This home has  a finished, walk-up basement with a full bath, hardwood floors on the main and bedroom levels, and the sought after finished attic space reached by a secret staircase in the master bedroom.  This is not a short sale, but is being sold “as-is” and will be part of a 1031 Starker Exchange for tax purposes (no cost to the buyer). Priced at $475,000. AR7389085

Yes, there are more photos of this home…

To see more of the photos, they are available on the Google Picassa page for this home… some are duplicates but, I feel, the more the better. Please note in the photos that the parcel behind the shed and chain-link fence  (tax ID 37-005-028) conveys so your new back yard will be 400 square feet bigger!

Now that’s cool…

The home has a (SentriLock)  lockbox for REALTORS, or you can call Doug Francis, REALTOR, for a private showing @ 703-304-6827.

See more of 1110 16TH ST S, ARLINGTON, VA 22202 on HomesDatabase

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Image by bulldog1 via Flickr

One of the hardest parts of buying a home is making an offer. Really, it isn’t easy to come up with the right offer, and I always tell my Northern Virginia real estate clients that their initial offer should be their “ideal scenario” from the start.

• Offer price, determined after looking at recent sales and condition of the home
• Closing or Settlement date, when do you really need to be in the home?

No, that isn’t everything to factor into your offer strategy but they are two essential elements because they are key starting points. Either of these can become major stumbling blocks that may stop a home seller from wanting to negotiate with you at all.

Home Seller motivations are important to understand  because sellers will typically have a bottom line number and an ideal time-frame too (an ideal scenario). I look at this information as part of a “pre-negotiation” for both seller and buyer.

Incompatible time-frames can be a real estate deal breaker

Having worked both sides of the fence here, I know it is important to communicate a home seller client’s ideal scenario to a prospective home buyer or REALTOR who has indicated that they are putting together an offer. For a recent seller client, he was very specific and wanted to settle June 23rd which was information that I shared with all interested parties. There were three competing  offers all with different offer amounts but with June 23rd as the settlement date.

One of my buyer clients submitted an aggressive offer recently on a Vienna home and, although that neighborhood has had no sales in the past two months, the seller is holding firm on the price. Unfortunately, the seller’s REALTOR shared no “ideal scenario” information that could get things moving. In fact, that home seller really isn’t negotiating at all which makes me wonder why they are listing the property in the first place? Yes, the offer is still out there and has even been improved over two weeks… yet it remains a mystery.

So, understand your “ideal scenario” before you list your home or make an offer on a home because it is essential to making sure a negotiation is even going to happen.

There are many Northern Virginia homes that have septic fields on the property designed to allow wastewater to be absorbed into the ground. Terminology is tricky here as a septic field is a septic system, and are also known as Wastewater Systems as defined in 2010 by the Virginia Department of Health.

So, this year the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation requiring that the Virginia Residential Disclosure Statement (which must be given to home buyers) include a notice to the effect that it is the buyers responsibility to be satisfied that a septic wastewater system exists on the property. Then, the buyer must determine that it is the proper size, know what type of system it is, and how to maintain it.

Here is the new language from VARBuzz.com:

WASTEWATER SYSTEM: The undersigned owner(s) makes no representations with respect to the presence of any wastewater system, including the type or size thereof or associated maintenance responsibilities related thereto, located on the property and the purchaser(s) is advised to exercise whatever due diligence the purchaser(s) deems necessary to determine the presence of any wastewater system on the property, in accordance with terms and conditions as may be contained in the real estate purchase contract, but in any event, prior to settlement pursuant to that contract.

Virginia Home Buyers should plan to hire a Septic Guy

#1 in the #2 Business!

To me, this means it will be important to get a septic guy in to evaluate a system when you have a home inspection. I’ll have to ask my plumber pal Bob Beckwith (RLB Plumbing) what he thinks about this and if he is willing to put his name on the line. Giving a septic system an evaluation is going to be a challenge since they are underground and made of sand. They literally flood the system, stab it with a stick and watch for water to emerge.

Home buyers, keep in mind that septic wastewater systems exist in McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Oakton, Fairfax and Clifton homes. My suggestion will be to budget $500 to $1,000 for a septic system inspection.

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Town of Vienna Real Estate 2011 fiscal year tax rate shall be $0.2448 per every $100 of assessed value.

The town’s real estate tax rate will be 24.48 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Town of Vienna homeowners also pay Fairfax County real estate tax of $1.09 per $100 of assessed valuation and homeowners will also pay a stormwater fee of 0.015 cents per $100 of assessed value.

In total, the tax rate is $1.3498 for Town of Vienna home owners.

