Did you grow up with a Spring Cleaning ritual?  It has become part of American culture, and now that Spring has officially started, we are in that Spring Cleaning season as well. No doubt it is a time of serious house cleaning for some, and for others maybe a light touch up. Whatever it is for you, you may be able to make it easier with a strategy. If you like s systematic approach, take a look at the Spring Cleaning Organizer on Martha Stewart's website for a good reference to get the job done as easily and efficiently as possible. It's got the basics and for some folks, having the checklist can help you power through the important cleaning stuff a whole lot easier that jumping from one task to another.  Give it a shot and see what you think. Most of the items are easily doable with no... 03/27/2009

If your home search includes town homes in the Chantilly area, you may want to be aware of The Greens at South Riding Station. It is a Toll Brothers community in the South Riding area.  I visited a few weeks ago and wanted to do a short post on it. On my visit, I looked at attractive 3 bedroom, 3 and 1/2 bath townhouse style units, with rear garage and deck.  Delivery looks to be around late Summer and early Fall of 09. Prices points were in the $325,000 range when I visited, with some nice standard features, but in the current environment prices are not static. More details on the Toll website, and of course, give me a call if you would like a sense of the property values in the area before you visit this community, or if you have any other questions about other new town house developm... 03/23/2009

SUMMARY The current inventory level for Stone Ridge decreased by 1 units to 20 active listings this is a 5% decrease. With 2 homes to the market and ONLY 1 home receiving contracts this past week seems to be the average for Stone Ridge activity in the past few months. The 1 home netted more than the asking price and did so being on the market less than 90 days.   To get more detailed information CLICK HERE.   Disclaimer: Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. MLS data was used which means For Sale By Owner information may have not been included. All homes entered as comps (e.g. new construction) were removed as well. MLS data is subject to human errors such as agents entering wrong values. This is not an appraisal but purely for informative purposes only. If you spot an erro... 03/23/2009

It has certainly happened before.  Dropping mortgage rates then quick recovery of those rates. This past Wednesday, the Fed's giant mortgage market commitment contributed to pushing conforming mortgage rates to some of the lowest levels we've seen since World War II. But whether these rates will stay down or bounce up a little is another question.  After digesting the possible implications of all that new printed money, markets got nervous over inflation.  And inflation is not a friend of mortgage rates. The history is worth noting.  Something similar also happened on these occasions: 1. After the Fed's "surprise" rate cut in January 2008 2. After the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeovers in September 2008 3. After the Fed announced its first massive level of support in November 2008 4. ... 03/20/2009

If your home search includes the area in the western region of Fairfax County, and maybe into Loudoun County, you may want to know about Kirkpatrick Farms. If you are driving west on Route 50 in Fairfax County, when you cross Route 28 you still have a few miles before you are in Loudoun County.  After you pass South Riding, you can take a left on Gum Springs Road.  Proceed on Gum Springs to the entrance of Kirkpatrick Farms. Since the community first started, I have done a fair amount of business there, so I have gotten to know it well.  If it is on your list of developments to check out, the links below will help. If you want to see what properties in this community are Foreclosures or Bank-Owned, please send me an email.  I will get you a list, and of course, if you want to take a loo... 03/19/2009

Routine replacement of the air filters in your home's central heating/air conditioning system is one very easy way to save on energy costs.  But there are two other benefits as well.  It will help keep the physical unit itself in better condition, and the air you breathe cleaner. But as this 1-minute video points out, using the right filters makes all the difference.  The cheaper ones that only costs a few bucks just won't do the job.  The less dense mesh filters won't filter out most airborne particles. This is a case of getting what you pay for.  I have seen the cheap filters for a few dollars or less, but the effective ones may run $10 to $15, depending on size.  But the difference is more than worth the extra costs, both in terms of energy savings and wear and tear on the heating/AC... 03/18/2009

A heartfelt Happy St. Patrick's Day to any and all who may be reading our blog today!    Whether or not you happen to be of Irish ancestry....if you love good humor, words and the thought behind them, and can marvel at the glory of life and creation, you are part Irish. I am entirely biased when it comes to anything Irish.  I grew up in an "all Irish" household.  Both parents Irish, and both grand parents on my Mom's side having been born in Ireland. Last year my family and I visited Ellis Island and walked on the same ground where those grand parents, and millions of others, made the heroic trek from the familiar to the unknown, in their epic search for a better life. To me that was sacred ground.  I imagined the hardships they endured, the pain of leaving their families, and the unima... 03/17/2009

