When I review estimated closing costs with home buyers, we always spend time looking at Title Insurance because it is typically one of the largest expenses on the worksheet. Since most people buying real estate are going to have a mortgage, title insurance is going to be a requirement of the lender if you want them to provide the loan. Title Continue Reading
Local Stories
The following is an archive of my articles about builders, strategies, home inspections, financing, painting, staging, tips, and skills. Start reading and you can search the archive anytime.
On Veterans Day 2010
One thing about being a real estate agent is that my clients come from different professional backgrounds. Since Northern Virginia abuts Washington D.C. and is home to The Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and much more, there are plenty of veterans that I come in contact with in the real estate business. On Veterans Day, these veterans pop Continue Reading
Real Estate Apps meet the Mobile Web
Having a real estate “app” on your Smartphone has become a great tool for house hunters. The mobile web has arrived like a storm for Northern Virginia real estate and properties need to be easily found... and mobile ready (that especially means photos, darn it). Here is an example: Using myself as the guinea pig… a current listing is a condo in Continue Reading
12864 Fair Briar Lane, Fairfax Virginia
Too late, another home sold by Doug Francis (settled 11/30/10) This three level condo has just been repainted and re carpeted so it is super clean and ready for you. Plenty of natural light filters into this home. It is a very open floor-plan on the main level with a kitchen that overlooks the living room and dining space. Set up the furniture so Continue Reading
Things You Should Know Before Moving to Northern Virginia
Relocating here? Well, when I started Things You Should Know Before Moving to Northern Virginia (updated in 2019), I had to force myself to stop at fourteen "things". Over the years I have heard myself giving these tips over and over to clients who are relocating here, so, I thought that I should put down my observations for the world to Continue Reading
My Feedburner Burned Out
Image via CrunchBase Sometimes when you add a blog post or plug in to a WordPress blog, things can get a little out of whack. You add something here or there, and then a plug in doesn't work well or you tell yourself that you will fix it on Sunday afternoon and you hit the "Deactivate Plug In" button. So, there was a time when I had Continue Reading
Home Buying Tips | Low Mortgage Rates
Image by DougFrancis via Flickr It seems like every week there is an announcement that home mortgage rates are at an "all-time low", but this weekly headline is starting to get a little stale for most home buyers who are locking-in the mortgages as late as possible before going to closing. The "rate float option" gives home buyers the option of Continue Reading
My Buyer’s Agent Tip of the Week | Luxury Homes
Negotiation strategies vary depending on the price range and condition of the house, but the final months of 2010 may be the best time to negotiate on a luxury home thanks, in part, to the capital gains rate going back up on January 1, 2011. Yes, I am going to encourage you to set in motion an action plan that really is a "win-win" negotiating Continue Reading
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