The Town of Vienna provides additional information on a web site, http://www.viennava.gov/

A Dual Zone AC System

We just survived our first super-hot summer weekend in Northern Virginia and it is only mid-June! With temperatures in the 90°’s and humidity running at 70%+, this is the time of year that home owners start to see their central AC units crash.

I always recommend to my clients after they buy a home to look into service contracts with local Heating and Cooling contractors because problems always happen when temperatures are extreme. For example, a client living in Vienna once called me when it was 12° and her furnace had quit, and another called when it was 95° to say that there was a block of ice on her AC unit and her house was boiling!

Luckily I had provided them with one-year Home Buyer Warranties when they bought their homes so they had someone to call. From personal and professional real estate agent experience, I know that clients will typically call me when there isn’t heat or AC, so providing a little extra “peace of mind” for them at closing with an action plan is like putting money in the bank!

A Home Buyer Warranty plan only lasts one year… but it’s good to have.

Here are some ideas for keeping your home cool:

• keep shades drawn on extra hot days or when you are at work
• adjust plantation shutters so the slats are deflecting the sunlight
• install ceiling fans
• keep your AC set at a manageable temperature during the day
• make sure your windows are locked tight
• turn off recessed lights
• consider getting a professional “energy audit” of your home
• Switch the thermostat fan to “on” from “auto” to circulate inside air

If your AC fails on a weekend, here are a few ideas:

• check your thermostat to make sure it is on AC (move the darn switches)
• make sure the service shut-off switch (looks like a light switch) on the air handler hasn’t been accidentally switched off.
• check your circuit breaker box and make sure it hasn’t tripped the switch
• if there is a block of ice outside, let it melt and call an AC guy
• check the overflow drain pan for water

I always have home buyer clients get home inspections but problems with any HVAC system are impossible to predict. Your inspector probably gave you a report that describes your HVAC system so go back and take a look because it will refresh you memory.

If you can’t get your AC purring, then it is time to call a professional to tune up and repair the system. If it is old then be prepared to buy a new one since most older systems can not be repaired any more… read more.

Okay, I’m open to learn about your worst AC or furnace problem, anyone?

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When I look at homes with home buyer clients in areas of Vienna or Oakton, there are a few specific things I look for including the current type of heating fuel and if the heating system has been replaced. Also, a quick look in the yard may reveal the top of a buried heating oil tank with a fill pipe or vent pipe sticking up in the yard. These are generally in plain site because oil tanks are filled a few times a season by an oil delivery man.

Input from the right people is essential

If there is an old oil tank then it is important to understand the situation before making a rash decision to avoid buying the property. Ultimately, it really isn’t very expensive to have an environmental firm excavate the tank and haul it away. What is important is to know the condition of the tank and that a properly licensed contractor has completed the work.

I provide my Northern Virginia real estate clients with professionals to talk with about complex issues like oil tanks, legal matters, tax situations, structural engineering, mortgage options and more because my clients know I deliver a high level of attention to their needs.

If you want more information then read more at this tip for Oakton home buyers.

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My Home Staging Consultant who I hire suggested adding the rug to anchor the foyer rather than bare floors

You would think that Northern Virginia real estate agents would get it by now, but I am still seeing some really bad house photos being posted online. It is a trend that a lot of agents across the country poke fun at, and even have blogs of the worst photos seen in their MLS.

Anyone who is looking for a home to buy is starting out on the Internet while sitting at home or at work (yes, we know). Doing online research like moving to Vienna, Virginia is done easily from a living room in San Diego, California. So it seems obvious to me to get house photos right from the get-go and put as many photos of the highest quality into the MLS or a linking site like Google’s Picassa or Flickr.

The MLS site is the obvious place to start because it feeds consumer real estate sites like Trulia, Redfin and Zillow. Yup, those photos taken by me are disseminated by the almighty MRIS which is Northern Virginia’s MLS. So 30 photos definitely get popped in here for fast syndication.

The McLean and Vienna VA real estate markets are highly competitive so having quality, staged photos should be 50% of your home’s marketing strategy. (this is obvious to home buyers)

Here are my tips for better real estate photography:

• If you are unsatisfied with your photos, then hire a professional
• Use a digital camera with a wide angle lens built into the camera
• I update my camera on a regular basis, read more at my FAQs page
• Take plenty of shots (50-100) and then pick and choose on your computer
• Do not use a fish-eye lens because the photos just look too weird
• STAGE your photos by turning on lights, hiding garbage cans etc.
• If the sun isn’t out, then come back later for another cover shot
• Keep in mind that the buyer who is boarding a plane to house-hunt will only have time to see five homes in McLean, and will pick one to buy.
• Don’t be afraid to change the photos… if there was snow on the ground the first time and it is now May, take some new photos then upload them!

