Home Finance
Advice and up-to-the-minute information on new laws and opportunities in financing your new home.
Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services
Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units.
Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond Highway, Suite 17B, corner of Richmond Highway and Reddick Avenue of Alexandria VA. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services have been serving the areas by I-495 to the north, I-95 to the west, Potomac River top the west and the Occoquan River to the south, covering the Lee and Mount Vernon Districts of Fairfax County and the entire Fairfax County, including the county’s Planning Districts with Mount Vernon and Rose Hill Districts, Lower Potomac District and the eastern part of the Springfield District.
Programs of Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services:
- Apartments Budgeting Counseling
- Emergency Services
- Housing as Top Priority
- Housing Locator Program
- Budget Counseling
- Children’s Resources
Assistance to people who have been denied housing due to bad credit or poor rental history as an alternative to homeless shelter by letting people rent while assisting in rental reference concerns and cleaning up their credit.
Application for assistance for grant costing up to $250 to help in preventing evictions and utility disconnections including assistance with the first rent or security deposit.
To prevent homelessness, services are offered for affordable housing including guidance, support and financial assistance for families near to homelessness.
Housing Search Assistance is offered for people near to homelessness as part of the federal Homeless Prevention and Rapid Housing Program. Partners of the program are FACETS, Housing and Community Services of Northern Virginia, New Hope Housing, Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, Reston Interfaith, Shelter House and more.
Financial education is provided and low income families and individuals of Good Shepherd Housing apartment programs, are given the opportunity to learn how to clean up their credit history and discover new money management skills leading to financial independence.
Regardless of families of Good Shepherd Housing apartment programs having low incomes, children are offered educational, social and recreational activities with school supplies, holiday gifts and paid for after school activities and summer camps.
Support given to the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services will assist in reducing homelessness, increase community support and promote the potential for self sufficiency through the programs that serve the working poor, disabled and elderly. Ways to help Good Shepherd Housing and Family Service:
- Online
- Phone
- Designate GSH
- Memorials/Honorariums
- Mortgage Club
- Donation of Computer Packages
- Donation of Cars and Trucks
- Donation of Home Kits such as Cleaning Supplies and Household Items
For more information on the other ways of how to help, please visit: http://www.goodhousing.org/help/.
Volunteers are welcomed at Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services to provide the following services:
- Budget Counselors
- Child Care
- Client Intake
- Design
- Event Planning
- Front Desk Reception
- Maintenance/ Repair
- Mentoring
- Spanish Speakers/ Translators
- Writers
- Technical Assistance
- Other Possible Assistance Once Can Offer
Board Members:
- Alderson, Richard (Dick) – Business development and strategic programming for EMC Federal
- Amundson, Kristen – Communications Manager at Education Sector; former Delegate in Virginia General Assembly; former Chair of Fairfax County School Board
- Bailey, Willie – Fairfax County Firefighter, Retired Army Reserves
- Catlin, James – Executive Vice President – Prosper (an online lending marketplace)
- Ellsworth, Cheryl – Attorney specializing in international trade, Customs and antitrust law
- Gillespie, Cathy – Current stay at home mother, former Campaign and Congressional staff member for Joe Barton, former Executive Director of Texas Freedom Fund Political Action Committee
- Goode, Ron – Commercial Developer, John Akridge Company
- Hyland, Ann – Retired Speech Pathologist, Ombudsman for Northern Virginia Long-Term Care program
- Lettice, Paula (Secretary) – Chief Financial Officer, Architect of the U.S. Capitol; Trustee, Trinity (DC) University
- Martin, J. Chris (Treasurer) – Manager, Business Analysis at Exxon-Mobil; president of civic association
- McCormick, Jr., Walter B. – President & CEO of the United States Telecom Association
- Meade, Louise – Retired GSHFS Emergency Services Director/Volunteer Coordinator
- Murray, Rosemary (Vice President) – Government Affairs Consultant, retired Vice President of US Airways
- Owen, Tofie M., Jr. – Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, SAIC, Retired Air Force Colonel
- Reiley, Rex – Real Estate sales
- Rosenthal, Philip – President of credit collection agency, low-income representative from Fairfax County Community Action Advisory Board
- Rotondaro, Kathleen – President and founding partner of national consulting firm for housing activities
- Souza, George – Retired Air Force officer, defense intelligence consultant; President of the Board of a non-profit professional association
- Stearman, Joseph – Business owner, Property Manager, Investor, low-income representative (census sub-tract)
- Utermohlen, Alison – Retired Senior Director of Government Affairs for Mortgage Bankers Association
- Wagner, Tim – Real estate appraiser
For more detailed information, visit http://www.goodhousing.org or contact 703 768 9404.
