When homeowner repairs are uninformed and go awry.Homeowners often go ahead with "repairs" that are improper or simply uninformed.Concrete driveways can spall.  Spalling means that the exterior layer, the final layer sometimes called the cream, cracks, flakes, or chips off.That thin, top surface can be damaged by deicing salt, or may be too rich with sand, and with time it begins to crack and come loose. When that happens the rocky concrete below is revealed.  It isn't pretty, but not much of the structure of the material has been compromised.To solve the problem this homeowner decided to "repair" it himself.   He thought asphalt was the way to go.Not calling a knowledgeable contractor to put a layer of asphalt over the top, he instead went cheap and bought the thin tar used to seal cra... 01/24/2018

Homes for Sale in Braemar | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Braemar neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Braemar, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in BraemarIn the past 6 months, 88 properties have sold in Braemar ranging from a 2-bed, 2.5-bath Townhomes for $276,000 to a 5-bed, 4.5-bath Detached for $585,000.Braemar Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0.6 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the current invent... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in Foxborough | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Foxborough neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Foxborough, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in FoxboroughIn the past 6 months, 8 properties have sold in Foxborough ranging from a 3-bed, 2.5-bath Townhomes for $304,000 to a 3-bed, 2-bath, and 2-half bath Townhomes for $340,000.Foxborough Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0 months, which indicates there are currently no homes on ... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in Kingsbrooke | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Kingsbrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Kingsbrooke, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in KingsbrookeIn the past 6 months, 29 properties have sold in Kingsbrooke ranging from a 3-bed, 2.5-bath Townhomes for $265,000 to a 5-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $558,000.Kingsbrooke Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0.8 months, which indicates the total number of months it would tak... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in New Bristow Village | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the New Bristow Village neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in New Bristow Village, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in New Bristow VillageIn the past 6 months, 22 properties have sold in New Bristow Village ranging from a 3-bed, 2-bath, and 2-half bath Townhomes for $335,000 to a 4-bed, 4.5-bath Detached for $575,000.New Bristow Village Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0 mo... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in Pembrooke | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Pembrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Pembrooke, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in PembrookeIn the past 6 months, 45 properties have sold in Pembrooke ranging from a 3-bed, 3.5-bath Townhomes for $340,000 to a 6-bed, 5.5-bath Detached for $629,900.Pembrooke Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0.2 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the cu... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in Sheffield Manor | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Sheffield Manor neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Sheffield Manor, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in Sheffield ManorIn the past 6 months, 18 properties have sold in Sheffield Manor ranging from a 4-bed, 2-bath, and 2-half bath Townhomes for $245,000 to a 5-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $514,500.Sheffield Manor Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0.3 months, which indicates ... 01/22/2018

Homes for Sale in Villages At Saybrooke | Bristow, VA - January 2018 Home ValuesThis is a snapshot of recent sales in the Villages At Saybrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Please click here for the January 2018 full market report of homes for sale in Villages At Saybrooke, Bristow VA.Highest and Lowest Sold Homes in Villages At SaybrookeIn the past 6 months, 2 properties have sold in Villages At Saybrooke ranging from a 4-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $490,000 to a 5-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $525,000.Villages At Saybrooke Community Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (November) as compared to the 5-year December average. The market supply is 0 months,... 01/22/2018

A pin-hole leak can do a lot of damage.A pin-hole leak is exactly that, a very small leak at a joint or other corrosive deterioration in copper tubing.  It is sometimes called a progressive leak.This pin-hole leak looks to have begun where the yellow arrow points.That is a soldered joint.It must not have been done well, or leaked slightly for some other reason.These leaks are so small that minerals in the water will come out, which you can see accumulating here from the arrow toward the bottom.These minerals are slowly building up here, exactly like stalagmites and stalactites you have seen in caves.As that leaking water attacks the connection at the top of the unit, which is the rusting area at the bottom of the photo, it will deteriorate more an more.  The ultimate corrosion can cause... 01/17/2018

Improper storage of building materials - do unto others...The temperature during this morning pre-drywall inspection was 10F.  During the night before the temperature had dropped to 5F.The drywall had already been loaded into the house.Along with all the materials.They had been in the house for a couple of days.We had been having a real cold snap.  And daytime and night time temperatures were frigid.As usual I had arrived at the house before my clients.Looking around, when I got to the upper level, this is what I saw.Drywall joint compound was there, in powder and in wet form.And all four of the buckets you see in the photo were frozen solid.This is what the label said about storing these buckets.  "To prevent spoilage and freezing, maintain temperature at a minimum of 50F..."Kerosene h... 01/11/2018

What Do You Do When You Know an Attorney is Wrong?Working as a real estate agent in Bristow, VA since 2005, I have learned so much more than how to market a home and get it under contract; or operate a lockbox, show a home and write up an offer.  That's the tip of the iceberg stuff.  The real nitty gritty of real estate is in the details.  Those details are often times legal in nature.  When you refer a client to an attorney you trust, and they find another and get advice contrary to what you know the attorney you referred them to would say, you have to keep your mouth shut.  Even a crappy attorney outranks the best real estate agent.  When it came to my own legal issues with my mother, I was able to finally able to speak up when I met one that didn't know his a** from a hole in the gro... 01/07/2018

"Tell the Buyers We Aren't Making ANY Repairs If We Take This Offer"When sellers feels worked over after purchase offer negotiatioins are over, hearing them say, "Tell the buyers we aren't making any repairs if we take this offer," is not uncommon.  It sounds reasonable to them. The sellers are not getting what they expected from the sale of the home and want to put their foot down right then and there before they put the final intials on the offer.  Here's why I advise them to NOT go down that road.There are tons of emotions in a real estate transaction.  Fear and suspicion are two you don't want a buyer to feel.  Imagine what must go through their mind if they get back that message, verbally or written into the final paperwork as a counter.  The buyers don't feel they made an unfair o... 12/30/2017

