Real Estate and Reston, VA: March 2010

One of the most beautiful times of the year in Washington D.C. is the emergence of the Cherry Blossoms around the Tidal Basin. So beautiful, in fact, that the city hosts an entire festival around the event. Tourists come from all over the world to see these gorgeous trees and to enjoy the parade of events that take place in and around the Lincoln Memorial.

The Washington Post Weekend section has created a wonderful map of clusters of Cherry Trees in and around the metro area. This map and the companion audio can be found at htttp://www.washingtonpost.com/cherryblossoms. This year the blooms are expected to reach their peak April 1-4. The blooming period is March 28-April 9.

I was delighted to see two Virginia locations included on their map. One of these is in Reston, very close to where I live. Almost 20 years ago, a series of almost 60 Cherry trees was planted, just north of the intersection of Baron Cameron and Wiehle Avenue.  Another place to see the trees is the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna. Located at 9750 Meadowlark Garden Ct, the park features more than 100 Cherries scattered throughout the park. Their blooms generally reach peak several days after those at the Tidal Basin. On April 11 they will be serving Sushi under the Trees.

The official Cherry Blossom Festival begins March 27 and runs through April 11. There are many events associated with the festival, including a parade, street festival, a lantern lighting ceremony and Fireworks, to name a few.  More information and a complete list of activities is available at www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this year's festivities. If you don't live in the area, consider planning a trip to D.C. next year to take place in this wonderful annual tradition.

(this is a picture of myelf, husband and son as we enjoyed the 2009 Cherry Blossoms):

I own my own small brokerage.  That provides me with a lot of flexibility, but also a lot of responsibility. I read a posting earlier today (and sorry, I can't find it now) about how the lower overhead can provide more flexibility with commission pricing. Given the widespread anti-trust fear mongering that goes on, I am not going to discuss that, but I read an article on Saturday about something related that I would like to discuss: the  Admin Fee or Transaction Fee.

Let me start out by saying that after years of being out of the business, when I came back, I was told that an admin fee was part of the commission  fee structure. I happily went out and sold that to my clients but I was careful to always disclose this in writing.  I was always a little 'fuzzy' about what it was for (of course, that is the rub--if we are 'fuzzy' how can our clients understand?). But that was before I went out on my own. Now that I am the boss, and the procedure manual is written by me, I have stopped charging this fee to my clients.  The fee did not go away; I pay a case manager a fee to handle the paperwork associated with keeping my contracts on file and up to date. I see no reason to charge this to the client. They did not set up this procedure and it is not their responsibility to maintain our paperwork.

In a Saturday, March 20, 2010 article in the Washington Post, Kenneth R. Harney discusses this practice in his article, 'Charging "admin" fees on top of commissions garners industry scrutiny.' I guess that HUD attorneys have been busy trying to determine if these fees are legitimate following a U.S. District court decision last year saying that they were a violation of Federal Law (as an aside, when this article was printed in hard copy in the Washington Post, it was titled, 'HUD clarifies the application of realty add-on fees').

In reviewing his article, my interpretation is that if these fees are disclosed and included in the listing or buyers agreement AND they do not exceed the total amount of commission that these agreements contain they will probably be okay (ie. the amount of each needs to be present in the agreement and the total on the HUD-1 must not exceed this). If, however, the commission that shows up on the HUD-1 exceeds the amount listed in the agreement then the burden of proof falls to the broker to prove that they are for specific and warranted work. Even then, they could be perceived as 'junk fees' and the brokerage could be taken to court.

My take on this is to just get rid of the fees!  I will pay for processing each transaction out of my commission; I am receiving a service for the money I pay and I am happy not to have to explain why it is in my agreement to start with. Of course, being the marketer that I am, I am always happy to point out that my clients will not see this fee if they go with me--because I know darn well that they see if from my competitors!

