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Considering buying a home with a central air conditioning or a heat pump system now that another Northern Virginia summer is approaching? Well it is essential that you know that as of January 1, 2010, manufacturers aren’t going to build any new systems using R-22 refrigerant or any new spare parts for those existing systems using R-22. And, virtually all those old HVAC systems use R-22 to work their magic.

Eliminating a Greenhouse Gas at home

The 1992 Montreal Protocol was amended to phase out HCFCs (Hydro chlorofluorocarbons), commonly referred to as a Greenhouse Gas, which have been identified as causing damage to the ozone layer. The refrigerant known as R-22 is HCFC-22. The U.S. EPA implements Title VI of the Clean Air Act, and the 1st of January was an important phase-out date under the amended Montreal Protocol.

This situation came to light recently when a RE/MAX Presidential colleague was called out of town and his buyer client’s had a home inspection on a cute little Vienna, Virginia home. The home inspector must have pointed out that the Lennox system was from 1992 (yes, there is a manufacture date on the label) and that it would need replacement when it pooped out.

In the meantime, there are home buyer warranty programs that have coverage for existing R-22 systems in the first year which addressed the buyer’s concerns. This specific R-22 coverage is new, but like all types of insurance they have limits and fine print for pre-existing conditions. It is best for home sellers to provide this coverage (costs about $450 at closing) to the buyer in case service is needed in the first year.

Home Owners should budget now to replace R-22 heat pump systems

If you are a current home owner like me who has an R-22 heat pump system, then it may be time to start budgeting for a replacement heat pump or A/C system. Most systems now meet EPA Energy Star standards and qualifications using a replacement refrigerant like Puron® or SUVA 410A®. New Energy Star units use considerably less electricity and the savings are significant and almost pay for themselves over five years.

Only a licensed HVAC contractor can calculate what type of system you will need to install to properly heat or cool your home. Using the square footage of your home and other factors, they will determine the proper “tonnage” of your compressor unit. Too big and it won’t work properly. Today’s systems are quieter outside and have multi-speed air handlers for better air flow inside.  But remember, gget a few estimates and the highest SEER rating that fits your needs.

Make sure to get a few estimates of replacement systems, and make sure that your system qualifies for the $1,500.00 Energy Star Tax Credit.

The EPA has published consumer guidelines that may be helpful if you are concerned about this issue or are planning to replace your R-22 Air Conditioner or Heat Pump system this year.

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I had a home buyer Tweet me and ask if I had any words of wisdom to pass along. The funny thing is that I love giving advice, but 140 characters weren’t going to cut it because what I do really can’t be distilled down to a sound bite. It also raised an issue that many socialists have written dissertations on… the desire for a silver bullet or quick fix.

A picture and a paragraph won’t be enough

Buying real estate in Northern Virginia is going to be a complicated task that will require some planning and very hard work:

• You need to figure out how to pay for your home (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out the best location (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out what style of home you want (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out a reasonable sales price (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to do some comparison shopping (and adjust if necessary)

Plus there really are distinct differences between living in Arlington, McLean, Vienna or Oakton, Virginia.

and now for Doug’s words of home buyer wisdom…

Right now, today, I can share some wisdom that is worth passing down and it will require you to do some serious soul searching. Did you ever read “What Color is My Parachute” when you were searching for a job or life purpose? In that book the author has his readers do some serious thinking to help them discover their individual strengths, and then organize and understand the importance of capitalizing on those strengths.

Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Today you have opportunities to buy into a neighborhood for the long term, rather than starting with a first-timer home and then moving in five years to your “family” home. Today’s long-term mortgage interest rates are low and should be low for a while, and home prices have been knocked down too. I won’t bother you with equations, but as rates go up then your buying power goes down.

Right now, in Fairfax County, Virginia, I am not seeing builders building too many detached homes under $1,000,000. Understanding the basics of supply vs. demand proves that the supply of detached homes under $650,000 will remain unchanged (actually decrease) over the next ten years. And the population forecast is on the upswing too.

So, my buyer’s agent advice or words of a wisdom… this is the time to buy a home with the long-term in mind.

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The home was built in 1993 and featured the expanded floor plan.

Shameless Home Buyer Agent Plug

As my client’s “ buyer agent”, I was able to keep this transaction together even though my clients were in California. Understanding their limited time on the ground here in Northern Virginia, I discovered what they wanted and showed them their options on a few of their cross country house hunting trips. When we discussed mortgages, I was able to uncover a unique solution to dealing with stringent new mortgage lender requirements. And when they decided on this home, put together a strategic offer that beat out a competitive offer.

After all that, there was not an extra fee charged by my company, the Sellers paid the real estate commissions, and my clients bought a great house that they are thrilled with!

If you want to consult with me, then shoot me an e-mail right now…

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If you are looking to buy or sell a home, I’m sure you have used  Google to do most of your research. In a recent conversation with a REALTOR colleague in Falls Church, Virginia, she shared how home buyers walking into her Sunday open-house already knowing the tax assessment, local school scores, neighborhood comparables and much more. They were well versed in the subject matter (buying a home in that neighborhood) and had brought their A-game. Agents love buyers who are willing to make decisions quickly because our real estate market remains one of the most active in the country.

Home sellers have always reviewed recent comps…

now home buyers are getting well prepped

This change is good and going to get better. But there is something all the Google-ing can’t answer, and that is where a talented agent is going to shine. Knowing the Walkability Score, the school test scores, the Zestimate or the impact the power lines may have will not help understand the true motivations of the decision makers.

