Reston Dirt
It’s 2009 - And our thoughts turn to….
January 5th, 2009 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Home Selling, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
selling our homes…. Yes, it’s true. As we move through the fall and into the holiday season, some people have already planned a spring home sale. After all, our spring selling season begins in about 5 weeks! I’ve already gotten calls from past clients and a few inquiries from new prospects who are planning a spring sale and purchase of a new home.
Really, it’s not too early, folks. This is a perfect time to begin the process of cleaning, purging, storing, tidying, etc… so it’s not such an overwhelming process once it is broken down into tiny tasks!
There are some great preliminary tools you can use to see what’s going on in your neighborhood. One of them is right here on my webiste. You can put your address into the sidebar where it says “MLS Market Snapshot” and a report will be generated JUST FOR YOU with local sales and other statistics such as days on market, etc… it’s a cool tool you can start with. It also runs an automatic update every 30 days or so.
Obviously your next move would be to give me a call to get a real pulse on the market - what’s going on? what can you expect? what sorts of things do you need to do in order to get the most out of your home sale? what type of marketing is important? etc…
Depending on who you listen to, we expect 2009 to be a vibrant real estate market. As you know from my recent posts, homes continue to sell, with those that are properly priced still moving rather quickly - certainly inside of 30 days.
So if you are one of those individuals, couples or families contemplating a move in 2009, I would welcome the opportunity to earn your business.
Happy Monday
Jennifer
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Happy New Year - Goodbye 2008, HELLO 2009!!!
December 31st, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Reston Dirt
I just want to wish all my readers, friends, clients and colleagues a very Happy New Year!
Have a safe night (I’ll be playing Wii on my couch) and let’s all look forward to an amazing 2009!
Best
Jennifer
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7 Helpful Hints for Selling Your Home in the Winter
December 10th, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Home Selling, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
Being a seller this time of the year is a lot different. It’s DARK early, it’s 
COLD, it’s SNOWY or ICY, it’s DREARY… c’mon, who would choose this time of year to sell? Well, let’s see if we can accomplish a few things - 1) Let’s create a welcoming environment to get your house sold and 2) Let’s see about turning negatives into positives.
So here we go
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #1
Keep the heat on. If you have zoned heating, or usually keep a part of your home closed off to save on heating bills, I would strongly urge you to re-consider. You don’t want a buyer to be hurried off before they’re done looking because of the chill in your home. Also, if you usually keep a part closed off, or the vents closed, don’t do that now! You don’t want a prospective buyer to think there’s a problem with your heating system. No amount of savings is worth missing your buyer.
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #2
Keep your outdoor spaces free of snow and ice. Look at the photo below (provided by google images)
![Snowhome2[1]](http://www.thearlingtondirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/snowhome21-small.jpg)
As an agent, when I approach this home to show it to my buyers, I CAN’T EVEN GET UP THE FRONT WALK!!! c’mon - make it easy to show, make it SAFE for you and any liability you may face from someone slipping on your front walk or your deck… Keep your shovel and some Ice Melt handy and clear off those outdoor spaces…
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #3
Turn your lights on. Now I know this isn’t always practical when you leave your home in the morning to know if someone will be showing it or not; but come up with a basic set of lights that will welcome any prospective buyer and help them find their way through your warm and well-lit home. The more the better.
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #4
Keep rugs by the doors for your lookers to wipe their feet. You may have a sign by the front door to please remove their shoes - but what if they want to walk out on the deck, or in the backyard, or around the house. To protect your floors/carpets AND as a courtesy, pick up a few inexpensive rugs at Target and make it EASY for that buyer to look around!
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #5
Think about warm holiday/winter scents: gingerbread, pine, mulled cider spices, etc… Perhaps you could use a small bowl of potpourri or a small scented candle to introduce these scents. Don’t overwhelm someone, but they can add to the ambiance you’ve already created with the lights and warmth.
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #6
If you know you’ll be having a showing at a specific time (perhaps it’s noon and you know someone will be coming by at 2pm) consider leaving on a gas fireplace - you know, one of the sealed ones. If it’s safe and for a short period, you can really add to the setting you’re creating. I would NOT recommend leaving a wood burning fire going or an un-sealed gas log situation.