Mortgage Activity Falls
Applications for mortgages to purchase homes decreased 6.7 percent last week compared to the previous week on an adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly index.
The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6.6 percent from the previous week and was down 29.4 percent compared to the same week a year ago.
This week’s report was not adjusted for the Columbus Day holiday.
Mortgage rates rose slightly last week:
· 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34 percent from 4.21 percent.
· 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.74 percent from 3.62 percent.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (10//20/2010)
Reverse Mortgages Gain Popularity
The housing market slowdown has boosted the popularity of reverse mortgage loans among those 62 and older.
Between 2005 and 2009, the number of federally insured reverse mortgages jumped 166 percent. To encourage business, many lenders have reduced or waived upfront costs.
A MetLife study in 2009 found that more than 50 percent of older high-income home owners have a mortgage and 45 percent have a home-equity loan.
Source: SmartMoney (10/20/2010)
Architect Billing Up for First Time in 3 Years
The American Institute of Architects reports that September saw the industry’s first gain in billings in nearly three years.
The Architecture Billings Index rose to 50.4 from 48.2 in August, the first increase in architects’ fees since January 2008, when the index was at 51.1, according to the American Institute of Architects.
The index fell to 33.9 in January 2009, the lowest since the institute began tracking fees in 1995.
The index for commercial and industrial billings rose for the fifth straight month; but the indexes for residential projects and institutional work held below 50, suggesting that demand continues to fall for these projects.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” says Kermit Baker, chief economist of the architects’ institute. “It certainly looks like a sustainable recovery on the commercial and industrial side.”
Source: Bloomberg (10/20/10) Hui-yong Yu
Appraisals Continue to Be Low and Sink Some Deals
With foreclosures a large share of property sales in some areas, appraisers continue to factor in the sale price of foreclosed properties when setting values of regular properties. Appraisers are aware the practice isn’t ideal, but in some markets they’re left with little choice because of the large number of foreclosed properties.
Bill Geiger Jr., an appraiser in Cocoa Beach, Fla., told a local magazine that when he has to use a distressed property while doing an appraisal, he contacts the real estate practitioners involved in the sale and reviews computerized listings for the property to find out as much as he can about the condition of the home when it sold. He adjusts the appraisal value accordingly.
There are other factors at work in holding down valuations. Rob Johnson, vice president of lending at San Diego Funding, says lenders demand greater scrutiny of a property if the buyer has a credit score on the low end or a high debt level relative to income. That extra scrutiny can impact whether the lender decides whether to make a loan at the originally appraised value
A third factor is the fluctuation of the market, with some sellers reluctant to let go of their previous expectations.
Industry professionals had hoped that repeal of unpopular appraisal standards would help address concerns with low valuations, but repeal by itself doesn’t change the conditions appraisers face. The repeal of the standards, called the home valuation code of conduct, was enacted into law as part of the big Wall Street reform bill passed a few months ago.
Source: UPI, Steve Cook (09/28/2010)
Would Lower Market Rates Pump Up Sales?
Will mortgage rates ever drop to 0 percent?
Zero percent financing has long been a loss leader in the automotive industry, but Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a provider of mortgage information, says that scenario is unlikely. You’d have to find an investor who would buy a security with a zero return – a hard sell even today.
Jim Sahnger, mortgage associate Palm Beach Financial Network, concurs that the funding would be hard to find “unless there were significant fees on the front end to compensate for costs to originate, deliver, default, etc.”
If 0 percent financing could be funded, Sahnger believes potential borrowers would be lined up, kicking up demand for houses.
Gumbinger isn’t so sure because buying a home is a bet on the economy and that kind of confidence is hard to find, he says. “People are concerned that tomorrow is not going to be better than today.”
Source: MarketWatch.com, Amy Hoak (09/27/2010)