One of the things you no doubt remember from your high school or college economics class is the Law of Supply and Demand.  If has such common sense power.  You can see it operating all over the place. And it has sure been referenced in the current housing market.  Who will attempt to explain the price declines without at least mentioning the impact of supply and demand? More homes than people are buying pushes down the average price.  We have seen it happening in a big way. But the thing about supply and demand is that it has a built in"self-correctional" tendency.   Eventually lower prices stimulate buying and the volume of product for sale diminishes, and the level of supply vs demand gets back closer to a balancing point.  Reinforcing loops in nature and in social systems are quite a... 03/16/2009

INTRODUCTION As of today, there are 21 active listings in MLS and 10 homes that went under contract in the past 30 days. This gives us a current absorption rate of 2.1 which is higher than last week's rate of 1.7. Of the 21 active listings , 10 are new homes from the builder(5 town homes, and 5 detached homes), 2 are traditional re sales the remainder are distressed sales which break down as follows: Short Sale Condos: 1 Short Sale Town Homes: 4 Short Sale Detached Homes: 3 Total Short Sales: 8 Percent of Short Sales: 38.1% Bank Owned Condos: 0 Bank Owned Town Homes: 0 Bank Owned Detached Homes: 1 Total Bank Owned: 1 Percent of Bank Owned: 4.8% Total Non-Traditional Sales: 9 Percent of Total Non-Traditional Sales: 42.9% Contact me if you would like additional information on any of these... 03/16/2009

If you see yourself as not very skilled when it comes to "handyman" projects, you may think there is not much you can do to add real value to your home. But hang on....you may be under-estimating your own resourcefulness, or over-estimating the challenge in doing relatively easy improvement  projects. And... given current conditions, a little do-it-yourself thinking may go a long way. Take a few minutes to look at this 4-minute video to learn about some pretty easy fix-ups that have the potential of adding value and attractiveness. The video features Amy Matthews, host on the Sweat Equity TV show, talking to Matt Lauer about low cost home improvement projects. The three projects they describe are: • Countertop replacement for about $95 • Upgrade flimsy doors with those of higher quality... 03/12/2009

INTRODUCTION As of today, there are 20 active listings in MLS and 12 homes that went under contract in the past 30 days. This gives us a current absorption rate of 1.7 which is lower than last week's rate of 1.8. Of the 20 active listings, 10 are new homes from the builder(5 town homes, and 5 detached homes), 1 is a traditional re sales the remainder are distressed sales which break down as follows: Short Sale Condos: 1 Short Sale Town Homes: 5 Short Sale Detached Homes: 3 Total Short Sales: 9 Percent of Short Sales: 45% Bank Owned Condos: 0 Bank Owned Town Homes: 0 Bank Owned Detached Homes: 0 Total Bank Owned: 0 Percent of Bank Owned: 0% Total Non-Traditional Sales: 9Percent of Total Non-Traditional Sales: 45% Contact me if you would like additional information on any of these Stone R... 03/09/2009

As I look at what we have available to help us understand who does and does not quality for the Administration's mortgage relief program, I have to say that we don't have all the answers yet.  I think this will be a work in progress until we are farther along the implementation journey. When the " Making Home Affordable" initiative was introduced in February, two goals were set forth: To help financially-ailing homeowners get mortgage relief To help homeowners who have lost equity qualify for today's low rates On Wednesday of this week the U.S. Treasury introduced new details about the program. In addition, it also created an "Am I Eligible For Making Home Affordable" form on its website. The press release issued by Treasury provided details on the President's plan. Specifically, it cov... 03/08/2009

One of life's enduring lessons is that perspective matters.  By perspective I mean the way in which we look at, analyze, interpret, and come to make sense of the world around us. The current coverage of our national economic trials and tribulations is a case in point.  You are unlikely to hear that 95.42% of home owners were not delinquent on their mortgages.  But you will hear that 4.58 % of homeowners are delinquent.  Both are significant numbers.  They both move the mind in a direction that provides a perspective. The report comes from TransUnion and states that 4.58 percent of American homeowners were at least 60 days past due on mortgage payments last quarter.  The study is based on anonymous data from its national credit database TransUnion also indicates that mortgage delinquenci... 03/04/2009

