Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
How Much Is Enough?
August 7th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
In an e-mail I received last week, another agent reminded me of the public’s perception of the real estate profession; not good.
Earlier this week, a local Broker relayed the story of her most recent marketing appointment. It took place in a home situated in a local neighborhood, The Glens, in Stafford, VA.
Its developer, Augustine Homes, has a reputation for outstanding craftmanship and a quality product. Homes in their subdivisions aren’t cheap. Their neighborhoods and accomodations are anything but sparse. As a matter of fact, they’re some of the most expensive homes in the area. And, their subdivisions are the kind you and I wouldn’t mind living in. Homes in the Glens hover around $1,000,000 +.
But, back to the Broker’s story. Evidently, the marketing appointment wasn’t simply to discuss the remarketing of the home, but also the failures of the agent who previously listed the property. According to the Broker, the previous agent hadn’t bothered to make brochures or any other hard copy take away items for prospective buyers. No video of the home either. Other than the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exposure, no other internet listing presence. But, the agent did put a sign in the yard.
And we wonder why the public’s image of real estate professionals is so low? But, before we begin to smear agents with a broad brush, this poor display of real estate practice isn’t the norm, but the exception.
Here, we have a million dollar listing, and next to no marketing. One has to wonder why. If it wasn’t the desire of the homeowner, and according to the broker, it wasn’t, then why would an agent not do a better job of show casing the property? Did not they not realize the contractural agreement they entered into with the homeowner bound them ethically to use their best efforts to accomplish their client’s objective…in other words, to market and sell the home?
While there is no perfect method of marketing a home, there are some basic practices that serve as a foundation for providing a homeowner the services necessary to sell their home. “Best effort” encompasses not only the scope of the effort, but, just as importantly, the quality.
When it comes to listing or marketing a property, what methods do the job effectively? How much marketing is enough? That will be the subject of an article later this month.
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Campus Life Comes to Stafford
August 4th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
We recently witnessed a first in North Stafford; a ribbon cutting ceremony inaugurating Germanna Community College’s (GCC) fourth location. With Governor Tim Kaine doing the honors, the GCC Stafford Center in Aquia Park was unveiled. Occupying almost 5,000 square feet of building space, the “campus” is one of the featured attractions of the ongoing Aquia Park development.
The initial semester begins just over a month from now, on August 20th. To begin with, classes in algebra, accounting, management, and Spanish will be offered. In addition, they’ll be courses in art history sociology and religion. Plans are to accomodate more than 1,000 students in the first semester.
While the new campus is simply the beginning of a larger plan to establish a free-standing GCC campus in North Stafford, expansion will have to wait until land is donated or secured for the larger facility. For Stafford area residents and homeowners, the new campus is a welcome site. Not only does it help with the region’s economic development, but, for those ready to step into community college life, it provides the option of little or no commute to and from school.
Attendees can enjoy the luxury of the new location, and realize they’re in “on the ground floor”. They’ll be able to take advantage of the small classroom sizes and helpful teacher/student ratios while they last. Because, after all, this is Northern Virginia, and new people and places don’t stay hidden for too long.
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When It Pays To Get the Thumbs Up
July 31st, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Repairs
Have you ever seen that old Maxwell House commerical? It’s early morning, and there’s a couple sitting on their back deck, enjoying each other’s company while enjoying a cup of coffee. Haven’t we all enjoyed similar moments? A cool morning or evening on the deck, with our favorite beverage, enjoying the relative peace and quiet, and beauty that surrounds us.
The deck is one feature many home buyers are looking for when shopping for a home. One of the attractions of the Stafford and Fredericksburg area, and Virginia as a whole, is the temperate climate. Outside of a couple of Winter months, our climate is quite comfortable. So, spending time outside, on the deck, just makes sense, whether its lighting up the barbeque or simply another occasion, relaxing with friends. For many home buyers, if the home they purchase doesn’t have a deck, they’ll build one before too long. But, sometimes, in making plans for the deck addition, homeowners forget the most important consideration of all – obtaining the required permit from the county.
