The on again, off again, opportunity to use the $8000 tax credit as a down payment is back on again. At least if you get a VHDA loan.

The guidelines for the program are here. The program utilizes a second mortgage to make this happen. That second mortgage requires no mortgage payments for the first year and has a 0% interest rate during that year. You have multiple options on how to deal with the second mortgage after that first year.

It's worth taking a look at this program if the only thing keeping you from owning a home is coming up with a down payment.

If you need help finding a VHDA lender, let me know. I'd be happy to help!

I was fortunate enough to hear Glenn Tecker give a speech about leadership last week. It was a terrific speech, but one piece in particular has stuck with me.

He talked about how we are moving from a Carbon Economy to a Green Economy. The path looks like this:

He views the end state here as about a decade away.

And, of course, I got to thinking about what this means for real estate.

First of all, if you're a buyer, you should be looking for energy efficient/green homes. That's not just for your own short term financial/health well being. It's because when you sell that home down the road it's likely to net you significantly more money.

What that rules out, of course, is a McMansion. I'm not saying no one will ever buy a McMansion again. I'm saying the market for those monstrosities is going to be so small, and the existing supply is so large, that you need to seriously consider the financial implications of such a purchase.

If you recently bought a home and are thinking about doing some upgrading/updating, every item you think about improving, add a green filter to that decision making. Ask yourself if what you're doing will make the house more appealing in that future green economy.

And, if you're contemplating selling any time soon, start thinking about what energy efficient qualities your home has already. Talk to your agent about how those can become part of the marketing plan. And, if you're doing any upgrades before selling, factor this into your plans.

One word of caution here. If you're selling in the short term, do NOT invest a lot of money in "green" or any other kind of upgrades. You will not get a good dollar return.

The pain in the diagram above will be unavoidable for the economy as a whole. But some smart planning may help you avoid it in terms of buying and selling real estate.

In Virginia a seller can choose whether than provide the would-be buyers with a property disclaimer or a property disclosure. I say "in Virginia" because this is fairly unique in the real estate world. In most states a disclosure statement is a must.

So, what are these two documents and what do they mean to you as either a buyer or a seller?

The property disclosure is a document that goes through all the major systems of your home and asks you what you know about them. It asks about problems you've encountered and fixed, the age of certain items, etc. While it is not an exhaustive inventory of everything connected with your home and the history of each item, it certainly can provide a substantial amount of information.

The property disclaimer is a much shorter document. Just about the only actual information it provides is whether or not the property is in a historic district. As far as the condition of the house goes the disclaimer says that the owner makes no representation as to the condition of the home. In a nutshell, it says the buyer is on his own.

The vast majority of sellers in Virginia elect to use the property disclaimer. And that's not entirely surprising. It requires less work on the seller's part, certainly. Check whether or not the property is in a historic district and sign your name! You're done! No need to rack your brain on when it was that you had the air conditioning unit replaced.

The other reason I'm frequently given for not using the property disclosure is that people are afraid of being sued over an honest mistake. While I've never personally seen a lawsuit based on a mistake on a disclosure, it's hard to argue that in our litigious society someone, somewhere, someday might not be tempted to sue. I'm not a big fan of fear-based decision making but it is a big factor in why most people choose the disclaimer.

One instance when I would definitely suggest a disclaimer makes more sense is when you are selling a home you do not occupy. If, for example, it's an investment property that's been rented out, the odds are you don't know everything that's going on with the home. It's best not to guess. And, even if you moved out two months ago, houses do not stay the same over time! Again, this is a good time to use a disclaimer.

If you're a buyer and see a disclaimer, I wouldn't assume that something's wrong with the house. Clearly there are a lot of sellers using disclaimers for reasons that have nothing to do with the condition of the property. However, if you do happen to run across one where the owner has used a disclosure I think it's potentially worth assigning some extra weight to that fact.

What have your experiences been with disclaimers and disclosures? If you moved to Virginia from elsewhere in the country were you surprised at the lack of mandatory disclosures here?