Here are some of my musings as I drive through the Wendover Community in Vienna, VA along Lawyers Road between Vienna and Reston.

Please contact me if you are interested in confidentially discussing your home buying options. Many of my clients are senior level technology people, established professionals, and transferees from around the country.

My e-mail address is doug@dougfrancis.com

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Okay consumers… did you know that people buy homes differently today than ten years ago?

Today’s real estate consumer has so much information available that is specific, in depth and literally on demand that it has transformed the role of the real estate agent… for the better. The way consumers get mortgage information is better too as home buyers come prepared often before they look at their first house.

Ten years ago I was one of the first agents to jump at adding Northern Virginia home-search capability to my web site. It was up to date and provided by the people at the MLS, but the photos were few and there were none of the mapping features common today. When I would share with my colleagues that my clients had showed up with five listings that they had already picked and wanted to see, well they would be amazed. Because for years, really, it was the agents who selected that short-list.

And ten years ago when a client told me that they had been pre-qualified online by “Quicken” or BestRate.com it seemed pretty darn exciting. Wow, a pre-approval letter already in hand! Of course we all learned a lesson when those loans occasionally did not arrive on-time or close for a host of reasons (and much finger pointing).

So buying a home should be easier today in 2010 than then, no?

Yes consumers do have more knowledge but with that comes real world application. Because you need to remember that we are still dealing with people, and those people make decisions to act one way or another.

Getting a home ready to sell in the HGTV episode looked pretty easy… de-clutter, some fresh paint, new wall-to-wall carpet, flowering plants, vanilla oil, de-clutter again, clean the windows, and maybe a small kitchen update like granite counter tops.  Yup, all in a neat little half-hour episode.

The funny thing is that the buyers have seen that HGTV episode too and are far too savvy to fall for that superficial hype. Although I agree, any house does look considerably better (but it will take a little more time to finish the staging plan).

You are both using the same home sales “intel”

It’s true. Those home buyers are looking up your home on Google, checking satellite maps, making sure your neighborhood school has good test numbers, calculating how much a high efficiency furnace or new windows may cost, and of course looking at the “Zestimate” or “Walkability Score” of any property of interest.

So what does all this mean? Any active real estate agent will tell you that these consumers are facing house information overload and that the steady hand of a professional real estate agent as the human interface is more essential than ever to get the deal done. It’s just a skill your Google can’t Google.

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Well, not really in Northern Virginia!

In the grand scheme of things, we should see home buyers having the best of times with this real estate market. The available home buyer tax credits, home prices are the lowest in years, mortgage interest rates are still around 5%, spring is in the air… okay, that’s a stretch.

As I went over NVAR’s end of year statistics there was one glaring fact that directly impacts a buyer’s market.

Lack of Inventory

All the information available on web sites isn’t going to give you the strategies necessary to successfully buy a home in this market. Yep, it’s another reason to have a buyer agent working to make you the strongest, most competitive home buyer possible.

Let’s talk…

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Happy New Year!

Like most of you, I recently sat down to review the last year and look ahead to 2010. And like any business person, I took a long hard look at my real estate business, the Northern Virginia real estate market as a whole, my relationships with clients, and where I saw the business in the new year. One of my primary thoughts was that I needed to re-connect with a lot of people who I haven’t spoken with in much too long a time.

Maybe you are one of them? We can meet at Starbucks, call me!

Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject of 2010…

Like 2009, we are going to face a challenging real estate market for Home Sellers and Home Buyers in Northern Virginia

• Buyers will see low interest rates
• Buyers will feel pressure from the home buyer tax-credit deadline of April 30th
• Buyers will see a small inventory of homes for sale
• Buyers will compete with other, very qualified home buyers when submitting real estate contracts
• Buyers will need an agent who prepares them to be a strong and competitive, will show them all homes for sale, and actively pursue a negotiation

• Sellers will see prices remain flat
• Sellers need to know only good properties priced well, and staged well will get an offer
• Sellers will see picky home buyers who may back out of contracts for no apparent reason
• Sellers, those who want to buy another home (move-up or down), will need to understand the April 30th tax deadline
• Sellers will need an agent who understands how today’s buyers look at homes and decide to buy

For more information about the April 30th home buyer tax credit deadline you should read my post on the subject. Timing and strategy in early 2010 are going to be the key to success.

I look forward to re-connecting with you… hey, the first cup is on me!

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It has been really cold in the metro D.C. area over the past couple of weeks all starting with the pre-Christmas blizzard of ’09 that dropped 20 inches of snow at my home in Vienna, Virginia. But two weeks later we still have piles of snow because it has not been above 40°. The historical average for this time of year in the D.C. Metro area is 43°, but today’s range was 9° to 31° and this week’s forecast does not get any warmer.

Brrr… this is when water pipes break!

So it is time to winterize your exterior hose bibs/faucets by turning the inside supply valve(s) to the off position. On New Years Day I spoke with a friend who had an outside hose rupture, flood her back yard and leak into her basement. Luckily they were home and heard the water flowing (she thought her son was in the shower), but if they had gone out of town, or off to work then this really would have been a disaster.

One of my listings in Fairfax, Virginia is vacant and a prime target for freezing pipes. Although the heat is on, I shut the main water supply valve to cut off the water supply to the whole house.

About a dozen years ago I showed a vacant home in Arlington, Virginia where a kitchen pipe had burst and there was at least a foot of water in the basement. Being a fairly typical male (not thinking) I walked down to the basement in my Bean Boots and found the main water shut-off valve. Lucky I wasn’t electrocuted!

So take a minute tonight and turn the inside valve to off.