Associate Broker, Long & Foster Real Estate
Is It a Bad Thing to Be the First Offer? This afternoon I met with a small group of experienced, local Gainesville/Bristow real estate agents. The topic was business planning for 2021 and exchanging ideas on how to meet new buyers and sellers. And as any agenda with a talkative and opinionated group of professionals, Read More …
Careful Not to Overplay Your Hand The market you WANT to house hunt and negotiate in may be vastly different than the market in which you are ACTUALLY shopping. Case in point is our 2020 Northern Virginia real estate market. With so little on the market, and still plenty of buyer demand, the advantage in Read More …
The Value of a Cash Offer in a Seller’s Market Market conditions seem to not register in the minds of cash buyers, or the agents that represent them. There is simply a declaration of a cash offer, remarks of what is “wrong” with the property (usually cosmetic) and the sock in the gut that comes Read More …
‘Tis the Season to Fall in Love The anticipation of the holidays have a reputation for even warming up the Scrooges among us. There is a want to fall in love this time of year. You need look no further than The Hallmark Movie Channel lineup. Holiday movie after holiday movie with stories of love, Read More …
Whenever I take a new listing, the preparation for pictures is critical. First of all, I believe in professional photography for my listings. I tried to keep up with the advancements in technology as long as I could, continuing to take my own listing photos up until 2017, but that is when I left it Read More …
What a Difference a Fake Bed Makes in a Vacant Bedroom The picture above is of a vacant bedroom. It’s got fresh carpet and paint and shows well. However, not having any furnishings it is going to be difficult for buyers to imagine what furniture will fit in there. Enter my light staging touches that Read More …
Coming Soon: 2 Bedroom/1 Bath Townhouse in Centreville for $260,000 If you are in the market for a down sized or first time home in the convenient commuter location of Centreville, this end unit townhouse in Newgate may be just the ticket. One the new carpet has been installed on the upper level and the Read More …
Do Sellers Get to See the Buyer’s Appraisal? If a seller is seeing a buyer’s appraisal, there is a problem. The only time a seller gets to see their buyer’s appraisal is if the value is lower than the agreed upon sales price. At least, that’s how it works in the Northern Virginia area, which Read More …
How Much Does Your Lender Care? Earlier in the week, I was reviewing offers on a listing I have in Fairfax City. As is my business practice, I called each lender from the pre-approval letters accompanying offers. It’s important to know whether or not the lender can meet the settlement date and time frames in Read More …
Fairfax City Duplex Under Contract in 5 Days It was late afternoon on Halloween when this three bedroom, one and a half bathroom duplex became an active listing. Priced at $375,000, I was a little shocked that there had been no calls during the “coming soon” period of the listing. By November 1st, this home Read More …