Real Estate and Reston, VA: May 2008

If you live in house that is more than 7 years old, chances are pretty good that the bushes and shrubs planted by the builder have filled in pretty well in the front of the house.

Guess what? If you are selling your house, you should consider tearing them out!

It should come as no surprise that the plant specimens selected by most builders are chosen because they 1) grow quickly, 2) fill in quickly 3) are inexpensive.
If you look around any neighborhood that has hit that magic age of 7 (and those that are well beyond), you will see that most houses have dense bushes around the front of the house.  Attractive? Sometimes, but not usually. Some homeowners will try to make them work by severely trimming and shaping these bushes. This will, indeed, buy some time.  I would suggest, however, that you drive around and look at the difference between a house that has taken out, rearranged and supplemented  or replaced the original plants and those that have not.  I think you will see that it gives the front of the house a cleaner feel and a fresher look. 

Personally, I like having a section, or two, near the front door where I can plant annuals.  Other than that, I like a design that is  maintenance free.  For our own home, we used a local landscape service to help us come up with a plan, decide where to use different bushes and shrubs (sometimes moving them from the front of the house to the back), what to add to provide color and texture contrasts and implement the plan.  Each season, I select the annuals that I want to plant, weed and re-mulch.

This does not have to be an expensive project.  You can pull out the old bushes yourself (although you may need to enlist some help from friends) and do all of the replanting.  Many local nurseries provide complementary consulting and can help you select appropriate, and price effective, shrubs and bushes for your climate and garden style.

Additionally, there are websites that you can use to help you put together a plan.  A couple are:

http://www.southernliving.com/southern/gardens/0,13232,,00.html
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/

Remember, while this might sound like a lot of work, your intention is to present your home in the best possible way.  A great front entrance makes a wonderful impression and gets the potential buyer in the door. I would contend that it is well worth the time and expense!

If you have never made it to the Herndon Festival, I encourage you to block out some time next weekend and make a date with yourself and some friends.  The Festival begins Thursday Night (May 29) and continues though Sunday (June 1). This large community festival, held in Old Town Herndon, offers something for everyone; great food, live music, crafts, rides and even fireworks! 

We have found that parking at Herndon High School and taking the shuttle is a breeze...parking can be an issue.  You will find that the shuttle buses run regularly and it is an easy and stress-free way to get back and forth. There is another shuttle bus location at Worldgate Shopping Center. More information can be found on the website.

For more information on this year's festival, check out this link:

http://www.herndonfestival.net/

See you at the Festival!

Governor Tim Kaine has announced a series of clinics designed to provide information to homeowners who may be facing foreclosure.  These clinics are designed to to provide foreclosure prevention information. There will also be individual counseling sessions with certified housing counselors who can help to addres specific situations.  Each clinic will last approximately 90 minutes.  To register for a session, please visit the Virginia Foreclosure Prevention Task Force website.

Sessions in Northern Virginia will be held on Saturday, June 21 from 8:30 to 5:00 pm at Chantilly High School,4201 Stringfellow Road, Chantilly and Northern Virginia Community College - Woodbridge Campus, 15200 Neabsco Mills Road, Woodbridge. 

I cannot tell you how many times I have taken a client in to a house only to be told that it 'smells.' This can be a good smell or a bad smell, but anything that offends the senses will be noted.

The obvious offendors are cooking odors.  Some that come to mind are fish, anything that has burned, fried foods, curry, and even cookies and cakes (suspicious buyers think you are hiding something with a good smell). This is a great time to eat out or grill your food outside...anything that keeps the food odor out of the kitchen and the air circulation system.

Mildew is another odor that will cause a client to turn around and walk out of a house. Keep your house free from excess dampness and deal with issues that would cause the dampness in the first place.  Once a client can smell it, you are either losing a sale or losing money.

Pets, and their smells, can be a problem, too.  At the risk of stating the obvious, keep the litter boxes and cages clean so that there is no smell coming from them.  Damp dog can permeate the house, as well. Keeping your dog bathed and off the carpet when wet can help during the listing period. 

A surprise problem that many clients don't think about is the plug in air freshener. A good smell to you may set me off on a sneezing attack! The aroma of this type of air freshener  is too strong for many people, which can cause them to sneeze. Believe me, you are not inclined to buy a house if you are sneezing the whole time you are looking around. Further, these set of alarm bells for many people; if you have to use an air freshener, then your air must not be 'fresh.'  You would be better off dealing with the problem (if there is one) and skipping the plug in air freshener. Even if you are just using one because you enjoy the smell, remember that you are trying to market your property...you might also like to throw your clothes on the floor, but at least while your house is on the market, you probably won't!

