Archive for the 'Buyers' Category
Ashburn Is Selling!!!
April 2nd, 2008 categories: Ashburn, Buyers
I took some time this past Saturday morning to wash my car. As I did, I saw multiple Realtors out showing a home close to mine. Either this is was an amazing house or there are a lot of people buying.
The truth is that there are A LOT OF BUYERS looking to buy right now. Many of them/ you have been riding the fence on when to buy. Those that are not tied in to waiting on some third party to respond are taking advantage of some great deals on great homes!
In Ashburn right now there are 154 homes under contract. I heard yesterday that many of these went under contract just this past weekend!
If you are holding out because of the fear of market decline you could miss one of the greatest opportunities Ashburn has presented in over 5 years! If you are moving next year, you obviously have a risk. Otherwise, lock in a 30 year rate that you feel comfortable with and enjoy your new home. We are actually seeing MULTIPLE offers on homes that show well and are priced well.
If you would like help finding great deals on homes in the area and need assistance contact me. I know Ashburn.
All information is deemed reliable but should be verified for accuracy.
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Are Things As Bad As They Appear?
March 27th, 2008 categories: Buyers, Market Statistics
Hindsight is 20/20
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The Sacred Open House
March 24th, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners, Sellers
What is the goal of an open house?
The chances of selling your home during an open house have to be like 1 in 100.
If the odds are that low, why the heck to do we still hold our houses open? Wouldn’t it be much more efficient to spend that couple of hours that we hold our homes open passing out flyer’s or something? Seriously, think about it. We spend all day Saturday stressing ourselves out trying to make our home appear clean, smell good, and get those vacuum lines in our carpet so we can let complete strangers and nosey neighbors wonder around our homes for three hours? Do we seriously expect that that during those 3 hours the future buyer of our home will be in our neighborhood and be so enthralled by our 4 signs that they will come and visit our home and want to buy it on the spot?
Don’t get me wrong. It could happen. The question is, “is it worth it?”
Truthfully, I bought my home after going to an open house. However, I was already going there because I knew it was for sale. I have had clients buy homes after going through an open house. However, I sent them there meaning we would gone either way.
The truth is that I hold open houses. I will probably hold one open this weekend. I do it because sellers think it is important. Every weekend. NO. But once in a while, sure. Open Houses are the sacred cows of real estate. Its like knocking on wood. Read the rest of this entry »
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Why to Home - Inspect - Your - Gadgets
March 20th, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners
Two weeks ago I wrote an article called The Secret To Saving Yourself From A Dying Home where I talked about purchasing a home warrant when buying your home. At that time I didn’t talk much about the essentials of a home inspection.
When you write an offer on a re-sale home in VA, you have the option of conducting a home inspection to check out the house beyond the appearance. Depending on the size of the home you are looking to pay $250 and UP. This is not something that you want to overlook or just bring in your buddy who knows housing well. Overlooking an issue could cost you A LOT OF MONEY in the long run if not addressed. The state views this as such an issue that there are forms you may have to sign if you decide against having the inspection. In most cases you can actually decide to not buy the home if you find things that scare the mess out of you, or the seller refuses to fix them.
During a standard home inspection, your inspector will go through your home, looking over all of the electrical issues, plumbing, appliances, outlets, roof, windows, smoke detectors, etc… This does not mean that if the roof appears old or if there is a ding in the wall that you can force the seller to address it.
The worst thing that I see taking place after a home inspection in this market is that buyers who have already picked the sellers pockets during the negotiations come back and seek to get thousands of dollars more of work done for issues that are not hazardous to the home but the seller simply wants fixed like a wood piece on a garden wall leaning, or to have the whole side of a 1950’s house repainted.
Don’t get me wrong, it is ok to ask for issues to be addressed that cost a lot of money. However, I am referring to minor issues that have nothing to do with the structure of the home, appliances, heating, cooling, electric, plumbing, etc. It can simply become an issue of taking advantage of people at a certain point.