Should Showings Continue Once your Home is Under Contract?Getting your home under contract feels like you have crossed the finish line of a race.  Your home was chosen and is now off the market.  Let those other sellers, still unchosen by a buyer, deal with making their beds daily, making sure all the clutter in the home is under control and leaving the lights on.  It is true that once your listing is marked as under contract, most buyers won't even ask to see it.  Did you know there are three variations of marking your property under contract in the Northern Virginia MLS?  Here they are:CNKO--Contingent with No Kick OutCKO--Contingent with Kick OutCONT--Under Contract with No ContingenciesMost times a property goes under contract, there are contingencies for the buyer like home inspect... 12/29/2017

Tales From the Karma Train:  In the Driver's SeatIf you've been a producing real estate agent for long enough, there is no question that you have witnessed truly awful negotiating tactics on the opposite side of the transaction.  You've probably also seen some truly horrendous personality traits as well.  We are lucky when those things aren't happening with our own clients. From time to time I wonder why people think being nasty or insulting is a good line to take in a real estate transaction.  Sometimes they are taking cues from their real estate agent.  Or maybe, like my own mother, they feel the only way they can grab control in a situation is by amping up their anger and act out.  When tactics like that arise on the opposite side of a transaction, I want nothing more than to shut it... 12/28/2017

Welcome to our new house!This is a new home.  Nobody has lived there yet.When the buyers are invited by the builder to finally see it and have their final walk through, how would you like to walk up to your new front door and see this?To top it off, when that "final" coat of paint was put on the temperatures outdoors were too cold.Most exterior paints should not be applied when the outdoor temperature is under 50F, and the coat put on should dry completely before the temperature dips below 50F. For some paints that criterion is 55F.Red paints are typically thinner because they require a neutral base.  To gain the red color requires a lot of pigment, and only a neutral-based paint, which is a very thin formula necessarily, can accept that much tint.As such, red paints almost always requi... 12/28/2017

Reflections of the Christmas Tree.We buy and decorate Christmas trees.  Why?  When did this start?Apparently in the 1400s and 1500s in Europe.  White pine trees have been used for millennia to celebrate various things, Christians began using the pine tree as a sign of the Everlasting God.My Christmas tree and a reflection thereof can be seen in the thermal image to the right.The word "Christmas" comes from a religious meeting, Christ's Masse, meaning "Christ's celebration."  So the tree, as a decoration thereof, would be a simple way to decorate a holiday such in such an honorable way.Apparently no one knows when fir trees were first used for the celebration.  And originally they were hung upside down! The first documented use of Christmas trees was in Tallinn, Estonia in 1441 and Riga,... 12/20/2017

What kind of Christmas tree ornament does a home inspector use?Well, only the best!And what did you expect?I love doing home inspections - old homes, new homes - you name it.If I could afford to live independently I would do home inspections for free!My recommendation:  one could say that the Christmas tree represents a certain Carpenter, a fashioner of trees, and that we are those being fashioned individually.  One could say that the lights represent the stars in the sky with the tree capped by the larger, more visible Star of Bethlehem.  And one could say that the ornaments represent the gifts of the Wisemen who sought the Person the bright Star announced.  So pick ornaments that represent you and what you would give as gifts!  Doing anything good unto the least of anybody is the same... 12/16/2017

How high winds damage roofs.This blog is taken from a letter to an insurance company defending a client who had severe roof damage from a tornado, with ongoing subsequent leaks.  The insurance company took the position that the wind damage was "wear and tear," that the leaking was "coincidental to and not because of the tornado," and denied her claim.  This homeowner contacted her home inspector!Any roof can leak at any time depending on the direction and force of rain.  That is an axiom that you can take to the bank. In April 2017 we experienced a tornado that caused severe damage to our roof shingles.This is a photo of one aspect of my roof.  You can see a section of shingles on the lower left and lower right which were removed.  Other shingles were shredded.Leaking happened immediate... 12/14/2017

How to determine that the seal has broken in a double-pane window.The seal has broken long BEFORE condensation and fogging are visible in a double-pane window.But how can you know that?You can't.  Unless you have a thermal camera!One thing I do with Mighty Mo is to sweep the entire house.  I'm looking for many things. And one of those many things I'm looking at is to see how the windows are doing.In this house none of the windows showed condensation.  But one, only one, demonstrated the classic Bull's Eye pattern indicative of a broken seal.The Bull's Eye happens as pressure differences begin due to the broken seal.  As the gas inside the two panes dissipates air is drawn inside.  As the pressure changes the two panes begin to get drawn together.When it's cold outside, and at the time o... 12/10/2017

This is a poor roofing practice.And I see it all the time on new construction.  I'm not sure why it is done.  It isn't thinking ahead.When roof trusses are lifted up to the roof they are done in large groups and a crane is used.This is new construction, a large house, and had many trusses.The trusses were apparently lifted up in four groups because I saw four loops left protruding the roof.I saw this during the pre-drywall inspection.Why is this a bad practice?1.  It is never smart to leave things penetrating the roof.  The fewer the better.2.  This loop, like the others on that roof, comes through a hole in the sheathing, the tar paper, and the shingles.  Even if they used caulking to "seal" it, that will not last long and this will leak.  Sometimes they lay the shingles on top of the ... 12/05/2017