Northern Virginia Real Estate

Home Buying Tip – Don’t buy anything you can’t sell.

Everyone is different. That's a fact. However, after working with home buyers and sellers you soon see a pattern. There are certain features of a home which tend to be universally appealing.

Some homeowners have difficulty in selling their properties because they ignored an undesirable feature when they purchased the home and it has now come back to haunt them. Their house may stay on the market longer, or sell for a lower price.

Why? When they purchased the home they only thought of their own needs and desires and not of the vast majority of buyers they will eventually sell the property to.

One example is buying a home on a busy street. You may not have young children and it is not a problem to you, but the families that you may be selling to in the future will see the road as a huge problem. Another example are homes with strange layouts like only two bedrooms on the upper floors. This may be perfect for you, but the vast majority of buyers are looking for a more conventional bedroom layout.

You are going to live in the house, so be happy with it. But, keep in mind that you are going to sell this house one day and you want it to appeal to as many buyers as possible when that day comes.

Ask your realtor when you are looking at homes. We know the market and what people like in a home. That's our job!

What is Your Home Worth - Really?

You're thinking of selling your home and moving. Like most of us you sit at the dinner table at chat about your plans and "guess" about how much money you will realize from the sale of your home to purchase the new one.

Many homeowners error on the high side. Why? Human nature really. We "hope" we get the money to make our future plans work and quite frankly we are nervous they won't.

Take the guess work out and get the right information, so you can feel confident in planning your future. Give us a call and we will work with you to determine a realistic idea of the net cash you will receive after the sale of your home.

This evaluation is a free service to you. Be honest, wouldn't you really like to know instead of guessing?

When Problems Arise At Settlement

After a contract is ratified for the sale of a home, there is still much work that needs to be completed before settlement. Some of the items to be completed are the normal inspections, financing, appraisal, insurance, etc… Behind the scene the real estate agents and their administrators carry our a more in depth and comprehensive coordination between the agents, brokers, lenders, insurance companies, inspectors, HOAs, settlement companies, contractors, etc… to make sure that everything is completed and ready for settlement.

At most settlements everything goes as planned. However, settlements are complicated and even with the best planning there can be surprises. The list of surprises is long and varied and not the purpose of this narrative to address.

The point is that YOU may be at your settlement and a problem arises. First, don’t get upset and think the sky is falling on you. Next, make sure that you understand the problem. Talk it over with your agent, leave the room if you need to for privacy. Really understand what is going on and how it may affect you both positively and negatively. Then, let your agent handle it and don’t try to work it out yourself with the other party. The real estate agents and the settlement agent have either seen this situation before and can work it out for you, or they have the resources to call in to assist with the situation, i.e. brokers, attorneys, lenders, etc… Remember, surprises do arise and they usually get worked out at the settlement table to everyone’s agreement.

So, if you are at a settlement and you don’t understand something ask you real estate agent or the settlement agent to clarify. If you want to confer with your agent, it is not a problem to leave the room for a couple of minutes to have some privacy. Make sure your real estate agent understands your position on the matter and then let your real estate agent do the negotiating with the other agents.

Be happy and enjoy your new home…

Gentlemen - Start Your Engines!

Every spring the real estate race begins. There are only a couple of months to the great summer move and buyers want to have their homes selected, under contract and ready to settle.

The pole positions are held by the buyers who have been actively watching the market, have their new loans approved and are ready to speed out and look at homes. They know the course and their competition. They are confident in moving fast to put in a contract and know when to hit the breaks on a deal.

No one makes it to the winners circle alone. All the champions have a great pit team. Experts to help them evaluated the field. Show them the opportunities ahead and help them navigate around danger.

If your spring plans include joining the great spring race then you will need a professional crew. We will help you from start to finishing under the checked flag.

You’ll need help carrying your trophy home, those 3 bedroom houses are rather heavy. Call us today. Our team is ready.

Is your Realtor Presenting All Offers and Explaining all terms to you in order for you to make an informed decision?

It is important when choosing a Realtor ® to work with a Realtor who will work for you and look out for you “their client” best interests from contract to close. So often you hear about agents getting the listing then placing a sign in the yard and never hearing from them again until a contract is being presented.

While there are so many other things an agent can do for you “the client”, for example. Constant communication through email and phone conversations, giving feed back from other agents who have previewed your home, creating flyers, brochures, and virtual tours, and conducting an open house and brokers open, we want to focus on what your agent should do when an offer or multiple offers to purchase your home are being presented.

It is important that your Realtor, once an offer to purchase your home is presented, goes over the contract and terms of the offer. It is not just about the price or offering price, there are many more factors which come into play. Are there any contingencies? If so, what are they? Is the purchase of your home contingent on the sale of their home? Is it contingent on obtaining proper financing? Is it contingent on concessions such as closing costs, monies for repairs or painting? Or is it a combination of any or all. These are just a few of the deciding factors.

If you counter offer you take the risk of nullifying the initial offer. In this buyers market what should you do? It is important for your agent to explain all the details in their entirety as they pertain to an offer to purchase your home. It is also important that your agent look out for your best interests when countering an offer. Allowing for a kick out of said offer should you receive another offer from someone else prior to all contingencies being released. This allows you the seller, the opportunity to entertain others offers while you are waiting for the first offer to be cleared of any contingencies. In other words let's keep your options open.

If you are considering listing your home for sale in the Northern Virginia Area, please consider allowing one of our agents to represent you. We are with you from contract to close and are ready to assist you in getting your home SOLD in this market! Give us call 703 637 0610.