Archive for November, 2007
This isn’t a story about the three little pigs and since all of the houses are brick you don’t have to worry about them being blown over. Instead it is a story about choices that buyers in today’s market have to consider every day. All of the houses are in the same Northern Virginia neighborhood.
The first house is new construction. When you walk in the door of the model you can’t help but be impressed. With granite counters, hardwood floors, soaring ceilings and much more it is everything today’s homebuyer could ask for. The builder is offering the “deal of the century” if you buy today and can deliver your new home in 45 days. The base price of the home is $628,000 and the builder is offering $15,000 in closing cost incentives.
The second home is a resale property and the owners have been in the home close to 2 years. They had many of the builders upgrades installed when they bought the home and have put up curtains or blinds in all of the bedrooms, installed a deck off the main level and have nicely landscaped the yard. The owners can move whenever you are ready just make them an offer. The resale property is listed at $799,000 and is offering 3% of the sales price as an incentive.
The last house is an REO (foreclosure). It is has of the upgrades of the builders model and a fully finished walk-out basement. The landscaping is done, the yard is fenced and the blinds are on the windows. It could use a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. The property is vacant and winterized and you will have to buy it “as is” but it is still covered by the builder’s structural warranty. The list price for the REO home is listed for $480,000.
Now this would seem to be an easy decision for a buyer. The REO property is almost $150,000 less and a professional cleaning and painting crew won’t set you back anywhere near that amount. But wait, a little additional digging in the tax records turns up that the last sales of the builder’s model have actually ranged between $500,000-$543,000. So the differential in price between the REO property and the builder’s model is not really $150,000 but closer to $25,000. So now what do you think about the REO property?
With many Northern Virginia buyers thinking that REO properties must be the best buy, this example shows you that the answer isn’t that simple. If you are looking in an area where you have a choice between new, resale and REO, there may be a better deal in a new property (in this neighborhood the resale property is clearly overpriced.) So don’t be fooled into jumping headfirst into the murky water of REO properties without the help of an experienced buyer’s agent. You don’t want to discover later that there was a better deal on a brand new home just down the street.
More Information on Northern Virginia Foreclosures
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Reading the latest edition of Money Magazine had me shaking my head. Consumers eveywhere are having a tough time knowing which set of data to believe when it comes to the market in their area and what was written in a leading magazine is just another example of why.
The first article titled “The Last of the Red Hot Markets” mentioned a few cities where the appreciation was still high for homeowners and sellers were in the drivers seat. One of the cities they mentioned was Grand Junction CO with a 14.3% appreciation rate. WOW the folks in Grand Junction must be jumping for joy!
But wait when you get to the article titled “The Outlook 2008″ there is Grand Junction CO mentioned again. Only this time the writer has indicated that there is a bleak outlook for the city and in fact shows a depreciation rate of 9.9%.
How can two articles in the same edition of a magazine be so far apart? What data were the two writers examining that would provide such a huge gap in values? Of course I don’t have the answer to the question for Grand Junction CO but I’ve fired off an email to Money Magazine to see what they have to say.
It just goes to show that there is little agreement among “experts” on what is happening in the market and that anyone looking to buy or sell a home needs to work with a local area expert instead of relying on data from national sources.
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There Is No Home Buyer Lemon Law in Northern Virginia
November 19th, 2007 Categories: Buyers Corner, FAQ's
In Virginia there is a Lemon Law on the books to protect consumers who purchase a car which is later found to have serious defects. However, there is no such law when it comes to protecting buyers when they are purchasing a home. When the market was hot in Northern Virginia many buyers had to pass up the opportunity to have a thorough home inspection in order to “win” their first choice home.
For some of those buyers the movie the Money Pit went from being an amusing comedy to a real life nightmare.
Recently I wrote a contract on a “bargain” home and at first blush the house looked to be outdated but in decent shape. Fortunately the buyers had taken my professional advice and included a home inspection contingency in their contract. They hired a licensed experienced home inspector to give the house a complete inspection from top to bottom. Everything started out fine. However as the inspector made his way through the house he found serious structural issues and significant termite damage. Since we had the home inspection contingency in the contract the buyers were able to walk away from the contract and though they were disappointed they were also very thankful that they wouldn’t be stuck with this lemon of a house.
