Archive for July, 2007
The National Association of Home Builders released their NATIONAL new detached home numbers for the month of June. As expected the numbers were down 6.6% from the previous month. The inventory of new homes remained the same as the previous month but due to slower sales however the supply of homes available now stands at 7.8 months.
As always the national numbers do not reflect what may be happening locally. New home sales were up in the south by 7.6%. Building permits issued in our area for detached homes is down 19% over June of last year which I think reflects the builders pulling back on some of the projects that they were projecting to build.
What do this numbers mean for buyers? With builders offering significant incentives to purchase a new home it is a good time to consider visiting a new home builder. Builders are open to negotiation on everything from upgrades, closing costs, price reductions and price guarantees. Buyers need to realize that if they are planning on visiting a builder’s site that they must take their Realtor® with them. Builder’s representatives are nice people but they are working for the builder. They are not there to negotiate on your behalf and as a result may not tell you about the “extras” that are available.
Builder contracts are not the same as the Virginia resale contracts, which are by themselves complicated, and have different language which can leave an unsuspecting buyer with little recourse if the new home they are buying is not delivered on time or has issues. Did you know that you can and should have an independent home inspection on new construction? I recently had a home inspection done on a new construction ($1M+) home “ready” for delivery. The home inspector discovered over 3 pages of home inspection issues that the builder needed to correct. Most of these items were things that the average home buyer would not have noticed until it might have been to late for the builders warranty to correct.
If you are thinking it is a good time to visit either a Fairfax County or Prince William County builder give me a call. With my experience in negotiation with builders I can make sure that your interests are protected. My new home buying incentive program provides you up to an additional $10,000 rebate* from the builder commission. Ask me for details to how this extra boost reduces the money you need to get to the closing table.
*rebate must be approved by the lender and reflected on the HUD-1 at closing. Rebate is up to 1% of the real estate commission offered by the builder and generally on base price of the property purchased.
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Why are Settlements Scheduled at the end of the Month?
July 30th, 2007 Categories: FAQ's, Real Estate Ramblings
It never seems to fail. The end of the month is packed with closings. The loan officers are scrambling, the settlement companies are swamped and the Realtors® are shuffling contracts to make sure everything is done.
But is closing at the end of the month all that important?
The answer may depend more on your cash in hand than any other reason. For many first time homebuyers an end of the month closing means less money needed at the settlement table. First, you probably made your last rent payment at the beginning of the month and if you settle and move at the end of the month you don’t have to worry about another rent payment. Secondly, interest on your mortgage begins on the day the transaction closes. So if you settle on March 30th then you only have to pre-pay interest for that month or in this case one day. Your first payment will be due on May 1st, when you will be paying April’s interest. Interest is always paid in arrears so in some ways April becomes a “free” month.
There is no harm in closing in the middle of the month and some settlement companies in Northern Virginia offer specials to encourage buyers to choose a settlement date other than the last few days of the month. If you decide to close in the middle of the month you just need to have extra funds at closing to cover the pre-paid interest that will be due on your loan. The good news is if you are buying a home at the end of the year and close in the middle of November you won’t have a payment due until the 1st of January.
I generally encourage my first time homebuyers to look at the end of the month to close so they have a little extra money on hand for the incidentals. For my move up buyers with cash from a previous sale I suggest they take advantage of the less frenetic middle of the month closing. It is interesting to point out to buyers that no matter when you close you don’t actually save any money in the long run. Your final mortgage payment is still a long way out and it will due 15, 30 or 40 years to the day of your original close.
So it is the end of the month and I’m off to the settlement office!
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Some architectural historians would like to say that he did. Many of his prairie style homes incorporated a “split” design however they were far larger than what the average family could afford at the height of his building days. The split level homes that eventually followed did follow two key concepts that the Frank Lloyd Wright introduced in his prairie home: half-floors dividing family living space from private sleeping areas and a home that flowed with the contour of the lot versus being set on top of it.
