Braemar Property Values:  July-August 2017 (Carriage Series)For some reason, this doesn't feel like a holiday weekend to me.  Maybe it is because I haven't fired up the grill and done the American classic holiday weekend meal--hot dogs and hamburgers.  The sunshine outside today is certainly inviting me to come on out and enjoy.  Before I finish work and head for the grill, it is time for another Braemar Property Value Report.  This one will focus on sales of Braemar Carriage homes in July and August.  Braemar Carriage homes are characterized by the lack of an attached garage. When these homes have a garage, it is detached and sits in back of the home.  The floor plans, from smallest to largest, are: Maplewood,  Norwood,  Oakdale and  Parkdale.There were four Braemar Carriage home sales... 09/04/2017

Braemar Property Values:  July-August 2017 (Arista Series)Labor Day weekend certainly didn't get off to a sunny start yesterday.  The drizzling rain made it fairly miserable.  Seems you will have a chance to enjoy the last days of the Braemar pool season today and tomorrow though.  Right now, it is time for another Braemar Property Value Report.  This one is focused on Arista Series home sales in Braemar.  Arista Series homes are the large, single family homes built by Brookfield Homes.  The floor plans include the Allister, Buckingham and Canterbury.   Unlike last report when we had no recent sales to report, we have one to tell you about for the months of July and August.  The sale was a Buckingham model, details below:As a Braemar Real Estate Agent, there are a couple of things that ... 09/03/2017

What it Takes to Sell Your HomeAny home can be listed as it is, or for any amount of money.  Getting a buyer to choose your home takes some preparation and analysis on where you fit in price-wise in the current market place.  Thanks to HGTV, more and more buyers in the marketplace are expecting move-in ready homes.  Even if there is little to choose from in a seller's market, they will pass to see what may on the horizon if there are too many projects they would be taking on to purchase.  What projects are off putting to buyers?  As silly as it may sound, they can be as simple are repainting and putting in new carpet.  Certainly not a lot of money, as any seller will tell you.  But the same reason sellers don't want to do it, is why buyers don't want to either.  Those tasks are physical... 09/02/2017

Faux stone has been around a while.  So why am I still seeing this?Over the years I have had many posts about faux stone, and the improper installation thereof.  When not installed well it becomes a problem.  And it's not a matter of if - improper installation will eventually result in problems, and often serious problems!  Water must be drained from behind the product, synthetic stucco or faux stone, and should be kept away from other materials.Builders get upset when I point out things like this.They say I, the home inspector, am creating problems!I AM NOT CREATING ANY PROBLEMS!As a home inspector I simply observe and report.There is so much wrong here:1.  You see an obvious hole in the mortar.  There were other holes and cracks all over the installation!2.  Mortar is touching the woo... 08/24/2017

Highest and Best Offers:  What's Not to Understand?Reading blog posts from agents across the country, it seems that a lot of markets are experiencing conditions that strongly favor sellers.  In markets like those, buyers often have difficulty getting away from the "reality" TV shows depicting home purchase negotiations.  Go in low, get the seller to come down off list price and BAM--you have an accepted contract.Seller markets don't work like that for buyers.  A thought of getting a lower offer accepted, or the seller to negotiate their price down is a pipe dream.  Yet, many listing agents continue to be inundated with ridiculous offers, among other offers by buyers that get the lay of the land.  Successful buyers in a seller's market realize that they will be lucky to only pay list pri... 08/23/2017

Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017 (Bristow, VA)So much hype about the Great American Solar Eclipse today, August 21, 2017.   Unfortunately, when I was making myself available for August floor duty at the my office last month, I didn't keep it in mind.  So my shift was 3pm -6pm.  Turns out I would be leaving my home, heading to the office, at the maximum coverage of 82.37%.Somehow, I thought it would be darker than it was.  To boot, we were experiencing building cumulus clouds that actually started a rumbling thunderstorm in the distance at the max eclipse.  My impression of the eclipse?  It felt like 7pm.  Turns out, less than 20% of the sun on a cloudy day is still pretty bright.  It can not be argued that this was a huge event.  One for the history books.  So important that my husband dec... 08/21/2017

Warning- sarcasm to follow.  Is this a pro job or not?To be truthful, I saw the brick work from the parking lot and knew it would be a thermal camera issue inside.Is it a pro job?  Probably not.What happened? Likely the front hose bib was not winterized and it froze.However, to repair that you don't have to remove masonry.Why was the masonry removed here?  Probably because an amateur did the work. Really amateur - the cute brick work is one clue.  And it was done not too long ago!The other clue is the hose bib sticking out too far from the wall.What does that bode indoors?  Drywall and insulation issues!I could see the drywall installation.  It looked like a 10 year old did it.And I asked my client how we could find out if the insulation was done well behind the drywall.Shrug.  The Real... 08/16/2017

