How to Prepare to Buy a Home in Northern Virginia

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When a ready, willing, and able buyer puts forth a home purchase offer and it is accepted by a seller, a contract for sale is created. However, in order to make an offer the buyer must be ready, willing and able. 

There are many different reasons for wanting to buy a home, and some of them are:

• You're just moving out of a home, or you've just been married, or you may even have family members moving back in with you.
• You may be tired of paying your landlord's mortgage and want to start investing in your future with a home.
• You may have found a new job, or you might want a shorter commute to your new job.
• Perhaps you're worried about your children's education and you want a better school district.

Being able to buy a home is also important, and one way to find if you're financially capable of buying a home is to speak with a qualified lender. This will allow you to find out what you can afford to buy, and this will also make your home search much easier.

Finally, if you're willing to buy, you should be ready to work with a smart team of Realtors. You have to be willing to accept other people's help, because real estate agents are trained professionals that are experienced and know how to get the job done.

If you ever need help buying or selling in Northern Virginia, please don't hesitate to contact me! I would be more than willing to help you.

Why Are the Spring Months Ideal for Buying and Selling?

Buying a Northern Virginia Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling a Northern Virginia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

The spring season is in full swing, and both buyers and sellers have found these months of rebirth as the best time of year to buy or sell a home. Acting now, in the spring, has three major advantages for buyers and sellers:

1. Best Selection
Sellers know that the peak months for buyers to shop are in the spring. A lot of this is due to the weather, as buyers don't enjoy being out and about looking at houses during the winter weather. Many sellers will hold their house off the market in the winter, then pop it out with spring flowers to maximize the number of buyers seeing it. Being able to market the house to the largest number of buyers benefits sellers, and the increased selection benefits buyers.

2. Interest Rate Increase Pending
The Federal Reserve has been signaling their intention to increase interest rates for months. To date, they have held off on doing so. The consensus of opinion now is that rates will increase in the second half of the year. When rates do go up, buyers can afford less, and the overall demand at every price level declines, so sellers tend to not be able to command as good a price. Increasing interest rates hurts both home buyers and home sellers.

3. Daylight
The spring months leading up to the summer solstice are the longest days of the year. Longer daylight hours means buyers have more time to see houses after work and can shop during the week instead of having to wait for the weekend. Being able to see homes during the week enables motivated buyers to get out there, and enables sellers to get more offers sooner.

There you have it, the top three reasons why people decide to buy and sell in the spring. If you have any questions for us, or are thinking about buying or selling this spring, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

What Steps Are Needed to Buy a Home in Northern Virginia?

Buying a Northern Virginia Home? Search all Homes for Sale

Selling a Northern Virginia Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Hey everyone, today we are excited to bring you the first part of a five-part series on the home buying process. Here in Northern Virginia, there are really four stages to buying a home: preparation, shopping, negotiation, and closing. Today, we are going to give you an introduction to the process.

The preparation stage begins with deciding to buy a home. The next thing you need to figure out is your buying power, so you know what you can afford. Then there's the matter of deciding to work with an agent, getting over the fallacy that not working with an agent will save you money.

The shopping stage is the most fun, and what most people want to jump right into. As it turns out, there is some significant preparation and planning to make the shopping less stressful. We are experts at that.

The negotiation stage is when you want to work with a consulting expert, who deals with negotiation strategies and knows what to do in multiple offer situations.

In the closing stage, it's all about avoiding surprises. I like surprises, but I don't like surprises that cost me a lot of money. We also take pride in working with inspectors to get you to a smooth closing.

Thanks for taking the time to check out our blog today. In the next video of this series, we will start going into more detail on each of the four stages of home buying. Next up, preparation! In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to us via phone or email. Talk to you soon!

What Does the Northern Virginia Real Estate Market Look Like?

Northern Virginia has a wide variety of top-quality homes within a lively and vibrant real estate market. If you're wanting to browse the vast selection of homes, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search if you're interested in buying a home. For any other questions you have regarding your home's value, or the general state of the Northern Virginia market, please feel free to reach out to us at (703) 615-5888 (for Deanna), or (703) 969-0410 (for Jim).

Hey there everyone, We are here today to bring you a very brief market update for Northern Virginia. Here are the latest statistics, from our local MLS: 

• Overall, the market is up 15% in dollar value 
• Of that 15%, we are seeing 7% more units move 
• The average price per unit is up 8% 
• Days on the market has also increased, by about 32%

Here's the most important thing you need to know right now: interest rates are going up soon. When they go up, buyers can't afford as much home, and it's harder for sellers to sell. Rate increases are coming this year, so now is the time to be proactive about it.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I would be glad to help out.