I can assist you with buying a home in Fairfax City, Chantilly, South Riding, Ashburn, Leesburg, Hamilton, Vienna, Mclean, Reston, Sterling, and Herndon….. CONTACT ME.
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SIX Great Reasons To Relocate To Northern VA
March 17th, 2008 categories: Buyers
The Northern VA, DC metro areas offers something for everyone.
Here are the top 6 reasons you will love living in Northern VA.
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Beautiful Weather And 4 Changing Seasons.
Northern VA has fewer natural disasters than most places in the US, and the weather remains fairly mild throughout the year. During the winter we will see a few snowstorms with freezing rain. The spring and fall are beautiful with the changing of colors, cherry blossoms, and the comfortable temperatures. Here is a link to the average temperatures in the area.
2. Located In A Very Central Part Of The East Coast.
In Northern VA, within a few hours driving you have complete access to some of the best day trips around. Popular locations include: DC, Outer Banks, VA Beach, The Eastern Shore, New York City, Delaware, Annapolis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Shenandoah Mountains.
3. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
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A Great First Time Buyer Option
March 10th, 2008 categories: Buyers
I had a dinner the other night with a friend who has been wanting to buy for a long time.
They, like many buyers that have been waiting for a while and were frustrated with all of the hoopla that has been going on that is making it more difficult to buy at this time. We now have homes that are affordable, but restrictions are making it hard for them to get in.
I want to let you in on a great program that could really help you at as a first time buyer. It is called an… Read the rest of this entry »
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The Secret To Saving Yourself From A Dying Home
March 6th, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners, Sellers
So you have had the home inspection done on the home you are buying. A few things needed some love. The HVAC is looking a little old but is still blowing and the dishwasher is the only thing that hasn’t been replaced.
Sounds a little risky. Its not like you will have a few grand to put up for a new air conditioning system if it dies this summer. What to do? Does your home owners insurance cover these items? Probably not.
Don’t worry. You are working with the Jonathan Bunn. Rated the best Realtor around in my opinion. That stands for something, right?
When purchasing an older home, I highly recommend a home warranty.
What is a home warranty? A home warranty is temporary insurance you can purchase that will cover most of the items that standard insurance does not cover. Things like; appliances, heating systems, cooling systems, garage door openers, washer/dryer, ceiling fans, garbage door openers, disposals, plumbing, electrical systems, trash compactor, etc… You can add other items depending on what home warranty plan you get.
Most home warranties last a year but can be extended from year to year. The typical cost will run you from the mid $300’s to the low $400’s. The price will vary based on what you have covered along with how much of a deductible you want to pay when the home warranty service provider comes out to fix an item.
For example: I paid $385 this year for the home warranty on my town home. This past week my dishwasher started acting funny so I called the home warranty guys. I paid $55 for them to come out and whala! I am covered. No parts charge, no hourly charge, no estimate charge. $55 and I am done.
The question you will have to decide for yourself is, “Will it be worth it?” Truthfully, I could have probably had this addressed for much less than $385. However, my home is getting too an age where this most likely will not be the only issue I call about this year. Some warranty companies will even buy you a new whatever if they cannot fix the present problem. Pretty cool.
So, if you are buying a brand new home, there is a good chance you already have coverage on your items and don’t need a warranty for a couple of years. Your call. If you are buying a previously lived in home, I would go for it. You can get one at settlement or wait some time like I did.
Oh, by the way… Do not make the mistake that one of my clients made. If you have a home warranty and you have a problem that needs to be fixed, DO NOT CALL your own fix-it-guy and then expect the home warranty company to reimburse you. CALL THEM FIRST OR YOU WILL BE PAYING ALL OF YOUR OWN FEES.
Sellers, if you have an older home, it may be an attractive offer to have your Realtor advertise that you will pay for the new buyers 1st year of the home warranty. It could save you from buyers asking you to drop your price for a new HVAC. No guarantees. On some plans you can even get the warranty while it is on the market to cover any issues during the selling period and not have to pay for the plan until settlement when you transfer it to the buyer. Sweet deal. Especially for vacant homes.
