Real Estate and Reston, VA: July 2010

I grew up as a devoted fan of the local public library. As a pre-teen, I saved my babysitting money to buy a few select books (The Little House on the Prairie series and a few Nancy Drew's), but most of my books came free with my library card.

As I grew up, I bought more books, but remained a devoted fan of the Fairfax County Public Library.  Sunday morning would find me scanning the Washington Post Book World (back in the day when it still existed) and logging on to FCPL to reserve the latest and greatest books. An email would tell me when they were at the library and I would show up and check them out.

Last Christmas, I recevied a Kindle DX in anticipation of a trip we were taking. I thought it would be a great way to bring enough books for a week long vacation (I am an avid reader). It was!  I read 8 books and only had to carry one notebook-sized  'book.'

I became a fan of the Kindle!

One of the best things about the Kindle is the ease with which I can download new books. How do I use this feature? Here are some examples:  I am lying in bed and finish a book...seconds later I have a new one downloaded and have begun reading it. Another example: yesterday, I was sitting on the beach and finished a book. I immediately downloaded a new book without leaving my beach chair. How is that for convenience?

It saddens me that I don't get to the library the way I used to, but I love the ease with which I can have the latest books delivered right to my Kindle!

As someone who got many best sellers from the library, this new paradigm of the digital book actually has me spending MORE on books than I did before--and I am happy to do it!

The New York Times picked up an AP story today that contends that over the next year we will continue to see a drop in home prices of between 2%and 8%. The story says that this will be seen even in the markets that have come through the recession without too much of a negative adjustment.

Working in a market that has seen home prices go down, but has not been hit nearly as badly as many areas in the country, I wonder how much of this being driven by the press and how much is being driven by a lack of consumer confidence. I work in the Northern Virginia area which is a suburb of Washington D.C. People are still buying homes, but not at the pace you would expect in a market that has 'recovered.' 

That said, a well-prepared, well-priced home will sell in a reasonable amount of time--but the definition of 'reasonable' is being re-written daily.

It sounds like  we are in for more time on the roller coaster that is the real estate industry!

For the full text of the story: Don't Hold Your Breath for A Bounce In Home Prices

As Buyer Agents, we commit to representing you in finding and purchasing your new home.  It is a huge commitment.  It often seems that Buyer Clients do not understand their part in this contract.  This is not a post intended to 'bash' buyers, but rather let them know what our expectations for them are during the transaction.

1.    Please return our calls.  If we call you about a property that meets your requirements, please call back.  At least in my market, a well-priced home that meets all of your requirements (and probably the requirements of many other buyers) is not always easy to find.  During negotiations, returning calls promptly is critical!
2.     Be responsive to the Lender. Without a loan, you likely cannot buy the house of your dreams. Please provide the lender with the information they need in a timely manner. I know the requirements have become a pain...but you still need to provide the information. Please do it as quickly as possible so that we can move forward with your purchase.
3.    Let us know your travel plans and contact information. This is especially important in the summer months and during the holidays. It is also critical with business travel. The home purchase process does not always follow your travel schedule and we need to be able to keep the process going. If you are going to be 'off the grid' for a certain amount of time, please let us know in advance.
4.    Sign paperwork promptly. When we tell you we need paperwork signed, please arrange to sign it promptly.  Contract paperwork often has deadlines that are important to the process. Please do not drag your feet or you risk losing the property.

Make sure that you  work with someone that you trust and then please listen to their advice and be respectful of their efforts to help you purchase a new home. The relationship between the Buyer Agent and the purchaser needs to be one of respect and commitment.  With a full commitment to the process, and an effort to be responsive to your Buyer Agent,  you will shortly be in your new home!

I am the proud mother of an independent daughter. She and her girlfriends moved in to their second shared college apartment this weekend--one  that they found, inspected and signed the lease on without any parental input. We were included in the search for the first one (the one they just moved out of) but this time they knew what they were doing...

We just found out that they don't have a dishwasher!  Not the end of the world of course, but pretty funny considering they did not notice until their first full night in the apartment.

