Archive for the 'For Homeowners' Category
Your Home’s Value
August 5th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners
Wondering how much you could sell your home for?
Stop guessing or living in denial and find out for free! Click Here! It will only take you a couple minutes to fill out.
Only for homes in Loudoun and Fairfax County.
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Northern VA Housing Resources?
August 4th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners
Looking for a local contractor?
How about a painter, inspector, garage door guy, etc…? I have been creating a list of local companies, many of which I have worked with, for you to check out. It is not comprehensive but should help.
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Checking That Vinyl Siding
June 30th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners
I found a interesting topic that many of you in this area should be aware of during a home inspection. VINYL SIDING… What can go wrong with vinyl siding? You may be surprised. This article from my friend in NC will help you out.
Check That Vinyl Siding Before You Buy A Home
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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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Beware Of Hidden Housing Issues
April 17th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Sellers
Many of the homes now under contract are being sold by the bank. As I mentioned earlier, the banks are not huge fans of addendum’s such as home inspections since most of them are being sold in their “AS IS” condition.
Being the diligent buyer you are, this is not an option. So what do you do? You get a home inspection for informational purposes only. If you find items that you aren’t willing to deal with you walk, if you still can, or try to work something out with the bank.
Here is a great video on some major issues to look out for during a home inspection. Even if you are hiring an inspector these will help you ask some great questions.
Sellers this is a great video for things to look out for. If you know of things that would scare away buyers it is best to address them before they scare away your future buyer.
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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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4 Ways To Guarantee That Your Home Doesn’t Sale
March 13th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Sellers
On the first date, you have 1 objective (most of you). To get the second second date.
There are some obvious things you would not do on the first date. Things like talking about how much you loved your X, sharing with your date your gas or snoring problem, open the door only for yourself, or point to and start laughing about a small piece of food on the other persons face. You may decide that you do not want another date with this person. However, when it comes to selling your home, you probably don’t care who buys it. As long as it gets sold.
Since you want your house sold, there are some things that you should never do. In fact if you do them, there is a good chance that you will not be getting another date/showing of your house.
Here are 4 ways to guarantee that your home will not be sold:
4. Smoke inside of your home or cook Curry with the windows down on a continual basis. It will not matter how nice your home shows if it smells so bad that people cannot think normally. I have had clients overlook homes that show better than others because of strong odors and the work it will require to get rid of the smell.
3. Try selling your home with filthy or rude tenants living there. This is a tough one. It is hard to force a tenant to live as if they are selling thier own home. I had a listing once where the tenant would leave the house with his hair all over the bathroom, clothes everywhere… you get the point. I actually feel that it is best to wait until they move out to put the home on the market. Remember, the longer it sits with dirty tenants the more “days on market” it shows and the lower your price will go. It’s better to pay the mortgage for a couple of months with no one living there if possible.
2. Leave the house with all of the lights off and windows shut. Listen, there are a couple of things that owners can’t change easily when they buy. One of them is SPACE. If you have it- show it. Dark homes look smaller. If you know someone is coming to your house to view it, do yourself a favor and turn ALL of the lights on. If it is day time, also open ALL the blinds. People like brightness and it will make your home appear more spacious.
DRUM ROLL……. AND THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO KILL YOUR CHANCE OF SELLING YOUR HOME IS……
1. Stay home while it is being shown to give a tour. Listen. We know you like YOUR house. But you being at home while a Realtor is showing it to their clients will only cause the buyer to feel VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. Buyers don’t care what you did to your house on their first visit. If you want them to see something new you put in, put a sign on it. Buyers need to feel like they can go through your closets, cabinets, etc… Remember, you want to get rid of the home. Who cares if they go through your stuff? Would you want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and not be able to know the details of what you are buying?
So…. Do not give tours. Leave. If you have a baby asleep… then let the Realtor know ahead of time and stay with the baby. Worse case scenario… Go for a walk outside. Do Not Stay Home!
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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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So Long Grantors Tax- Huge Update
March 4th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Local Issues, Real Estate News
This past Friday I posted one of the few articles in the area concerning the VA Supreme Court ruling concerning the Grantor’s Tax in the article:
What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
Up until now we have not known what the effects of this judgement would mean. NOW WE DO!
Here is the quote from Gary Clemens, the Clerk Of Circuit Court:
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, my office will be making plans to refund the regional transportation tax collected since January 1, 2008. It is my understanding that the NVTA is meeting on March 6, 2008 to develop a refund policy and procedure. Once I receive information from the NVTA regarding their recommendations, I will announce the refund procedures on March 7, 2008.”
Therefore, if you were one that settled on your home since January 1st of this year - EXPECT A REFUND!
I will keep you up to date on any new information that I receive.
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