Fairfax County VA Home Search Website Blog

So, you’ve decided that you want to take on a home improvement project.  You’ll save money, increase the value of your Fairfax County Virginia real estate and experience the great feeling of doing it yourself.

But have you considered what it’s going to be like afterwards, when it’s time for the clean up?  Construction dust hangs in the air, finds its way into every nook and cranny of your Fairfax County Virginia real estate and seems to last for an eternity.

You try vacuuming up the dust, but find you can’t seem to get rid of it all.  Here are the steps I’ve found that work best for removing that fine dust: 

1. Sweep the walls with a clean broom to remove the dust.  Use a paint brush to get the dust out of all the corners.  Let the dust settle for an hour or two.

2. Vacuum the floors.  Do not start by sweeping them with a broom.  No matter what type of floors you have, even if they’re wood or tile, use a vacuum.  A shop vac with a brush attachment and a HEPA filter works best.  (The fine construction dust could damage a typical household vacuum.)  Vacuum slowly to avoid stirring up the dust.

3. Mop the floors.  Add 1 cup of vinegar to a bucket of water.  Mop thoroughly, rinsing your mop frequently.

4. Examine your walls the following day.  If you see dust, sweep them again.  Then wipe down the entire surface with a wet cloth or sponge.  Rinse your wet cloth or sponge frequently.  NOTE:  If your project included new drywall, do not use anything wet on the drywall.  The topping compound used over the drywall seams and nail heads is very lightweight material that is feather sanded to perfection.  Wiping it with a damp sponge could damage it.

5. Repeat.  If your floors look dull, or if you can see construction dust on them, vacuum and mop them again as outlined in 2 and 3 above.

If you’re going to paint, wait until the majority of the dust has been removed before you start.  You don’t have to remove every speck of dust from your walls before painting, but you don’t want to paint over a lot of dust.  Clean walls make painting easier and the results better.

Want more home maintenance tips like this?  Subscribe to my blog and get free tips like this automatically emailed to you.  It’s free and easy to subscribe!

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

Whether you need a contractor for a minor project like a plumbing problem or a major project like a room addition, it’s important to evaluate potential contractors before hiring them.  Here are 5 steps to finding the best contractor for your Fairfax County Virginia real estate project:

1. Get multiple quotes.  Even if your toilet is overflowing onto your living room’s carpet, take the time to get 2 or 3 estimates.  Haste can cost a lot more than replacing the carpet in your Fairfax County Virginia real estate.

2. Check references.  Talk with the former clients of the contractor you’re considering hiring.  Find out what it was really like to work with the contractor.  Two of the best questions to ask are:

a. What was your favorite thing about the contractor?
b. What was your least favorite thing about the contractor?

3. Call the insurer and licensing board.  Confirm that the contractor you’re thinking about hiring has adequate and current liability coverage and a current license.  Just asking the contractor is not sufficient.

4. Search for complaints.  Search online on the company name plus the word “complaints.”  It’s often surprising what you’ll find.  Also, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been registered with them.

5. Negotiate a maximum hourly rate.  If the job goes quickly, you won’t pay what could be a higher estimate.

I know it’s easier to just hire the first contractor who returns your call.  Don’t do it.  Taking the easy way out can cost you hours, days or weeks of frustration and hundreds of dollars.

Need the name of a professional contractor for a project on your Fairfax County Virginia real estate?   I’ve worked with several great contractors and would be happy to give you some recommendations.  Give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com
703-909-3939

Are you a first-time home buyer?  There are a lot of things you’ll want to learn before making that first purchase.  Here are 9 tips to help you get a Alexandria VA home for sale you’ll love and be prepared for additional costs you may not have considered:

1. Ask yourself if you’re ready. Are you financially ready to buy one of the Alexandria VA homes for sale? Do you have a steady job and income?  Do you have money for the down payment?

2. Get pre-approved.  When you get pre-approved for a mortgage loan, your lender checks your credit and lets you know the amount of mortgage for which you qualify.  Having a pre-approved loan will put you at the top of the list when presenting an offer.

3. Identify closing costs. The cost of closing on the Alexandria VA home for sale you want to purchase shouldn’t be overlooked. Closing costs include origination fees, title and settlement fees, taxes and prepaid items such as homeowner’s insurance or homeowner’s association fees.