I think of this as a teaching moment. I am pretty certain that none of these young women will ever accidentally rent a place without a dishwasher again!  The interesting thing about this oversight is that they made some conscious decisions in selecting this new apartment:

1) It needed to be closer to campus
2) They were willing to give up an in-unit Washer and Dryer
3) The bedrooms are smaller and condition is best described as old.

They just assumed that if they found a place that met their needs and they were willing to sacrifice (no washer and dryer!) it would be ideal in every other way.

This won't be the last learning experience that these girls have when it comes to decision making, but I am guessing it is one of the first really big decisions that they have to live with the repercussions for an extended period of time.  So begins the process of teaching them to be well-informed real estate consumers.

The truth of it is that all of us start out expecting that every house will provide us with 'just what we want.' The fact that houses usually fall short is the reason that there is an industry called real estate!

Of course, when I talked to my daughter this morning, she was so happy with the location that--at least for now--she doesn't care about the hand washing they will have to do.

I am sure over the years, my daughter and her roommates will reminisce fondly about that 'cute apartment with no dishwasher' and it will always remind them of how careful they have to be when selecting an apartment to rent or purchasing Real Estate.  Chalk this oversight up to lessons learned and the beginning of three educated real estate consumers.

I always wanted to go to summer camp. I never did.  When my kids got old enough to express an interest, I was right there asking for recommendations and finding the right place for them.

We have done our share of sports camps and arts camps and even day camps. I was looking for a good, old-fashioned sleep away camp. You know the kind: lakes, and horses, dances and bonfires.

We sent our girls to an all girls camp in West Virginia, Camp Rim Rock. They loved it there in the hills of West Virginia. They learned horse back riding, did arts and crafts, hiked, camped and had a wonderful time. When they were in their early teens and asking about a co-ed camp, I reminded them of the freedom that comes with not caring how you look when you head to breakfast; they agreed and continued to go there.

When it came time to send my son to camp, we could not find an all-boys camp that was within 4 hours, so he went to the co-ed Camp Twin Creeks, also in West Virginia. He is there for his 4th year and will return home from 2 weeks there tomorrow. He loves it at Twin Creeks and has asked if he can continue on to become a Counselor-in-training and later a Counselor (we'll see if the passion lasts). It is a good old fashioned camp. They have all the activities you would expect and more.  I love that they post daily photos and videos so that I can see that he is alive and well! They have a nifty system set up where I can email him and then he writes me back and they email it to me.  Nothing like the old-days of delayed gratification. This way we can stay in closer touch (although we don't write daily).

If you are thinking about Sleep-Away camp for you children, I would highly recommend checking out these two options. I think you will be happy with the quality of the camps and your children will be happy to have a good, old-fashioned summer camp experience!

If you haven't had the opportunity to attend one of the concerts in downtown Herndon, VA that make up Friday Night Live, why not go tonight?

Tonight's concert features  Love Seed Mama Jump, a six-piece rock band from Dewey Beach, Delaware. Their music is described as guitar-driven pop rock -- a blend of modern beats and melodic hooks delivered with powerful, impassioned vocals.  

Bring a lawn chair or blanket and get there early for best seats. It is a great place to bring the kids, but you cannot bring any alcohol into the venue, although it is for sale inside. We tried to bring water bottles last week and were told that we could only bring them in if they were unopened. Food is available for sale.

The concert starts at around 6:30 and ends around 10:30 pm.  The concert takes place behind the Herndon Government Center and the entrance to the concert area is located between the Caboose and the W&OD trail. Parking is available close by, but wear good shoes for getting up and down the hill. For specific Directions, check out the website.

This is a great local tradition and well worth adding in to your summer schedule.  Have fun and enjoy the music!

When you opt to list your home with a discount real estate broker, keep in mind that one of the ways that a discount Lister can keep down their commission is by spending less time and effort with you preparing your home for sale. Their business model is to  make their money on the volume of homes that they sell.

I had the opportunity to see 3 homes yesterday, all in the same neighborhood. One was listed by a full-service broker, one was listed by a broker who offered a discounted listing price right on his sign and one was listed by a disclosed discount broker.

