Posts Tagged ‘Ashburn VA residential investment properties’

How To Downsize With Minimal Impact On Your Life

February 16, 2012

When most people think of downsizing, they think of having to make sacrifices and think about all of the things they are going to have to give up. But this is absolutely the wrong way of going about downsizing. Downsizing can be very beneficial in so many ways. So let’s take a look at why downsizing can be a very powerful way to restore order to your life.

1. Downsizing will help you to organize everything
2. By organizing your things you will save time
3. Organizing is a trickledown effect, you get organized, this will help you save time, which in turn reduces stress, and reducing stress makes you a happier person – it’s all good
4. You will free up much needed space
5. You will be de-cluttering your life which will make you more productive and happier
6. Downsizing will save you money

So how is downsizing a bad thing? Is there anything mentioned above that you would not like to achieve? I didn’t think so! Ok, so now that you realize that downsizing is a very good thing, you probably want to know how to go about doing it. Keep reading . . .

Here are some tips that will make your downsizing quick and easy!

• Don’t tackle everything at once. Go room by room or one area at a time. Perhaps you could start with a closet. Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed and don’t rush yourself (but don’t procrastinate either). You must not move on to the next room until you have completely finished the first area or room

• Evaluate your things and assign a value rank to what is most important to you. Ask yourself: do I need this, do I use this, how much sentimental value does it have, is it in good condition. If you have not thought about some of those items for over a year – then get rid of it – sell it, donate it etc.

• Take your valuables such as your wedding gown, pictures etc and make sure they are properly prepared for storage because the elements can really have an effect on them.

• Remember that if you have adult children that have moved out, as much as you love them, it is not up to you to store their things

• You must stay positive about this whole thing. It is very easy to get wrapped up in memories from the past, like all of the little treasures your children have made for you over the years, but there is no reason to keep everything. Only keep a few important things

• Imagine what your new space is going to look like after the dust settles

• Think about how good you are going to feel once you have everything de-cluttered, clean and organized. You are going to wonder why you have not done this sooner

Some people find it easier to hire a realtor that specializes in downsizing. By finding such a realtor, you will be getting someone who knows how to visualize, plan and has the patience it takes to deal with these types of situations. Your realtor will know you, your wants and your needs and will be able to find you the perfect home for your situation.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

How To Avoid The Temptation To Overprice Your Home

February 15, 2012

Pricing your home is one of the most important decisions you will have to make once you decide to sell your home and one that could cost you big if you get it wrong. We know what you are up against. You want to sell your home for top dollar and you want to sell it fast. Right? So how exactly do you go about finding that sweet spot?

We know how tempting it can be to overprice your home. You want to test the market or ask for a higher amount and then negotiate down, but remember, the market is flooded with competition and if you do any of those things you might just be deterring potential buyers or buyers may perceive you as being a desperate seller and you will continually get low ball offers.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you avoid overpricing your home.

• Research Your Competition. Have your realtor put together some information about similar homes on the market in your area and the ones that have recently sold and what they sold for. If you overprice your home, buyers will not want to hassle with it and move on to the next one. Additionally, home appraisers will use the area comps to determine your homes current value. So even if you do get a higher offer, the appraiser may find your home is overvalued compared to other nearby homes and this can cause major delays in the mortgage process or you could lose the deal altogether

• Where Are Your Buyers Coming From? The vast majority of home buyers begin their home search online. They type in a price range, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms etc. and if you have overpriced your home then your house will not even be seen by potentially thousands of possible qualified buyers

• Visit The Open Houses Of Your Competitors. Before you put your home on the market, it might be very helpful to visit some open houses in your area. See what your buyers will be seeing. How do they compare to your home? How are they priced? Learn what strengths and weaknesses your home has so you can address them in advance. Doing this is the best way to get a reality check on exactly how to price your home

• Get A Home Inspection Now. If you are thinking about putting your house on the market you should consider getting a home inspection in advance. Home buyers always use the home inspection to get you to lower your price. However, if you learn the issues in advance, you and your realtor can decide which ones to take care of prior to listing your home so that they will not be an issue with your home buyer. This could potentially save you thousands of dollars in the long run. In addition, you can set the price of your home contingent on any needed repairs

Talk to your realtor to help you make the best possible decision for pricing your home. Your realtor will be more than happy to do all of the leg work for you and provide you will all of the competing information and stats you will need. When in doubt – go low. An overpriced home will cause more problems for you in the long run and once the damage is done, it may not be easily reversed.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Home Staging And What You Don’t See

February 14, 2012

You have all heard of “home staging” and you probably know how important it is when you are trying to sell your home. However, what you may not have thought of is what home staging can mean when you are trying to buy a home. If you are buying a home, you need to be especially aware of what lies underneath all of that beautiful and distracting decor.