WINTER HOME SELLING TIP #7
Don’t neglect the outside - there are plenty of plants that thrive throughout the winter - there are some beautiful winter cabbages and such that you can plant to keep your outside looking fresh and seasonal as much as your inside. Talk to your local nursery if you are having trouble coming up with ideas.
The most important thing to remember is that if there are buyers out there in the cold, wet, dark, dreary conditions - the likelihood is that they NEED to buy something. Make every showing count and you will be glad you did!
If you want to talk about listing your home for sale, don’t automatically put it off until spring. Call today to chat about it and we can figure it out together.
Happy Wednesday!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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Interest Rates are FALLING - What does that mean to ME?
December 9th, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Finance, Real Estate 101, Reston Dirt
So it seems that everyone’s fixated on interest rates – even people who are not considering buying or selling real estate - it’s a popular water cooler subject, for sure! People ask me about rates all the time and the reality is 
that I rarely give a straight answer (good strategy, huh?) 
The reason I don’t answer those questions is the answer is: “it depends”
It depends on the applicant’s credit scores, the amount of down payment they have, the program they are choosing, the lender and/or investor that will purchase their loan, etc…
Having said all of that, I wanted to take you through a real scenario of what falling interest rates could mean TO YOU as a buyer.
SCENARIO:
Let’s say you want to buy a home and you spoke with a lender to get “pre-approved” a few months ago. They would have taken your salary history, debt information, run your credit scores, etc… and let’s say they qualified you to purchase a home for $400,000 and you have $80,000 to put towards a down payment making your loan for $320,000 - with me so far?
Let’s assume that a few months ago, the interest rate quoted was 6.5% – (for the sake of keeping things simple, let’s not add any sort of loan origination fee or points into the discussion, however, please remember it’s an important point to evaluate when selecting your lender). Let’s also assume that it’s a straight, fully amortized loan (not interest only).
So your payment (without adding in taxes and insurance) which includes principal and interest would come to $2,022.62.
So we chat and we go out looking for homes and perhaps you travel for a month and you get back last week and call me up to discuss resuming your search… guess what – (assumption here) now interest rates are 5.5% and your new estimated payment on that same loan is now $1,816.92.
WOW - this means a savings of just over $200/month. You’re SO EXCITED.
The other solution would be that if you were really within your comfort zone at $2,022, at TODAY’s rate, that amounts to a loan value of $356,227 - so your PURCHASE POWER has increased by over $36,000 and now you could write an offer on a property upwards of $435K and it would cost THE SAME as it would have a few short months ago… cool, huh?
What’s the downside? Well, if rates rise, it all happens in reverse - so when you were once approved for $400K, perhaps now it’s only $365K… that hurts.
Many lenders will offer what they call a “float down” option to allow you to take advantage of ONE rate drop during the time you’re waiting to go to settlement - that’s an excellent offering, if they have it.
Bottom line is ask a lot of questions and if you’re in the home buying process, pay attention. Be sure you are working with the BEST lender you can – it’s not all about the rate (although reading this article you’d think it was) but it’s also about costs and service. Do your homework and find someone who is truly interested in your positive outcome! It will be well worth your time invested up front!
Happy Tuesday!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! And remember, spring is RIGHT around the corner!
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Georgetown Cupcake Scores BIG with ME!
November 12th, 2008 Categories: Area Attractions, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia News, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
I got home last night after a long day and found that my family had gone on a little adventure to surprise me with one of my favorite treats – CUPCAKES! You see, The Washington Post recently ran an article proclaiming Georgetown Cupcakes Chocolate Ganache cupcake to be the local #1 cupcake! That day they had a huge spread in the paper and my daughter and I drooled over every picture putting them all in order that we’d like to try them. I’m a baker by hobby so I can appreciate all of the work put in and also what a difference fresh, natural ingredients makes to the end product!
So, back to last night - I got home to find an adorable bright pink box with a cool brown swirly sticker on it, sitting on the kitchen counter… oh my… it was filled with the most delicious looking cupcakes you’ve ever seen – not too big, not too small, not too fancy, not too weird… perfect in every way.