This is an area that your real estate agent can help you with.  Ask for honest feedback about how your house smells--and take it in the spirit with which it was intended.  Sometimes we become unable to smell things that we are around every day.  A rule of thumb to keep in mind is that nothing in your house should detract from the house itself.  This is true of the things that you can see, but the things that you can't see are often overlooked. You wouldn't want such a simple thing to be the reason that you miss out on a sale, would you?

You've cleaned out the hall closet, painted the front door and selected your Real Estate Broker.  Tomorrow the sign goes up and then your listing will be activated on the Multiple Listing Service.  The Buyers will arrive soon after.

Or will they?  Getting the buyers in to your house has become a contest.  Not only does the price have to be right, the marketing material attractive, but the house has to be accessible.

Of course, if you've listed your home with a brokerage firm, that becomes their problem, right?  Maybe or maybe not.

If you have opted for a 'By Appointment Only' listing, you have taken much of the hard work of your agent, thrown it out, and tied their hands behind their backs.  There are a lot of listings out there and not as many buyers. If a buyer cannot get in to your house when they want to, I can tell you they will skip it.

Most of my clients who request a 'By Appointment Only' listing have some compelling reason: a pet, an infirm relative, a small child or a job they do from home.  Believe me, I understand and sympathize with your reasons.  I would tell you, however, you are handicapping your house in the contest to get to closing.

Most Realtor Associations have protections in the form of lockbox security. This will enable you to limit access only to those Realtors who are registered and paid in full. You can also limit the hours that the lockbox works. You can find out who has been in your home through the lockbox technology. This does not keep them from coming in without notice.  But I would contend that most agents and buyers are understanding and would not expect you to clear out without notice.  Instead of making it 'By Appointment Only,' why don't you request an hour call ahead?  As a Realtor I find too often that By Appointment Only means tomorrow or the next day. It also means that the homeowner wants to be in the house--not always conducive to a really thorough walk-thru. Some buyers just don't have the option of waiting until tomorrow or the next day, and as for being in the house, only in extreme situations is that a good option.

I know how hard it is to have your home on the market--I, too, have been a seller.  But it is also a brief time out of your life (if you do it right). I have found that most dogs will do fine if left in a mudroom or, if crate trained, in the crate.  I have seen babies sleep through showings; most people are willing to be quiet if you are generous enough to open your house to them.  As for elderly relatives or the home office situation, again, we all understand what kind of sacrifice you are making. 

Selling a house, either as a listing agent or a buyers agent is a collaborative process; we are all trying to work together to sell a home--shouldn't it be yours?

If you are in or around Reston this weekend, make it a point to drop by the Reston Arts Festival, at the Reston Towncenter. This is an annual event, held in May, and sponsored by GRACE.  The weather is great this weekend, so go by and check out some great exhibits by local, and not-so-local, artists.

If you need more information about the location or hours of the festival, you can go to this link:

http://restonarts.org/Festival/FestivalWelcome.htm

Hopefully, you will get a chance to go by.  In years past they have had a great variety of displays and art for sale in all different mediums.  They also have children's workshops which makes it a great destination for the whole family. 

How much to ask for my house? This has always been the most important question in selling your house, but never more than today.  A bad guess as to what the market will bear can cost you months--and even as much as a year--to sell your home today.

There is a lot of misinformation out there.  I read a quote today, not from a Realtor, that in summary said that it was okay to set the price high--that a seller would probably not see backlash from that decision.

I am not sure why that information was published (and on a reputable on-line resource!) because it is not true.  There are so many choices out there that if your house is overpriced, even by a little bit, buyers will ignore it.  Why, you ask?  Won't they just make me an offer?  Well, they might (in very, very rare cases),  but most likely the buyer will just move on to a more reasonably priced home--and a more reasonable seller.  Remember, your price indicates your acknowledgement and understanding of the local market.  A price that is too high says that you think your house is better than the others--so it better be significantly better! And you better have some really strong marketing to get information about WHY it is better out to the public.