Another set of historians credit Bill Levitt the creator of Levitt Town. I’m personally going with Frank Lloyd Wright as his designs are much more estecially pleasing and in-tune with today’s desire to think more about our environment. Whoever is ultimately given credit for the creation of the split-level home, the homes gained popularity in the 1950’s and 60’s and replaced the tired ranch homes that had been easy to build in the 30’s and 40’s. I happen to be a big fan of the classic split level home. Maybe it is because I grew up in one and owned our family home for a few years. Or perhaps it is because I have sold many of them in the Fairfax County area
I began researching the history of the split level in order to look for additional ways to promote my listing at 6108 Fox Hill Street in Fairfax County. In the 1950’s when the split was first introduced it was because families needed more space than the ranch provided. If you grew up in a split-level neighborhood chances are you could look left, right and across the street and see a split level. I know in our neighborhood you could. The only difference was if you lived on a lot with a bit of a hill you had a four-level instead of three-level split or maybe an integrated garage. Most of the splits built in the 1950’s were modest with square footage between 1200-1800 finished square feet.
The design of all the split levels was the same. When you came in the front door you were greeted by a large living room, a separate dining room and kitchen. A few steps up led to the bedrooms and bath; a few steps down led to the family room and another bath. This design provided a family with three distinct living areas. In our neighborhood the splits also came with something that you don’t find in any home built today, a double walk-up attic.
I was recently cleaning out some family papers and found the builders brochure from when my parents bought their home. The owners of 6108 Fox Hill had a laugh over the thought that these homes were originally built without AC nor were there any outlets for clothes dryers. Hey, that is me they are laughing at.
So if you are looking for an all brick home with just the right amount of space then check out this listing in Fairfax County. With plaster walls, hardwood floors, and tile bathrooms you will be glad you did. Oh and don’t forget the double floored walk-up attic!
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Selling Your Home in Fairfax County-It’s Not Like the “Good Old Days”
July 28th, 2007 Categories: Selling Thoughts
Trying to sell a home in today’s real estate market is very different than it was 2 or 3 years ago. Not only are the market conditions different but with new federal laws in place, local association rules and changes in how buyers look for homes, Realtors have to change how they reach buyers as well.
As a Realtor® who specializes in selling homes in Fairfax County, Prince William County, Arlington and Alexandria, I have found that every home needs an individualized approach to marketing. The rules of selling real estate in our area have changed. For example in most areas I can no longer hire local youngsters to put door hangers out announcing a listing or open house. Many of the condo buildings where I could post flyers have said NO MORE, with the “Do Not Mail List” postcards often end up in the dead letter piles at the post office and counties are cracking down on roadside FOR SALE directional signs.
Print media is quickly losing its appeal among consumers. The Washington Post, Washington Times, and Times Connections (community editions) have raised their print ad prices to astronomical prices to make up for the declining readership. The glossy Showcase Homes, Homes and Land and Harmon Homes publications have always been expensive and the turn around time between placing an ad and the ad appearing in print can be 3-5 weeks depending on schedules.
For a short time it appeared the various E-Flyer companies might have figured out a way to help Realtors get the word out. Now it seems that most of those end up in Junk Mail folders and are never even seen by other Realtors or consumers. So you can see the dilemma that arises in trying to making a home stand-out among the competition. So what is a Realtor to do?
Welcome to the 21st century. If your Northern Virginia Realtor® is not fully “wired” then you may want to call one that is. With the internet now being the first place that most buyers look for a home making sure that your house is visible in multiple on-line locations is a must. Realtor.com statistics show that over 55 million consumers are searching for homes on their site in most months.
Besides the MLS my listings are to sent to hundreds of other relevant home search sites as soon as I enter them on my website and each of my listing has their own unique URL which leads buyers directly to your home from the internet or when they drive past your home.