I  have often said that in the future our wars will be about the shortage of water. Everyone needs water to survive and our ability to continue to have enough food will depend on distribution of this resource.

Today is World Water Day organized by the UN Water Group. This event came out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

There are a number of world-wide events scheduled to bring awareness to this global issue. One event that is mentioned on the website is the World's Longest Toilet Queue to focus the world on the issues of global sanitation.  If you are interested in being a participant--and going for the Guinness World Record--there is more in formation at the World's Longest Toilet Queue site. Looks like from the site map, the closest location near Virginia is Edison, New Jersey.

For more information about World Water Day, be sure to check out their website.

Remember, water is a resource that we must have to live...do your part to conserve.

Sorry there is no picture...I kept getting an error when trying to upload!

I regularly deal with listings that have pets.  One of our early conversations is always how to handle the pets during showings. Many folks have already thought about this, but for others, it is surprising to recognize that not everyone is going to be happy to see Rover as he jumps up to greet them.

For crate-trained animals, the solution is usually pretty straight forward. If they are not accostomed to being crated during the day, it is still a relatively easy adjustment. Find an out-of-the-way place and  the problem is solved.

During temperate weather, putting a dog in the garage with plenty of water and a baby gate across the door allows the prospective buyers to see the garage and still keep Bowzer contained.

As the weather turns warmer, it is usually necessary to keep the dogs inside. I often recommend finding a room such as a powder room or mudroom that can be gated-off during the day. By keeping your dog in the gated-off room, the purchaser has the ability to see the room, but can still avoid the enthusiastic greetings that many of us are accustomed to receiving from our pets.

This sort of planning can make the difference between selling your home and not. I always tell the story of the day when my personal house was on the market and I needed to run to the grocery store for milk--less than 2 miles away.  It was just after 9/11 and the real estate market was incredibly slow in the Washington D.C area.  I started to walk out the door thinking to myself, 'no one is going to come by anyway, why put away the dog?'

I caught myself, went around switching on lights, put the dog in the mudroom and locked up before heading to the store.

You know what happened next...the purchasers and their agent came by, called from the street, when they got no answer, they came in with the lockbox and that night we had a contract on the house.  I know for sure, because the buyer later became a friend of mine, that if our dog was loose, she would not have come in the house. She is terrified of dogs and while our gentle dog would never jump, she did weigh 75 pounds and looked a little like a wolf.

Each of us loves our pet(s), but not all of us love all types of pets--or even other people's pets.  Make sure that you have a plan in place to deal with your animals, even if that plan is to take them for a walk during showings.  Planning ahead can make the difference between selling and not!

I am sitting here texting back and forth with the Realtor on the other side of my transaction. Home Inspection items? Contingencies? You would never guess...pricing for furniture that my sellers want to sell and his buyers want to buy.  For this moment in time, I have become a used furniture sales-rep!

Earlier today I was doing some on-line research for another client about painting ceramic tile.

Two days ago, I met a prospective Piano purchaser at one of my clients homes when they were unavailable to be there.

All of these activities are a day in the life of a Realtor, as far as I am concerned.  I regularly help my clients cover service appointments and find contractors. I help them with resources and  recommendations. I do what I need to do to make their transactions happen.

I am sure that there are those who don't see their job this way, but when I went into the business, I always planned to do just a 'little bit more' to make the process of buying and selling their home as stress-free as possible. I know that my clients appreciate it. When I am working with a client, they know that they can ask me to help out and that I will.

It isn't always easy to be this supportive, but I believe in the long run it makes my clients loyal and helps them to believe in the value of a Realtor and more importantly, the value of ME as a Realtor!  After all, no matter what I spend in marketing, it proves out year after year that I still get most of my client through referrals.  We all know that the best way to get referrals is to keep your clients happy. So all these little things I do to help out...turns out it is all marketing.

So I will see you later--after I help my client by meeting the HVAC company.

This is a very serious subject, thefts which occur at Open Houses, but this story struck me because it is just so funny--and sad!