Whether adding an room or a deck to a home, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties require a buidling permit. Each of the counties provide clear guidance as to what their permit requirements are on their county’s website.
With the advent of these online resources, homeowners know exactly what they need in order to have their decks built properly. But, as the above “Deck Details Policy” indicates, before beginning with the deck work, ensure the contractor you’ve hired is properly licensed. The Virginia Board for Contractors web site is a good place to begin your search for a licensed contractor. In order to obtain a permit, the contract MUST be properly licensed.
Whether adding a deck or another room onto your home, you’ll need a permit, and the contractor needs to follow the appropriate building code requirements. Licensed contractors are well aware of these requirements. Without these, you’ll not only find it impossible to get these parts of the home insured, but you’ll also face difficulties when it comes time to sell.
Homeowners sometimes fail to report home improvements to the county’s assessor to avoid increases in their home’s assessed value, and, what they are taxed. But, they’ll have to face the music when they decide to sell. As part of the property diclosure process, this improvement, and the lack of permit, which are material facts, will need to be disclosed. A good buyer’s agent will do their best to require the seller to produce the permit before they’ll agree to sign for the house.
So, while you may look forward to those morning or evenings, enjoying a little “down time” on the deck, do yourself a favor, and make sure that deck is permitted first.
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New and Easy Area Home Search
July 28th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
If you’re looking for Stafford and Fredericksburg area homes, this simple resource is just that, simple, easy, and gives you homes, and nothing else. So, take advantage of: http://www.searchingsolutions.com/fredericksburghomebuyer.com
Take a look and keep coming back. If you need more information than provided, don’t hesitate to call me.
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Do Fredericksburg Homeowners Have a LUST Problem?
July 23rd, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
”Approximately two-thirds of lawsuits brought against real estate brokers are filed by dissatisfied purchasers, involving allegations of misrepresentation, negligence or fraud.”
Realtor Institute of Virginia
Have you ever heard the term, “buyer’s remorse“? Most of us have experienced it, more than once. You pay a price, normally, a substantial price, for an item that’s the apple of your eye, only to find out later, it wasn’t as “cool”, or neat, or necessary as you previously thought. There are some things avoidable in life, but temptation doesn’t appear to be one of them. Often we purchase things we don’t need, only to have regrets later.
Buying a home in Fredericksburg, Stafford, or anywhere for that matter, and doing it in a way that allows you to walk away with no regrets, normally requires careful planning and research. Home buyers may know what they want in a home, but, once a potential property is identified as a candidate for purchase, how much research is necessary in order to adequately inform oneself of what the specific home has to offer?
Yes, it’s fairly easy to identify obvious defects. As a matter of fact, Virginia’s Residential Property Disclosure Act and Virginia Code require the seller of residential property to provide the buyer with a Disclosure Statement. Practically, this looks more like our old Disclaimer Form. The statement’s verbiage begins by saying:
The Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act (§ 55-517 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) requires the owner of certain residential real property, whenever the property is to be sold or leased with an option to buy, to furnish to the purchaser a RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT stating the owner makes the following representations as to the real property. Certain transfers of residential property are excluded from this requirement (see § 55-518).
Property Address/
Legal Description: ________________________________________________________________
The undersigned owner(s) of the real property described above makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property or any improvements thereon, and the purchaser(s) is advised to exercise whatever due diligence the purchaser(s) deems necessary including obtaining a certified home inspection, as defined in § 54.1-500, in accordance with the terms and conditions as may be contained in the real estate purchase contract, but in any event, prior to settlement on the parcel of residential real property.
Virginia is a “buyer beware” state. The popular Latin form of this is Caveat Emptor, which literally means, “Let the buyer beware.” In other words, when buying a home, it is up to the buyer to determine if there are problems. Does that mean the seller doesn’t have to inform the buyer of known problems with the house? No, it doesn’t mean that at all.