This is just one example of why buyers need to make sure they have their own representation when they are ready to purchase a home. A buyer’s agent is going to make sure all of the options available to protect you in your home purchase are in place. So remember there is no Home Buyer Lemon Law. If you don’t have your own representation you could find yourself trying to figure out how to make lemonade from a very sour lemon
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Taking in a Breath of Fresh Air in Fairfax County
November 14th, 2007 Categories: Focus on Fairfax County, Out and About
A lot is written about the traffic congestion in Fairfax County and it is true we do have our share of jammed roads during rush hour but we also have a huge amount of green space to enjoy when we aren’t fretting about getting to work.
One of the best known parks in our area is Burke Lake Park right off of Route 123 and a few miles from the City of Fairfax. With over 850 acres including a 220 acre lake there is plenty for everyone to enjoy. For the walkers, joggers and bikers the 5 mile dirt loop around the lake is a great way to take in all of the vistas. 
For the youngsters the miniature train ride chugging along at 10 MPH is a hoot.
Want to get in a round of golf? You can do that too at the 18 hole Par 3 course.
My son and his friends are big fans of the Frisbee golf course, though for the life of me the fun of trying to throw a Frisbee through a hoop eludes me! For the young and young at heart stop by and give the Carousel a whirl.
For the guys who like to fish you can rent a small electric powered boat or canoe and cast your line. Make sure you have a valid fishing license. It’s the law!
One of the best things about the park is that no matter what season you go you will find the park well maintained and friendly park staff around to help.
Burke Lake Park is just one example of the benefits of living in Fairfax County. With over 25,000 acres of parkland maintained by the Fairfax County Park Authority you can find a park just around the corner from almost any neighborhood in the county. If you didn’t wear yourself out from playing in the park or over indulge with your picnic then you can head just a few miles down the winding road to Clifton or south to Historic Occoquan to finish off the day.
Enjoy yourself and see you around the park.
Map of Park Activities
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Whistle Stop Tour of Northern Virginia
November 7th, 2007 Categories: Communites to Visit, Focus on Fairfax County, Focus on Prince William
Though you won’t find fried green tomatoes on this tour you will find the Whistle Stop Café at the Quantico VRE Station. When the VRE first began operations along the I-95 corridor in 1992 there were questions as to whether the lack of housing near the train stations would derail the long term plans for the commuter rail. Since that time a new supply of “whistle stop” towns has sprung up close to the tracks and more are still to come.
So let’s take a quick tour of the communities that have sprung up around a few of the new VRE stations. The first stop on the tour brings us to Lorton Station in Fairfax County. Once an area stuck between Route 1 and I-95 with nothing to make you stop now you will find a town center featuring places to grab a cup of coffee at Cariboo Coffee in the morning or stop for dinner at the Fireside Grill or Pane Vino on the way home. With a good choice of condos, townhouses and single family homes within walking distance of the station it makes a good choice for buyers who want to park their car during the week.
Keeping chugging down the tracks and you hit Rippon Station. When you get off the train you can look up the hill and see the new Potomac Pointe condos. What you don’t notice until you top the hill is that the condos enjoy a view of the Potomac River. The lot is full with commuters not only walking from the condos but from the townhouses at Riverside Station and the detached homes in Dawson’s Landing.
The last stop on our tour is the Quantico station home of our local Whistle Stop Café. Located within the gates of Quantico Marine Base commuters must drive in to the base in order to get to the station. New developments in the town of Triangle offer buyers good value on larger homes and a quick drive to take advantage of the train ride to DC.
The development of the new whistle stop communities on the eastern portion of the VRE are part of the master plans for three Northern Virginia Counties (Stafford, Prince William and Fairfax) and a new stop is planned for the huge Harbor Station development planned in Prince William County. The goal is to not only get more commuters off the roads but to also develop new office space outside of town which will help eliminate the need to over-build office space closer to DC.
