located on main thoroughfares such as rt 7, ashburn village blvd and claiborne parkway and run those kind of vacancy rates…well, use your imagination.

As one of the subdivisions in Leesburg, Virginia, Lansdowne is widely known as one of the premier planned communities in all of Northern Virginia.  Nestled in the heart of this 2,200 home community is the majestic Lansdowne Resort , which features two of Virginia’s finest 18 hole golf courses.

The Golf Club at Lansdowne is considered one of the premier private clubs in northern Virginia. The Golf Club at Lansdowne offers Resort guests 45 of the region’s finest fairways and some of the best golf in Virginia. Discover the challenge of the two championship 18-hole courses and the family-friendly  nine-hole short course.  For all the facilities at the magnificent Clubhouse, or to plan a tournament or outing for a group. Please use the links below to explore the golf experience and membership opportunities at Lansdowne – you’ll find The Golf Club at Lansdowne offers something for every player. And be sure to check out the virtual tour to see images of Lansdowne golf.

Shopping

Also in the heart of the community is the Lansdowne Town Center which features some of the areas best known restaurants such as Velocity 5, Emilio’s and Not Your Average Joe’s.  The town center runs along the ever present Rt7 and is anchored by Harris Teeter, CVS and Shell.

Loudoun Hospital

Also located in the heart of Lansdowne directly adjacent to the resort is Loudoun Hospital.  Known for its top notch medical services the hospital is surrounded by an extensive network of medical offices that offer a variety of services.

Schools

One of the main goals of  Loudoun County is the creation of high quality public school system that rivals that of its neighboring counties including Fairfax County and Montgomery County.   Almost 70% of the entire county budget each year goes to public education.  And the schools Lansdowne are a beneficiary of this focus on education.  The schools include Seldens Landing Elementary, Belmont Ridge Middle Schools,  the high school for the residents of Lansdowne is Tuscarora Mill.

Most people put the cart before the horse when it comes to buying ahome. They start looking at houses first and only when they have traveled far down the road do they consider the financial aspects of the transaction.This is fine and good if you have a lot of money and an established banking relationship and understand all the different financial considerations that you have to make when buying a new home. For first time home buyers this is a terrible way to start.

Shopping for homes without an understanding of your finances and youroptions is like going to a fancy restaurant without knowing how much available credit you have on your credit card. You get to the restaurant and look at the menu. And you see the steaks and lobster and other dishes being brought out to the other tables and your mouth starts towater. Then you pick out your entree. And then when you have all yourside dishes and desserts picked out you step outside to call your credit card company to see how much money you have available.

This is how most people go about buying a house. They go online and look at all the houses. They look at the pictures and virtual tours. They go to abunch of open houses on a warm sunny Sunday. They get sick of theplace they are living and begin to dream of a new home. Maybe they haveeven found the “perfect home” during their search. And they have onlydone some very basic financial analysis and they have no idea how much they can afford or how much they will qualify to borrow or how much theyneed to have in cash to buy a new home.

Don’t be these people!!!

Once you start looking on line or even think about buying a home, youneed to look at your financial picture and get a clear understanding of howmuch house you will realistically be able to buy.

FHA loan mortgage insurance is calculated using basis points, which vary depending on the type of loan being applied for based on the loan-to-value ratio. The annual insurance rate is calculated by taking the base mortgage (sale price of the home minus the down payment) and multiplying it by the basis points.

While an increase of 25 basis points may sound like a lot to those new to the FHA loan process, a mortgagee letter from the FHA explaining the change states, “It is anticipated that this increase will have minimal impact on borrowers.”

An example provided by the FHA illustrate the increase in the annual amount of mortgage insurance due. According to the FHA example, an FHA insured loan for a home selling for $163,000 with a 30-year FHA loan term and a loan-to-value ratio of 95% will see a monthly increase of $33 on mortgage insurance premiums based on the 25 basis-point increase effective April 18, 2011.

The new FHA guidelines also include the following:

“Beginning April 18, 2011, FHA systems will automatically cancel any uninsured case number where there has been no activity for 6 months since the last action except for loans where an appraisal update has been entered, and/or loans where the Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) has been received”

The FHA adds, “Last action includes case number assigned, appraisal information entered, firm commitment issued by FHA insurance application received and subsequent updates, and Notice of Return and resubmissions.”

Complete Home Real Estate Solutions is uniquely different from any other real estate solutions provider. Whereas real estate agents utilize ONE method to buy and sell properties – the multiple listing service (MLS), Complete Home utilizes 8 different strategies including traditional real estate solutions.  If you have little equity, no equity or negative equity, CHRE has solutions for you!  Any house, any situation.  Visit Complete Home Real Estate and fill out the questionarre.

Purchasers Wanted

Cant get approved for a traditional loan? Complete Home Real Estate is your destination for Northern Virginia owner financed homes for sale.  If your interested in local area owner financed homes this is where you want to be!  Visit our buyer website buyahouse4.com , create a buyer profile and have your house find you.

411 Pearlbush Terrace

Awesome townhouse located in Sycamore Hills right behind the Leesburg Outlets.

On Thursday, December 2nd, the ferry got stuck and started drifting down the Potomac.  What?!!  I could only imagine myself screaming like 5 year old getting a flu shot as the ferry started down the Potomac.  Anyway, after being stranded for 5 hours as the fire department rescued the commuters with no injuries or damage to any of the vehicles, the ferry is back in operation.  I’m still a fan until they build a bridge because of the time you save in the commute…hell, I just love the ferry!  To get the full story just click on the link below!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/02/AR2010120205218.html

Click on the Address to see the listing!!

Luxurious home centered in the beautiful Lenah Run Hamlet community just off rt 50. Tons of upgrades including 2 story stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen with arched entrance breakfast room that includes fireplace, huge finished basement with bar, deck with gazebo and many other must see attributes.