I sampled the mocha (chocolate bottom w/mocha frosting and a chocolate covered espresso bean) and finally settled on the Vanilla Squared (vanilla cupcake w/vanilla frosting - what a surprise!). I enjoyed every bite.
Georgetown Cupcakes hasn’t even been open a year and yet they sell between 3,000 and 4,000 cupcakes EACH DAY! Here’s the line my family stood in JUST FOR ME:
They bought a half dozen for $15 and I can’t wait to go home today to sample some more! They are well worth the 20 minute wait in line and the $2.50. It will now be a personal goal to sample each and every one - then I can report to you MY personal favorite. So STAY TUNED..
Meanwhile, if you’d like to discuss real estate (or cupcakes) feel free to call anytime. I look forward to hearing from you.
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is here!
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Top TEN Reasons Northern Virginia is the BEST place on Earth - Day 2
November 3rd, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Area Attractions, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Home Buying, Northern Virginia Home Selling, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
I wrote a whole post last week and my computer ate it! REALLY - and it had so many links and pictures and I was so discouraged that only now have I returned to my computer to make an attempt to re-create it.
So, without further ado, next on my list of WHY Northern Virginia is a GREAT place to live and play:
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Yep – Professional Sports. We’ve got it all covered!
Football: We are home to the 6–2 Washington Redskins (Hail to the Redskins!) and while I know Baltimore is 40 miles to our North, many also consider the Baltimore Ravens to be a home team as well.
Basketball: We’ve got the Washington Wizards representing our fair city in the NBA; and the super cool chicks of the WNBA, the Washington Mystics. GIRL POWER!!!
Baseball: The AMAZING Washington Nationals and their new, world class stadium. Again, with our northern neighbors, we also have the Baltimore Orioles here, which, for a long time, was our team until the Nats arrived on the scene a few years ago.
Hockey: The Washington Capitals – now THIS is cool – 
right in our own back yard for us Arlingtonians… A few years back the Caps relocated their headquarters to a newly built iceplex in the Ballston area of Arlington. It’s a beautiful facility, and you can go and watch them practice and even get out there on the ice yourself – for me, reminiscent of how I spent many a Friday night in high school, but we need not dwell on that…
Soccer: We are home to the beloved DC United – our Major League Soccer Team.
I think it’s great that we have so many great professional sports teams here and I believe just one more reason why the DC area is a great place to live. Stay tuned as I reveal more and more reasons why I love it here!
Happy Monday (on the EVE of a big Election Day!)
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is here!
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Go NATS!
September 21st, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Area Attractions, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, Local Events, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
OK, for 2 years now I’ve been hearing folks rave about the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium. Now I must admit, although it’s America’s favorite pastime, baseball is not my favorite sport. In fact, I would say that up until today, the few major league baseball games I’ve attended have been more about enjoying a beverage and eating as much junk food as you want (you know the rule, what you eat at the ballpark doesn’t count). But today, everything changed… I’ve become an avid fan!
As my family and I metro’d down to the new stadium, I wasn’t too sure what to expect – how I’d respond – and frankly, what I was going to eat first! We stepped off the metro, turned the corner and as we got closer to that center field gate – we were in AWE. The stadium is gorgeous – and, thanks to my cousin who’s in group ticket sales for the Nats, we had the most amazing seats we ever could have dreamed of. Here’s our view from our seats: Can you say “Home Plate?”
It was a gorgeous day – perfect temp of about 78 degrees – FANTASTIC seats – I practically forgot about hot dogs, soft pretzels, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, cracker jacks and the like… well, almost. I did enjoy a Nats dog and got the kids some snacks, too. But I was right there out of my seat when the Nats scored a home run! And the crowd went nuts!!!!! I enjoyed myself so much more than I expected to (especially since it was DURING a Redskins game!!!) and really got into the game!
All in all, it was a great afternoon, so thanks Kat for the amazing tickets! Thanks to all the Nats fans who come out game after game even though they don’t have the best record. It’s such a great experience and great family fun! There’s still time to catch a game or two before the season ends - you should think about going! If not, there’s always next year!
