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If you suffer from seasonal allergies, making a few changes in your home can reduce that suffering. Spring is here, which is a perfect time to freshen the air inside your home. Here are five tips to maintain great indoor air quality for your home:1. Use allergen-rated filters. Besides making sure your air filters are changed on an appropriate sched…

If you’re shopping for a home right now, you’re likely looking at several properties. While this is great news for prospective buyers, there are five essential things you should look for when you walk through a home you’re interested in: 1. The roof’s condition. When entering or exiting a property, take a moment to look up and check out the roof. W…

How is the real estate market in Northern Virginia? Let’s answer this question today with our latest market update.To begin, home purchase activity in our area has changed a little from what we saw at this time last year. New pending contacts are down 5.7% year over year. The number of closed sales has also decreased since this time last year, but …

Setting out to buy new furniture always starts on a high note, as you’re excited to enhance your living space with stylish and functional pieces that will be part of your home’s environment for years to come.Then reality sets in.A multitude of factors combine to make your shopping experience stressful, expensive, and unfulfilling.However, there is …

What is an HOA resale disclosure packet?Under Virginia law, buyers who sign a purchase contract to purchase a home that’s either in a condo or an HOA neighborhood must be provided the resale package from the seller. The resale package must be given to the buyer in a timely manner after the contract is ratified. The buyer can cancel the contract wit…

Even though it hasn’t felt like it lately, spring is right around the corner. Now is the time to take care of some home maintenance items.As winter wanes, your property may be in need of a little TLC. Here are five easy suggestions to groom your home for the upcoming spring season:“As winter wanes, your property may be in need of a little TLC.” Cle…

The numbers for our January 2018 Northern Virginia market are in.As we head into the spring market, Northern Virginia home purchase activity has changed. New pending home contracts are down 3.6% since last year and the number of closed sales also decreased, going down by 3.6% to 1,834 sales.New listings are down 3.4% from January of last year but a…

Today I’d like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season.This time of year may be great for some, but it can be a very difficult time for others. I encourage you this year to spread some joy.Consider greeting a stranger in the grocery store, at the bank, or anywhere else. You can never be sure how …

What’s going on in the Northern Virginia real estate market?The latest numbers from October 2017 are in, so it’s time to highlight what’s happening as we head toward the end of the year.Home purchase activity has changed a little year over year. New pending contracts are up 4.1% from October of 2016, and the number of closed sales increased by 4.6%…

Do you have questions about the home buying process? If so, you’re in luck. Buying a home can be both thrilling and scary, but it’s never dull. You’re bound to have a lot of questions throughout the process. Here are the eight most common home buying questions that I receive, along with my answers. Without further ado, let’s get to them:1. What kin…

Even though it hasn’t felt like it lately, the end of the year is drawing to a close. Fall is here and winter is on its way. This means there are a few home maintenance and repair projects you should take care of before the weather gets colder and the days get shorter.1. Care for your trees and shrubs. Also, remember to rake your leaves and clear o…

The latest numbers are in for our real estate market here in Northern Virginia so we wanted to highlight a few of the changes we’ve seen for you. Home purchase activity is a little different than it was at this time last year.Pending contracts have dropped off by about 4.4% from last year, but the number of closed sales increased 2.6% to 2,802.New …

I frequently get asked questions about home upgrades and the returns they may or may not bring. Many people wonder whether they’ll get the money they invest into improving their home back.The simple answer is that upgrades don’t always equate to a profit. Upgrades that seem valuable to you may not be valuable to potential buyers.Knowing what kind o…

Because the weather has been miserable with near-record days of rain, we’ve seen fewer showings than we did earlier in the spring. Hang in there though, because **we’ve still got plenty of buyers and low inventory. **Compared to last April, both sales and units sold were up 8.99% and 6.6%, respectively. The average for days on market dropped from 5…

Looking to sell your home? Get a free home value report Buying a Virginia home? Search all homes for sale We’ve all hear the term “curb appeal,” but does it really help sell your home? Homes that look good from the street - that is, homes with good curb appeal - should help you get a higher price and take less time to sell. To improve your curb app…

We’ve all hear the term “curb appeal,” but does it really help sell your home?Homes that look good from the street - that is, homes with good curb appeal - should help you get a higher price and take less time to sell. To improve your curb appeal, you don’t need to make a bunch of renovations to the exterior of your home. We’re talking about **regu…

You’ve seen the signs: I’ll sell your home in 60 days, or I’ll buy it. I want to take a minute and share with you how those programs work, and what you should be aware of when considering this type of program.Personally, I don’t have a guaranteed sale program. I can’t offer something in good conscience that, in my opinion, is a bait and switch mark…

Looking to sell your home? Get a free home value report Buying a Virginia home? Search all homes for sale Today we are excited to talk about both the perceptions, and realities, of homeownership in Northern Virginia. The National Association of Realtors recently released a report saying Americans at every age and income level agree that homeownersh…

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Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you can make in your life. You want to make sure it’s protected in the event of a disaster or accident. For a home, you will need dwelling coverage, which covers the bricks, mortar, and everything attached to the house. In the event of a fire or total loss, you can rebuild and get back into your home …

Today, we share some tips to help you save money on your home insurance! Megan Merkosky of Brown & Brown Insurance is here to explain.Deductibles play a part in your home insurance and can help drive down your premium. We recommend a deductible of $1,000 or more, because the higher the deductible, the lower your insurance prices will be. In other w…

The latest real estate numbers for Northern Virginia just came out, so I wanted to take a second of your time to update you on them. New pending contracts increased by 9% from 2014 The 4,308 new pending sales was just above our five-year average The number of closed sales increased by 17% to 3,118 Inventory went up for the 21st consecutive month, a…

Buying and selling a home is a stressful process and lots of different things can go wrong. However, a home warranty can solve a lot of these problems. Here are a few reasons why I believe that a home warranty is a good option.“Overall, getting a home warranty is a great way to secure peace of mind.” Base plans protect systems and appliances: This …

Real Estate Business Intelligence, which studies our local real estate market with the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis, has just released some numbers for our market. New pending contracts increased by 13% The number of closed sales increased by 41.2% There are 8,000 active listings, which is a 26.6% increase over this time las…

People often debate whether to remodel their current homes or simply sell their current property and build a new one. Some things to consider before committing to such a process are the costs, if it will add value down the road, and what might be best for you and your loved ones. In my own experience, I think it’s easier to remodel than to build ne…

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