Vienna

The real estate market catches a hint of Spring 2010

We had a bright and sunny weekend here in Northern Virginia, and a surge of home buyers were out looking at the homes for sale that had popped up late Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. A little marketing tip is to put a home into the MLS database Thursday to feed all the IDX sites out there that send e-mails to registered home buyers.  Our MLS, actually the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS), is the #1 source and they pump out the data you see on Trulia, Zillow, Frankly MLS, Roost, Redfin or Sawbuck. They have their own “ad-free” site for you called Homesdatabase.com which is excellent.

So I showed some townhomes in Fairfax around $350,000 and the newest listing was swamped with buyer agents and their eager clients. At one house there was a guy with an Alexander Ovechkin jersey who looked like he would fight us for it!

I tried to show a home in Vienna priced at $599,900 in my neighborhood but the agent, who I know well, told me she had two offers on Friday. One offer was so good that it was accepted by the home sellers… before the scheduled open house!

Vienna, VA Home Buyers can’t wait for the Sunday Open House

I also showed a home in Vienna around the corner priced at $699,900 and again I knew that agent well. She was holding an “open house” and there were three families there at the same instant, all looking quietly and wondering if they would be in a bidding war over this classic 1970’s colonial? It seemed like it was the house du jour…

Residential real estate is the ground floor barometer for the economy and, mark my words, the economists will be talking about this in five weeks. Again, I am seeing a frantic home buyer surge as they are trying to find a home, and get a contract accepted to get the $6,500 or $8,000 home buyer credit before the deadline… and lock in a low mortgage interest rate (currently below 5%).

Real estate in Vienna, VA is fueled by the location to employment centers like Tysons Corner or Reston  (some people like the W&OD Bike Trail) and Fairfax is fueled by price where many homes have dipped significantly but have great locations or neighborhoods.

This is the time, home buyers of Northern Virginia, to have a buyer agent or ABR working for you!

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Vienna

Helping prepare a 40 year-old home to sell

A significant number of the homes in Northern Virginia were built in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s. Yes, a lot has been built since then, but the building booms in those times constructed significantly smaller homes and much faster.The total number of homes built in the 1970’s alone outpaces the most recent boom time.

Best of all, they were pinker, yellower and bluer too.

We have all seen the color scheme and it typically raises the eyebrows of first time home buyers. In fact, most of the sellers probably intended to remodel those baths too when they bought the house years ago. But these bathrooms were built to last, and they still work so they won’t be getting a HGTV overhaul in our game plan because there won’t be a significant ROI.  So, they stay.

Home buyers will overlook the pinks, blues or yellows if the location is right

But often these homes have oak hardwood floors hiding under wall-to-wall carpet, and there have been a series of good updates (and not so good updates) that buyers will appreciate like central heating or AC systems, roofs and gutters, or window and door replacements. Deep down, most of these homes have good bones and are now in great locations.

So sellers need to start thinking like buyers, and who those buyers of their home might be? Today’s home buyers are unique and been trained by HGTV programs like House Hunters or Property Virgins. Open the Washington Post and see if those shows are on tonight and take a peek… it may be an eye opener listening to the comments of the on-camera home buyers.

The hardest concept for home sellers to grasp: It isn’t your house anymore!

A home seller’s starter checklist:

• Paint walls with a modern color with a “flat enamel” finish… it looks richer and conceals imperfections
• Trim should be ultra white for the best, cleanest contrast
• Paint your ceilings “ceiling white”… it will make those lower ceilings look higher
• Light fixtures will need replacing all over the house… think brighter!
• Some carpets may be in good condition or almost new, so have them professionally cleaned
• Expose those hardwood floors hiding under the living room floor… brighten them with a mop or refinish
• Update old kitchen appliances… the Sunday paper may have a “package” deal
• Set a date with a charity or trash removal company to get rid of some of your old stuff
• Clean everything including your windows… a local maid service may do the trick!
• Remove 50% of the clothes, coats, or supplies in your closets…
• Consider renting a storage unit or contacting a “POD” storage service
• In Northern Virginia, there are professionals to do almost any job… so hire them to do the lifting!

No home is perfect, and your goal as a home seller is to help create a series of “wow moments” when a buyer sees your home online, pulls up at the curb, and then walks in your front door.

Vienna

Your house has an ice dam? Part 2

Today everyone seemed to be having issues with ice dams clogging their gutters causing all sorts of water problems in their homes. Melting water from your roof hits your gutters and refreezes when temperatures are below freezing for an extended period of time.  Most water flows over the ice forming icicles, but it slowly builds up until the water begins to flow back into your home.

Isn’t gravity cool?

If you are planning to climb a ladder to pull out the ice, then bring up some table salt. Kosher salt is also effective in breaking up the ice. Making some room for sunlight to hit the area is also essential because you want that to help get the water moving down the downspout and away from your home.

Like any sort of operation involving a ladder, have a friend close by to help move it (and to call 911 if you fall). Take your time and use a tool like a garden hoe to pull off some extra snow.

Use Table or Kosher Salt in to break up ice

It is important to understand that your down spouts need to be clear so that they can drain any water and allow fresh air to reach the top easily. In a post in December after a snow storm dumped 20″+ on Vienna, Virginia,  I mentioned the same issues when preparing for winter storms and the rapid melting that takes place.

I removed this section of the downspout that was clogged and about 15 feet of perfect ice came down in sections. I used a mallet to break up the sections but was amazed at the extent of the blockage in the downspout.

Most professional roofers, if you can reach them, can’t do too much right now to save your home. But they will tell you to make sure the gutter drains are clear, use table or kosher salt to break up the ice, flush with hot water if possible, be extremely careful climbing any ladders, and understand that an insurance claim may be in order after everything has melted.

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Vienna

Your house has an ice dam?

One of the problems of having too much snow and below freezing temperatures for a week is the gutter ice dam. This happens when the gutter stops draining due to compacted snow or a block of ice. Then, the warm air escaping from your home generates just enough heat to melt the snow pack causing the gutter to fill with water. Hopefully it flows out, and not back in…

You have probably seen how a reservoir gets filled when the dam is closed, well, this is the same type of event except that the water backs up and into your house.

Over the past two days I have had two friends in Vienna, Virginia call me about leaks inside their homes. One was at a bay window below a soffit vent, and the other was from the roof on a three story colonial. That leak flowed all the way downstairs in the family room. And in both cases, little can be done right now because the ice in the down spouts needs to melt and allow the water to drain properly.

Ice dams are uncommon in Northern Virginia and this year (2010) is unique because we are setting a historic record for annual snowfall. At my home in Vienna, VA, we measured 24″ of fresh snow on Saturday afternoon and another 8″ of snow on Wednesday afternoon. Combine that with below freezing temperatures since last weekend(at 3:38 P.M., it is only 20°)  and there really hasn’t been any natural melting.

Homeowner’s insurance was intended to cover ice dams

One of the tell-tail signs of a potential problem is when icicles form from your gutters. The ice is now firmly in place and any melting snow is now flowing right over the gutter. The melting is fine as it flows over the gutter, but when the flow backs up is when it can come through the house.

At this point,  I personally have to trust the fact that my builder and roofer did everything possible six years ago to protect my home from an ice dam.

When your roof gets repaired one day in the future, make sure there is a drip edge and sufficient roof flashing is installed to prevent water penetration. If you have really had it with asphalt roofs, then maybe you should consider a metal roof where snow slides off much more easily. A friend in Vienna had a metal roof installed recently so I will get that name for this post.

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