Associate Broker, Long & Foster Real Estate
Many have opted to sit out the process of buying a home in 2023 and 2024 due to higher mortgage interest rates, the thought being that they will enter the market when rates come down. What those buyers are not considering is the other buyers that will also be entering the market when, and if, Read More ...
Selling a home can be a stressful process. How we live is not how we sell. Home owners usually know their properties need polishing, but may not know how much. From the moment I meet future sellers I help them evaluate the projects they should be taking on prior to listing, and just as importantly, Read More ...
Don’t Forget to Winterize Your Hose Bibs This afternoon, I met a plumber at a listing of mine to figure out why the interior hose bib was not working properly. No matter how long the seller and I turned the shut off right to close it up, it wouldn’t work. Water was still coming out Read More …
What is a Low Appraisal Guarantee? In a fiercely competitive seller’s market, where buyers far outnumber the inventory for sale, buyers are scrambling for ways to make their offers stand out in multiple offer situations. A low appraisal guarantee is one tactic I am seeing buyers using. Low appraisal guarantees are additional down payments that Read More …
What Sellers Expect in Seller Favored Markets Seller favored markets occur when there is more buyer demand than there are homes available for sale. Those circumstances lead to buyers competing for a homes in multiple offers situations. The majority of sellers love these and get giddy at the idea of “bidding wars.” Not all listing Read More …
Monday, My Favorite Day of the Week When I was a cubicle warrior, commuting into DC and Arlington, I hated Mondays. Friday, of course, was my favorite day of the week then. TGIF is a common phrase, so I was not alone. Something changed in my attitude and weekly outlook when I became a real Read More …
Listing During the Holidays: To Decorate or Not? When someone who celebrates Christmas lists during the holiday season, one of the first questions sellers generally ask is whether they can still decorate their home. It’s a legitimate question and the answer is going to vary based on each agent you ask. Some will tell you Read More …
It’s The Most Wonderful… If you complete that thought with the words, “time of the year,” then you are definitely on my wave length. Today, that tune by Andy Williams is front and center in my mind. We are officially in the Christmas season. Let the hustle and bustle begin. Decorating. Shopping. Baking. It’s all Read More …
Friday After Thanksgiving in Real Estate Back in the days when I worked retail, the Friday after Thanksgiving was a dreadful day. Wake up at the crack of dawn to be in the department store to meet the masses looking for the greatest deals. The customers would be as worn as you, and act out Read More …
Thanksgiving 2020 No matter how you are celebrating this Thanksgiving holiday, I hope that you are having a good one. Our household of two adults and four cats enjoyed a nice spread and are now ready to sleep it off. One of the good things about not having a lot of guests is having all Read More …
Under Contract in Six Days On Thursday November 19th (2020) I was pleased to introduce 14455 Gringsby Court in Centreville’s community of Newgate to the market. Priced at $260,000, I didn’t expect it to last through the weekend. Over the course of the next six days there were over two dozen showings. And while I Read More …
Determining Fair Market Value When Making an Offer You found the home you want to make an offer on, but it’s got some areas you would like to improve. How do you go about determining a fair market value offer? The first step to determining fair market value is to look at the closet comparable Read More …