Here’s me - finally not embarrassed to have my picture taken at the ball park:
Oh, and I love this sign…. right down below the plexi-glass I was standing against stood the following sign:
“Please be aware of objects leaving the field” – any guesses on what sorts of objects (other than fly balls) might be leaving the field?
Happy Sunday! I hope you enjoyed your weekend and are ready to get back to business tomorrow morning!
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is here!
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Don’t Panic!
September 16th, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Finance, Reston Dirt
It would be so easy to work up into a lather with all of the gloom and doom financial news. Everywhere we turn some major wall street financial institution is filing for bankruptcy or being taken over. Mortgage companies are in trouble and/or crumbling left and right. The Federal Government decided to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to increase the availability of mortgage finance and to add liquidity to the mortgage bond market.
Oh and then there’s the AIG mess – the government is supposedly considering lending tens of billions of dollars to bail them out of their recent woes… YIKES… And today, if all that weren’t enough, the feds decided against lowering the fed funds rate stating that they believes the mortgage interest rates are already low enough to spur future economic growth.
It would seem that in fact we’re headed for mass destruction and dismay. In fact, that’s the farthest thing from the truth – at least from the housing perspective. Consider this –
Interest rates have tumbled beginning with the Fannie/Freddie news and are now once again below 6% – hmmm
Inventory of homes is still fairly high and there is generally a plethora of choices
For a consumer that has good credit and assets, this is the BEST TIME EVER (yes, I did say the best time ever) to make that home purchase. Can I guarantee that home prices will not continue to go down? NO Can I guarantee that home prices will appreciate at some ridiculous rate over the next 2 years bringing “flipping” back into vogue? Of course not. But I can say that conditions are actually favorable right now for the housing market to correct itself. NOW is the time rather than when buyers have to enter into bidding wars against each other. NOW is the time rather than when buyers will have to give up some of their rights in order to beat out someone else.
Every action has a counter-action. When builders realized that they would 
have home surpluses, building slowed and in some cases even ceased. When we come through the cycle, they won’t be able to gear up quickly enough to meet future demand and there begins that cycle again with higher prices and more demand. So… just stop for a moment to consider that perhaps, just maybe, now is the time to begin thinking about a change.
I look forward to your call to discuss your home needs - both selling and buying.
Happy Tuesday
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is here!
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High ~ Low - How HIGH or low can you go??
September 10th, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Neighborhoods, Northern Virginia News, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Reston Dirt
I thought it would be fun today to look at the incredible range of properties that are currently on the market. The format for today is high/low. Here’s how it works…
Arlington County Virginia
Today in Arlington County there are 795 active listings – they range from a LOW of:
$90,000 – 1br/1ba bank-owned property in “Arlington Heights” condominium complex. This property has been on the market for 126 days![GetMedia[1]](http://www.thearlingtondirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/getmedia1-small.jpg)
to a HIGH of:
$8,850,000 – 5br/5ba ~2 acres of riverfront property. This unique home is a 12,000 sq ft contemporary with spectacular views of the river that was originally listed for $9.5M and has been on the market for 607 days.
Fairfax County Virginia
Today in Fairfax County there are a whopping 6,021 properties for sale. They range from a LOW of:
$69,100 – 1br/1ba bank-owned property in Colchester Towne Condominium complex. This property has been on the market for 55 days.
to a HIGH of:
$16,500,000 – 6br/8ba (+5 powder rooms) country estate on 2.1 acres in Oakton. This property has 4 levels, 8 fireplaces and has just come on the market 2 days ago.
By the way, in Fairfax County there are 33 listings priced over $5 Million (21 of which are located in McLean, Virginia and 303 listings priced BELOW $150,000.)
Alexandria City, Virginia
Today in the City of Alexandria there are 728 active listings from a LOW of:
$89,900 – 2br/1ba bank-owned property in Saxony Square – this property has been on the market for 322 days.
to a HIGH of:
$3,500,000 – 4br/4ba townhome in Old Town – This is an historic mansion built in 1805 and has been on the market for 70 days.
