Real Estate and Reston, VA: August 2008

Back in middle and high school, I tried to hide my tendency to turn to books as friends.  Once in college, it became 'cool' to love to read and I was able to embrace my true love of reading.

As a young girl I spent hours and hours at small branch of the Fairfax Country library at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston. That branch has since closed--to be replaced by the Reston Museum--but I can still remember the thrill of the hunt when I would leave the heat of a warm summer day to enter the cool quiet of the library.

Fast forward many years...I now go to the much larger Reston Regional Library.  Sometimes I even just get my fix by logging on to the library website: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library.

Many a Sunday morning will find me sitting at my computer, looking up recommendations I just saw in the Washington Post Book World.  With a click of the mouse I can reserve anything and have it sent to Reston Regional.  As much as I love spending money at bookstores, I do try to keep checks on my spending (and acquisition) and this really helps!

I have even found that there is a recipricol arrangment with Loudoun County Library: http://library.loudoun.gov/

This has enabled me to link my Fairfax County Library card to the Loudoun County Library and check books out in both places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There may be similar relationships with Arlington, Falls Church and Alexandria, but I have not (so far) had the need to investigate.

Back in the day when I was the mother of toddlers, we often participated in the library programs.  They were informal, well managed and a fun way to break up the day.  I can't speak to the current programs, but with their history of excellence, I feel fine recommending them.  More information can be found at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/tots/.

Another program that intrigues me is the All Fairfax Reads program. This summer the featured book was, The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett.  This program is designed to get people reading and discussing books. The county provides questions to spark these discussions.

If you look around the site, you will find that they have programs for everyone: home schoolers, teens, adult book clubs, volunteer opportunities.

If you are a reader, like me, you could not find a better place to satisfy your craving for new books than Fairfax County.  While I only spoke of the Reston Branch, I have been to many of them and they were all wonderful. Get out and explore this wonderful--and free-- resource!

I might be a funny one to write a tribute to a preschool since my 'baby' is in middle school, but I am so warmed by the way that this local preschool has touched so many people.

Anyone who has read my blogs knows that I grew up here, in Reston, VA. We moved here when I was in 2nd grade, so I did not go to preschool here.  A lot of my high schoool friends did, however, attend LANk (as it is known--or 'Lankie' as our family calls it).  The original founders were parents of my contemporaries.

All three of my children went there.  My youngest stayed all the way through kindergarten--mostly because I couldn't stand to leave after so many years. The staff is the best and my children talk about them to this day.

What has me thinking of this wonderful school is  the number of friends my children have, today, that we originally met while attending LANK.  It has a tremendous community reach. So many of my friends I met at LANK while first navigating the terrain of 'stay at home mom.' It is a wonderful school and has helped to create a wonderful community. We will be packing our daughter off to college on Saturday with another family that we met back in the LANK days.

Sometimes an institution is 'so much more' than what it is. I would say that is true of LANK.

Here is to you, Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten--Lankie!

Sometimes I feel like everywhere I turn I find television shows, newspaper articles, books and blogs criticizing the honesty of real estate agents.

It is funny, because this stereotype is so dramatically different than the feedback that I receive from my clients.  I have been told over and over how grateful my clients were for my help, how stress free I made the transaction and how they would definitely work with me again or refer me to their friends and family.

So why the disconnect? Who are these distrustful real estate agents who are giving the rest of us a bad reputation?

I know that in every industry there are the 'good, the bad and the ugly.' What I don't understand is the constant bashing that we receive.

Is it  because of the way we are paid--commission only? Is it because the public does not think we have adequate required education? Is it because of our visibility to people at all income levels? Or are we all perceived to be 'rich?'

What could we do differently to improve our reputation? For those of us who have chosen to work in real estate as a career, and not just a job, this is a constant irritation.  While I don't think it affects my daily work, I would love to be able to have people understand how proud I am of what I do when I tell them I am a Realtor.  Instead, while I stand proud of the path I have chosen, I see the puzzled looks and the implied, 'why is she doing that when she is smart and well-educated?'

I am proud of what I do and look forward to a day when the public percieves us as their ally and not their enemy.

Tomorrow I join the legions of parents who have driven up to a university and dropped off their child.  I know it won't be that easy (if I don't make her bed, who will?).  She is a great kid and I am so excited for her opportunity.  But as anyone who has been through it (or will have to go through it), it is bittersweet.

