We had a bright and sunny weekend here in Northern Virginia (2010), and a surge of home buyers were out looking at the homes for sale that had popped up late Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. A little marketing tip is to put a home into the MLS database Thursday to feed all the IDX sites out there that send e-mails to registered home buyers. Continue Reading
There’s some fudge in those NAR home sales numbers
Image via Wikipedia REVISED As I was driving over to my office today, I heard on WTOP exciting new statistics released by the National Association of Realtors about pending home sales jumping last month. Of course I like that news since I’m in the home-sale-biz, but I feel like there is a considerable amount of “fudge” in those numbers. I say Continue Reading
4587 Derring Lane, Fairfax Virginia SOLD!
SOLD and Settled @ $429,900 in April 2010! ... look at the interior photos! This home is not asking a 3rd party for approval! Not a foreclosure either... super clean and ready to settle by the end of the year! Mint condition town home located close to Fair Oaks, Fairfax, and some of the best shopping on the East Coast including Wegman's, Whole Continue Reading
Home buyers need a plan, and be ready to pull the plug…
It has taken a couple of months, but you are now walking up the stairs and into your new home. It’s actually a little bigger than you thought and you can’t wait to paint the kitchen, replace the carpet, get the FiOS set up, and turn in the keys at the old place. Maybe even take a dip in the pool! Nice story, but this is the type of mental image Continue Reading
Back from the road… and lots of questions.
As I pulled into my driveway in Vienna, so ended a long trip through New England ranging from fun in Acadia National Park to the sunny shores of Narragansett, Rhode Island. Being a real estate agent can spark a conversation almost anywhere, and I wound up answering questions from friends who are considering buying a property in Colorado. The Continue Reading
My pre-season playbook for the fall real estate market
I met with some folks the other evening to discuss buying their first home, and here are some thoughts that rang through my head as we reviewed numbers, the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, and the current real estate market in Northern Virginia. Yes, pre-season camp is starting for the Redskins and, like coach Jim Zorn, I am reviewing the Continue Reading
Using your tax credit to help with closing costs?
Rising from the ashes is a revised guideline from HUD stating that home buyers using FHA loans are allowed to tap into the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit to pay closing costs at the time they settle on their home. They still need to have the 3.5% down payment. HUD sent out a memo in early May announcing this program as many of you readers Continue Reading
No short-term loans as HUD pulls the plug
Well, the Tax Credit loan plan is off the table, and HUD took the memo off the web site too. It seems that someone decided to analyze some potential issues... which should have been done before posting it on the crazy world of the Internet. I started to read about this new program in a few blog posts over the past few days and then asked a few Continue Reading