Here are the most common home staging cover up techniques.

1. Small Scale Furniture. Quite frequently, when a stager sees a room that is clearly too small and wants to create the illusion of being larger than it is – they use smaller furniture to decorate. This makes any room look larger than it really is

2. The Camouflage Technique. You know that we all use scent to cover up smells. Well, just like scent a stager will use soft music and window covering to hide what they don’t want you to see. When viewing a home ask to have the music turned off and open all of those beautiful window coverings. What do you hear? Road noise, a barking dog, airplanes or perhaps some really noisy neighbors. Additionally, it is equally important to look out every window. What do you see? Power poles, a trash dump, another home in complete disrepair, a hoarders paradise complete with rats? Needless to say – look and listen – then decide

3. What’s Behind That Door? Just like the camouflage technique, stagers will use decor to distract you from giving the home a thorough inspection. Many people feel uncomfortable about opening the cabinet doors, the pantry door and the linen closet. Don’t be. It is extremely important that you look through everything. What would you do if you moved in and discovered that none of your cabinets had shelves or if that linen closet you needed so desperately was so tiny that it was practically useless

4. Emotional Props. Stagers know that certain items draw out emotion in people. Look for things like a beautiful baby crib, a craft table, yoga mats etc. Things that give you a peaceful picture and get you visualizing yourself living there. These types of rooms may very well be something you need but more often than not they are just things on your wish list so don’t let the power of suggestion sway you

5. Something Looks Out Of Place. Look under that area rug – check the floors, are there any doors missing that should be there-there may be a foundation issue or they are trying to hide a bad floorplan , look behind that extra large picture, is there a curtain on one window but not the others

Here is the short list of home staging cover ups. This will give you a good idea of how it is done. So the moral of the story is to look up, down, in, out and all around. Look at everything and then step back and look at it again from a different perspective minus any emotional thoughts you may have about the house.

Your very best resource in helping to uncover a home staging cover up is your real estate agent. Your realtor sees this kind of thing every day and will probably be able to spot a cover up in a New York minute!

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Great Investment

February 13, 2012

If you invest in a savings account, you’ll make less than 1% and will have to pay income tax on the earnings. On the other hand, contribute something extra to your house payment on a regular basis and you’ll essentially, earn at the mortgage interest rate which is certain to be more than you’re earning in the bank.

Making additional principal contributions on your mortgage will save interest, retire debt and build equity. An extra $100 a month in the example shown will save thousands in interest and short the term of the mortgage as well.

Reducing your cost of housing is another way to improve the investment in your home. Becoming debt-free is a worthy goal that is achieved with discipline and good decisions. Suggestions like this are part of my commitment to help people be better homeowners when they buy, sell and all the years in between.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Do You Really Need To Hire A Real Estate Photographer?

February 11, 2012

Did you know that 80% of all home buyers do their search on the internet before they even contact a realtor? Why do you think that is and what benefit is there to searching online before actually going out to see any houses?

Most people are extremely busy and don’t have time to waste and want to know what to expect before committing to a preview of the home. So give them what they want – pictures – and lots of them!

Many home sellers and realtors alike often ask the question “do I really need a professional real estate photographer”? Well, let me ask you this – if 80% of home buyers are doing their search on the internet before committing, then don’t you think your pictures have to be better than perfect? Why? Because the number one reason your home buyer is searching the internet first is to see the pictures of your home to determine if they want to preview your home or not. They do not want to waste their time on homes that are not what they are looking for.

Taking proper property pictures is more than getting your camera and snapping a few pictures and attempting to put them on the internet. If you can answer yes to all of the following questions then perhaps you are qualified to do your own photography. If not then you definitely need to hire a professional real estate photographer!

• Do you know how to use light to warm a room?

• Do you know how to make the lighting inviting?

• Do you know how to take a picture that captures the entire room?

• Do you know how to edit out the things you don’t want to see in a picture?

• Do you know how to optimize your pictures for print?

