Real Estate and Reston, VA

We have been snowed-in here in Virginia since Friday.  For some reason, my nesting instincts are tied to snow storms and I have been cooking like a fiend (until today when we finished digging out and I stopped cooking).

One of the things that I made was a really good, and really easy, Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Real Simple Magazine. This recipe uses no butter so it has fewer calories than many other recipes.   I made two changes: one was to add a bottom crust that I baked, empty, for about 10 minutes. The second change was that I used dried Thyme since I did not have fresh. It came out beautifully; it sliced nicely and was easy to serve. Best of all, if you have some frozen pie crusts, you probably have most--if not all-- of the ingredients that you will need in your pantry already.

I hope you enjoy...let me know what you think!

Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie Recipe from Real Simple Magazine.

The sun is shining today, but the snow remains. I am trying to rally the troops to get out and continue the effort to move the very heavy snow off of our driveway and shovel out the car that did not fit in to the garage.

In the meantime, here are some photos from yesterday. I am not sure I will be able to add any for today since we don't have a single AA battery in our house (and that is what my camera needs).

Today we begin the 'big dig.' Superbowl parties are limited to neighbors only...but at least the snow has stopped!

Thanks to John Thomas -- EcoBroker, MSEE, MBA Boulder, CO for this excellent post.

Ardently Green is a company based in the Washington  D.C. metropolitan area. They serve Maryland, Virginia and D.C. with Home Energy Audits and Energy Saving improvements. Their mission statement is:

Ardently Green is committed to providing homeowners in the Washington, DC metropolitan area with the solution to reduce energy costs and improve air quality and comfort. Collectively, we strive to help reduce the region’s carbon footprint, serving as a national model of positive change.

If you are interested in getting a Home Energy Audit, check out the coupon on the website, as well as other local incentives,  and call today to arrange your Audit.

Ardently Green  company is part of the Ardent360   and is co-owned by my husband, Bob Weatherwax.

For more information about Ardently Green or the Ardent360, click on the links.

Contact information: info@ardentlygreen.com  or phone: (703) 421-1799

We  have had some pretty mild winters over the past couple of years, but this winter, 2009-10, we are making up for lost time.

As I write this, my kids are home from school (again) and I am watching my 13 year old learn to work the snowblower. The past couple of years we never even filled it with gas. It is nice to get some help with the driveway  while he still thinks the machinary is 'fun.'

These picutures I took last week, one month after our first big snow in December:

We have finally been able to remove Mr. Snowman, and the rest of our lights, from the front yard (I unplugged everything long ago when it became clear they were sticking around for a while!). I can't remember the last time we had snow on the ground for a month! Usually it is gone within 3 days.

Since then, we have had 2 storms--one on Saturday the 30th of January and one last night, the 2nd of Feburary. This is the view from my kitchen when I got up this mornig. It was beautiful.

And finally, just for fun, here are some photos of our french bulldog, Gigi. Gigi does not really enjoy the snow...

We are expecting another storm (and they are calling this one big) on Friday night. I will be sure to post the pictures!

Nearly every listing I have ever marketed has initially had at least one item that does not operate correctly or is not in desirable condition. Examples include, but are not limited to, broken ice makers, stained or damaged carpeting, broken Jacuzzis, wall paper (a big problem for most buyers),  and unattractive light fixtures.

In virtually every situation, the seller has asked me if we can just offer a credit at closing.

In virtually every situation, I recommend against this for a couple of reasons:

1. Lenders don't like credits for repairs. They like to know that the house they are taking on as collateral is in great shape.
2. Repair credits can often interfere with the buyers ability to seek seller concessions or get other down payment assistance; the ratios sometimes make them impossible to provide.
3. If you, as the seller,  don't want to make the repair or replace the offending item--usually because it is a hassle--what makes you think a buyer wants to take on that hassle? Usually, they are not interested for the very same reason that you are not interested.
4. Buyers cannot always imagine how the property will look with the change...and will move on to another place that is in better condition.

Think of it this way: you would never show up at a job interview wearing jeans and needing a haircut and assure the boss that you will get it taken care of later--or offer to let him pick out some clothes for you if you are hired . You would take care of it before the interview, after all, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.

Marketing your home should be the same way.  Present your home to its best advantage and it will stand up to the competition--because, this IS a competition.  Your home may have strengths that a prospective buyer would never consider because they can't get passed the dirty carpets.  If the first impression that a buyer has of your house is the cracked tile in the entryway, what do you think they will expect the condition of the furnace to be?  For many buyers the thinking is that if you don't care enough to fix the things that people see, you certainly won't care enough to fix those that they cannot.

Don't handicap your sale by trying to take the easy path and just offering to throw money at the problem...you will pay much more for it in the long run!

I have an automatic search that I run daily on my MLS. Last weekend a new property came up and I contacted one of my clients to see if she had any interest in seeing it. There was no picture, so I described the home to her and she drove by to do a quick check.  It was not in an area of the neighborhood that interested her, so we did not pursue a showing.

This morning, running my search, the property came up again due to a change in the listing. In reviewing the change, it seems it was a price change (not unusual). But in this instance, there were some things about the listing that were a little odd:

1. There is still no photo of the property. There are no pictures of the inside either (after 8 days)
   
2. The price has gone up
3. Looking at the history, the property is now listed for $34,000 more than the 'low price,' which is displayed in the listing.
4. When I click on the property history, there is no explanation for the low price point (and it doesn't not show me when it was listed at this price)
5. The are offering a 2.5% selling agent commission. That happens occasionally, but is not the most common commission %, or most competitive, offered to Buyer's Agents in our area.
   
6. Instead of offering a competitive commission, they are offering closing costs (Okay, I can see that, but buyers never hesitate to ask for them if they need them)
   

Most agents are going to look at these  facts and assume that this listing might be 'complicated.' Assuming there are comparable properties, it would be easier to show your client something else.

There is no excuse after 8 days for no photos in the MLS. None.  If you can't use a camera or figure out how to get photos taken, you really have no business selling real estate. There are plenty of eager, and affordable, photographers that can be hired. If your clients are not comfortable with a listing photo of their property, you better explain that in your remarks. But frankly, if they are going to make it that  complicated to market the property, you may want to reevaluate the listing. At the very least, photos taken inside will still protect their privacy. If security is the issue, the address is published, so if someone wants to find the house--and they can read--it would be pretty simple. The picture will get clients to come and see it. Houses without pictures scare buyers.

I guess the bottom line in my reviewing this scenario is a wake up call to sellers. Understand what your Listing Agent is doing and why. Understand what is customary in your market and make sure your listing is competitive--and if it isn't, ask why not. If you are going to differentiate your lisiting, make sure that it is for the right reasons.

I truly wish the best for these sellers. I hope that the presentation of their home on the MLS does not get in the way of their making a successful sale!