It was very clear that the full service listing had been given advice about preparing the home for sale, both on a daily basis and to compete in the marketplace. It presented well, was easy to schedule a viewing and had a well presented brochure that helped me later to remember specifics about the property to summarize for a client.

The second listing was the worst of the bunch. It was listed by a brokerage who advertises a discounted listing right on their sign, but does not consider itself a Limited Service Brokerage (which must be disclosed in our MLS). When I scheduled the appointment, I worked around the seller's schedule--which, in this case, I was willing to do since I did not have a client with me. There was no lockbox on the house. The front walk was dirty and overgrown. There was rotted wood by the front door. The house smelled like cigarette smoke and there were no lights turned on, even though our appointment was scheduled.  These people could have used some guidance about how to prepare their home to be shown. In fairness, they may be resistant to advice, or maybe they are not receiving it. Either way, I would have a tough time convincing any of my clients to write a contract on their house. There was a brochure, but there wasn't too much to emphasize in that brochure.

The last house I saw was listed by a disclosed Limited Service Brokerage. It was not that difficult to set up an appointment, although the house is not on a regular lockbox. The listing indicated that there was not a lockbox at all, but it turns out that there is a combo box that the owner uses when they are not around.  The owner wanted me to remove my shoes to go upstairs, but unless he was standing there to tell me, there was no sign or other indication. He offered to show me around (which most clients--and agents--hate), I politely declined, and he remained available, but not hovering, for questions. The house is pretty and bright, but the only brochure was in the flyer-box on the front yard. Again, the brochure had some information, but not enough for me to really summarize to a client.

As you are reading this, you are probably thinking, 'none of these things are a big deal,' and you would be right. What I see as a buyer's agent however, is that it is often the smallest annoyance or little detail that will turn a potential buyer off of a house. When there is plenty of inventory and the sellers are willing to be competitive, you must have every advantage when you show your home.

There is a reason that successful listing agents are successful; they know how to help prepare homes for sale, they know how to market homes, they know how to price homes competitively and they know how other Realtor's expect to receive access and information about the house.

Keep in mind, too, that when you are using a discount lister, almost every offer you get will take that in to account.  If you are asking the same price as a comparable house, but using a discount listing broker, most Buyer Agents will discount the offer price to account for that reduced commission.  Beyond that, your offer may be lower to begin with since your house might not be as well presented and received by potential buyers.

Do yourself a favor and hire a specialist to sell your home; someone who specializes in real estate. There is a pretty good bet that while you are very good at what you do, what you do is NOT selling houses.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has implemented several new traffic laws that you should know about.

On July 1, 2010,  the following new driving laws went into effect:

1. It is a primary offense for a child under the age of 17 to be seated anywhere in a moving vehicle and NOT use a seat-belt. Up until now, a police officer could not pull over a vehicle for seat-belt violations unless the driver violated another law (it was previously a secondary offense).  This new law is enforceable for both drivers and passengers.
2. Expansion of 'The Slow Down/Move-Over Law.' The law originally went into effect several years ago and has been expanded to require Slow Down/Move Over for tow-trucks, expanding the law to protect tow-truck drivers. The law reads:

The driver of any motor vehicle, upon approaching a stationary vehicle that is displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating blue, red, or amber light or lights as provided in § 46.2-1022, 46.2-1023, or 46.2-1024 or subdivision A 1 or A 2 of § 46.2-1025 shall (i) on a highway having at least four lanes, at least two of which are intended for traffic proceeding as the approaching vehicle, proceed with caution and, if reasonable, with due regard for safety and traffic conditions, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to the stationary vehicle or (ii) if changing lanes would be unreasonable or unsafe, proceed with due caution and maintain a safe speed for highway conditions.

As you are out and about this July 4, please keep in mind these new laws--as well as all of our traffic laws--and help to keep our roads safe!

If you have been worried because you could not get your loan done in time to close on June 30th, Congress has given you a reprieve.

Here is a fun Hyper Local Challenge for all of you AR members who like to do hyper local content.  Plus it helps you figure out your own 4th of July plans!

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!!