Recently a man was arrested after stealing panties from an Open House. He was caught by the Realtor, rummaging through the homeowner's drawers. Later when detained by  the police, they  found 8 pairs of women's underwear in a plastic bag. Upon further investigation, they found over 50 more at the home that he shares with his parents. He moved in with them  following his divorce.

He said that he stole the panties because he missed his ex-wife.

Realtors have always known there is an inherent theft risk to holding an open house. But most work with their sellers to put away all valuables, and personal items, in an effort  to minimize the risk. We usually focus on items like jewelry, checkbooks, credit card statements, cash and the like. Most recently, prescription drugs being stolen out of medicine cabinets has been a problem, so now we advise our homeowners to pack them away or remove them from the home.

But having our homeowners secure their underwear drawer?  It never occured to me.

Of course, there is no accounting for what someone who is suffering from depression or mental illness will do, and I guess that is the lesson we should learn from this story. One of the agents interviewed said that the man made her uncomfortable and she jotted down his license plate. Her instincts about this man were good and she was smart to listen to them.

So then the question becomes (once again), do we continue to hold Open Houses?

I still see some value in Open Houses. Getting the neighbors in to see a new listing can be a great tool...presumabley they love the neighborhood and will be a great sales force to send out in to the public domain. But with each of instance of theft or crime that occurs at an open house, I become just a little bit more wary of their value. I like to lead off each of my listings with a first weekend Sunday Open.  I am very clear with my sellers that the open house will very likely not result in a sale, but that it is just one of many marketing tools

We all know that often the value in an Open House is a chance to meet eager (and unattached) buyers.

I wonder if I the time has come to modify my marketing plan and just get rid of the Sunday Open all together?

Certainly, my seller's underwear drawer would be safer!

For more about this story: Man Charged in Panty Raids At Real Estate Open Houses

I have 3 teenagers (ooops, one is now 20) and I have watched for years how easily they move from one technical 'toy' to the next. There seems to be no learning curve...they find out about it, try it and it either sticks or it doesn't. Often, I don't even hear about these things until they are either rejected or so integrated in to their lives as to have become an everyday thing (think Facebook and Skype). I thought I would share what I learned about last night so that we 'older folks' can at least understand some of what they are doing and find interesting.

The latest craze with the 17 year old set is a new website called Chatroulette! The premise here is that almost all computers now have video cams so that our kids can Skype to their hearts content. Well, take that one step further and you have Chatroulette! Let me explain.

Last night my daughter was working with her Spanish group on a project that was due on Monday. I heard shouts and cheers coming from the basement. At first I did not pay attention because they were yelling 'Hola' in Spanish. When it continued, I went down to check on their progress.

Turns out that they had finished the Spanish homework and turned on ChatRoulette!. They were talking to some Spanish speaking kids who were also sitting in front of their computer waiting for the next exciting person to check in. By the time  I got downstairs, they had switched to some college kids in Florida.

The idea behind the site is that you just hit the 'Next' button and you 'spin' to the next person who wants to chat.

Obviously, all of you reading this are thinking about the 'creepers' out there.  I am sure that is an issue. My daughter said that they 'spun' over to a camera where all they could see was a pair of pants and a belt buckle. They immediately hit 'Next' and left that 'chatter' behind. Clearly this is a website that comes with opportunity for dangerous situations to occur. As with anything, it is a site that must be used carefully, with an awareness that not everyone who is participating is just doing it for fun,  and is not appropriate for younger kids.  Even with those precautions, it is still ripe for problems. I kind of think it won't be around too long...

I am sure there will be some clever business people who find a way to utilize this technology to their advantage. It will be intersting to see how, and if, that evolves.

Ironically, the generations who have embraced technology as the foundation of their social fiber are now using it in ever changing ways to establish personal connections. I can't see myself ever adding this to my technical repertoire, although the premise (at its most innocent) is interesting. I thought I would share it with all of you in an attempt to have at least some idea of what our teenagers are up to!

