Associate Broker, Long & Foster Real Estate
Is Listing Preparation Necessary in a Seller’s Market? Sitting across from a seller this morning who had started the process of packing, pausing only to sign our listing agreement, there was a lot of discussion over what is necessary to do prior to hitting the market. Very few homes that I walk into are neutral Read More …
Selling a Home “As-Is” Frequently I meet with home sellers who do not wish to be nickeled and dimed over repairs when they are under contract to sell. They will express their desire to sell “as-is” during our listing appointment. There are some points that sellers need to understand about “as-is.” Selling as-is immediately devalues Read More …
Attention to Detail Matters Even in Shredding Files When you are studying to obtain a Virginia real estate license, one of the details is that is ingrained in you is that our licensing entity only requires brokerages to hold onto files for three years. That works well with the Virginia Statute of Frauds having a Read More …
Decorating for the Holidays When Selling Having been a real estate agent since 2005, I have helped plenty of sellers needing to list between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Interestingly, I have heard many of them lament that they will be unable to celebrate the season with any decorations. Depersonalizing a home is definitely necessary when selling Read More …
The Second Key to Max Profit When Selling Your Home There are two major things a seller can do, even in a seller’s market, to max out their bottom line. The first I wrote about in detail and is all about creating buyer enthusiasm. This is essentially putting the shiniest, most attractive bait on the Read More …
Sellers: Is Your Home Ready For a Home Inspection? In the seller market conditions that the Bristow/Gainesville market, and entire Northern Virginia area has been facing, home inspections have been more rare. However, after a dip in activity during the summer months, home inspection contingencies seem to be making a come back. Granted, buyers may Read More …
The Cost of Skipping Listing Preparation When meeting with sellers about what they should do to to prepare their home for market, I am often met with groans and dread. Suggesting anything from a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, updated flooring in bathrooms and even de-cluttering can elicit responses I know like the back Read More …
Just Sold in Victory Lakes On July 9th (2021) I had the pleasure of introducing 11877 Benton Lake Road to the market, priced at $439,000. The sellers had done a fantastic job of sprucing up the home with fresh paint, fixing up exterior wood trim and decluttering. They definitely get an A+ for their decluttering Read More …
Just Sold in Bristow’s Sheffield Manor After a little more than a decade as a rental property, the owners of 12148 Formby Street in Sheffield Manor decided that the seller’s market of 2021 was their exit. Wasn’t getting much better than the appreciation they had experienced. However, coming from a well worn rental property to Read More …
Unwanted Leave Behinds Since beginning my real estate career in 2005, I have encountered many unwanted leave behinds in listings. They are brought to my attention by buyer agents on my listings and buyer-clients I represent doing final walk throughs. The latter I can report to listing agents and know they are not my responsibility Read More …