Having a home inspection continues to be essential for anyone who is buying a home in the Vienna real estate market. Since Virginia is a "caveat emptor" state, home buyers will often learn more during a three hour inspection than they would in three years of living in the house. Home inspections are important and continue to get more Continue Reading
Title Search – A Next Step after going to Contract
Having a professional Title Search is an important step that should be ordered by every home buyer quickly after they have entered into a contract to buy a home. Yes, you may see who the seller is online in the county tax records, but there are possibly more specifics out there that require a professional search. Did you notice that I said Continue Reading
Screened-in Porches
Way back in the 1970's, I remember going to friend's house and sitting in their screened-in porch eating burgers, local corn on the cob and beefy tomatoes from their garden. No one really had AC back then, and it was in here where we could feel the summer evening breeze, hear birds, and an occasional car from down the hill. Those porches Continue Reading
Locking-In, Commuting, Schools, and …
Three common question I'm hearing in 2019 are: When should we lock-in our rate?I'm commuting to _______, how's the commute?What do you know about the school?Is there shopping nearby? Locking-in a mortgage rate Mortgage rates dropped unexpectedly in early 2019 providing a unique opportunity for anyone who is house hunting to lock-in a Continue Reading
Is the wrong school listed online?
The truth is, school reputations can make or break real estate values. And why does public school funding usually become a political hot potato when jurisdictions discuss increasing funding or adding a new 1/2 cent meals tax to help fund the schools? Honestly, good schools cement real estate values. (Of course, if that new public school funding is Continue Reading
Appealing Your Fairfax Real Estate Assessment
If the next owner of your home will probably tear it down to build a brand new home, then you should carefully examine your 2019 Fairfax County Real Estate Assessment. For many owners who live in Vienna, VA, they know the tear-down market is hot since today's home buyers see the Town as an ideal place to live. Builders send postcards and Continue Reading
Stormwater and New Homes
Seeing a small ditch or poorly landscaped rocky area is what home buyers are startled to see when looking at new homes in Vienna. They can become an all-consuming focal point... and not in a very good way. First off, there was a rainfall record set in 2018. Stormwater runoff has become an issue across the country as record levels of rain Continue Reading
What does Coming Soon really mean?
There really isn't any sign more confusing to consumers than a real estate sign in front of a house that says Coming Soon! It's easy to understand a movie trailer that Muppets Most Wanted is coming soon. Or that the new 2015 VW Beetle is coming soon. Or that the new iPhone 6 will be coming soon. Each of these statements can create a Continue Reading
