And if there is something that needs adding, then please speak up by adding a comment and I will probably add a little more. A number of my clients met me here, so read through and then meet me.

1.So what is “Northern Virginia”? Northern Virginia includes Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties. The City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, Manassas City, Manassas Park, Town of Clifton, Town of Vienna and Town of Herndon are included.  Some significant areas are Ballston, McLean, Reston, Tysons Corner, Occoquan and yes, The Pentagon.

2.Traffic is a common topic of discussion. “Rush hours” consume about eight hours of every day, which is to be expected in an area with two million people. Some highways have HOV restrictions meaning you need 2+ people in the car. There is a toll road from the Beltway (495) out to Leesburg (Route 267) and a pay-per-mile highway under construction within 495.Read more at Virginia Megaprojects (no joke). But know that there are many options including the George Washington Parkway along the Potomac River.

3.Education is a high priority. The Public School systems in Northern Virginia are recognized nationally for achievement and graduation rate. There are many private schools with excellent reputations too. There are four-year Universities like George Mason and Marymount, the Northern Virginia center for UVA and Virginia Tech in Falls Church, and programs at Northern Virginia Community College. It is also easy to reach other institutions in DC like Georgetown University or in Maryland, the University of Maryland. Overall, the area has a high percentage of residents with college and advanced degrees.

4. We demand a lot from our sport teams. The Washington Redskins play in Maryland, but their football training facility is in Ashburn, VA. The Washington Capitals play in D.C. at the Verizon Center (aka the Phone Booth) but practice at their hockey facility in Ballston. The Washington Wizards are our NBA team, and our MLS soccer team is D.C. United which plays at RFK Stadium in D.C. The newest team is the Washington Nationals MLB baseball team which plays in D.C.

5. Politics. It’s an easy photo-op for the White House, so expected to bump into a motorcade (or Congressman).

6. Northern Virginia’s population is very diverse. Since D.C. is an international destination, many immigrants have selected to move here thanks to a robust job market, excellent universities, the World Bank and easy access to flights “back home”. Virtually every nationality is represented.  Other benefits of this immigration are the multitude of authentic restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and cultural events.

7.There is plenty of  U. S. history to see. You can start along the Potomac River at Mt. Vernon in Alexandria to the Manassas National Battlefields. Did I mention that Northern Virginia is across the Potomac River from Washington, DC? There is also a Smithsonian Air and Space Museum next to Dulles Airport.

8.We have two major airports. Dulles International Airport offers direct flights around the world by virtually every international airline, and is a major United Airlines domestic hub. Reagan National Airport offers domestic flights and is the most accessible to D.C.

9.Public transportation systems continue to expand. The Metrorail System sends the Orange Line through Arlington out to Vienna, and the Yellow and Blue Lines to Reagan National Airport then to Alexandria and Springfield. Metro Bus, DASH, ART, Fairfax Connector and CUE Bus run through the counties. The “Silver Line” to Reston through Tysons Corner is under construction in 2012 with a late 2013 finish date. Virginia Rail Express (VRE) is an option from Fredericksburg or Manassas. Amtrak makes a stops in Alexandria and the AutoTrain in Lorton. (Union Station in DC is where the Northeast Corridor service begins).

10. We love being outdoors. The climate is excellent for people who like to garden or landscape, and for bike riders, runners and hikers. The W&OD bike trail runs for 45 miles from Arlington to Leesburg along an old rail line turned path which is heavily used by runners, bikers and walkers. Great Falls National Park in Virginia and C&O Canal National Park offer hiking along the Potomac River. There are also sports teams for any sport and age group imaginable. Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna is a perfect outdoor venue to see theater, concerts or the symphony.

11. Northern Virginia is famous for shopping. It may not seem exciting to everyone, but we have plenty of grocery stores including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Wegman’s, but there are plenty of weekend farmers’ markets, and roadside markets like Cox Farms. Tyson’s Corner is a regional super-shopping district with everything from L.L. Bean, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. There is simply too much to mention. There are excellent restaurants and hotels.

12. We experience all four seasons of the year. Winter usually features a cold snap when temperatures can be in the teens. There may be a foot of snow, total, for the season. There are many days when ice covers the roads (a traffic nightmare), and there may be a 20+” snowstorm every few years (2010 was an exception with three). Spring starts in March (cherry blossoms) and runs through June (70°’s and 80°’s). Summer begins July 1 and it can be hot (90°+) and very humid through mid-September. Fall begins in October with brilliant displays from our tall Oak and Maple trees.