Now the latest tool in a wired Realtors toolbox is blogging and social networks. With search engines seeking new content on the web daily, a static website is a nice to have, but an active BLOG is a must have. Every blog is different and therefore the content is fresh and the search engines love them. Blogs give a Realtor a chance to talk about a listing in many different ways. Stories can be created that talk about your home, your neighborhood, nearby attractions and so much more. A static posting of your home is great and a blog will link back to your realtor’s website to show additional pictures and details but the way to keep your home in front of buyers is to have fresh content written every few days.
So if you are thinking about selling your home in Fairfax, Prince William, Alexandria or Arlington check to see how wired your agent is. If you need more information or are looking for help to get your house SOLD give me a call. I’ll show you how I advertise my listings on multiple blog sites and social networks.
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Wow, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this.
Selling your home is as simple as 1-2-3. At least that is what the Real Estate Journal on-line says.
“To sell your home you only need to do three very simple things”
•1) Find out the value of your property
•2) Market your property
•3) Transfer the title of your property
Are they out of their minds? Where in the world did they come up with this idea? Have they not read anything about selling a home? Do they have any idea what type of market most of us are facing?
Okay lets head over to Zillow.com to determine the price of your home. We all know the accuracy of the data provided by many of the on-line sites. Home pricing is more than looking at data on the computer. There are infinite number of variables that are not shown by the on line pricing companies. A few of them to consider include the condition of your property in comparison to the one shown on line, what type of seller subsidy was included in the sale that might effect the true number and how recent is that sale or tax assessment number?
Then put together an ad for your local paper and put it on Craig’s list and wait for the calls to come pouring in. When the phone rings and a buyer (without an agent of their own) wants to see your property do you know if they are even qualified to buy? Are you prepared to put them in touch with a lender to make sure that before you show them your property that then can afford it? What is the cost to get your home listed on dozens of websites to catch the widest online audience possible? How are you going to handle a buyer’s agent?
Now call a Real Estate Attorney and they will handle the transfer of the title for only $500. I can’t think of an attorney in our area that is going to handle all the paperwork related to a home sale for $500. A good real estate attorney is going to bill you at least $250 and hour and I guarantee to do all of the title work, deed prep, county and state filings is going to take more than 2 hours!
This is the type of information that gets thousands of homeowners in trouble everyday. There is so much more that goes in to the sale of a home particularly in a market where your home sale is competing with hundreds of others for a buyers attention.
So don’t be fooled into thinking that selling your home is as simple as 1-2-3. If it was then why isn’t everyone selling their own homes? Maybe it is because it isn’t that simple? That there are so many variables in selling a home that the permitations can’t be counted.
So does anyone else think this is rather foolish advice for a seller in today’s market? Let me know what you think!
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This morning I had the rare opportunity to take a Saturday morning off and enjoy the farmers market and a stroll through the streets of Del Ray in Alexandria VA. Not as famous as its neighbor, Old Town Alexandria, the neighborhood of Del Ray still exudes old style charm and grace.
Founded as a railroad community for workers at the nearby Potomac Rail Yard, Del Ray’s history can be tracked back to the mid 1800’s. With the Alexandria area being a major point for multiple train companies no longer in existence, Del Ray was crisscrossed by not only a significant number of train lines but streetcar tracks as well. As the train companies went out of business the fortunes of Del Ray turned as well.
Surprising enough in this day and age of flattening old blighted neighborhoods to the ground, Del Ray managed to survived due in part to a small group of citizens who decided to fight to protect the cottages that line the roads off of Commonwealth Avenue. Now Del Ray once again is a thriving community with a real small town feel.
Neighbors actually spend time on the porches of their bungalows talking to each other. Shop owners have water dishes out for the dogs and the work of local artists can be found in the shops fronting on Commonwealth. The Del Ray Artisans have classes for children that are booked solid every year. If you haven’t had breakfast at St. Elmos or dinner at Evening Star then you have missed a real treat. And of course in the summer the farmers market is the place to meet and greet.