4. Calculate your total monthly housing cost.  Include taxes and homeowners insurance.  In some areas, what you’ll pay for your taxes and insurance escrow almost doubles your mortgage payment.

5. Include home maintenance expenses in your budget.  Maintaining your investment can be labor-intensive and expensive. Unexpected costs for new appliances, roof repairs and plumbing problems can drain your bank account.

6. Find a Alexandria VA home.  Identify the neighborhood, you want to live in.  Hire a full-time REALTOR® who specializes in that neighborhood to help you find and negotiate the purchase of the home.

7. Get a home inspection.  Make sure your agent includes a home inspection contingency in your offer to buy a home. If you’re unsatisfied with anything found in the home inspection, have your agent negotiate with the seller to make repairs, pay for repairs or lower the price.

8. Make it to closing.  You have your financing, your offer has been accepted, and you’re anxiously awaiting the day you close on your home.  Now, you just have to make sure you don’t do anything to jeopardize your credit.  Do not change jobs, buy a new car or apply for credit cards.

9. Celebrate.  Congratulations!  You’re now the proud owner of your first home.

Buying your first home can be exciting, especially if you’re knowledgeable about the process and prepared.

If your goal for this year is to be a first-time homeowner, let me guide you through the process of finding and buying one of the Alexandria VA homes for sale. Give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com for more information.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

As a society, it seems like we’ve gotten away from appreciating our homes and condos in Arlington VA for their emotional and sentimental worth.  Instead, we focus solely on their monetary value. 

An appraiser can estimate the monetary value of your home or condo in Arlington VA, but to gain a true concept of your home’s worth, you must also take into consideration:

1. Pride of ownership.  You don’t buy a pair of Prada shoes because you’re going to be able to resell them and make a profit.  You buy them because they make you look good and feel good.

2. Security and stability.  Your home provides a roof over your head that’s in your control.  You can decorate it how you want.  You don’t have to worry about a landlord selling the property or asking you to move out.  In the “olden days” (or should I say “golden days”), we called our homes our castles because, as owners, we felt like the kings and queens of our homes and condos in Arlington VA.  You can still feel that way!  Claim your castle and crown yourself king or queen today.

3. A safe haven.  After a tough day at work or a day of disappointments, where’s the first place you think of going?  Home!  As Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”

4. A place to make memories.  Your son’s tree house and daughter’s playhouse.  The markings on the wall that tracked your children’s growth.  The porch swing where you start and end every anniversary celebration.    

5. A neighborhood full of friends.  In the event of an emergency, your neighbors are your first line of defense.  They’re also the simplest, best and least expensive form of security.  Additionally, they may have the exact tool you need for a project; the extra pair of hands you need to complete a project or children to become playmates with yours. Neighbors also give you that much needed in-person, up-close social network.

Even if your home’s economic value has dropped, you continue to benefit from its emotional values of community, stability, security and success.

Thinking of buying one of the homes or condos in Arlington VA?  I can help you evaluate the emotional and monetary worth of a home or condo and find one that fits your values and lifestyle.  Give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

You know it’s a buyer’s market.  But you really need to sell your home now.  Here are 6 tips to get Alexandria VA homes sold even in today’s real estate market:

1. Price your home competitively from the start.  Ask your agent to find out what similar homes in your neighborhood sold for in the last 6 months.  Don’t bother looking at pricing prior to that.  And don’t base your decision on listing prices.  A lot of homeowners price their Alexandria VA homes high to start with but end up drastically reducing the price in order to get them sold.

2. Offer incentives.  There are a lot of similar properties on the market, so in addition to competitively pricing your home, you should consider including incentives.  You could offer a home warranty, to pay part of the closing costs or to leave the big screen television that fits perfectly over your fireplace.

3. Pick the right agent. Look for local agents who are listing, marketing, and selling in your neighborhood even though the market is slow. Interview several of them and ask what price they recommend and how they’ll market your property.

4. Get your home in tip-top shape.  You cannot afford to let anything slip through the cracks… literally.  If you have cracks in your driveway, walls or foundation, get them fixed before you put your home up for sale.  Make your home shine.