When staircases are lemons.From my Oxford Dictionary of English -Lemon - informal - an unsatisfactory or feeble person or thing.In this 21 year old townhouse, three levels, when walking up and down the staircases, all of them, that is ALL OF THEM, bounced, sagged, squeaked and felt unstable.  Some bouncing was dramatic!The only place I could see the structural components was in the small crawl space under the lowest staircase.And it was revealing!It was apparent that many repairs had been done over the years to try to correct this issue.You can see from the red arrows:-->  Separations, shown on the left.-->  Drywall screws used to "shore things up."  Drywall screws are not strong enough for this application.-->  Nails used to "correct" bouncing and sagging.  As I said, some of the bounc... 08/15/2017

The walls were wet in the middle but not at the bottom?  Why?And that was the question.  I couldn't answer it!  I only knew what I found.During the thermal image sweep of this condo I found walls and ceilings wet, but only on the lower level. The areas were all under the kitchen.  The reason? Stitching together various thermal images into a panorama the conundrum comes alive.The middle of the wall registered 100% moisture.  And the floor registered 18%.  You can see my footprints on the floor where I measured that wall.How was that possible?  Water and moisture flow down.  The floor was too wet, and the middle of the wall, but the bottom of the wall and the floor molding was not.The builder said everything was dry, and they had a report indicating that.Report?  Yes!Apparently there had ... 08/08/2017

Let Me Know Either WayBeing primarily a Bristow-Gainesville Listing Agent, I often go on appointments to talk with potential sellers interested in hearing what I have to offer.  I present what I will do, go over comps and we discuss anything left unanswered in the sellers mind.  Then, at the point of decision, if they aren't ready to commit, I ask them one simple favor:Once you've made your decision, either way, please let me know.All sellers smile and nod in agreement, shaking my hand as I leave.  Yet very few actually have the fortitude to follow through with a let down call.  Are they afraid of being sold?  Ashamed they made a choice based solely on a lower commission?  Who knows?   Clearly, it must be a hard call to make since so few do.The sellers that do call me to tell me they ar... 08/05/2017

One of the Most Important Lessons for Listing Agents and SellersWhenever I take a new listing, I counsel the sellers about making sure their home is show ready.  Often times, I advise painting a neutral color, or getting new carpet.  Not all sellers heed the advice, or quite frankly, have the funds available to complete the task. Still, it is incumbent on me to make sure their home presents well when photographed.  Likewise, the sellers need to understand the importance of keeping it in whatever tip top shape they can manage during the listing period.You never get a second chance to make a first impression.Sure, it may be frustrating for sellers who are chomping at the bit to hit the market ASAP so they don't miss the current market demand, but my best advice is to get the preparation d... 07/29/2017

When What You Thought You Were Getting Reveals Itself to Be DifferentTwo weeks ago, on a happy whim, I bought a new frying pan.  Perhaps you've seen commercials for items that are titanium and ceramic and are ultra non-stick.  This particular product was Gotham Steel.  I bought a smaller frying pan to give it a try.  When I unpacked it, the first thing that caught my eye was the larger than life arbitration agreement that fell onto the floor at my feet.  What the..?  Why would there be an arbitration agreement?  This pan was supposed to be the absolute best pan ever.  I was going to be able to scramble my eggs without putting butter in the pan to keep them from sticking.HA!  That pan works better than my Teflon pans IF I use a lubricant like butter. The day I attempted to make eggs with... 07/28/2017

Kingsbrooke Single Family Home Mid-Year Update 2017 It's a beautiful day in Bristow, VA.  As tempting as it is to be outside enjoying the milder temperatures, sunshine and blue skies, I have committed to doing one more Kingsbrooke market report.  This particular market report looks back at the first six months of resale activity in for Kingsbrooke single family homes.  There were seventeen single family homes in Kingsbrooke that sold from the beginning of January to the end of June.  The sales are detailed below:Compared to the first six months of 2016 when only six Kingsbrooke single family homes sold, this year's activity is nearly triple.  The Bristow real estate market is rockin' and rollin'.  The average and median sold prices for the first six months of this year are WAY higher th... 07/25/2017