Loudoun County Virginia
Today in Loudoun County there are 2,388 active listings. They range from a LOW of:
$74,900 – 1br/1ba bank-owned condo in Country Club Green condominium complex. This property has been on the market for 20 days.
to a HIGH of:
$7,500,000 – 7br/7ba Georgian home sited on 217 acres including a pool, large barn, sheds and other out-buildings. This home is in Bluemont and has been on the market for 138 days.
I find all of this information fascinating. Not only is it fun to imagine living in some of these super luxurious, high end homes, it’s just amazing at the variety of properties that are currently available for sale in our region. I do think it’s interesting to note that in every single case that I looked at today, the lowest priced property was bank owned; and if the days on market is any indication, they are NOT flying off the proverbial shelf. There are deals out there for those with a strong stomach!
If you’d like to see a mansion or a great deal, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and give me a call. I’m game for either end of the spectrum or anywhere in between!
Happy Wednesday
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is here!
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The Ins and Outs of Loan Approval, Pre-Approval, Loan Commitments and so forth…
September 2nd, 2008 Categories: Alexandria Dirt, Arlington Dirt, Falls Church Dirt, McLean Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Dirt, Northern Virginia Real Estate Finance, Reston Dirt
As a general rule, one of the very first things I do when working with a new buyer (whether they are a first time buyer or even an experienced buyer) is to recommend they speak with a lender and obtain loan approval.
The reason for this is simple: Let’s say they’ve used an internet loan calculator to guess at their loan amount – did someone explain to them the tax relief they will benefit from? Or perhaps they actually talked with a lender and did some sort of preliminary approval where they provided their salary information and debt information, but perhaps they didn’t discuss more detailed financial matters like alimony (either being given OR received), investment properties owned, etc… These factors can have a HUGE impact on a buyer’s ability to actually obtain a mortgage.
I usually like to have someone talk with a contact of mine – for no reason except that keeping the communication lines open during this process is HUGE. It doesn’t matter to me who originates a loan for my clients in the end, as long as they get as good of a program as they can – good rates, good terms, and the RIGHT program fit for them. But during the process, questions can arise - here’s one that happened lately:
I have a client who wants to purchase a condo – he has his preliminary loan approval in place for a particular amount - and the lender is out of state. So we set out looking at properties in a particular range that we are estimating will work with his loan amount and the amount of cash he has set aside for this purchase. However, pretty soon, some questions came up:
What condo fees were used for the approval? (Usually a lender will put in some sort of estimate)
What about property taxes?
Oh, and since the lender is out of state, how were they able to complete a good faith estimate perhaps not knowing what our usual and customary charges are here in Virginia to the buyer?
At this point, since we were unclear on the answers, my client agreed to talk with one of my local lenders, and we’re in the process now of understanding exactly how much home he can afford. At least we’ll know what the range is and negotiate the best deal on a property with confidence that he can afford it.
So perhaps I digressed a little from the title of this article - here are some brief descriptions of different terms you’ll hear from the lending world:
Pre-Approval – this means some basic information has been provided to the lender, probably without verification in order to establish a baseline of affordability. Sometimes lenders will even issue pre-approval letters, but they all state that they are subject to income/asset verification, so really, they’re not particularly strong.
Loan Approval – this usually means that all income/asset verification has been done as well as a credit check. This is a much stronger term and generally is used when submitting a contract. Sometimes, depending on the lender, the application has even made it through the underwriting process already. Barring any issues with the property, it’s smooth sailing from here.
Loan Commitment - this is when the loan has not only been approved, but the bank has already earmarked the funds to consummate the transaction. This is the strongest level of approval that exists.
So there you have it – a lesson on loan approval types, terminology and the like - and also some reasoning as to why I’ll ask you to speak with a lender and why it’s important! It’s a much smoother process when this is done in advance and we can start out with the best foot forward not wasting any time at all in finding that dream home.
If you’d like to talk about the process or get started, call me today! I have some great local lenders I can refer you to – with a great team around you’ll be in great shape for a successful outcome!
Happy Tuesday
Jennifer
Serving all of your real estate needs in Arlington, McLean and the entire Northern Virginia Region!
Contact me today for a free home valuation or buyer counseling session! Fall is right around the corner!
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