5. Be flexible on the deposit.  In a slow market, you may need to settle for a smaller deposit than you’d typically require.  If the buyer is pre-approved for a loan and no other offers are on the table, reducing the deposit may convince the buyer to make an offer.

6. Negotiate.  Buyers can and will be demanding in today’s real estate market.  Prepare yourself for some tough negotiating.  Make sure you’re working with an agent who excels at negotiating, and then let her do her job.

Want to work with a local agent who is an expert negotiator and knows how to get Alexandria VA homes sold in this buyer’s market?  Give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

If you’re considering selling your home, you probably already know most of the questions you should ask Fairfax County Virginia real estate agents you’re thinking of hiring, such as:

• How long have you been a Fairfax County Virginia real estate agent?
• Are you a full-time REALTOR®?  
• Do you specialize in my neighborhood?
• How would you market my home?

Unfortunately, most sellers forget one of the most important questions to ask Fairfax County Virginia real estate agents:  How many of the homes you listed in the last 12 months actually sold?

The answer to this question gets to the heart of whether the agents are good at selling real estate.   They’ll have very few sold homes in comparison to the number of homes they listed, if they:

• Over-price homes  
• Under-market homes
• Don’t know how to negotiate 
• Aren’t good at (or simply don’t do) the multitude of tasks knowledgeable real estate agents perform to get homes sold

If you discover that an agent has a higher percentage of listings that are withdrawn or expired and not renewed than other agents in the same area, keep looking.

Searching for an agent who gets homes sold?  Congratulations, you’ve just found one!  I’d be honored if you’d give me a chance to interview for the job of selling your home.  Please call me at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com to schedule an interview.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

For some frustrated sellers, the answer to “Why isn’t my home selling?” is “It’s the agent’s fault!”  If your immediate instinct is to drop your Fairfax County Virginia real estate agent for a new one, you might want to take a deep breath and consider the following:

1. Do you think agents are like lottery tickets?  Going through Fairfax County Virginia real estate agents as fast as scratch-off lottery tickets isn’t going to get your home sold faster.  In fact, it usually slows down the process.

2. Is your home priced correctly?  That’s probably the number one difference between homes that sell fast and homes that sit on the market.  A poorly priced home could be your agent’s fault.  Then again, you could be partially to blame.  Did you insist on a specific price even though your agent strongly recommended a lower price?  Did you refuse to lower the price when your agent suggested lowering it?  If you’re inflexible about price, switching agents will not help. 

3. Did you make the home improvements recommended by your agent?  If your agent suggested you paint, clean carpets, reduce clutter or complete any other inexpensive, easy-to-accomplish task, and you didn’t do it, you’re greatly reducing your opportunity to get your home sold.  You chose to work with your agent because he is a knowledgeable professional.  Take his advice and get those home improvement tasks done now.

4. Has your listing agreement expired?  If your listing contract has expired, this is the perfect time to consider switching agents.  Go back to the start, identify 3 new agents and interview the agents.  If you find one that fits your needs better than your current agent, let your agent know you won’t be renewing your contract.

5. Did your agent market your home?  If your agent has not done all the marketing he promised, point this out and ask him when he’ll get the marketing in place.  Follow up to be sure it’s done on time and professionally.  If he still doesn’t market your home like he said he would, it may be time to switch agents. 

6. Are you being impatient?  If you made all the home improvements recommended by your agent, your home is properly priced, and all marketing tasks are completed, you may just need to have a little patience.  This is a slow real estate market.  That means your home isn’t going to sell overnight.  Ask your agent the average number of days it takes a home to sell in your area, then wait that length of time before thinking about changing agents.

Don’t replace your agent just because you don’t know what else to do.  You’ll be wasting time and effort.  Instead, work with your agent to determine what else can be done to get your home sold.

If you decide to search for a new, experienced Fairfax County Virginia real estate agent, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to interview for the job.  Call me at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com to schedule an interview.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

While some people are hesitant to buy into a real estate market that seems to still be bottoming out, many studies have shown that owning a house is an investment in your future and that of your community. From tax breaks to property taxes, being a Alexandria VA home owner can put money in the bank.  It also gives you a sense of pride in contributing to community institutions such as the police force, local government offices, fire stations and free medical services.