Kingsbrooke Townhouses Mid-Year Review 2017When this Bristow Real Estate Agent faces a dreary weekend with not a lot to do, she chooses to jump into the multiple listing system and grab some data for a Kingsbrooke market report.  Probably not what most Bristow real estate agents would do.  What can I say?  I'm a real estate geek.  Some day that might come in handy for you.  It sure came in handy for my Kingsbrooke townhouse seller this spring.  You'll soon see, his townhouse was the highest sales price not only for this six month report, but also marked the highest sales price for a Kingsbrooke townhouse since May 2007.  This Kingsbrooke market report focuses on townhouse sales between Janaury and June 2017.  For the sake of comparison, I also pulled numbers for the same time period las... 07/23/2017

Braemar Townhouse Report:  May-June 2017Not every agent that sells real estate in Braemar, keeps their finger on the pulse of the market.  One of the things I love about doing my Braemar market reports is that it keeps me informed of our neighborhood market to keep YOU informed about it.  And doing these reports since 2005 has really helped me understand what makes our neighborhood real market tick.  That knowledge I have acquired through constant compiling of Braemar real estate data makes selling my Braemar listings that much faster and more profitable for my sellers.This particular report is the Braemar Townhouse Report.  In it, I break down the sales of traditional townhouses in Braemar for the months of May and June.  And just to clarify what a traditional townhouse is, it is one w... 07/22/2017

Braemar Property Values:  May-June 2017 (Ryan Homes)  The kind of heat wave we are experiencing in Bristow is one that makes you not want to eat.  Foods that normally favorites, like hamburgers, just sound too heavy.   One of my favorites for weather like this is a watermelon and cucumber salad.  Simply cut them both up, put in some of the juice from the watermelon, add salt and you have a light, refreshing salad.  It lasts for days in the refrigerator too. Just as none of us can do anything but wait through the summer heat, I can't do anything but report Braemar home values to you in the Braemar Property Value Report.  Selling Braemar homes is my specialty, but no matter the sale, it is always going to be subject to whatever the market conditions happen to be.  So right now, let's find... 07/21/2017

Braemar Property Values:  May-June 2017 (NV Homes)The weather the last few days in Bristow, VA has felt sweltering.  High temps.  High humidity.  It makes being outside during the mid-afternoon unpleasant.  These are the dog days of summer and great days to spend at the Braemar community pools.  Of course, I'm still plugging away at my Braemar Property Value Reports.  Three more left to churn out and this NV Homes update in one of them, so let's get to it.Between the months of May and June there were four NV Homes in Braemar that sold.   The details of those sales follow:When we combine the sold prices with our rolling six and twelve month data, what we find in terms of value is good news. Both the six month average and median sold prices are above their twelve month counterparts.  This... 07/20/2017

Braemar Property Values:  May-June 2017 (Heritage Series)May and June have traditionally been months seeing the most real estate sales activity in Braemar.  This edition of the Braemar Property Value Report, focusing on sales in the Heritage Series, is not breaking that tradition.  Before we get started, let's clarify what makes a home a Braemar Heritage home.  Heritage homes are the mid-sized single family homes, built by Brookfield Homes.  They have two car attached garages and include the following floor plans:  Exeter, Yardley, Zachery & Waverly.  Of course, Coscan, before they became Brookfield Homes, had some floor plans that crop up occasionally in the older section of Braemar.  They are the size of Heritage homes, thus included in this report.There were thirteen Braemar Heritage... 07/19/2017

Braemar Property Values:  May-June 2017 (Courtyard Series)When it comes to writing Braemar Property Value Reports, perhaps the hardest part is coming up with the opening.  Facts and figures are easy to discuss, but coming up with a snazzy open to a market report takes some inspiration.  Having spent the last two days as the "crazy aunt" to two nieces, ages six and eight, I don't think my brain is quite ready for work again.  Of course, that could just be the abnormal amounts of sugar consumed while sharing meals with the nieces.  Let's just kick this into gear and get to the good stuff, and that is telling you what is happening with Braemar Courtyard home values.  Courtyard homes are one of three different floor plans that share a private courtyard driveway and have limited outdoor spac... 07/18/2017

Braemar Property Values:  May-June 2017 (Carriage Series)Happy Monday!  Did you know that Mondays are my favorite days of the week?  That hasn't always been the case.  It wasn't until I became a Bristow Real Estate Agent that I actually looked forward to the work week starting up again.   Funny what happens when you find what you were always meant to do.  For me, that's sell homes.  And my favorite homes to sell are those in our neighborhood of Braemar.What first attracted my husband and I to Braemar was the curb appeal of the Carriage homes.  I still remember vividly driving around Iona Sound Drive one evening in December when we were checking Braemar out.  Felt like a Christmas tree village had come to life.  Whenever it snows, I still feel that way about the Carriage homes.  The curb... 07/17/2017