These are great tips by Eilean Foster for taking care of your gardening tools use earth-friendly techniques. Thanks, Eilean!

If you are like me, you don't have time to do all the things you HAVE to do--much less the things you SHOULD do. I read an article today that said I should have  custom 'skin' as the background on my Twitter Account.

Well, I had a few free minutes and decided to go to the application, FreeTwitterDesign.com. It took me a couple of minutes, but I was able to give myself a custom background, upload my company logo and put in some basic contact information.

I read that it was important to put my contact info on the left side of my tweets so that browsers won't inadvertently cut it off.

There were a couple of quirky things about the application; Adding text wasn't easy and a couple of times, the mouse would not 'give up' some text even though a different piece of information was highlighted.

Despite the challenges, I think it was a worthy first effort...and it only took a couple of minutes.

I would love to have you follow me on Twitter. I use a very tricky name--hollyweatherwax. 

Let me know if you 'tweet' too and I will follow you. I know I have a lot to learn and the best way to learn is watching what others are doing and how they are using the technology!

Happy Tweeting!

Forbes Magazine has come out with its list of the 25 Richest Counties. Loudoun County in Virginia tops the list. Fairfax County is 2nd.

You are probably wondering why this would be a good thing--after all, don't higher incomes result in higher housing prices? Yes, undoubtedly they do, but they also result in a more stable economy, more services and better public schools.  Our real estate bubble was later than many other areas and our recovery is reported to have begun sooner.

Our unemployment rate has consistently been lower than that of many other major metropolitan areas. The Bureau of Labor Statistic reported in February 2010 that, 'The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in December were Oklahoma City, Okla., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.0 and 6.2 percent, respectively.' This is due in large part to the stable employment offered by the government and the network of companies and organizations that work to support the government.

Understanding the cost of living concerns,  Washington area jobs often come with a cost of living  income differential to make the move more attractive.

If you have children who are moving up the education ladder toward college, you would be hard pressed to find better college values than those offered by the Virginia  higher education system. Look at the costs for in-state tuition and then look at how highly regarded the public universities in the state are compared to other state schools.

The public school systems in and around the D.C. Metro area consistently rank in the highest in the Nation. I think if you look you will find, too, that many of the local high schools are among the best in the country.

Beyond the financial and educational considerations, we have access to some of the best cultural opportunities in the country. A non-rush hour trip in to the District of Columbia is a 20 minute drive. My family has a White House Tour scheduled in a couple of weeks, my husband and I went to a book launch party last week at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Women in the Arts. Yesterday I took my son in to Georgetown for some lacrosse coaching. We love to get downtown to either the Kennedy Center, The National Theater, The Warner Theater or one of the other numerous venues for theater troops or musical organizations. How could I have left off my favorite venue of all? Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts which is in Virginia and literally 10 minutes from my house. It offers a wide variety of shows, musical acts and performances.

For those who have more of a sports leaning, we have The NFL Redskins,The NHL Capitals, and The Nationals baseball team. In close-by Baltimore, you can add The Orioles Baseball team and The NFL Ravens to the list. Nearby college level sports teams inlude: George Mason, Georgetown, University of Maryland, George Washington, Howard, Catholic and within 2 hours you can add University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and James Madison University.  Just 4 hours away, you can cheer for the Virginia Tech Hokies or the Penn State Nittney Lions (forgive me if I left out someones favorite team...feel free to add it in the comments).

If you are considering a new job or a relocation, give the Washington D.C. metro area a close look. I think you will find that the stable economy, wide variety of housing choices ,  the public education system and the wide variety of arts and activities, will make it worth your extra attention.

Please give me a call, or drop me an email,  if I can help you begin your home search process. I would be happy to set you up with some tools that will allow you to begin your new home search from the comfort of your living room.