Northern Virginia

A Quote in MSN Money

I was surprised the other day to get a Google Alert that there was a quote attributed to me on the MSN Money site in an article by Marilyn Lewis. Back in May, I wrote a post warning home buyers to refrain from adding new credit lines before they actually “closed” on their new home. Since mortgage lenders are now running a second credit report just prior to closing (did you know that?), home buyers innocently buying new furniture before “closing” may negatively impact their credit ratios, possibly defaulting on their sales agreement with the home seller.

The consequences may cost you your Earnest Money Deposit and more.

Really, the main purpose of writing my blog is to inform my real estate clients in Northern Virginia about issues that will impact them selling a home, buying a home, getting a mortgage, having a home inspection or removing an oil tank. Yes, getting mentioned on a big-time web site like MSN.com is a thrill, but also indicates to me that I am on the right track giving advice that is informative. What do you think?

If you are planning to buy or sell a home in Northern Virginia, please read through the buyer or seller tip sections and then give me a ring so we can discuss your plans.

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Northern Virginia

Trimming your neighbor’s tree?

“Doug, these trees are wonderful!” exclaimed a client last fall as we drove along Miller Heights Road in Oakton, VA looking for a home to buy.

For those of you from San Diego or Colorado, we have very large Oaks (hence “Oakton”), Maples, Sycamores, and Sweetgums that can give the impression we have forests amongst our manicured suburban landscaping. Many of these trees have grown unchecked for 50 years as Northern Virginia transformed from farmlands to residential subdivisions. And the fall season can be a wonderful site with the trees blazing yellow, red, and orange from late September into November.

Arborists will agree that your trees grow and need maintenance

This brings up the situation of what happens when you need to cut back or trim your neighbor’s trees overhanging your yard?  It is okay to do this as long as you don’t kill the tree and know that any work is at your expense. Just to keep on good terms, it is best to tell your neighbor that your tree guys are going to prune it back. Never assume that your neighbor knows a tree is overgrown or is a nuisance  since they are only seeing it from their yard, and will probably agree that the tree needs attention when they see it from your yard.

Virginia home owners should know that they can still trim back those branches or cut those nasty roots, but if your neighbor’s tree has started to cause more serious structural problems to your house, like aggressive roots that have broken through your foundation or water pipes, then you can take them to court. Yes, lawyers!

Virginia rules for tree trimming

The Virginia Supreme Court’s  ruling in Fancher v. Fagella (9/2007) dealt with a big old Sweetgum tree in a new townhouse development in Fairfax County, VA. These trees grow big, look fantastic, provide shade, are our “breathing buddies”, but also need lots of water. To find that water, they send sturdy roots everywhere. In this specific case, this nice old Sweetgum tree was a holdover from the old farm and was now stuck in between some townhouses.

As it turned out, that old tree continued to grow and impacted the neighbor’s house in search of water. One neighbor asked the other to remove the tree (which probably would have cost $3,000 to $5,000) because of the structural damage being caused by the roots. Well, things didn’t work out as planned and it wound up in the Virginia Supreme Court… and eventually the tree was cut down.

A perfect Virginia shade tree… just in the wrong place

Let me be upfront that I am not a lawyer, but I am a licensed Virginia real estate agent and a home owner who has large Oak trees on my own property. There really isn’t any change here when dealing with the above ground issues of pruning a tree or trimming your neighbor’s tree that crosses your property line. The only emphasis is that you have the ability to go to court if your neighbor’s tree is causing damage to your house such as root damage to your foundation.

If you live in Reston, VA where the Reston Association has guidelines for tree removal, you should know that they require Association approval before work can be performed.

When I was President of the Vienna Commons Association, I would get an occasional phone call from a neighbor complaining about another neighbor’s tree that hung over their yard, was hitting the roof, or dropping fruit in their yard. Back then I would respond that they had the right (in Virginia) to cut back the encroaching portion of their neighbor’s tree that overhangs the property line.

And that policy is still true today, but remember to be a good neighbor and tell your neighbor before the cutting begins. Leave a comment to share your experience trimming a neighbor’s tree.

Read More…

If you are interested in tree issues and want to learn more about the Massachusetts Rule, the Hawaii Rule, the Virginia Rule, Smith v. Holt or Fancher v. Fagella, you can read more in an article by Victor  D. Merullo.