Del Ray was recently featured in both Cottage Living and American Bungalow Magazine. Homes in Del Ray aren’t cheap. You pay for both the history and the location just outside of Washington DC. The owners of 3 Del Ray Avenue invited me in to take a look at their home which is currently on the market for $699,900. It is exquisite and was remodeled and expanded to reflect the original architecture. If you have an afternoon off and want to explore a great area then take the time to check on Del Ray.
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Selling your house may leave you feeling vulnerable. Not only is your house a huge financial asset, but you have strangers peering in your closets, appraisers judging your home’s value and inspectors noting its flaws. A low offer in the midst of all of this can seem like a personal affront. However, no matter how well you have prepared your house or how certain you are that it’s priced correctly; receiving a low offer is a possibility. Prepare yourself ahead of time to not take it personally. Instead of getting angry, do one of two things: Reject the offer, or counter it and move on.
If you do decide to counter the offer, try to get as much information as you can about why the offer came in at the price it did. Take a good look at the condition of your property. How does it REALLY look? It is amazing how quickly a buyer will under value your home based on outdated carpet, tile, light fixtures, bathrooms and kitchens. Remember that cost and value are not synonymous. If you have over personalized your home you might love it but a buyer might be looking how much it will cost to undo all of the paint and wallpaper.
If your home has been on the market for some time and you have not re-evaluated your price then the offer may be closer than you think. Have your agent take a good look at the most recent comparable properties and see if there have been similar properties that have sold at a lower price. You may be surprised to learn that the home one street over may have sold recently at significantly less than you think. When this happens it has an immediate impact of the value of your home.
Look at all of the contingencies in the contract. Make sure that you are considering all of the factors in the offer. Don’t focus just on price. Make sure that you examine all of the other portions of the contract as well. Sometimes price is not the only factor that makes a contract worth considering.
If you decide that you just can’t live with what is on the table then by all means move on. Make sure you and your agent understand your reasons for refusing the offer so that there are no linger issues.
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Trying to sell a home in today’s real estate market is very different than it was 2 or 3 years ago. Not only are the market conditions different but with new federal laws in place, local association rules and changes in how buyers look for homes, agents have to change how they reach buyers as well.
As a Realtor® who specializes in selling homes in Fairfax County, Prince William County, Arlington and Alexandria, I have found that every home needs an individualized approach to marketing. The rules of selling real estate in our area have changed. Print media is quickly losing its appeal among consumers. The Washington Post, Washington Times, and Times Connections (community editions) have raised their print ad prices to astronomical prices to make up for the declining readership. The glossy Showcase Homes, Homes and Land and Harmon Homes publications have always been expensive and the turn around time between placing an ad and the ad appearing in print can be 3-5 weeks depending on schedules.
So what is a Realtor to do?
Welcome to the 21st century. As a fully “wired” Northern Virginia Realtor® I know how to take advantage of all of the latest technology to make your home accessable to more buyers. With the internet now being the first place that most buyers look for a home making sure that your house is visible in multiple on-line locations is a must. Realtor.com statistics show that over 55 million consumers are searching for homes on their site in most months.
In addition, posting to a number of other on-line resources is a must as well. Zillow.com. Truilia.com RE/MAX.com, Craigslist.org and others are important players in this new on-line boom. Now the latest tool in a wired Realtors toolbox is blogging and social networking. With search engines seeking new content on the web daily, a static website is a nice to have, but an active BLOG is a must have. Every blog is different and therefore the content is fresh and the search engines love them. Blogs give me a chance to talk about a listing in many different ways. Stories can be created that talk about your home, your neighborhood, nearby attractions and so much more. A static posting of your home is great and a blog will link back to your my website to show additional pictures and details but the way to keep your home in front of buyers is to have fresh content written every few days.
