Due Diligence for buyers

There are certain issues that buyers are advised to do "due diligence" on. One of these issues is the question of whether or not the property you are interested in purchasing is located in a flood zone. On page one of the four page Consumer Disclosure Information Form, prospective buyers and sellers are advised that

Real estate agents do not have the expertise to offer advice concerning various conditions such as, but not limited to...flood hazard areas...

The paragraph goes on to cite many areas that buyers should exercise due diligence in. To that end, prospective buyers with questions about whether or not a property they are interested in purchasing is located in a flood zone are advised to

a) contact the local planning department - HRPDC
or
b) contact FEMA to determine the need for flood insurance. http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/info.shtm
c) My broker also advises that you check with the company that you plan to purchase your homeowner's insurance through, and have them check for the need for flood insurance for this property.

Sending info about HRPDC, I noticed the slideshow of different Hampton Roads locales on the site. It was fun and pretty easy to ID most of them, and I thought I'd post them here. While saving them, I noticed that I could "check" my answers, as most images were named in a way that ID'd them. It was funny to notice that the one that could be anywhere, the generic sunset, was just named sunset, so I still can't tell you where that one was taken. :->

This one is quite obviously in Yorktown.



A building on the campus of William & Mary, possibly the Wren building.
Um, I think the sign gave the VA Beach fishing pier away.
I had to throw the Ocean View fishing pier in too.


This sunset could be anywhere, as water is everywhere in Hampton Roads.






Norfolk cruise ship.




Norfolk is the only local city that has a skyline like this. Plus the Bank of America building gives it away in one, as does the huge cruise ship in the other.

This one threw me a bit. I was trying to remember the event where the replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria sailed up from VA Beach to Jamestown. Turns out this is a shot of Harborfest.

This one threw me too. I thought it was at one of the shipyards, but these apparently are not works in progress. They are at the naval base.

Coleman Bridge, Yorktown side, going to Gloucester/Middle Peninsula.







Chesapeake City Hall. I remember this from when I worked in Chesapeake. City Hall and the other municipal buildings are way out away from business and shopping centers, on a long winding road pretty much by themselves. I always thought the red in the building was interesting.

The Chrysler. And here's my shot of it in daylight.

This one got me too. I thought it was either Yorktown beach or one of the beaches on Shore Drive - Chix Beach it is. There's too much beach there to be Yorktown, and there are condos visible; there are none of those in Ytown.

Downtown Hampton - Virginia Air & Space Center.

Definitely Portsmouth. Can tell by the paddlewheel ferry that carries folk in summer and spring back and forth across the Elizabeth River between Portsmouth & Norfolk, and that very odd shaped building which I've forgotten the name of.

The new 5% rates

Any real estate professional worth her salt will tell you that you should get specific financial information from a mortgage industry professional, rather than from a real estate agent. Unless an agent has also worked in the mortgage industry, the agent can only give you secondhand advice that he has received from a lender, or from his/her own personal experience & observations as a consumer. That being said, I spoke with an Atlantic Bay Mortgage loan officer to get a new estimate of the cost of monthly mortgate payments (PI & TI) since rates have been dropping. A lot of people are getting 5% and even 4 & 7/8 with points.

The old estimate I had been working with is $750 to $800 per $100,000. That means that a $200,000 house would run you roughly $1,500-$1,600 per month. At 5% the estimated monthly payment drops to $650 per month for a $100,000 house or $1,300-$1,400 per month for a $200,000 house.

So basically, even though houses in Hampton Roads cost significantly more than they did when I first moved back in 2002, as rates drop, we move closer back to the middle as far as what you're paying per month, b/c the house may cost more, but the lower rate drops the payment. My broker says the prices with these rates bring the monthly expenditure closer to what it was in 1998. My broker also told us that his parents in 1955 bought a home @ 5% rate, and he thought it was something he'd never see in his lifetime, especially with the 18% rates of the late '70's/early 80's. But now we are at 5% again. The potential savings are significant.

Houses are selling!

Tommy's

We went to Tommy's for breakfast yesterday morning. I don't hit this spot very often, but it is a very popular one. It is only open through the early afternoon, I believe, and there is *always* a line. Seriously. There is just no possible way you will go to Tommy's and not stand in line outside the door. Yes, I said outside. The food is southern home-cooked, and it is very inexpensive. I have to say, I had been unimpressed with Tommy's in the past - did not like the biscuits or the grits, but since I knew to leave those alone, I thoroughly enjoyed my salmon cake breakfast with eggs, home fries, & wheat toast. The salmon cake breakfast is a little more expensive than some of the others - ran me $6 bucks. That Tommy's meal took me through the entire day, with the 2nd salmon cake eaten that afternoon for lunch/dinner. Good stuff.