Did you know that statistically you and your neighbors are more likely to properly maintain and update your Alexandria VA homes when you own them rather than rent them?  Maintaining and updating your home boosts the real estate market around you, giving you the chance to increase the value of your property, your neighbors’ property and eventually your entire community.

4 more reasons why you should buy instead of rent:

1. Building financial security – While it might take many years for you to actually make a profit on your house, you’ll still have your money secured in a tangible investment that you can pass down for generations to come.
2. Investing in your community – If you pay property taxes, you’ll be investing in your community. You could play a part in contributing to more parks, cleaner streets and better schools for you, your children and your neighbors.
3. Buying while the housing market is slow – With the high rate of foreclosures and slow real estate market, you can scoop up amazing homes at great prices. Purchase while the market is slow and your investment could grow exponentially within the next 10 years.
4. Taking advantage of tax benefits – You’ll receive a federal income tax break, and you’ll get to deduct the interest paid on your mortgage and property taxes — which means more money in the bank!

Use an online mortgage calculator to determine what you can afford to buy instead of paying rent. While renting can be appealing, you won’t be doing your financial security, your children’s schools or your community any long-term favors.

Want to discover more benefits of buying instead of renting a Alexandria VA home? Call me at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com for more information. 

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com   
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com   
703-909-3939

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching.  Are you looking forward to it or dreading it? 

Some people anxiously anticipate what their beloved with do for them on Valentine’s Day.  Others expect to spend the day sobbing while soaking in their Arlington VA home’s bathtub. 

Here’s some advice from Kimberly Englot, author of The Now of Happiness, on how to have a truly Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tips for Couples

• Start planning now. So you’re not stressed AND so that it doesn’t appear last minute or rushed. You don’t want your partner to think you don’t care!
• Keep in mind what your partner likes, it doesn’t have to be about roses and chocolate. Think personalized. If in doubt, go with a heart-felt card and cook a nice meal. Or, you could spread a blanket in front of your Arlington VA home’s fireplace and have a romantic picnic.  Small, thoughtful gestures go a long way.

Tips for Singles

• Take the day to celebrate love for yourself.
• Indulge in a Spa Day, take yourself out for a nice meal or head to a sports event, whatever sounds like fun to you.
• Surround yourself with your other single friends and make the night about friendship.  Consider throwing a party for your single friends.  You could gather in your Arlington VA home’s kitchen and have a dessert party.  Ask each of your friends to bring their favorite dessert, to keep it easy and fun for everyone.
• Honor your feelings.  If it’s your first Valentine’s Day alone in a while, feel the feelings of sadness but don’t dwell on them. Take the day to honor yourself and your loved ones.  Then find a way to distract yourself (see tips above).

When it comes down to it, it’s just another day of the year, the amount of meaning put on it is entirely up to you.

Whether you’re a couple or single, bringing more happiness into your life might include owning a home.  If homeownership equals happiness to you, I can help.   Give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com  
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com  
703-909-3939

Considering deflated real estate values, you might wonder if buying national and Fairfax County Virginia real estate still makes good financial sense.  According to the National Association of REALTORS® eighth annual Housing Opportunity Pulse Survey, nearly 8 out of 10 respondents believe buying a home does make good financial sense. 

Surprised?  Let’s examine three reasons Americans believe buying national and Fairfax County Virginia real estate remains a good financial choice:

1. Lower home prices and low mortgage interest rates are making homes more affordable. 

2. Almost 7 out of 10 believe that home values have stabilized in their area; the same number expects home sales to remain about the same through the end of the year.

3. The rate of foreclosures is also seen as stabilizing; 51 percent say the rate is about the same as last year.

Another big advantage for you may be the tax benefits of home ownership.  You will still, as always, be able to deduct the interest you pay, as well as other real estate related items on your income tax return. For most people that deduction equates to a sizeable chunk of money. It can mean the difference between owing the government more money at the end of the year, and getting a refund.

If you would like more information on how owning Fairfax County Virginia real estate can make sense for you, give me a call today at 703-909-3939 or email me at Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com.

Steve Hawkins
Long and Foster REALTORS®
Springfield, Virginia
www.HomeSearchWebsite.com  
Steve@HomeSearchWebsite.com  
703-909-3939