Last week, Port Potomac, Woodbridge home sellers saw more than the usual number of reasons to look forward to this summer's Port Potomac, Woodbridge home sales selling season. It looked like the opposite of the lengthy real estate “Perfect Storm” that caused freefall across the national landscape.

             Signs pointed to the possibility that we may be headed into the opposite market conditions. Webster’s Dictionary says the opposite of ‘storm’ is ‘calm’ – but I don’t think you would call Port Potomac, Woodbridge’s home sales outlook a “Perfect Calm.”  Far from it! 

             Some of the signs:

-                      Falling Inventory. Per the NAR’s Existing Home Sales Report, there’s a nation-wide shortage of total inventory. By the…

943 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

For homeowners preparing a Montclair, Dumfries house for sale, it’s often the single most difficult decision: what about the kitchen? When the kitchen is undeniably past its prime, it can be a true dilemma. We all know that kitchens can sell a home, but when the budget for a full-blown remodels doesn’t make financial sense, what are the alternatives?

Enter remodeling’s more practical first cousin: refacing. Faster, cheaper — and sometimes every bit as effective — kitchen refacing is a widely overlooked solution to a dated or otherwise less-than-desirable kitchen. It may not be the whole answer: sometimes appliance replacement needs to be seriously considered; sometimes a flooring problem can’t be ignored. It’s likely that hardware will need to be…

507 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Suppose you are driving past one of those ‘For Sale by Owner’ yard signs…and the house looks good!

             Do you screech to a halt, jump out and rush up to the front door to – quick! – sign a deal? More likely, you jot down the phone number (hopefully one is visible, though with For Sale By Owner signs, it’s not always the case) so you can call up your agent to get the details.

Veteran buyers considering a Westridge, Woodbridge For Sale by Owner (FSBO) property know why it’s highly beneficial to use their agent from the start.  Even if you have found the home yourself, you should want that first call to go to an agent.

Here’s why:

  • Agents offer advanced relationships that stand to improve your bottom line. For example, timing often can…

486 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Some Montclair, Dumfries luxury homes are so distinctive that they stubbornly resist fitting into any simple category. Whether due to unusual architecture or unique geographical features, such properties remain in a class of their own.

But for most other homeowners preparing to sell their luxury homes in Montclair, Dumfries  this spring, some baseline features are close to must-haves. According to Morgan Brennan of Forbes.com, “It is almost a given,” that listed multimillion dollar properties will claim certain features. 

Top-of-class luxury homes almost always include a pool. In fact, many traditional homes now offer this feature as well (sometimes labeled a “luxury” addition). That being the case, the pools that appear in luxury home listings…

904 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The concept of “starter homes” cropped up after the end of the Second World War, when millions of young families took advantage of low-cost new developments to gain a foothold in homeownership: the emblematic first step in fulfilling the American Dream.

Today’s first-time Port Potomac, Woodbridge home buyers are a lot less predictable—just as the market itself is altogether different. As we recover from the previous years’ economic declines, which temporarily suppressed the number of Port Potomac, Woodbridge home buyers, the combination of low interest rates and historically affordable home prices allows many to aim for bigger and more accommodating housing— skipping the starter home altogether.

For sure, the market hasn’t completely abandoned the…

509 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

When it comes to a home sale in Westridge Community, Woodbridge VA adults automatically appreciate the importance of presenting a pristine property to potential buyers

Kids, on the other hand, would like a glass of apple juice, please.

Parents are forever juggling their other adult responsibilities with the needs of the children, so when you add home sale showings to the list, it might seem to make for a stressful situation. But a home sale doesn’t need to be disruptive — after all, it’s just one more ball in the air!

A few tried-and-true tactics make the process easier:

·               If you’re blessed with grandparents who live close to Westridge Community, Woodbridge VA this is the time to enlist their help. Showings are simply…

522 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The contribution of parents in an individual's life cannot be fathomed. They invest themselves completely and ask for nothing in return. However, as we go about in life, immersing ourselves in everything it has to offer, we often tend to take them and their sacrifices for granted. It is only fitting then that a day is kept exclusively for them, to pamper them and also remind how special they are to us.    Here are some messages and greetings you can use to wish your father:   "On Father's Day, I can't help reflecting on all the things you've given me and lessons you've taught me over the years. Although time and distance may separate us, the man you are and the person you've made me never diminish. I hope you have a wonderful day,…

798 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

    We all do a mental survey before preparing to enter our home in the Montclair, Dumfries home listings. We ask ourselves something like, what should I improve that will pay for itself?

 Since anything that improves home listings can result in better offers, the answer can never be proven absolutely. But Remodeling magazine gives it a try. After delving into the year’s home sales numbers, their “Remodeling 2017 Cost vs. Value Report” (www.costvsvalue.com) highlights some remodeling ideas that don’t return anything like what the investment is likely to cost.

Among midrange projects, boosting the “# Bathrooms” that appears in the Montclair, Dumfries home listings might seem to warrant the expense, yet that usually isn’t the case. A Bathroom Addition…

883 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

With housing prices on the rebound, it’s easy to see why some Westridge, Woodbridge homeowners find buying an additional property an increasingly attractive possibility. Getting into the landlord business offers the appeal of a growth investment coupled with the possibility of a favorable cash flow situation.  

That said, make no mistake about it: renting a home in Westridge, Woodbridge is its own business enterprise. Becoming a landlord means making business decisions that carry elements of risk as well as reward. When renting a home in Westridge, Woodbridge, there are a number of common — but avoidable — first-time landlord mistakes:

Fair Housing Violations

From the moment, you begin marketing your income property, the language in your ad can…

884 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

  Remember the days when you didn’t have to rummage furiously through the house to find a ringing phone because it stayed where it was supposed to be—plugged into the wall? You remember: it used to take less than 10 minutes to check out the TV listings because there weren’t hundreds of channels. And a gallon of gas cost less than a loaf of bread…

          Of course, those days are long gone. Unless you want to live on an isolated island somewhere in an underdeveloped country, that’s that.

          In the real estate profession, the good ol’ days are gone, too. When I’m helping a client sell his or her home, I make the most of the fact that the super-highway to today’s buyer is no longer the newspaper or snail mail. It’s the Web.

          It’s…

920 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post