Afton Mormann's (afton) Blog

I have found that my most knowledgable buyers ask about property tax rates.  Since Northern VA consists of so many cities, towns and counties, here is a list of the new tax rates for 2010: City of Alexandria - $0.903 Arlington County - $0.865 +$0.01 (Sanitary District Fee) Town of Clifton - $1.04...

I've often heard that certain colors subconsciously effect our moods.  For instance red and yellow can make one feel hungry (hence McDonald's color scheme) and blue has a calming effect.  But which colors are best for painting rooms? There are 3 basic classifications of colors: active, passive an...

I was recently reading "Commonwealth," a publication from the Virginia Association of Realtors, and came across a fantastic article I wanted to share with Realtors far and wide.  The websites below are free to use applications which any realtor will find helpful.  All applications are web-based w...

The latest and greatest trend in going green is green mortgages.  New "green" construction is now leading to more affordable loans.  Ask your lender for further details, but one form is discounted closing costs.  Bank of America has a program called the "energy credit mortgage program" and refund...

It is imperative to know the absorption rate in your local market to help you, the Realtor, price homes for your client.  Clients may want to know, for example, that if 200 houses were listed last month and 100 sold, then the absorption rate is 50% for that month.  It is best, however, to calcula...

Single women all over are flexing their muscles by purchasing homes.  Is the purchase of a home the equivalent of right hand rings or are ladies getting tired of waiting for Mr. Right?Over the past eight years, the percentage of single female buyers has increased by 50%.  In fact, one in every fi...

For those who were not able to attend our First Time Home Buyers Seminar on Dec. 8, I found this great link from HUD's website:http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/buying/buyhm.cfmIf you are interested in attending future First Time Home Buyers Seminars, send me an email! Happy House Hunting!

As real estate agents, we all need access to fax machines.  It seems that most offices have a fax machine available for agents' use, however, that can be inconvenient at times, especially considering the hours we work.  I started thinking, I need my own fax machine, however, I don't want to pay f...

A realtor in our office often says: "The news sells fear, I sell real estate."  I took her saying to heart after reading this article on CNN Money.  The numbers show that overall housing prices are only down about 2% from last year, while at the same time condo prices have increased by 2%.  For t...

Don't miss out on this awesome opportunity.  Best of all, it's free, and there is absolutely no committement to buy! When: Saturday, December 8 - 10am-11amWhere: 2101 Wilson Blvd, 11th Floor; Arlington VA 22201What: Seminar conducted by Gleyde Schatz of Access National Mortgage and Jennifer Klaus...