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 […]
I was recently reading Michael Lewis’ book, “The Undoing Project” which is about two Israeli psychologists who developed several innovative decision making theories. Some suggested that perhaps we are not as rational as we think we are. In chapter 9 there is a long discussion on the theory of regret. They discovered that people did […]
You are not going to like me. I am about to ruin your day. Here is a link to the classic theme song for that famous 70’s sitcom that inspired the title to this post. (“…Movin on up to the East Side, A Deluxe Apartment in the Sky…” Now it will be stuck in your head […]
In 2013, I took a virtual tour out Rt 66 and showed what $500,000 will get you in Arlington, Gainesville and points in between. So 3 years later, what has changed? The original 2013 info is in black and the 2016 info in red. —————————————————————– Buckle up and let’s take a ride west on Rt […]
I have been helping buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia for over 25 years. During that time, I have seen many crazy twists and turns in real estate transactions. Still, I have not seen everything. There is always some new angle that I have not encountered but most “surprises” I see coming and make sure […]
Buckle up and let’s take a ride west on Rt 66 starting in Arlington and ending up in Gainesville with stops in Vienna, Fairfax and Centreville along the way. A $500,000 purchase surely is different in each market. This little exercise demonstrates the dilemma most buyers have regardless of price point. Is it better to […]
(Say that quickly!) I usually just post the monthly numbers in the Market Stats section of the website and do not comment on the numbers but there was one number in the September results that showed a small turn in the market. Most people tout the change in average price as an indicator in […]
Rising interest rates have slowed the market just a bit but there is still a shortage of homes for sale (June 2013 inventory in Northern Virginia was 15% less than a year ago). With an abundance of buyers still in the market, multiple offers are commonplace. So how does a buyer compete? Yes, the […]
It’s a jungle out there as anyone looking for a home will tell you. With limited inventory and scores of buyers, multiple contract scenarios are common place. Escalation clauses, appraisal waivers and more more are being included in contracts. How does one increase the odds of a successful bid? Well, the simple answer is […]