So if you are thinking about selling your home in Fairfax, Prince William, Alexandria or Arlington check to see how wired your agent is. If you need more information or are looking for help to get your house SOLD give me a call. I’ll show you how I advertise my listings on multiple blog sites and social networks.
Contact me directly at 703-346-2213 and stop by my other website http://www.cindyjoneshomes.com/ to see yet another way I use the internet to advertise your home.
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That was what the newspaper headline of the Journal Messenger said in 1983 when they were writing about my current earth sheltered home listing in Manassas. The current owner of the property is only the second owner of the home and she is fortunate enough to have the original photos of the home being built (which I had burned to a CD) and the newspaper articles that were published when the home was first built.
It is amazing to read how the original builder, a man named George Allison, thought that with all of the energy saving features the home provided that there would a lot of these homes built in the near future. Of course we all know that the near future is way past, this was 1983 after all and though there were a few more of these homes built in our area, they did not catch on.
Was it because they were too futuristic for the time? Is it because people think that living underground is dark or damp? Was it banks reluctance to make construction loans on underground homes? It may have been those and so many more reasons. Now with energy conservation and ECO friendly living is at the forefront I am surprised that more people have not taken advantage of the opportunity to build earth sheltered homes.
Everyone who visits the house is completely taken aback by the amount of natural light they find. The entire front of the house is a wall of windows. The only two rooms in the house that do not have a large bank of window are the two bathrooms. Pipes around the perimeter of the home take outside air and pull it underground which raises and lowers the temperature based on the current weather conditions. Since the earth stays a fairly constant 55-60 degrees all year long it does not take much additional energy to heat or cool this home. Amazing in a time where the standard heating and AC bills are through the roof.
I hope that more home buyers will consider learning about sustainability, ECO-friendly building practices and perhaps make the prediction of the original builder of this home come true and consider buying or building an earth-sheltered home.
A few other blogs I’ve penned regarding green living.
Earth Sheltered Home offers Green Lifestyle
What’s Growing on Your Roof
Going Green doesn’t require you become a Frog!
How Green is Your Money
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I am asked this question over and over, and the answer is, “Probably not”.
If you pick up a newspaper it’s hard to avoid seeing something about the increase in foreclosures. It’s a fact that foreclosures are increasing, particularly for properties that were purchased with sub-prime loans. Defaults on sub-prime loans and the foreclosures on these properties by the lenders are on the increase. Many forecast that things will get worse before they get better.
Let’s assume for a moment that the forecasts are right. What do these predictions mean to you if you are looking to buy? Can you find an undervalued house? We know that banks really aren’t in the real estate business. They don’t want properties, they want their loans paid. Since bank loans are determined by market value and sub-prime loans were typically no-down-payment loans, the amount the banks are owed is not much less than market value of the houses pre-2007.
Although listing prices on many houses are coming down many foreclosed properties had values established during our housing price boom. As a result, banks are now holding loans worth more than the current market value. The banks then really have no choice but to price the property downward to the current realistic market price. However, they aren’t knowingly going to price the property below market value. So you need to realize that this is the same market price that would be available if you shopped the entire open market inventory.
The other thing you have to consider when looking to buy a foreclosed property is property condition. I complete Broker Price Opinions (BPO) for banks on multiple properties every week. Some of the properties are new construction purchased by a speculator and are in pristine condition. Others need work, either cosmetic or more. With foreclosure properties you are buying in “as is” condition. Utilities are turned off so you have no opportunity to do a complete inspection of the home prior to settlement.
Buying a foreclosure property also takes time. When you make an offer directly to a homeowner you can reasonable expect an answer to your offer within 24 hours. With a bank owned property you can wait days and even weeks to get a response. Patience is the key. You are dealing with a financial institution and they aren’t going to jump just because you have made an offer on one of their properties.
Many agents won’t show foreclosure properties because of the headaches involved. Work with an agent who has experience in dealing with the bank and their representatives. And remember to go during the day. You won’t be able to see anything at night!
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