The comment made me think about how consumers get the impression that Realtors® are only driven by a quick commission.   In today’s Northern Virginia real estate market getting a deal from offer to closing gets harder and harder.  There are no deals that are a slam dunk unless it is a cash buyer with verified funds, a large earnest money deposit and no contract contingencies.  Quick commissions were left behind in 2005.

Will an agent prod a buyer to make a higher offer than they should?  Most agents will likely prod a buyer to make an offer that has a chance of being accepted or at least generate a counter-offer for consideration.  An agent who had done their homework and provided the neighborhood comps to a buyer will know close to what a home is likely to sell for.  The chances of a buyer paying to much for a house in Northern Virginia are also fairly slim.

If the offer is above market value the buyer’s appraisal won’t support the contract price.  Agents have no sway with appraisers.  Listing agents can offer an appraiser the comps used to determine the sales price but unlike the hot market in 2003-2007, it’s hands off.    If it doesn’t pass the sniff test the appraiser isn’t going over-value a property.

Then there are those pesky short sale and REO lenders.  They aren’t pushovers on low offers.  Yes you will  find listings in the MLS for undervalued properties.  But  guess what happens as soon as the bank  sends out their own appraiser?  Ask the hundreds thousands of buyers who have gotten a counter-offer from the bank well above list price resulting in either the property going back on the market again at a higher price or a buyer paying the lenders price.

The Northern Virginia real estate market is not the same as the areas that make the national news.  Seeing homes selling for 90% or more of their list price reflects our market has stabilized.  This is a good for for everyone and has nothing to do with agents prodding buyers to write offers just to earn a few dollars.

No this isn’t the piece of history you can buy.  This happens to be Gunston Hall the home of George Mason.

Most of us know about George Mason from his famous words;  “That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural Rights… among which are the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursuing and obtaining Happiness and Safety.”

Gunston Hall is located just a few miles from another historic home which you can buy.

One of the historic homes you can buy is  Bel Air Plantation in Woodbridge VA.  Currently offered by TTR Sothebys International Realty for $1,100,000.   At the entrance to the drive to the property is a Prince William County historical marker providing a small glimpse of the background of the property.  Built in 1740 by Major Charles Ewel the current property encompasses 25 acres.

Besides being built in a similar Georgian style, both Gunston Hall and Bel Air Plantation were frequented by George Washington on his travels up throughout Virginia.   You can legitimately say “George Washington Slept Here” if you buy this home.

Speaking of George Washington, no Mount Vernon isn’t for sale, but you could move into a condo at the recently converted George Washington Club.  Listed by Long & Foster, Inc the 3 BR/2.5 BA condo is one of four condos in the converted 1700′s property.  The George Washington Club is located just outside of Old Town Alexandria.

These are just a couple of the historical homes currently listed for sale in Fairfax and Prince William County, VA.  If you are interested in scheduling an appointment to see these homes or any of the historical properties for sale in Northern Virginia give CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213.   Remember having a buyer agent to represent your interests when buying a home is critical!

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Somehow when the headlines announce new falling interest rates I’m reminded of the kmart blue light commercials where everyone is dodging falling prices.  The problem?  Falling interest rates don’t always mean that the deal you are getting on your mortgage is going to be any better than the previous advertised mortgage rate.  The simple reason is that most mortgage rates also have “discount points” attached to them.

According to Fannie and Freddie Mortgage rates on a 30 year  fixed rate loan dropped last week to 3.94% down slightly from the week before at 3.99%.  Okay anything below 4% seems like a bargain but let’s see what that little drop really means.  At the same time the rate dropped the discount points charged rose slightly.   So do the falling rates mean you are really saving money?

To use a real life example from Dan Green at the Mortgage Report the numbers for a $300,000 loan are:

• Discount Points : Today, the homeowner pays $300 more to close on the loan
• Mortgage Payment : At the lower rate, the homeowner saves $8.63 per month for 30 years

It will take close to 3 years for the small discount in the mortgage rate to make up for the extra $300 upfront a buyer will need to bring to the table.  Of course after 34 months it is a savings and that has to play into your thinking as well.

