Archive for June, 2008
Another Happy Family; Ashburn Buyers
June 13th, 2008 categories: For Fun
Last month I was able to assist a young couple moving from Maryland with finding a great deal on a home in the Broadlands. This family found my services on this site and requested me as their USAA relocation agent. They were a lot of fun to work with and it was a disappointment to conclude the transaction. I wanted to find a gift that would bless their family as they moved in to their new home.
With this family I tried something I had never thought of before. I hired a friend of mine who shoots freelance photography on the side to take this family out to have their first set of family photos taken. It couldn’t have turned out any better. I typically show photos on Fridays so today I want to show you a couple photos of this wonderful family. Congratulations on your new home!
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Photographer: Anna Britt Antuna #703-598-6200
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Brambleton Outdoor Concert Series
June 12th, 2008 categories: Brambleton, For Fun
Ashburn and Leesburg are hosting a summer full of concerts and events this year. I am not sure who started this outdoor competition but there is no denying that it is anything less than a battle of the communities. I say, “Let the battle begin while we reap the benefits of a summer full of music and fun!”
Today I will quickly highlight a new concert series in Brambleton that will be held on some Thursdays from 7-9pm near the town center. These concerts should be a lot of fun.
June 5 The Groove
June 19 Rebelicious
July 3 Trio Caliente
July 17 Doug Segree
Aug. 7 Jah Works
Aug. 21 Gonzo’s Nose
For more visit Brambleton’s website.
Related Post:
Loudoun’s Summer Music Concerts And Festivals
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Raspberry Falls Home Sales Stats
June 11th, 2008 categories: Loudoun County, Market Statistics
Yesterday we discussed the Hunt and Golf Community of Raspberry Falls.
Raspberry Falls in Leesburg is a Van Metre Community built by Marquis Homes who still has lots for sale. Their new homes start in the 800K’s depending on the lot and home up in to the $Millions$. I didn’t mention too much about the re-sales in the community so here go…
These stats cover the last 180 days…
Active: 13 (Average List Price- $1,133,515)
Under Contract: 3 (Average List Price- $1,099,866 )
Sold: 4 (Average Sold Price- $1,021,703)
If you are considering moving to Northern VA and are looking for beautiful lots in Leesburg this is a great option. I am a Cartus and USAA certified relocation agent. I would be happy to help.
Related Articles:
Northern VA Annual Sales History
Loudoun County April Housing Stats
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All information is deemed reliable but should be verified for accuracy. Stats were taken from MRIS.
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Community Of The Week: Raspberry Falls
June 10th, 2008 categories: Community Of The Week, New Construction
When many people think of Virginia at its best they are thinking about mountain views, lush fields, and beautiful streams. Virginia does offer this serene luxury. However, you won’t find it until you get out of the everyday hustle of the beltway. My assumption is that if traffic didn’t create such a problem here that many of you would find yourself moving further west.
Today I want to share with you a beautiful community that has captured a piece of this dream right outside of the hustle of Northern VA. The community that I have chosen this week is called Raspberry Falls (Golf And Hunt Club) in Leesburg VA.
Raspberry Falls is a Van Metre Community built by one of Van Metre’s companies Marquis Homes. The community was built around 1996. The beauty of the community is the spacious lots, wide roads, gorgeous views, and the golf and hunt club. The lot sizes range from 1/2 acre to 25 acre lots depending on how much you want to spend. Homes range from the 800K’s in to the millions.
The community can be found only 3.5 miles north of the Leesburg Outlet Mall on Route 15N. Raspberry Falls was designed preserving all of the natural features of the land. The goal of the golf course designed by Gary Player was to follow the style of many courses in Scotland.
More Info On Raspberry Falls:
More Photos: (click photos to enlarge)
Related Articles:
Community Of The Week: Ashburn’s BROADLANDS
Community Of The Week: Lansdowne On The Potomac
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If you are interested in viewing homes in Raspberry Falls (new or resale homes) or other communities CONTACT ME!
