I notice that housing inventory is down

Housing inventory has decreased. In many of the sub-divisions where I sell homes, the number of available homes is significantly lower than is was 2 months ago. This is due to 1.) increased sales in the last month or so and 2.) sellers taking homes that didn't sell off the market.

Whatever the reason, the market seems to be correcting (as normally happens in a free market). Now the question is - are we approaching a balanced real estate market, or even a sellers market again, or will a slug of new listings in the spring push us back to a weak (or buyers') market?

Stay tuned...

Find the Right Contractor

There are so many bad contractors out there it scares me. From both my experience and experiences of friends and clients I learn about contractors who never call back, even after several attempts to reach them. Or ones who show up late for apointments. A client had an experience the other day where she met with a contractor , received an estimate and then the contractor never showed up to do the job and never call. Aftyer she finally reached him, he said the job was too small and he couldn't be bothered. You must be kidding...

Anyway, I have a list of contractors for all types of jobs that are not only responsive (yes, they will call back) but do excellent work for very competitive prices. Some were my real estate clients originally and, because of our personal relationship, take excellent care of people I refer to them. One big contractor even gives a 10% discount off his published rates for clients I send him.

Feel free to contact me for the name of a contractor and, if I know a good one for that specific job, I will be glad to pass on the name and phone number. Bob

Buyers are starting to show up

I have noticed that we are getting many more showings of our listings than last month. Maybe (hopefully!) the real estate slump in the Washington DC / northern Virginia area is finally ending.

Most potential buyers should consider buying now, while they can still buy homes in near perfect condition without overbidding. This is exactly what savy buyers are doing. Unfortunately, most people plan on waiting until they are 100% sure we are at the bottom of the real estate slump. By the time we are sure the slump is over, it may be too late for most buyers.

The only way we will know for sure that the slump is over is when people start buying again and prices are rising. Due to strong job growth in this area, history tells us prices may rise quickly. By that time, it will be too late for many potential buyers to get into the housing market in northern Virginia. When prices start to go up around here, and people start to overbid to buy a home, only those buyers with extra cash will be able to afford the best places. This is because the banks will insist the buyers cover any overbidding, above appraised value, with cash.

Unfortunately, as in previous up markets, this means those buyers without a lot of extra cash will wind up buying the homes that are not in such good shape, where there is no bidding war. Because these buyers don't have a lot of extra cash, most of these homes will stay in poor shape.

Unless you want to buy a foreclosure or fixer upper home, and spend a lot of time and money fixing it yourself, the way to get the most from a home investment NOW is to buy a home in near perfect condition, in the best location you can afford, and then maintain this home in near perfect condition. When you eventually go to sell the home, potential buyers will recognize how well you have maintained it and offer you the best price possible. - Bob

To Sell Your Home - Make it Shine

There are so many homes for sale right now in the northern Virginia area, that we have been advising our clients to make their homes shine - I mean really, really shine! Basically, the home has to be perfect. If not, potential buyers will simply buy another one that is close to perfect. Making the home perfest will help get their homes sold quickly and for the highest price.

This is hard for many sellers to accept, especially since many of the homes were bought when it was a seller's market and the buyers had to bid on homes in less than perfect condition.

In addition, many sellers don't have the money to pay for the renovations before they sell. For this reason, we refer them to several contractors who will accept payment for their work at the time of settlement. This makes it easier for most sellers to make the changes now in order to sell their homes quickly and for the highest price. Bob

Crazy Deals Being Offered by Buyers in this Down Market

I just received a phone call from a potential "buyer" of a property we have listed for sale. He wanted to rent the property for 5 years with an option to buy anytime within that 5 years for a price based on today's market conditions.

I told him this was a terrible deal for our seller. In essence, anytime the buyer/renter felt the property had appreciated enough in the next 5 years, he could buy it and then flip it (sell it immediately) for a profit. The only possible benefit of this deal for a seller is rental income for 5 years.

If the price of the property stayed the same or decreased over the next 5 years, the buyer/renter lost nothing, as he just didn't exercise his option to buy and walked away from the proeprty. If the price went up, he got to take all the profit.

From my sellers point of view, the seller had all downside risk and no upside price potential. Terrible deal for the seller. Great deal for the buyer, if he could talk some sucker into taking it. Bob

Should Sellers fear a Home Inspection

Not only should sellers not fear a home inspection, but in fact they should insist that buyers perform a home inspection, using a qualified home inspector. This will limit any potential lawsuits by the buyer, if the buyer finds any major issues with the home after closing.

Buying without lender qualification

Wow, you can buy a home without having to qualify with a lender. email for details to team@onlyvirginia.com

Great time to buy a home, but buyers are afraid

I am talking to several buyers who think that, because the real estate market is depressed, it is not a good time to buy. This is wrong. With prices down, this is the perfect time to buy. You never hit the exact top or bottom when you are buying or selling investments (like stocks or the real estate market). It's just hard to BUY when everybody is selling. Makes you think that everybody must be right and you are wrong. However, the smart invbestor knows you have to buy low and sell high. The real estate market is "low" right now in the DC area. Once it picks up again, it will very difficult to buy homes again unless you have a lot of cash, like it was for the past 5 years. Bob

There is a way to buy homes without having to qualify for a loan

Most people don't realize that they can buy homes using a Contract for Deed where the seller essentially acts as the lender. This usually set up for a relatively short period of time, say 6 months to 3 or 4 years, to give the buyer time to qualify and obtain more conventional financing.