• Do you know how to optimize your pictures for the internet?

• Do you know how to optimize your pictures for MLS?

• Do you know how to use a camera that will take a panoramic view of the room?

• Do you know the market well enough to be able to take pictures of the home in the best possible way

People that are searching the internet looking for their new dream home will judge your homes pictures in eight seconds or less. Yep, that’s it. You only have less than eight seconds to capture their attention and if you have less than favorable pictures, your home will not be on their must see list. Your home buyer has just become someone else’s’ home buyer. So if you are not willing to have a professional real estate photographer take pictures of your home then you might as well hang it up now.

Remember, perception is everything and if you have good quality pictures taken, your home buyer will already be in buying mode once they get to see your home in person. They already like your home and have contacted the realtor to schedule a viewing – you have just won half the battle. Now sit back and let the realtor do the rest. The next thing you know you will have a top dollar contract ready and waiting for you to sign!

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Help For Underwater Or Nearly Underwater Homeowners – Have You Heard Of HARP?

February 10, 2012

So exactly what is HARP? Well HARP stands for “Home Affordable Refinance Program”. The HARP program is a federal government program that was designed to help underwater or nearly underwater homeowners to refinance their homes. The refinance enables an underwater homeowner to refinance their mortgage into a fixed loan with a lower monthly payment.

Traditionally, if you owed more than your home was worth, you would not have been able to get traditional refinancing. The HARP program will help you refinance your home even if the value of your home has declined. This program is not for people who simply cannot afford their current home.

Who Is Eligible? You must meet all of the following guidelines in order to qualify.

• Your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae

• Your mortgage must have sold to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae on or before 5-31-09

• Your mortgage cannot have been previously refinance under HARP unless it is a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced sometime during March 2009 and May 2009

• The current loan to value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80% – 125%

• You must be current on your mortgage at the time of refinance

• You must have a good payment history over the last 12 months

• You still have to qualify income and credit wise

HARP 2.0

On October 24, 2011, President Obama announced an overhaul to the HARP program in hopes of helping more underwater homeowners. Remember, though, that you will only be eligible for HARP if your mortgage is held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Ask your mortgage company if they participate in the HARP program.

Here are some of the changes to the original HARP program. This new program is commonly referred to HARP 2.0

• There are no underwater limits

• You will now be able to refinance no matter how far the value of your home has dropped

• You will no longer have to get appraisals and underwriting

• It contains modified fees. Some risk based fees for homeowners who refinance into a shorter term loan will be eliminated or modified

• The deadline for this program has been extended through December 31, 2013

HARP 2.0 is a great option for qualified homeowners that want to take advantage of the lower interest rates that are currently available. Talk to your realtor for more details about HARP 2.0 to see if this type of program is right for you.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Do You Really Need A Real Estate Agent?

February 9, 2012

The short answer is no, but why wouldn’t you want to? There are so many anxieties that come with buying a home, whether you are a first time home buyer or someone that has purchased several homes in your lifetime. It doesn’t matter; the stresses and anxieties will always be there. However, your realtor goes through this process on a daily basis, often times many times each day. So what does this mean for you?

Let’s look at what your Realtor can do to make everything much easier for you from start to finish.

1. Your Realtor can help you determine what price range of homes you can afford

2. Your Realtor can customize your home search for you – how many bedrooms do you want, how many baths, find you the perfect location, help keep you out unsavory areas

3. Your Realtor could potentially save you thousands of dollars just by using their expertise and knowing all of the ins and outs that will save you money – this is priceless

4. Your Realtor will arrange for you to view as many homes as you would like and will then encourage you to look at the home of your choice several times at different times of the day even after your final decision to make sure that you are completely comfortable with your selection

5. Your Realtor will save you time. Most people are very busy and do not have time to spend on walking through countless open houses that may not even fit their criteria or to spend countless hours scouring the internet

6. Your Realtor has access to many lenders and will know who to send you to to help you get your pre-approval and then to get you the best possible deal from an easier to work with lender to one that will go to the ends of the earth to get you approved and one that will get you a great interest rate

7. Your Realtor is a professional real estate agent, which you are probably not, so this alone will give you an advantage because your realtor knows your neighborhood, the schools, the builders, and knows how to negotiate on your behalf

Buying a home is probably the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime so why would you leave this process to chance. This decision is one that will affect you for many years so you want to make sure that you have an expert on your side. Someone that knows you, has a relationship with you, cares about you and one that will help you through the entire process every step of the way.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

Risk Determines Rate

February 8, 2012

Regardless of what a lender quotes on mortgage rates, the actual rate paid by a borrower is based on a number of variables. Lenders determine whether to loan money and at what rate based on the risk involved with the transaction.