Sellers have a requirement to disclose all known material defects of the property. What, you might ask, is a “material” defect. Any condition that materially affects the value or use of the property adversely. But, what if the defect is not known, or unknown? That’s what home or property inspections are designed to discover. Those unknown problems or faults are sometimes called “latent” defects.
Charges of misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts of a property by a Realtor, are serious charges. It is a clear violation of Article 2 of the Realtor Code of Ethics. According to the Code:
Article 2
REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction. REALTORS® shall not, however, be obligated to discover latent defects in the property, to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license, or to disclose facts which are confidential under the scope of agency or non-agency relationships as defined by state law. (Amended 1/00)
Standard of Practice 2-1
REALTORS® shall only be obligated to discover and disclose adverse factors reasonably apparent to someone with expertise in those areas required by their real estate licensing authority.
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, one common property defect that ’s resulted in claims of misrepresentation, are underground storage tanks (UST). Specifically, the problem of leaking underground storage tanks, better know as LUST. As you might imagine, these leaking storage tanks are an environmental hazard. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), underground storage tanks are buried and contain, or previously contained, liquids or other materials which may be hazardous if discharged freely into the ground. Because these tanks, or the piping associated with these tanks, often deteriorates and leaks, they’re potentially, extremely hazardous. The EPA claims there are close to 2 million underground storage tanks currently in use and a significant number of abandoned ones. According to them, only a small percentage of these are protected against corrosion. The EPA estimates there are over 100,000 leaking tanks, and the number is rising quickly.
Underground storage tanks can present serious problems, and be a source of liability for the owner since LUST pose severe contamination problems for soil and water supplies. Soil and water contamination are just two of the problems resulting from leakage. Fortunately, there are steps homeowners, and buyers and their agents can take to identify properties containing these items. Of course, hiring consultants with expertise in this area is step #1. And, in many states, the Department of Environmental Quality(DEQ) receives federal funding for clean up of USTs. So, while the property seller may “own” the problem, they’ll frequently receive federal funding to clean it up. We’ll delve a little deeper into those details in our next article.
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A Wallpaper Redux?
July 20th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News, Relocating
Last week I ran across two articles that claimed Wallpaper is making a comeback. While I’ve certainly heard stranger things, I had to wonder what sources these writers used in making this claim.
In the real estate business, at least from a Realtor’s perspective, marketing homes whose walls are plastered with wallpaper, can sometimes be challenging at best. While, from time to time, wallpaper, tastefully done, may provide a unique look to a property, more frequently, its can be an eyesore and a hurdle to overcome to successfully market a home.
The Associated Press began last week’s story by saying that this spring, Oprah declared wallpaper was back in vogue. According to their report, if a homeowner is “looking for drama, texture warmth and personality, wallpaper is the way to go.” Well, yes, most of us might agree, if you want to be unique or loud, or dramatic, wallpaper fits the bill. According to Anne Goldsmith, a New York decorator, wallpaper makes “a bold statement” and “can just be really fun.”
I’m reminded of last week’s British Open. John Daly, a previous Open winner, and sometimes better known for his off-course exploits, was making his bold statement, attired each day in a pair of Loudmouth Pants. According to CEO Scott Woodworth, “If you’re uptight, self-conscious, and care more about your golf score than the experience, then Loudmouth golf pants are NOT for you. But if you treat a golf outing as a special occasion for fun and laughs…then wear some outrageous Loudmouth pants – they can’t hurt your score. They might irritate your opponent.”
If you’re considering selling your home, especially if you own in the Stafford or Fredericksburg, Virginia region, or for that matter, anywhere outside New York or California, pause before you decide to design your home with reams of wall paper. Take a minute to ask yourself, “Am I doing this for fun and laughs?”
Despite what you read in the newspaper, or hear on the Oprah show, the vast majority of home buyers are NOT looking for a “statement home” or someone else’s “experience” to call their own. Instead, they’re searching for peace and quiet and comfort. For that special occasion for fun and laughs, there’s always the local comedy club or King’s Dominion, just fifteen minutes South of Fredericksburg.
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