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Northern Virginia

Home Inspection Reports Really Matter

Having a home inspection contingency is essential when you are buying a home. But in Northern Virginia, I have seen a wide gap in the quality of the written inspection reports that home buyers are given by their inspectors. Specifically, it is the detailed description of the inspector’s concerns that he may have discovered and reported per the sales contract. Selected concerns are put on an Addendum and submitted to the Seller along with the Home Inspection Report.

Home Schooled in three hours!

I am a firm believer that my home buyer clients will learn more about their home in three hours with an inspector than over the next three years living there. And when a writer from SmartMoney Magazine called me in 1994 to ask me if I thought home inspections were a consumer rip-off and then asked a half hour worth of slanted negative questions at me, I knew there was an issue. And after that interview, I understood that she totally misunderstood the purpose of a home inspection. A good home inspection will give insight into the quality of the home’s systems from the foundation to the top of the chimney.

In fact, Smart Money’s recent article still maintains the position that home inspections are rip-offs, but gives home buyers no other options to help understand the house they are about to buy at a reasonable cost. For example, in my experience, a roof can be inspected from the attic where the sub-roof or underlayment can be inspected for water stains and rot which will have left their marks… folks, your inspector won’t see this if he climbs a ladder onto the roof like SM recommends. My point is that there are levels of experience and communication, and your inspector should have a sample report on his web site for you to examine ahead of time.

The quality of the written report became apparent recently when I was the listing agent, and the buyer’s agent brought in a home inspector. They did a good inspection, but delivered an inspection report circa 1998 using a form checklist that was unclear and literally created issues because the inspector had to abbreviate his comments. Although the other agent is an experienced agent (really), she was completely unable to explain any of the issues.  Maybe that is what the SmartMoney writer was driving at?

You can see that this first report has a lengthy checklist and a small area where the inspector can write a detailed description. But it takes a lot of words to describe a “hand rail on the right side of the front porch that is not secured properly because the non-structural column is not secured” in the comment section is only ten lines long. It simply leaves too much room for interpretation by the home buyer or home seller who can easily get an unclear picture of the issue.

Here’s a much better Home Inspection Report

Now, the Northern Virginia home inspectors that I recommend to my buyer clients use digital pictures to document items that are of concern and need to be addressed. Combined with a customized report with photos and easy to understand explanations including an organized checklist, there is little room for misunderstanding that a valve is leaking or there is a missing piece of roofing.

Getting your head under your kitchen sink isn’t what most people ever do, but a home inspector will be checking for evidence of leaks, drain hose connections or improper wiring. And a few digital pictures with a clear, written description of the problem makes the home inspection report just that much more powerful when negotiating to get something fixed or when asking for a  dollar credit for a future repair.

My clients understand that I look at our business relationship as a team effort and having a thorough home inspection and well written report is 1/10th of the process. If the house is sinking then let’s get the heck out of the contract, but if there is a leaking water valve then let’s get a licensed plumber in there to fix the problem. In almost twenty years as an agent, I know that no house is 100% perfect!

Bringing together the best people for my Northern Virginia home buyer clients to work with is one of my goals. Confident home inspectors, mortgage lenders, repair men, settlement agents and many others service providers help my real estate clients achieve their real estate goals.

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Northern Virginia

Earth Day in Vienna, VA 2010

The 40th Earth Day arrived today and the weather is truly spectacular in Northern Virginia. This year the focus across the board is on energy efficiency and replacing older appliances with Energy Star qualified appliances like A/C or heating systems, hot water heaters or refrigerators. Like I wrote last week, the Commonwealth of Virginia has started a rebate program and there may also be tax credits available to you.

Invasive Plants | Vienna’s Northside Park

This Sunday morning I will be helping the Northeast Vienna Citizens Association’s (NEVCA) project in Northside Park removing invasive plant species and replacing them with native plants. NEVCA received a grant from Fairfax County and volunteers are encourage to participate as this is the second phase of the project.

When I have selected plantings for my home, I have selected native species that would thrive in our climate plus show their natural beauty. I selected the Southern Hawthorne Trees in my front yard and have always had compliments. Their foliage is dense so they create privacy, they bloom with wonderful white flowers in the spring, turn wonderful colors in the fall, and display bright red berries until January or until the birds pick the trees clean. Overall a nice selection as mature trees add value to real estate resale values.

Town of Vienna VA Green Expo is tonight

The Town of Vienna, VA is a member of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program and is celebrating Earth Day and Arbor Day with an evening activity at the Vienna Community Center on Park Street. There will be a tree planting at 6:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there, and please say hi!

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