13. Northern Virginia isn’t just Federal Government workers. Yes, there are plenty of Feds, but the economy is much more diversified than once was as many corporations have based themselves here thanks to a Virginia’s favorable business climate. hospitals, accounting firms, telecommunications, technology, Internet, hospitality, automotive, association industry, retail, real estate, defense and government contractors and many more.

Did I miss anything?

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It was finally obvious to me since I was assuming (like most people) that those folks with the ads in those glossy magazines must be the experienced ones since they were advertising those nice properties.

But, since this wasn’t my first time in Lewes, I knew that Nick or Jack had tried to sell the place (we rented) for three years and that Skip had not yet sold the other house we had rented last year. In fact, there were signs in front of a number of homes that had been there for a couple of years. Jeepers, was I the only one noticing that this market was totally different than mine?

This got me thinking about my area where I live and the perception home buyers coming to work with me  looking at real estate in Vienna, VA must come with. From the looks of it based on MRIS statistics, there really isn’t any one agent who stands-out commanding 5% of the market here but there are some agents who work with local builders who get there signs up longer than 90 days because, on average, the typical real estate sign is up far less time than 90 days in 2010. (That’s because our homes sell.)

So I arrived in Lewes applying the same Northern Virginia perspective, but, after a few days of R&R, the true picture of their local real estate market surfaced. What I am driving at is that I learned something about how I need to educate my buyer clients who are relocating from California, Florida or New York so they have a clear perspective of my our real estate market. And a key part for me is understanding what they see back home… for me to understand their perspective!

Real Estate in Northern Virginia is in high demand because there are well paying jobs here with businesses that are expanding or moving here from other parts of the country. Yes, Washington DC is 12 minutes away, Dulles International Airport is a major international airport, and Virginia is a pro-business state. Plus there are exceptional hospitals, a big tourist industry and more. These are key factors that power our local Northern Virginia real estate market.

So, to understand any real estate market, it is essential the home buyers get a clear perspective of what impacts local real estate values. Let’s since down and talk about your plans, goals and perceptions of Northern Virginia real estate.

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, or Vienna Real Estate Listings 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 tip 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 or Vienna Real Estate Listings 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.

Image via Wikipedia

Fairfax County, Virginia has announced the new property tax rate for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Real Estate:

It shall be $1.09 per every $100 of assessed value.

In Fairfax County, VA, home owners pay their real estate taxes twice a year,  July 28th and on December 5th.

If you have questions about your assessment, how to pay your bill, or wonder how the county determines value then check the Fairfax County Tax Web Site.

March came roaring in like a lion in the real estate market as buyers literally surged in once the snow melted and the sun started to shine making our world green again, so next month’s numbers will be impressive.

The driving part of the surge was buyers at the lower end buying homes that allowed people to move up to larger homes in these zip codes. The $8,000 first time buyer credit pushed the move-up buyer who could get a credit up to $6,500 when they entered into a contract by April 30th and settle by the end of June.

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

Keep in mind, mortgage rates were still super low (around 5%).

Home sales numbers for 22182 in March 2010:

Spring did arrive early in March this year!.

Home sale numbers for the Town of Vienna, 22180, March 2010

As the closing date approached on one of my recent listings in Fairfax, VA, my clients who had moved due to a job-loss informed me that they had not made mortgage payments for the past few months. Now, when I am filling in my listing paperwork there is a section where I have to ask, “Are you current on your payments?”

The truthful answer last November was, “yes”.

But moving and renting a new place out of the area takes money, and it is easy to picture the financial strain on any family’s budget.

So, there we were approaching an early March settlement and the truth finally surfaced requiring me to recalculate the Seller’s net proceeds. Proceeds? Well, like many folks, this client was upside-down which means they owed more than the property was worth and they knew that they would have to bring cash to the table to sell the home.

But now it was “x” + 5 months of mortgage payments!

Home Sellers bring money to the table to close the sale

Are you thinking that they should have done a short sale? If you have read my posts on the subject you may know why I’m not a fan of pushing sellers into that mine-field of possible deficiency judgments. I do have to warn you of these things! Here is another opinion.

The new numbers were still do-able thanks to some help from their family, and we were headed to settlement as planned until… the buyer’s agent called to say there was a glitch in the sale of his client’s place. Yes, we understood it was contingent on that sale but things had looked firm until the 11th hour.

And, at that 11th hour we got the notice withdrawing from the contract. We were back at square-one now with a looming foreclosure situation.

But then, within a week, the same agent called back to say, “their financing has been approved and we are closing today, is your place still available because my client wants to buy it?”

Obviously the answer was yes! Are you still following this roller coaster?

The Homer Seller’s emotional roller coaster…

Since the old financing had expired and the buyer had to “re-lock” his rate, the new RESPA rules require a “cooling-off period” of seven days before a loan can be closed.