If you are considering a condo in Chantilly, you may want to take a quick look at currently available properties in Chantilly Park.  It is in the "center" of Chantilly just off the intersection of Route 50 and Centreville Road.  If you want to check on Foreclosures or Bank-Owned properties in Chantilly Park, please send me an email.  I will get you a list so you can compare.  In the meantime, you can immediately access current listings through the links below.  They will get you to Chantilly Park properties as well as any in the surrounding areas you may want to see. Here are CURRENT LISTINGS IN CHANTILLY PARK. For list of FORECLOSURES and BANK OWNED properties just CONTACT US and I will get that information to you. Here are a few other links that will give you more information about t... 03/02/2009

As you might have guessed, Chantilly and the surrounding area suburbs are not the most affordable in the Commonwealth of Virginia. But then who has the luxury of moving to an area because it is the most affordable?  Not most floks. Nevertheless, the silver lining in the cloud of declining home prices is affordability. And if you want to visit the most affordable suburb in Virginia, at least according to one study, you will have to head south toward Richmond and then east toward the Hampton Roads metro area and then to Poquoson.  The median home price there is $312,000. Of course, on a national level, home affordability is a lot better than it once was, compliments of the current housing and economic conditions. All of this translates into the interesting fact that in most parts of the U... 03/01/2009

Ever heard the song "One Note Samba?" The melody cleverly used repetition on one single note to create a memorable melodic motif.  The song was a hit back in the 60's. But you are hearing a version of it every time you listen to most news telecasts.  Most of the stats we hear are true but usually the story is incomplete. The examples are endless.  Here is one:  today's headline regarding the Existing Home Sales figure.  The surface interpretation is "more trouble ahead for housing." Not so fast. Look below the attention-grabbing headlines and there is a story with substance. But the real story points to housing market fundamentals coming back into balance.  Not as fast as we all would like, but the statistic is not one-dimensional. As home values edge lower, value buyers are responding.... 02/26/2009

It is important to at least try to make sense out of the daily dose of housing news, but who has time to assemble the dots, much less try to connect them.  That's why we like to give you short, relevant snapshots of data and news items that have some meaningful value to regular people who are attempting to make sense of the current housing market, so that they can make wise decisions.In working with buyers and sellers virtually every day, I get a perspective on what people are thinking.  Of course, there are many perspectives that people have.  One perspective is what I'd call "I need to get on with my life!"  It is a sense of not putting one's life on hold in anticipation of whatever new economic issue surfaces next.  The gist of this perspective is, "I can't control the national econo... 02/25/2009

It may surprise you to know that you are three times more likely to get a food-borne sickness from something in your home, than in a commercial kitchen.  Public health experts say there are a variety of reasons why, including such factors as improper or unsafe food handling, lack of food cleanliness, or mistakes in food storage. You'd be right in thinking that being a "neatnik" when it comes to your refrigerator is a good part of prevention, but it is not the only thing to do to keep conditions safe. Here are several other smart strategies: Wash produce before storing it in the produce tray.  Veggies that grow close to the ground are exposed to more fertilizers.  Consider using one of the"Veggie sprays" to help remove the chemical residues. Keep produce clean by not returning it to the ... 02/24/2009

"What goes around comes around" might apply to conforming loans (called "conforming" because they conform to certain guidelines and requirements of government or quasi-government organizations such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae). Conforming mortgages are limited by the size of the loan, based on "typical" housing costs from around the nation. Currently, the conforming limit on a single-unit property is $417,000. Congress authorized increases in the conforming loan limits in 2008 in "high cost" areas, as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.  For example, in Los Angeles County, a mortgage could go up to $729,750 and still qualify as a conforming loan. On January 1, 2009 those temporary increases were rolled back to a maximum of $625,500.  But that was not the end of the story.  The... 02/23/2009

INTRODUCTION As of today, there are 23 active listings in MLS and 9 homes that went under contract in the past 30 days. This gives us a current absorption rate of 2.6 which is lower than last week's rate of 4. Of the 27 active listings, 11 are new homes from the builder(5 town homes, and 6 detached homes), 4 are traditional re sales the remainder are distressed sales which break down as follows: Short Sale Condos: 0 Short Sale Town Homes: 5 Short Sale Detached Homes: 3 Total Short Sales: 8 Percent of Short Sales: 34.8% Bank Owned Condos: 0 Bank Owned Town Homes: 0 Bank Owned Detached Homes: 0 Total Bank Owned: 0Percent of Bank Owned: 0% Total Non-Traditional Sales: 8 Percent of Total Non-Traditional Sales: 34.8% Contact me if you would like additional information on any of these Stone R... 02/23/2009