All information is deemed reliable but should be verified for accuracy. I do not represent Van Metre or their affiliate companies.
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Online Listing Sites You Can’t Afford To Not Be On…
June 9th, 2008 categories: Sellers
If your home is for sale and lacks a large web presence there is a good chance your buyer will pass you by. I cannot under estimate how important web precense is.
The majority of buyers, some say over 85% of them, are viewing homes online before ever visiting them. The days of finding homes through open houses are gone. They honestly do little to get a home sold besides keep you cleaning on Saturday and figuring out where to hang out for 3 hours on Sunday. This is why your home having a spectacular presence online is your best chance of selling quickly. Even Realtors find homes online. And trust me, if I am searching for a particular home for a buyer and there are 50 that match the criteria, my attention first goes to homes with multiple photos.
5 Ways To Get Your Home Less Showings
- Have only 1 photo of your home.
- Have your photos taken without your home cleaned and staged.
- Have your photos taken by your Realtor.
- Have no virtual tour.
- Have your home only listed on the MLS.
Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. So are bad ones. This is why I hire a professional photographer to shoot my homes. I also give my sellers staging tips or hire a stager for them to get their home ready for sale. It is important to know that many buyers enjoy virtual tours (similar to a video) of homes more than photos. Listen, you are paying a Realtor a lot of money to get your home sold as quickly as possible. The least they can do is to spend the money to make it show up looking awesome.
Along with the MLS, it is a great idea to have your home listed on a few other sites that receive a lot of buyer attention:
- Craigslist.com - this site isn’t big in some areas. But if you live near a metropolitan area, you can’t afford to miss this one.
- Realtor.com- This is the most searched real estate website. However, unless your Realtor pays extra for your listing to be highlighted there is a good chance you won’t be seen.
- Trulia.com
- Zillow.com
- THE GOOD NEWS- if your home is in the MLS it should appear on most company sites like Century21, Remax, etc… even if you are listed with another company.
If you are working with a Realtor and they are not listing you on these sites, encourage them to.
If you are interested in discussing my marketing services feel free to contact me. I will do a no obligation listing appointment for you.
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Related Articles:
Should You Rent Or Sell Your Home In Loudoun County?
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Ugly MLS Photo: Bubble House
June 6th, 2008 categories: Worst MLS Photos
I was searching for some homes yesterday and came across this photo. Immediately I knew I could not hold this one back from you guys.
I am not sure what type of camera lens is being used here but it has to be time for a new one.
I had one of this sites subscribers send me some terrible photos last week. I really appreciated it. So… if you guys see anything that gives you a good laugh don’t hesitate to send it my way.
Have a great weekend.
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Northern VA/ Ashburn Storm
June 5th, 2008 categories: Ashburn, Ashburn Village, For Fun
There was an awesome storm yesterday.
I was able to grab some incredible photos of the clouds with my phone while walking my dog . After the storm there were 2 beautiful rainbows. One was incredibly bright. My phone doesn’t do justice but I am sharing it nevertheless.
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Ashburn Condo Statistics
June 4th, 2008 categories: Ashburn, Market Statistics
Wednesday is stat day so here you go…
Usually when showing stats I leave out condos because they have a tendency to bring down the accuracy of stats. So, I wanted to be fair and give those condos their own post.
I have broken down the stats between Ashburn’s 2 zip codes. 20147 is Ashburn’s north side including neighborhoods like Ashburn Village & Farm, Belmont, etc… 20148 includes the neighborhoods Brambleton, Broadlands, and more.
20147 has more condos available currently built than 20148. The only 20147 condos still being built are in Belmont (I think they are called The Ridges). The only ones I can think of still being built in 20148 are in Brambleton by Centex and Beazer.
If would like a list of condos for sale in Ashburn or other cities you can search HERE or I will email you a list. CONTACT ME HERE.