She told my younger daughter last night that she has to take over the role of talking to me while I make dinner. Knowing my children as I do, that is unlikely to happen, but it is those little things that will be hard. My oldest is the one that will go for a walk with me when all other exercise plans have gone by the wayside. She is usually up for a quick trip to the grocery store and always for a trip to Target. She will talk current events and politics with me. And of course, she always talks to me while I cook.

We somehow navigated her Senior year of high school with the stress of college applications, hearing from colleges, the Prom Date drama, the post-prom party and beach week (an awful Virgina tradition where all of the newly graduated seniors head off on an unsupervised beach trip)-- and we all survived.

I know this is a new adventure and I have been asked many times this week how I am doing. So far, I am doing okay because I am so excited for her.  I loved college and she has always wanted to have the kind of experience that my husband and I have described to her over the years.

If you are dropping a college student off over the next couple of weeks, GOOD LUCK! Be strong--there are a lot of us out there.

Two Days Later...the drop off went smoothly and she is now comfortably settled at college. Surprisingly, I held it together and there were no tears at the end. I will give you a piece of advice that allowed me to leave without tears. Our last task before heading home was to go pick up her books at the bookstore--us and every other first year student and their extended family! It was a nightmare. By the time we finished with that horror, we were all ready for some quiet time--us on the road and my daughter in the dorm.  I hope your trips go as well...remember the bookstore if you think you might cry! Nothing like too many people packed in to a small space to take the emotion out of a moment!

Last week I wrote about the Olympics and the way it brings our family--and our nation--together (http://activerain.com/blogsview/638157/Ode-to-the-Olympics). 

It has been 9 days since we watched that amazing opening ceremony. So much has happened: we learned that the little girl singing in the ceremony was not actually the little girl singing, Michael Phelps has proven himself to be the most elite of elite athletes, Dara Torres has given the 'over 40' crowd a little extra inspiration and countless athletes have proven that all of their hard work was worth it! We celebrate them all...but I am exhausted!

I am not a late night person and I have not gotten to bed before 11:30 pm since this started and I have still missed some of the great moments.  Last night we were at a wonderful dinner party. At 10:18 we all got up from the table and left the deck to go in and watch Michael Phelps swim ...and then we kept watching (I confess to watching the tv through the window when Dara Torres was swimming for her silver medal).

I bring this up because I would really love to go to bed early tonight  with a good book, or even catch up on some of my television shows. But I cannot.  We are all in this marathon together and we must cheer for the team!

This is a generic letter to a client after a pre-listing walk through.  It is a combination of many situations I have come across in these walk throughs over the years. I would, obviously, never address my clients this way.  But for fun, I put this letter together to showcase some of the situations that I run in to again and again.

If you are an agent, I am sure you will recognize these scenarios. If you are a seller, keep in mind that I am satirizing the situation, but that there is a grain of truth in each of my comments.

Dear Seller,

I know how hard the process of selling your home can be. You have a lot to accomplish--and a lot on the line.

Last weekend, I   provided you with a list of things to do to your property that I think will help you to sell your house. I know that you were hoping to sell it for more than what other houses in the neighborhood are selling for, and without putting any additional money in to it, but I do not think that is going to work in this market.

I understand that you think your house is better than all of the rest and that you need more money than your neighbors do for your retirement. And while I know that you do not want people to know you paid only $100,000 for the house and are asking $1,000,000, unfortunately what you paid is public record.  As your agent, I will not divulge personal information, but when it comes to public information, I cannot control the access that buyers have to the records.

Your kitchen is charming.  That said, buyers in the $1 Million dollar price range expect that you will have updated your kitchen since you bought the house in 1978.  When I suggested installing granite counter-tops and replacing the appliances, it was with this in mind. Ideally, a whole kitchen renovation is warranted, but at the very least you should do an update. And replacing the linoleum with tile or hardwood is really a 'must do.' A million dollars for linoleum is hard to swallow.

The wall paper that you have throughout the house is lovely.  You are right, it is pretty neutral. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same taste; the cabbage flowers are nice, but will not appeal to everyone. Many buyers that I work with will walk away from a house that they like because of wall paper.   Wallpaper can be expensive and time consuming to remove, the walls then need to be repaired and the affected rooms repainted. Often buyers will think that this is too expensive and too much work (just like you do). This is not true of everyone, but do you want to take the chance that the one or two people who are not put off by wall paper are going to walk in to your next open house? I would strongly recommend you get someone in here to remove the wallpaper and paint the interior.

