Losing a loved one is difficult on many fronts – emotionally, physically and legally. People grieve differently. However long it takes, after the tears are mostly gone, there is the business part of things. A frequent question is whether or not there will be any capital gains on the sale. In most situations, the answer […]
Recently I responded to the above question on a local neighborhood website. Why a person was asking a bunch of neighbors a legal question, I have no idea. Far be it from me to get into the legal weeds regarding general reasons one should or should not set up a trust. However, having helped dozens […]
Recently I was speaking with a women who had inherited a Reston condo from her mother. The condo was in a high rise very close to the soon to open Silver Line Metro stop at the Reston Town Center. She was trying to decide whether she should sell the home now or rent it and […]
In this hot market, if you are trying to buy, getting a home under contract takes hard work, great strategy and, often, a bit of luck. Inventory remains low and demand far exceeds supply. Yet, I sense that more contracts then ever are falling apart before they get to settlement. How can that be? Well, […]
Of course the right answer is to price right. But most of the time “right” involves a range. Should a seller price at the upper end or the lower end of that range? As with most questions, the answer is it depends. This where an experienced Realtor adds value. Let me explain. PRICING BASICS When […]
When I went to college many, many years ago, I had saved money from my paper route, cutting lawns and lots of other jobs including selling hot dogs and soda at Phillies games. All of that was enough to cover my first year of tuition at a private college in Philadelphia. Recently I finished paying […]
The Spring market in Northern Virginia is hot. It is not uncommon for new listings to receive multiple offers. In fact, I had 3 homes sell this month with multiple offers that were above asking. Why is this happening? Well, interest rates are still very attractive and buyers are out in force but sellers are […]
In my 27 years in the business, I have only had one case where we almost got a title insurance company involved prior to settlement and none after settlement until a few months back and that buyer was me. I wrote about title insurance before (Should a Buyer Have Title Insurance). In that article I […]
Many people want to invest in real estate but find that they can’t do so in their home market. Either the cash flows are not there or the property is too expensive. Here in Northern Virginia, the average price point is in the in the mid 500s and selections below $200,000 are very limited. With […]
It is very hard to determine the real culprits of the housing crisis of 2008-2010. Sure conventional lenders were making loans they should not have made. They were not thoroughly reviewing the financial strength of applicants and too often putting buyers in adjustable loans that adjusted good people right out of their homes. Add in […]
