Real Estate and Reston, VA: November 2008

At this time of year, we all get caught up with our own lives--family, shopping, work, etc. There is an easy way that you can give back to your community and it will only take about an hour of your time.

The Red Cross always needs blood donations, and during the holidays, it is often difficult for them to keep up their supplies.

In the Northern Virginia area, they are offering  Thanksgiving Day appointments.  Why not put in your Turkey and give an hour of your time to help someone in need? It is a great way to demonstrate how thankful you are for your health.

The Fairfax Donor Center, located at 2710 Prosperity Avenue, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031 will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 6:30 am to 1:00 pm. 

If your Thanksgiving Day is too hectic, there are plenty of blood drives in the local area. For appointments in the D.C. Metro area (Greater Chesapeake & Potomac regions), you can use this website for more information about local blood drives:http://my-redcross.org/.

For other times and locations, you can call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or go to their website:

www.redcross.org/

I am calling right now for my appointment. Maybe I will see you there...

One of the hardest parts of being a listing agent is trying to get sellers to see their house in a new way.  Many people have a great deal of pride in their homes.  Others are very stoic, adopting the philosophy, 'It was good enough for me.'

When selling your home, nothing is more important than understanding the expectation of the buyer.  For several years, buyers understood the stance, 'It was good enough for me.'  Now, they no longer have to accept that as the final word. Buyers now expect a house to be in pristine condition and priced competitively.

This brings me to the all-important kitchen and bath remodel.  If you have never updated your kitchen, and everyone else in your neighborhood has, you need to be willing to offer your house at below-market pricing or put some money in to fixing up your kitchen--and I don't mean changing knobs (the same goes for bathrooms, although a complete remodel is not always necessary; sometimes freshening the hardware, faucets and paint can do the job). I am not advocating a top-of-the-line remodel, but new counter tops, faucet, appliances and, in come cases, cabinets and flooring may be necessary.

I am sure, as a seller, your blood is beginning to boil about now.  I can almost hear you saying (because I have heard many people say it before), 'why would I spend money redoing my kitchen when I just want to sell my house--the new buyer is going to rip it all out anyway.'  That may or may not be true, but it is not your concern. Your main objective is to sell your house. What the buyer does after they hand you the check does not matter.  What matters to you as a seller (and really, the only thing) is presenting your house in such a way that you get a fair offer on your property.

Not everyone is in a position to do a kitchen remodel before selling their house.  In this case, the key to making your house competitive in a market where most homes have been updated is to price it below market value. A real estate agent can help you compare comps in your area and price the house accordingly.

What? That is not fair, is it? Below market value?  I am sure your house is just as good as the one next door--but if it doesn't have the fancy kitchen it is not worth as much to the buyer.  Buyers, and their agents have access to this information and will not be willing to pay the same amount of money for a basic house as for one that is remodeled.

Recently I have seen sellers place their homes on the market at premium pricing without remodeling their kitchens...guess what? These homes are sitting.  Buyers look at the property and automatically add $25,000 to $75,000 on to the asking price, which knocks them out of the competition. If history proves true, these seller will end up having to reduce the price to a point that is lower than what they would have gotten if they had put some money in to the kitchen and kept the premium price point.

By recognizing this, and thinking like a buyer, you can properly price and position your home to sell at a fair price and in a reasonable amount of time.

The economy is a challenge for even those of us with the most secure of jobs. In response, my extended family had modified our family gift exchange this year to include a donation to the Salvation Army (and a significantly  reduced dollar amount for the exchange of gifts).

I am the coordinator for the event, so I went on line to see if there was a way to make the Salvation Army donation easy for everyone. They have a great application that allows you to set up your own 'red kettle' to collect money.  I was able to set one up for my family and give it a name. I was able to give it a unique website address which I can give each family  and each family can make their donation directly. I can even send invitations to donate straight from the Salvation Army website.

When we first talked about doing this type of donation, I thought  each family could mail me a check and I would collect all of the checks and mail in our donation--how much easier is this?

If you want to donate to my family kettle, the address is:

http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/goto/kirbyholiday

I hope that your family might consider using this application to set up your own donation 'red kettle.' It is a way that your family can do something good for the community during these challenging times (and don't forget the tax benefits of charitable giving).

You can set up your own 'red kettle' at:

https://secure.salvationarmyusa.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&df_id=1680&1680.donation=form1&FR_ID=1200&PROXY_ID=1200&PROXY_TYPE=21&JServSessionIdr003=kqrzkkuz73.app43b

Thanks Salvation Army for this creative application.  You have made it easier for my family to donate this year!

If anyone is interested in donating...I will have the link to our 'red kettle' on my home page.