Having clear photos is an absolute must, #1 priority for me when I list a property. Why? Because  home buyers wanting to see Mclean or Vienna homes for sale have their iPhone or Droid real estate apps running all the time showing photos, photos and more photos.

Having poor quality real estate photos is a real no, no!

Leave a comment about any bad photos you have seen recently.

Nielson's Frozen Custard on Church Street

Last weekend, a RE/MAX Presidential team colleague put a 1960’s Town of Vienna home on the market at $539,900 and had seven (7) offers! Yes, even without the “home buyer tax rebate program”, people know that living in Vienna is valuable. Obviously the schools are good and commute times are decent, but the unique sense of community is the key with the W&OD Bike Trail, Concerts on The Town Green, The Vienna Farmers’ Market, and Memorial Day Weekend’s Viva Vienna festival!

Maybe it’s Nielson’s Frozen Custard Shop?

On the other hand, people wanting to move to Vienna in the $1,000,000 price range have ninety four (yes, 94) homes for sail sale to look at! And having represented some buyers in this price range recently, I know that there is negotiating room. If you want to talk about the real estate market then send me an e-mail or call me. See some of the stats that I posted recently for a couple of Vienna zip codes on the Vienna Home Blog.

This sharp contrast between the two price ranges is a pattern that I have seen over the past year. Higher-end buyers were impacted by the lack of credit available for loans in the “Super Jumbo” category last year, but mortgage guys that I know (from reputable banks) can now get these loans done up to $2,000,000.

That’s what I love about the real estate business!

When you are going into “battle” against six other real estate offers then you will need one negotiation strategy, and if you are in the higher end market then you will need another. If I didn’t like the competition involved in this business, then I wouldn’t still be doing it after 19 years.

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The warm scent of spring sent the McLean, VA real estate market up in April which should not surprise anyone who has followed Northern Virginia Real Estate Stats. There was a lot of snow during the winter months and those contracts written in late February or March came to a close in April.

Although our memories aren’t always accurate, remember that early 2009 had a cascading stock market and the country was falling into economic turmoil.

Please know that this information is reported from MRIS which is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate but should be considered pretty darn close.

Mortgage rates were again falling and super low (around 5%).

Home Sales Numbers for 22101 in April 2010:

Keep in mind there were big snow storms that shut down Northern Virginia for more than a week. I even had to push my car with my wife at the wheel up the hill on Route 123 in Tyson’s Corner near International Drive at 10:00 pm one Saturday night!

Home Sales Numbers for 22102 in April 2010

**This zip code reflects some extremes in pricing as there were 19 sales under $600k and 6 sales over $1.0 million. The McLean, VA home market includes condominiums in all price ranges.

I have set up a quick search for you of McLean homes in 22101

or

I have set up a quick home search for you of McLean homes in 22102

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Image via Wikipedia

“This isn’t the right time to buy his and her BMW’s.”

My Northern Virginia real estate clients have heard me deliver that line for almost two decades when we discuss putting together an offer to buy a home. It’s meant to be funny, but also a very serious warning.

Real estate sales contracts will outline the type of mortgage financing that the buyer is going to obtain to buy the house. Based on that information, a home seller will agree to accept the offer making it a ratified or binding contract. Still following?

The Realtor sales contract used in Northern Virginia real estate sales specifically outlines that the home buyer will comply with the mortgage lender’s requests in a “timely and diligent manor”. But it also outlines that failure to comply with the lender requests or committing an act that prohibits them from obtaining the specified financing may result in DEFAULT.

NVAR Regional Real Estate Sales Contract ¶26: DEFAULT

The Washington Post Saturday Real Estate Section (May 15, 2010) had an article about mortgage lenders reviewing credit reports an extra time, just before closing, to make sure the buyers haven’t impacted their financial status with other new lines of credit. For example, if they see that you now have a credit line at McLean Furniture for $10,000 that wasn’t on you first report, well then you’ve got some ’splainin’ to do.

This extra scrutiny may just blow your deal, cost you the Earnest Money deposit and open you up to pay extra damages to the seller for breach of contract (please include attorney’s fees).

This new “second credit report” at the last minute program is set to begin June 1, 2010, but lenders have typically re-verified employment just before closing. Rhonda Porter called this a new “Speed Bump Prior to Funding Your Mortgage” which is sure to cause some headaches.

So, here is my professional recommendation: once you are involved in a real estate contract restrain yourself and do not make any new credit applications… you are on thin ice!

Again, this isn’t the right time for new BMW’s!

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