Related Articles:
Loudoun County April Housing Stats
Northern VA Annual Sales History
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All information is deemed reliable but should be verified for accuracy. Stats were taken from MRIS.
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Community Of The Week: Ashburn’s BROADLANDS
June 3rd, 2008 categories: Broadlands, Community Of The Week
If you are a Loudoun local you have heard of the Broadlands. It’s not the fact that the Broadlands has created their own unincorporated name inside of Ashburn. Nope. People in the Broadlands have a major agenda currently. That agenda is getting their own hospital.
I find it humorous when reading the local papers every week with full page ads being ran from the current Loudoun Hospital in Lansdowne, only a little more than a mile down the road, or ads from the Broadlands. There is a lot of ink being spilt over this hospital. Truth be told, I don’t have too much of an opinion on the issue, except if it means more taxes for Loudoun at this time I can’t say I am too excited.
Well, this article has little to do with county battles and more to do with the large community of the BROADLANDS. I will try to stay on course.
THE BROADLANDS
The Broadlands is a beautiful community located in Loudoun County (20148). It is and is still being built on 1502 acres off of exit 5 of the Dulles Greenway in Ashburn. Van Metre Homes (a JD Power Quality Leader) is the developer of the land and has built the majority of the homes in the community. The Broadlands is estimated to be finished in 2010 and will have around 3,800 homes when fully developed.
The goal of the Broadlands when building was to preserve as much of the natural environment as possible. The community has set aside 150 acres of wetlands and woodlands for vegetation and wildlife. They even constructed a 5,000 square foot nature center. Not bad. Residents therefore are able to enjoy walking trails, ponds, birdhouses, and a “butterfly meadow.” I have to say that the quality and detail of developers has seemingly increased with the slow down of the real estate market.
Amenities and Shopping
Depending on where your home is located in the Broadlands you have access some great amenities. Every Broadlands resident has access to the community pool, tennis courts, parks, tot lots, etc.. with the community HOA fee which I believe runs around $150 a month. However, if you live in the southern part of the community which is mostly newer called Southern Walk you are blessed with an additional Open-Band fee than varies in price which includes cable, internet, and telephone. And no, until that community contract is up, you don’t have a choice of whether you will pay it.
For those of you who love local shops, the Broadlands currently has every Ashburn neighborhood beat. They have two large community shopping centers; Broadlands Marketplace and Broadlands Village Center. These places include some great restaurants such as Bone Fish, The Original Steakhouse (with the coolest sports bar in town), American Flatbread, and Glory Days. By the way, the classiest restaurant in town is in the Broadlands… Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm.
Schools
Elementary: Hill Side & Mill Run
Middle: Eagle Ridge
High: Briar Woods High
If you are interested in viewing homes for sale in The Broadlands or other communities in Ashburn and would like me to email you a list contact me with no obligations.
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Related Articles:
Community Of The Week: Pulte’s Windermere In Ashburn
Community Of The Week: Lansdowne On The Potomac
All information given above is deemed reliable but should be verified for accuracy.
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Why Parking On Your Lawn In Loudoun Could Cost You…
June 2nd, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Real Estate News
The Loudoun Board of Supervisors may follow Fairfax and Prince William Counties in making it illegal to leave cars parked on your front lawn.
The reason: it looks bad.
Scott York, Loudoun Board Chairman says, “It brings down property values and adds to neighborhood problems caused by crowding of homes and the recent spate of foreclosures.”
Under the proposal, lots with 36,000 square feet (the 6 homes that have that much, lol) or less would be prohibited from parking on unpaved sections of their front yards. They also couldn’t pave over 30% of their front yard to comply with the ordinance.
The truth is that most communities that have this problem do not have an HOA. Most HOA’s would never allow this. I agree that it looks bad. The question becomes should the government be able to control where we park on our land?
Let me know what you think…
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