This is just a quick example of why you need to work with a local and trusted mortgage professional when you are buying a home.  Make sure you understand how the discount points or buy down you are offered on your loan will affect you both immediately at the closing table and over the life of your loan.  It could be that last weeks rates are just as good of a deal as next weeks “falling” rates are.

Before you head out hunting for your new home in Northern Virginia make sure you’ve talked to a mortgage professional about the current interest rates.  If you need help finding a Northern Virginia mortgage professional give me a call.  I’d be glad to pass along a couple of names for you to talk to.

Today it’s time to get real.  If you buy a home after January 2012 and don’t get a home inspection you could be in big trouble.   A couple of things to emphasize.  One you need to make sure you attend & pay attention during your home inspection and pay attention and two you need to make sure you are hiring a home inspector that writes a thorough report on any issue that they uncover.

You can no longer sit back and expect the seller is responsible for making sure the HVAC system, plumbing and appliances are in “normal” working order.  If the stove is broken or the kitchen sink leaking and you don’t put the request for repairs on your home inspection contingency then they won’t fix it.

You can still void a contract based on a home inspection, except if you are buying an REO but my experience is that rarely happens.  Perhaps that will change now if negotiations for repairs include items that were required by the seller to repair in the past.  Only time will tell.  As you gear up for home shopping in 2012 remember to ask your agent if they are familiar with the changes to the Virginia Regional Sales Contract and can guide you through the changes.

You might look at this photo and say, “what’s the problem?”  Fortunately a home inspector can tell you exactly what the problems are.  Jay Markanich, owner of Jay Markanich Home Inspections on a recent new construction home inspection pointed out a number of issues with this home.

By the way Jay uses the word “appurtenances” to describe the furnace vent, hose bib and vent covers shown in the photo.

Here are a few of Jay’s observations:

1) “If these folks want to put a deck on the back of the house, the ledger beam (the main support for the deck, a 2×12 that bolts to the house onto which the deck joists are attached) is interfered with by four appurtenances.”

2) “the ONLY basement window is under the door.  So, if, instead of a deck, these folks wanted to put in a patio and not deal with all those appurtenances, how can stairs be placed to not interfere with that window?”

You can read the rest of what Jay found would be a problem with the furnace vent, hose bib and vent covers on his blog post “7 Things I Don’t Understand”

This is also the reason in my guide to Buying New Home Construction I’ve recommended independent inspections for all of my buyers and anyone who is considering building a new home.

Before you head to a new home site download my guide and if you decide to head out on your own without an agent, at least make sure you call Jay Markanich to schedule your new home inspection.

According to NAR  “The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, surged 10.4 percent to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September and is 9.2 percent above October 2010 when it stood at 85.5. The data reflects contracts but not closings.”

As any of my readers know my response to national news is always tempered but what’s happening in the Northern Virginia Real Estate Market?   So off we go to see what’s in the MRIS for our area.

You can say that there were more new ratified contracts in October over September.  However this should be tempered with the knowledge that during the summer of 2011 our pending contracts were significantly higher than our October numbers.

Let’s take a look at Northern Virginia over the last year.

In addition if you look back over the past three years you can see the wave motion of the surge and then retreat of the market. Looks good for surfers.

As winter settles into Northern Virginia we likely will follow the cyclical trend we have seen over the last few years. Lower pendings in the winter and the steady increase in the spring and summer.

One good thing to remember if you are thinking of buying a home in 2012 is there is less competition in the winter and you are less likely to end up in a competitive bid situation than you will be in the spring.

When buying real estate in Northern Virginia the term “cavaet emptor” (buyer beware)  is often used.  With the new regional sales contract the term “buyer beware” words take on a new meaning.  Here’s a glimpse at what I mean.

Currently our Regional Sales Contract states in Paragraph 7 the “seller warrants, except as otherwise noted that the existing appliances, heating, cooling, electrical systems, and smoke detectors (as required) are in normal working order.”    When you had a home inspection and found a burner on the stove wasn’t working or there was a problem with an electric outlet in the bathroom the seller HAD to fix it.  No questions asked and it was not part of any negotiations over other items your home inspector may have found that need attention.