Factors that increase the risk that the loan will be repaid will proportionately increase the interest rate charged to the borrower. If the risk becomes too high, the loan will not be approved.

  • Loan amounts – conventional loans for more than the conforming limits set by Fannie Mae are considered jumbo loans and generally have a higher interest rate.
  • FICO score – the lowest interest rate is reserved for the highest credit scores; the lower the score, the higher the rate borrower will pay.
  • Occupancy – borrowers occupying a home as their principal residence are considered a better loan risk than second homes and investment properties.
  • Loan purpose – purchase transactions generally have the lowest interest rate while refinancing a home is generally higher.
  • Debt-to-Income ratio – a borrower’s monthly liabilities divided by their gross monthly income develops a ratio that helps lenders to assess the borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage.
  • Loan-to-Value ratio – the lower the percentage of the loan to the appraised value of the property will generally lower the interest rate.
Any combination of these factors could limit a borrower’s ability to secure a mortgage at the rate initially quoted. Being pre-approved by a trusted mortgage professional is the best way to know what rate you can expect to pay. Please call for a recommendation.

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA DOESN’T WORK?

February 7, 2012

What do you do if you’re active in social media but it’s not helping your small business?

Dear Rich,

I run a commercial cleaning business and I’ve been using social media for almost a year. I have been blogging three times a week, creating videos, and tweeting several times a day. We have a Facebook page that gets updated multiple times a day but has very few fans and only my employees and family members engage with it, and only when I threaten them! Even when we ran a contest with an iPad 2 as a prize we only got a handful of new likers.

We set up a Google+ page for our business, but almost no one has circled us, despite the fact that we’re putting out fresh content daily.

Most importantly, in looking at our traffic reports, almost no traffic comes from our social media activity, and none of our new clients mention social media when we ask how they found us.

What are we doing wrong? I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall.

–Confounded in Cornish

Dear Confounded,

It’s definitely frustrating when you are doing “all the right things” with social media marketing and still not getting any results. For many other small businesses you’d probably be knocking it out of the park.

However, for your audience, which I’m guessing are building owners, controllers, and property management companies, they’re just not using social media, at least not for the purposes of finding and engaging a new commercial cleaner.

As much as “social media” is a game changer, there’s still some important truisms you can’t ignore: you need to go where your audience is.

Now, not being a building owner or property management guy, I’m just guessing, but I’m probably only looking for your service when I take on a new building or I’m dissatisfied with my current vendor. When I do that I might turn to my social networks to ask for recommendations, but I certainly don’t need to engage with vendors on the chance I might need such a service down the road.

I would probably be more likely to wait until I had a need and then do a search at Google (if I didn’t ask a friend.) So, I would recommend cutting way back on your social media marketing, and focusing on your search engine optimization, especially how you rank in local search.

One platform I noticed you didn’t mention was LinkedIn. I would think that LinkedIn would be one of your best platforms to use, because of it’s focus on B2B. You could join local groups and network with other people in the group. This would increase your visibility and should increase your referrals.

Hope this helps! Rich Brooks Maine SEO

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!

YOU GOT SYMPTOMS? THEY GOT ANSWERS!

February 6, 2012

The folks at the Mayo Clinic are internationally respected for their patient care and now they are bringing this expertise to the web. Among the valuable resources they provide is a robust symptom checker which allows you to get a heads up on any pain, upset or abnormal feeling you are experiencing. 

What’s causing your wrist pain? Why does your throat hurt? And what should you do about it? This guide will help you discover the most common causes of most common symptoms. Just click on a symptom, foot pain, for example. Then expand your inquiry based on specific factors. Shazam – the symptom checker lists the possible conditions that could be causing the symptoms and discuses suggested remedies.

Nice folks at the Mayo – respected too!

Click Here for This Cyber Trick

LET’S TALK REAL ESTATE :    REAL ESTATE CYBERTIPS

Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Real Estate Sales and Solutions – Helena Talbot, Broker. 

I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties.  Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont

 CHECK THIS LINK!