Here are a few home warranty companies to consider:
American Home Shield, 2-10 Home Warranties, HMS Home Warranties, Sears Home Warranty, and Old Republic.
If you need a referral to a home warranty salesperson, you can let me know by contacting me above. If you are moving in to Loudoun, Fairfax, or Arlington County and need a Realtor to work on your behalf, contact me.
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3 Reasons You Should NEVER CONSIDER A Short Sale
March 3rd, 2008 categories: Buyers, Local Issues, Short Sales & Foreclosures
I had a stroke of metaphorical brilliance this morning while speaking with a client.
The more I deal with and learn about short sales the more I see them as the worst thing that has ever hit the real estate market. The problem is that clients are easily allured by them like some kind of bright glow so I continually have to work with them: which I will.
I was able this morning to deter a client from even considering them by offering them a metaphor of what they are like. Afterwards, I felt so good that I decided to create a few more. Feel free to add to the list….
Trying To Buy A Short Sale Is Like…
- Planning your honeymoon cruise with a street vendor and not knowing if the ship will let you on until it is about to depart from the port.
- Buying a dog with fleas and a heart murmur with a questionable life expectancy because he is $30 cheaper than the puppy (this one is a stretch-sorry).
- Putting all of your retirement funds in to a lottery account and hoping that the guy that pulls the ticket out of the hat will choose yours 30 days before your retire.
There is no question whether or not some people will score a good deal from time to time with a short sale. However, the risk and percentage of transactions that are short sales that work out are questionably ever worth it. I do encourage buying a home that is a foreclosure or REO. The bank turn around time is much closer to 1-7 days instead of 45-60 days while everyone else puts in their offers.
Another great article that exposes some of the issues with short sales can be found at by Frank at Frankly Realty. Click Here.
If you are looking to buy a foreclosure property in Ashburn, Sterling, South Riding, Gainesville, Herndon, Leesburg, Fairfax, Brambleton, Belmont, Broadlands, Lansdowne, or Chantilly contact me as I would be happy to respresent you.
Related Articles:
Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag On Short Sales
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4 Tax Deductions You Don’t Want To Forget
February 21st, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners
Its getting close to tax time for me.
Around this time of year I start looking for every tax deduciton I can get to decrease how much I owe my hungry uncle.
One of the largest deductions that I love being able to take come from simply owning a home. If you are a homeowner, especially a new one, it will pay to read this post. I want to let you in on 4 huge tax benifits that you don’t want to forget this year.
1. If you purchased a home on any day other than the first day of the month, you most likely paid “daily interest” until the end of the month. This interest is usually deductible. Check out line 901 of your HUD Settlement Statement.
Also, loan origination fees and discount points are many times tax deductible. The seller may have paid them for you! Check out lines 801 and 802 of your HUD Statement.
2. If you purchased a loan that Read the rest of this entry »
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Why 100% Financing Is Saying Goodbye
February 17th, 2008 categories: Buyers, Market Statistics, Real Estate News
With the ever increasing lending restrictions being tightened, FANNIE MAE (Federal National Mortgage Association- the guys that buy a lot of the mortgages and set most of the lending guidelines) has once again made it a little more difficult for some to grasp the goal of home ownership.
They are in the process of judging markets across the United States and deciding if they are considered Declining or NOT. Just for your information, Loudoun and Fairfax have been flagged as DECLINING. Yikes. Well, lets be honest, we all knew this.
Fannie Mae does not currently buy loans over the conforming limit of $417,000. This does not mean that they will not provide financing for homes in a declining market. It only means that they will not provide ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FINANCING for homes in a declining market. Most lenders will now require at least 5% down.
Many buyers should consider FHA loans which have tight restrictions but will allow 3% down and will work with rough credit.
For more information about this issue which we have yet to see play out check out this Fannie Mae website HERE.
Lets pray that this will help in the long run, but I fear that the issue isn’t as much about current buyers put previous buyers with bad loans.
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