All About Fairfax County’s First-Time Home Buyer Program

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Buying a home is a central part of the American dream, and with interest rates so low right now, many first-time homebuyers are hoping this is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. However, buying a home can still be very expensive, especially in Fairfax County, Virginia. Trying to save up a down payment alone may seem impossible if you’re living on a moderate income. 

The Fairfax County First Time Home Buyer Program helps to make this process more affordable for families purchasing their first homes. Read on to learn more about this program and if you qualify for a discounted home price.

Home Prices in Fairfax County

Before we dive into the specifics of the Fairfax County First-Time Homebuyers Program (FCFTHP), let’s talk some about housing prices in Fairfax County. As of this writing, homes in Fairfax County, Virginia, sell for an average of $600,000. However, home prices range widely, from $21,000 all the way up to $45 million.

The FCFTHP offers first-time buyers the opportunity to purchase at significantly lower prices than the open market offers. Home prices in this program can be as low as $108,000 for a 961-square-foot condo – almost a third of what that home would go for on the open market. Many of these homes are apartments or condos, but the steeply discounted prices make them a great option for buyers with a limited budget.

Who Is Eligible?

As you might expect, the FCFTHP is open only to a first time homebuyer in Fairfax County. But you might be surprised to learn that you can qualify as a first-time homebuyer even if you have owned a home before. In fact, the program allows any residents who have not owned a home in the last three years to apply. 

In order to qualify for Fairfax County Home Buyers Programs, you have to have a household income of at least $25,000 a year. You also have to be within maximum income limits, which vary depending on the size of your household. You must have a credit score of 620 or higher, be able to qualify for a home loan, and have a down payment of at least 2 percent, plus closing costs and one month’s mortgage payment in savings.

Income Limits

The maximum income limit for your household will vary depending on how many people are in it. The income limit will be based on the gross income of all wage-earning adults over the age of 17 living in the household. However, dependents will be counted in the number of residents, even if they don’t earn wages. 

The limits are as follows:

  • Households of one: $63,200
  • Households of two: $72,250
  • Households of three: $81,250
  • Households of four: $90,300
  • Households of five: $97,500
  • Households of six: $104,750
  • Households of seven: $111,950
  • Households of eight or more: $119,200 

Program Covenants 

Although the FCFTHP offers residents access to very affordable home prices, it does come with some caveats. First of all, you must be using this home as your primary residence; it can’t be a commute apartment or a second home. You also can’t rent the home out for some extra income or as an investment property.

If you plan to refinance your mortgage during the time you live in this home, you have to contact the program staff to let them know ahead of time. If you decide to sell the home within thirty years of purchase, you have to offer it back to Fairfax County first. And if you do wind up selling in that thirty-year period, you have to sell it at a price determined by the FCFTHP. 

How to Apply 

If you think you may be interested in applying for the FCFTHP, the first thing you’ll need to do is attend a program orientation session. These are recorded presentations that you can watch at your convenience. After you finish the presentation, you’ll need to take an online survey and then print off and complete your application packet. 

In addition to the orientation session, you’ll also have to complete a Homebuyer Education Course as part of your application. This class is free, and you can attend it online; your certificate of completion must be submitted with your application. You’ll also need to meet with a lender and get them to complete your pre-approval form before you send in your application. 

After you submit your application to the Department of Housing and Community Development, you’ll need to attend an information session. Staff will teach you how to search for available properties and enter drawings, as well as giving you the passport you’ll need during this process.

How are Homeowners Selected?

Once your application is accepted, you’ll be allowed to participate in drawings for the program and participate in the selection process. Applicants are selected at random based on their household size and preference points. In general, applicants with the highest preference points will be considered first for drawings. 

You can earn preference points through the following conditions:

  • You live or work in Fairfax County (5 points)
  • You have at least one child under the age of 18 or a dependent with disabilities (1 point)
  • You’ve participated in the program for multiple consecutive years (1 point each year for a maximum of 3 points) 

Learn More About the Fairfax County First Time Home Buyer Program

The Fairfax County First Time Home Buyer Program can be a great way for you and your family to buy a home without breaking the bank. Make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements, including credit scores and savings amounts. It’s also important to complete all courses and orientations the program requires as part of your application process. 

If you’d like to learn more about living in Fairfax County, check out the rest of our site at Nomadic Real Estate. We provide leasing, management, sales, and, most of all, peace of mind.

Contact us today and start making your home ownership dreams a reality.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.