So there we were, on hold with everything teetering in the balance… and then the F-bomb dropped.

Phone rings: “This is Doug,” I said in my upbeat, breezy, yet professional way.

Client: “Hey, I just got a letter from my mortgage company’s law firm saying they are going to FORECLOSE if I don’t get my account up to date, paying $17k-something before April 1, 2010.”

Doug: “Wow, that’s right when you are gonna close. You are really going to need a Virginia real estate attorney to check this out, so why don’t you give John a call at …”

To make a long story short, the attorney advised him to pay the amount to catch up and then sell the place as planned at the end of March. My client took this advice and Fed-Ex’ed a certified check to the mortgage company’s law firm in Maryland.

“Received” they told him the next day and that they would notify his big city mortgage company he was “reinstated” and in good graces.

But, that law firm never sent the check to the big city mortgage company, and my client’s account continued to be flagged “FORECLOSURE”.

So, there we were on March 31st and all set to close, buyer was ready, seller was ready, but the existing mortgage company said “no” because the account was still flagged as a “FORECLOSURE”.

Folks, this is one example how everything can fall apart at the last minute. When you read about the government relaxing rules to make the process easier whether it be a short sale or a foreclosure, please keep in mind that these are unique, often complex situations where human error can cause the whole situation to go beyond the point of return.

If you are interested, I will write another post telling the story of how this situation ended. Anyone?

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When people sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage it is called a “short sale”.  And these can give short-sale-sellers the impression that the agreement to repay the amount borrowed has been satisfied, and that it is time to move-on like in a traditional sale.

You pay, you stay… if you don’t, you won’t

Some of my buyer clients have bought these “short sale homes” at below-market prices which was very good for them. Buyers kind of walk away with a really good deal… if they are patient and can wait months for a written response from the bank, which has to agree to the short sale.

I have heard “real estate experts” on WTOP radio or the “TODAY Show” giving pretty flip advice about trying for a short sale if you are upside-down  (industry jargon meaning: the mortgage is greater than market value). Okay, time for my observation that should be discussed with an attorney because it is a good possibility that the bank will come after the short-seller long after the sale closes.

You’re still on the hook!

You see, when the bank sends over the short sale approval letter to be signed by the buyers and the sellers, it spells out that the bank agrees to take “x amount” for the mortgage. And if there is a home equity or second mortgage, accept “x amount” for that too.  My buyer clients have been eager to sign-on because the letter always includes an expiration date for this “short-sale deal”.

But, short-sale-sellers need to read it carefully because it will also include a sentence that says that the seller is still responsible for the debt, like, for example, the bank will accept $1,000 instead of the $35,000 owed to get the house sold. I have seen home sellers sign whatever was put in front of them thinking that their problems have finally come to an end. Or have they?

The home seller’s risk is a deficiency judgment

I always thought this was odd, and my suspicions were confirmed recently when I read an article by real estate attorney Harvey S. Jacobs in The Washington Post, and it’s an article worth reading. He pointed out that banks can use “deficiency judgments” to aggressively get their money back… and these baby’s are good for 12 years! Take a look at this article

I have an excellent real estate lawyer in Northern Virginia to recommend to people considering a short sale because you need some legal advice before you decide to sell your home as a “short sale”.

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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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The Town of Vienna, Virginia is where I have lived for the past 14 years  (time flies). One of this blog’s categories is Living Here and when I stumble across something interesting that may be off the typical radar I will write a blog post. If you want, subscribe above and you will get new posts as they happen. To get subscribe, click here now.

The Town of Vienna has it’s own elected Mayor and Town Council. There is a Public Works Department, Police Department, Volunteer Fire Department maned by professional Fairfax County Firefighters, a town hall, town green, annual Halloween Parade, 4th of July fireworks show and much more. Although it is within Fairfax County, residents of the Town pay an additional property tax currently set (2011) at $0.2448 per $100 of assessment on top of the Fairfax County property tax.

The Town of Vienna covers 4.4 square miles, and has a population of approximately 15,000.

Memorial Day Weekend: Viva Vienna on Church Street

Early December: Holiday Stroll on Church Street

Late April: Walk on the Hill, Windover Heights Historic area

Vienna Farmers Market takes is held Saturday mornings across from the Freeman House on Church Street

Oktoberfest: Late October on Church Street

The Vienna Town Green: Summer Concert Series Friday and Sunday nights

W&OD Bike Trail

Northside Park

Vienna real state ranges from in-town condos, town homes, single family homes, and luxury homes. So there is a wide range for you to look at.

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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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