I do not think cleaning the carpets is going to be enough to present the house to its best advantage. You may be right that the new owner will probably rip up new carpet to put in hardwood floors, but 30 years of living is not going to come out of your old carpet with a steam clean.  I would recommend a mid-grade carpet to replace the old carpet. Congratulations on getting 30 years out of that carpet!

The landscaping that you did when you first moved in has really matured. At this point, however, I think that it has become somewhat over grown and should really be overhauled. Simply trimming the bushes so that they do not grow over the sidewalk does not showcase the house--it looks like you have overgrown bushes that have been trimmed so they do not grow over the sidewalk. Many of them should be removed and the trees should be trimmed back so that buyers can see your home from the street.

Finally, about the price.  You said that you wanted to set it high, ‘just to see what you will get.' I can tell you what you will get--nothing. With so many homes on the market, there is really no reason for buyers to waste their time on homes that are priced beyond the market. 

The idea that you want to ‘add on' to the asking price since you know the buyers will want to bargain you down, just means that fewer people will come to see your house because they will think it is overpriced. Buyers want to deal  with reasonable sellers who are asking a reasonable price for their home. If a buyer is unrealistic or unreasonable, they don't want to waste their time.  I recommend that you list your home at a realistic price that is in line with the selling prices of other homes in the neighborhood.  If this is less than what you want, then you should either readjust your expectations or opt not to sell your house right now.  

There were many other things on the list, but I think we can address them specifically at a later date.

Please give me a call after your daughter has removed all of the furniture she stored in your extra bedrooms after she left Seattle.  I will be very difficult to market the property as long as there is no access to 4 of the 5 bedrooms.

Sincerely,

Your Realtor

I just read an article in one of my trade journals on blogging. It got me thinking about some of the unbelievably great posts I have read here on ActiveRain. Blogging is/has become much more than just a way to increase your SEO, it has become a legitimate tool for writers to share their ideas and opinions.  I have been blown away by some of the posts I have read. More than once I have thought, 'How did I not think of that?' or 'I never looked at it that way.'

To all of you who create the fantastic blogs that I see every day on ActiveRain, THANK YOU!  You are my inspiration and provide me with hours of entertainment, education and motivation.  Each of us identifies ourselves with our industry--Mortgage Banker, Realtor, Home Inspector, etc.-- but I would contend that most of the folks who are regular contributors to ActiveRain are legitimate authors, as well.

Keep up the good work! See you in the RAIN...

With a cup of coffee in hand, I strolled last week down to the dock at South Lakes Village Center.  I took these photos because they reflect how peaceful being by the lake feels--even on a hot and humid day.

If you are interested in seeing which merchants are at the SLVC, you can go  to the website: http://southlakesvillagecenter.com/

There are currently 10 properties for sale on the lake in the South Lakes Area (also includes Lake Audubon) These properties range from a 2 Bedroom condominium, listed at $525,000 to a beautiful contemporary detached home $1,230,000.

Here are some photos from the famous Lake Anne Village Center. This was the first section of Reston to be built and the place where I spent a lot of my child hood. I have fond memories of playing in the fountain, the playhouse and the cement play area (on the left). We actually used to dive off the towers and swim in the lake...not allowed to do that now! I remember my surprise when my childhood playground showed up in my college Fine Arts textbook.

For more information about Lake Anne, there is a website that you can go to: http://www.lakeanneplaza.com/lap_site_/lap_idx.htm

At the website you will find more information about the merchants, the concerts, the museum and scheduled activities.

There is currently one waterfront home (as indicated by the multiple list system) for sale, listed at $560,000.

Last Friday I went out and took some photos of areas around Reston. These are some shots taken by Lake Newport in the area called North Point (also referred to as North Reston).  There are homes that surround the lake, but there is a path that goes around the lake for the enjoyment of all.  This part of the path is around the lake, although parts of it wind in to the surrounding neighborhoods before returning lake-side.

If waterfront living is something that interests you, there are currently two waterfront properties available, both are single family, detached home. One is listed at $1,199,500 and the second is listed at $1,295,000.