What I have seen historically with prices set too high is that they languish on the market until a price cut brings them in to line with the other houses in the market.  At that point, the Days On Market indicator has started to creep up, indicating that there might be a frustrated seller (and a potential bargain) and a buyer will come in with an offer.  That offer is often lower than the original price I had suggested for the house.

A reasonable price does not beg people to undercut.  It incents them to hurry and not try to bargain for every last dime.  After all, if one buyer thinks it is a good house, fairly priced, chances are good that a seond buyer will, too. 

I will leave you with my motto for sellers,'Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.'

If you have read any of my blogs, you are aware of how much I emphasize home preparation to my sellers.  This runs the gamut from the usual: landscaping, painting, clutter control, to the upgrades: counter top replacements, floor updates and new carpet. 

For some reason, of all the things I ask of my sellers, the one that they have the most trouble understanding is my request that they upgrade from their builder light fixtures.  Now, before you object, let me clarify what I mean by upgrade.  Let's face it, we are a Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware society!
I find that if you hit the big-box hardware stores, you will find REALLY inexpensive light fixtures that look just like what you saw the previous season in the catalog.  For the low cost of the light fixture (and an electrician) you can quickly update the look of your house and make the buyer feel like they are getting
a 'decorator' home. When I say low prices, I mean $50-$100.

I know that the chandelier in the Dining Room was a big upgrade from the one in your previous townhouse/condo/apt., but face it, it is really just a builder fixture. If you go price it, you will find out that it cost somewhere between $25 and $55!  Particularly if your home fits in the upper 50% price point of your market, the buyers will expect more (And the 'bubble' lights in the bathrooms--you know the ones, 3 or 4 round bulbs mounted on a metal strip--honestly, buyers hate them and often make fun of them!).

Please don't take offense; sometimes it is hard for the owner/decorator to see past the great color or good furniture placement. But let me assure you, the buyers notice and then ask me whey the original light fixtures weren't updated.

I can't promise you more money for your investment, but I will tell you that between 2 houses with all else equal, a buyer will choose the one that has already been upgraded...shouldn't it be yours?

And on a 'green' note, recycle your used light fixtures by donating them or by posting them on Freecycle.com or Craigslist.com.  After all, your discard may be someone else's upgrade!

Technology gets a bad rap...we are always being told that we are TOO connected or not connected enough.  I feel like I have a pretty healthy attitude toward technology and how it can enhance my business and my life, and I feel like my experience today is a good example.

Today I had two good (not particularly business related) experiences with technology that I wanted to share.  This morning, when I turned on my computer, I had a message from a college friend who had found me on www.Facebook.com.  This is someone that I had not seen, probably since graduation. I was happy to hear from him. He was the kind of friend that I probably never would have heard from again without the Internet. You know, the kind of friend that you enjoy seeing, but that you were never close enough to stay in touch with otherwise. I am happy that he found me, and suspect we will stay, at least sporadically, in touch. In any event, it was a happy way to start the day!

The second great experience was one that I initiated. I ran in to an old friend yesterday and it got me thinking about some of the other folks that we worked with. One woman in particular, I wondered about since she had left the company to go study in London.  I typed her name in to the search
function in www.linkedin.com and within 30 minutes we were corresponding by email. Both of us have taken very different paths from our early working days and it was fun to catch up!

So yes, the bad news is that we are always in touch...but that can be a good thing, too.  Take a couple of minutes and try to find an old friend...you might be surprised how easy it is!

If you are a young family buying a new home, one of your first questions is likely to be about the local public schools. If you are different type of buyer, say a single or older couple, you may think it doesn't matter to you. You would be wrong.

Let's face it, everyone will sell their house at some time.  A lot can change between the time you buy and the time you sell.  Besides the obvious changes in your property, one of the lesser noticed changes can be to the quality of the schools in your area.  If taxes are cut, particularly those that contribute directly to education, local governments often have no choice but to reduce funding to schools.  This can leave
your house in a school district or area with a school that is not as sought after as other schools. This will directly affect the value of your house. 

When you go to look for you next house, be sure to check the schools--whether you personally care or not. Pay attention to how the local government funds them and what types of awards and honors they are earning.  When you go to sell, this can make the difference between a house that sells quickly and for a good price, and one that languishes on the market.

Be an advocate for your local public schools.  Even if you will not directly benefit from the education that they offer, they are important to you as a home owner protecting the value of your property.

You can find out more information about local schools by going to my company website www.momentumrealtyva.com and clicking on the Schools tab on the left side of the page.