If you are interested in a personal whistle stop tour of these communities or others along the rails give me a call.
Other Articles on Northern Virginia Commuting:
Watch Out Venice
Northern Virginia Slugs
©Copyright 2007. Cindy Jones All rights reserved.
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Watch Out Venice-Northern Virginia Heads to the Water
November 5th, 2007 Categories: Focus on Prince William, Real Estate Ramblings
Last week a new twist in Northern Virginia commuting was tested on the waters of the Potomac River. On a windy day with choppy waters a twin hulled catamaran made a run between Quantico and the Navy Yard in DC in 58 minutes. Now if you think that the average driving time along Route 1 or I-95 during rush hour can run close to 1.5 hours in good weather and no accidents the thought of a ferry ride in less than an hour can be enticing.
The proposed Potomac River Express will run between Harbor Station in Woodbridge (under development) and downtown DC still has a long way to go to become a reality. Harbor Station is a new planned development on 2500 acres in Prince William County which will feature a town center, golf course, office and residential space, a VRE station and the proposed Ferry Terminal.
This would be the first significant new option for commuters who live in Prince William or Stafford Counties in a long time. When you look at other cities in the US who successfully use the water as a commuting option the fact the Potomac River has been overlooked for so long is surprising. With the number of homeowners who have made the decision to move further south to find affordable housing it seems a logical next step to find other ways to bring them north to work.
The planning for the ferry will take additional time and in fact it may be at least 3 years before it can become a reality. Having tried twice to make the trip to Harbor Station and found the development to currently be the “road to nowhere” and with the current real estate slow down in Prince William County the progress of the ferry could be delayed even further.
Meanwhile across the river in Prince George’s County, National Harbor has purchased two new 99 passenger boats which will begin running next spring between National Harbor and Old Town Alexandria to start and into DC later in the year.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that both of these ferry projects will be big winners for our region in the war against gridlock.
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Holmes Run Acres-Built Into the Surroundings Not On Top of Them
November 2nd, 2007 Categories: Communites to Visit, Focus on Fairfax County
Just minutes from the buzz of the interstate sits the mid-century Fairfax County neighborhood of Holmes Run Acres. Built on a 122 acre tract of land originally owned by a Washington investor by the name of Herman Schmidt the property was named Holmes Run Acres in 1945 and a set of restrictions were put in place for the development of the land. Since mid-century modern neighborhoods are rare in Fairfax County they have garnered a following of loyal homeowners over the years and Holmes Run Acres is no exception.
The development of the property began in 1950 with what would turn out to be three different builders over close to a 10 year period. In the end 355 homes were built based on contemporary homes design including the California Ranch popular on the west coast and by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usionan houses. The neighborhood took its place on the National Register of Historic Places this year and the owners are proud to tell you so.
Even though the neighborhood was built without sidewalks with the large lots filled with old trees, wide streets and long driveways you don’t have any worries walking along the road and you don’t feel the congestion so familiar in other neighborhoods. Just like another Fairfax County mid-century modern neighborhood Hollin Hills the houses in Holmes Run Acres fit into the surroundings instead of sitting on top of them.
Even though Holmes Run Acres was developed by three different builders you would have a hard time knowing where one builder stopped and another took over. Each of the builders the Luria Brothers, Gaddy Brothers and Andre Boder added new models to the neighborhood yet when you go inside the smallest Luria to the largest Boder you will see a continuity of design. Expansive windows, wood cathedral ceilings, brick wall fireplaces and open floor plans are common in all of the models.
Owners in Holmes Run Acres enjoy a private neighborhood park and community pool. The Inova Fairfax Hospital complex and Exxon headquarters are just a mile away and Merrifield shopping, theaters and the Dunn Loring Metro Station are within a 10 minute drive. If you are looking for a community inside the beltway that seems more like a home in the country then Holmes Run Acres might be the neighborhood for you.
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