All of the calls I have received from ActiveRain have been from first time home buyers. This is a unique category of buyer because they have no experience (good or bad) to bring to the table.  As an agent, I consider it my duty and obligation to ensure that we have a relationship of complete trust before we begin the process of finding a home. This often means many phone conversations, emails and long in-person meetings before we establish a Buyer Agency relationship.

My Real Estate classes recommended that I consider at first time home buyer a client in much the same way I would consider a family member a client.  While this is not a relationship that requires disclosure, I fell like as agents, we need to assume a little of what I call the 'Mother Bear' role.  This role requires that we provide an extreme level of protectiveness toward these 'new cubs' or  new buyers. We owe ALL of our clients our total dedication, but the first time home buyer will require even more than that--they will require your hand holding, your listening, your ability to explain things in an easy way and finally that you be there every step of the way and at all times.

This complete access, combined with the fact that they often buy homes with a lower price point, cause some agents to steer clear of the first time buyer. I find them refreshing.  They are open and enthusiastic. They also see things differently than the more experienced buyer.  I always learn from them, just as I hope they learn from me.

If you are a first time buyer, please make sure that you feel completely comfortable with the agent that you select. This relationship requires trust and a belief that the agent is always working in your best interest. Since you don't always know what questions you should be asking, you need to believe that they will help you by asking the questions. If an agent seems to busy to spend a lot of time with you up front earning your trust, they will probably be too busy when you need a clarification of a term or an answer to a question.

Choose your first real estate agent wisely and you will find that the experience of buying your first home will be an exciting and rewarding one!

P.S. I will be holding a Home Buyer Seminar on November 22 at the Cascades Library in Sterling, VA. For more information, please read my post about it:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/653097/Home-Buyer-Seminar-at-the-Cascades-Library-DATE-CHANGE-112208

This weekend the 5th Annual Green Festival comes to the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

We all know that there has been an increased interest lately in all things 'Green.' This is an opportunity to find out more about how to integrate these changes into your life and your home.

I am especially proud that my husband's company, Ardently Green, is featured this weekend at the Festival. This morning Fox5 Television did a story about the Festival and Bob Weatherwax (the aforementioned husband) and Jim McKenna were featured in the story. You can watch the clip at:

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7812637&version=1&locale=EN-US

Bob and Jim will also be speaking at 3:00 pm on Sunday. Their Discussion is titled:

Taming the Energy Monster for Your Wallet and World
Jim McKenna and Bob Weatherwax, Ardently Green

The festival hours and location are:

November 8-9, 2008
Saturday 10AM - 7PM
Sunday Nov. 11AM - 6PM

Washington D.C. Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
Washington, DC 20001

For more information about the festival, you can click on:

http://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-dc/

Stop by the Ardently Green booth if you get to the festival. They have a lot of information about making your home more energy efficient.

I hope you get a chance to stop by!

There is a an Urban Legend, perpetuated by the local press, that the day after a new President is elected real estate agents around the Washington D.C. metro are immediately called in to action helping the incoming and outgoing political players buy and sell real estate.

I am curious if any of you have seen, or experienced in the past, this phenomenon.  It would be interesting to know, too, if people are more likely to rent, or rent out, their properties this time given the current state of the national real estate market.

I do think that while  people grew tired of the election, or were so involved that they could think of nothing else,  it was very 'all consuming' for everyone. Now that it is over, as is the uncertainty about who will be President,  I would expect to see buyers and sellers getting on with their lives and start to make plans to buy or sell homes.  Despite the current condition of the economy, there are valid reasons for people to move now--as there always are.  After several months of sitting tight, I have seen people begin to write contracts and talk about listing properties again.

It is a great time to buy a property. Sellers may be discouraged with lower sales prices, but should be encouraged that the buyers who are out there are both serious and motivated. Further, while they may recognize a lower sales price, they are likely to be able to buy more property for their money at the same time.

Do you see a 'bump' in your local market or personal business?

I have had a bit of writers block lately (too much political TV, I am sure), but I thought I would share with you a new on-line site that I read about over the weekend and tried out tonight.

The site is Hulu and the address is--as you would expect--www.hulu.com.

At Hulu you can watch television shows you may have missed or catch clips that are being talked about in the news, or around the water-cooler (SNL, anyone?).  The site also has movies, both clips and full length features.

I was able to watch The Daily Show from last week. I also found episodes of The Office. I could find clips from Friends, but not full shows. Like any site, I am sure there are some shows that are not going to participate.  While watching The Daily Show I did have to watch 30 second commercials in the same places I would have seen them if I were watching it on TV, but I could also switch over and check my email, so it was not as boring/painful.

So next time you find yourself on the computer, and tired of working, you may be able to catch up on that show you missed last night (just keep the volume down!).