As of January 1, 2012 that statement goes away and all of those systems are “as is.”  When you choose the option to have a home inspection, which as a buyer you should always do, you now must include any request for repairs for those systems in your home inspection repair request.  If during negotiations you agree the burner on the stove doesn’t need to be fixed, the owner is no longer required to fix it before closing.   End of story.

Buying a new home is a huge financial investment.   It’s surprising the number of times an issue arises with a contract that could have been avoided if the agent had a better handle on what each paragraph, check box or addendum meant.  If you are buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia make sure you are 100% comfortable with contract you are ratifying.  If your agent can’t explain the changes to the new contract and you don’t understand them DON’T SIGN until you do.

The question is “are there fewer short sales and foreclosures in Prince William County VA than last year?”

As an example I’ve posted charts showing the decrease in foreclosures and short sales in the Port Potomac neighborhood since 2008. Port Potomac is one of the newer developments in the county where it was evident as the market began to turn that investors were going to bail. The impact on home prices in the neighborhood was evident.

In the case of Port Potomac the answer is “YES” the number of short sales and foreclosures has declined. However if you look a the entirety of Prince William County VA you will see overall short sales and foreclosures have held steady over the last year. However and this is where the idea of a decrease of disressed properties comes to buyers minds is check out the INCREASE in “non bank-mediated” sales.

As an overall percentage of the Prince William County real estate market short sales and foreclosures ARE decreasing.

What is important to remember that Prince William County is a big area. What is happening in one neighborhood such as Port Potomac might not be the same as what is happening in Belmont Bay, Lake Ridge or Montclair. If you are searching for a new home or making the decision to sell your current home you need to know what is happening in your neighborhood not in another neighborhood, a general zip code are or the whole of Prince William County VA.

If you are interested in talking in more detail about your neighborhood give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213. Let’s talk about YOUR neighborhood and YOUR priorities for buying or selling a home. Don’t let generalizations about the market or news about the national real estate market determine what you do with your real estate future.

Add to the growing local economy Prince William County offers quality of life benefits to residents which include 10 public golf courses, 55 county parks and over 150 miles of biking, walking and running trails.  The county offers access to the Occoquan and Potomac Rivers through 6 marinas and a boat launch at Leesylvania State Park.

With a county this large and diverse you can imagine why buyers are often confused when they hear about the Prince William County real estate market.  The county is to big to make many generalizations about sales prices or answer the question “how’s the market?”

For example if we look at detached home sales prices in three different locations in the county (pins on map) you see the differential across the county.

As always the available inventory in any zip code or neighborhood will play into the change in the fluctuation in prices. So when you ask the question “how’s the market”, I’m going to ask you what area and/or neighborhood in Prince William County you are inquiry about.

If you are considering making Prince William County Virginia your home give me a call. Let’s talk about where you are going to be working, the type of home you are looking for and your price point. We’ll talk about ways for you to maximize your new home budget and how CJ Realty Group’s service model might help put a little extra money in your pocket at closing.

Just to give you a general idea of what I mean take a look at this chart. It shows the “average” home price for three areas in Northern Virginia. The first is the Woodbridge zip code of 22192, the second is the Springfield zip code of 22152 and the third is the Falls Church zip code of 22046.

You can see a dramatic difference in sales prices for detached SOLD homes over the last 6 months between the three areas. These numbers are averages and for any neighborhood you are considering they would have to be broken down much further to help you make an offer on a particular property. What it does clearly show is as you get closer to DC prices are higher. As you are searching for a new home there are a wide variety of factors to consider. Not only what can I afford but what amenities am I look for in my neighborhood, what will my commute be like and how long do I plan on living here to name a few.

If you want a bigger house heading south to Woodbridge and taking VRE, a commuter bus or joining a slug line may be the right answer for you. If you want to be a bit closer to DC but still want a bigger home than neighborhoods in Springfield might be your cup of tea. If a smaller home where you can walk to the shops and resturants suits you then Falls Church may be the answer.

If you are thinking about buying a new home in the next few months give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213. Let’s sit down and talk about not only the price of the home you want to buy but all of the other pieces of the home ownership puzzle. Let us help you find the right neighborhood for you to call home.