Even though this isn’t an ideal situation, every Purchaser and Seller in the Charlottesville area has to be prepared for a contract being released, or cancelled, at any stage of the process. It’s important for either side to go over the contract with their Solutions agent to understand the details before it’s signed and, in particular, […]
How to handle Purchaser repair requests
If you’re selling your home and have gotten an offer, you may be concerned about the Purchasers asking you to make costly repairs that potentially could cut into your profit Repair requests can be negotiated under most circumstances, but it’s important to recognize that a Seller’s ability to negotiate depends on the contract proposed by […]
What is a Kick-out clause
You may have seen the phrase “kick-out clause” and wondered what it meant. As used in a real estate contract, it allows a Seller to accept a Purchaser’s contingent offer to purchase his/her property, while allowing the Seller to continue to market the property. The length of time can be for 24-, 48- or 72 […]
Is Homeownership for me?
Renting Vs. Owning – How to Choose Homeownership Many potential buyers in our local market have already made their first steps towards homeownership – they’ve saved for a down payment, pored over the local listings for months, attended endless amounts of open houses, but time has passed them by and months, maybe even years, have […]
Broom-Clean explained
At Solutions, we’re often asked by our Sellers what it means to leave their home in “broom-clean” condition at closing. According to wording in a Virginia Association of Realtors® (VAR) residential contract, the Seller agrees to “deliver the Property to Purchaser at settlement, in its present physical condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, but with such repairs […]
Should you call the listing agent?
Here at Solutions we get a lot of questions from potential buyers about the proper protocol for seeing a listing – should they go to see it with a buyer’s agent or simply call the listing agent? Buyers might wonder if only the listing agent should show a home. Yes, an agent is obligated to […]
“Get Around To-It” Projects to Help Sell Your House
The Spring/Summer Market Season is upon us and many sellers around the Charlottesville area may also be wondering how to make their houses stand out above the rest. They may have done the staging and mowed the lawn, but what about the “Get Around To-It” projects that may not have bugged them while they lived […]
Buying New Construction? An Experienced Real Estate Agent is a Must on Your Side
When a Charlottesville area buyer wants to go the new construction route there are several factors to consider. While an existing house can be inspected and everything is already in view, it can be difficult to picture exactly what you think you’re going to get with a brand new home. Sometimes, what you see in […]
Always Check out the Neighborhood Before You Decide to Buy
Imagine shopping for your dream home in the Charlottesville area market in the springtime. It’s easy to get in an expectant frame of mind when all of the flowering dogwoods and azaleas are in full bloom and it appears that Open House signs are dotting every street on the weekends. You know that inventory is […]
The Perks of Being a Cash Buyer
Many Buyers these days want to find out how best to have an edge in the home buying process, especially during the hot spring market. Research by the National Association of Realtors on cash sales shows that about 30% of residential sales, in fact, are cash transactions, and, especially among investors and international buyers, more […]
How to Juggle Selling Your Home & Buying Another in the Same Time Frame
This situation happens more often than anyone realizes – and, especially, if you are selling a house in one city and buying in another, it can get even trickier trying to make sure everyone who needs the proper paperwork and funds does, in fact, receive everything in a timely fashion. Although lenders are hard at […]
Things to Avoid Before You Close on Your New Home
Now that the contract has been ratified, the home inspection period has passed and everything agreed to, buyers may think that everything is smooth sailing until they close on their new home. Right? Not quite. There are a number of other things buyers must NOT do before the final settlement date. If they’ve been approved […]
20 Tips On How to Have a Successful Yard Sale
With the start of spring comes the onset of the Yard Sale. A few days before any given weekend you will start to see the familiar neon colored signs posted on street signs and stuck into the ground with directions to a nearby yard or garage sale. A yard sale, for those who are moving, […]
Minimize the stress of moving – 20 tips
Minimize the stress of moving day with these plan-ahead ideas. You’ve decided on a house and everything is moving smoothly towards settlement, so the next logical step is to break all of the moving parts into easy to follow steps to make it a success. Here are some tips to help you avoid, or […]
Charlottesville Home Appraisal
Understanding Why the Appraisal Process is So Important When you’ve found your dream home in the Charlottesville area, you and your Solutions agent will start to work on the purchase offer and discuss several items, including the home inspection, loan commit date and whether or not to add language that states the house must appraise for the […]
What is an “Escalation Clause” and when would a Buyer want to use it?
Here at Solutions, we recommend that our Buyers get pre-qualified with a local Charlottesville lender so they can be ready to move quickly as soon as that “just right” house hits the market. What is an Escalation Clause? This leads us to the question of the escalation clause, which is defined as “a real estate contract, […]
Five Signs Your House May Be Overpriced
As we head into the Charlottesville area 2014 Spring Market, buyers are paying attention to what inventory is available and which listings are truly making an effort vs. the ones that have been languishing for some time. Most sellers are anxious to make a good first impression and get their house sold quickly, but a […]
Types of Taxes in Virginia
It’s tax season again. Many Virginians may have some questions about the different categories of taxes they must pay. With some help from the Virginia Department of Taxation website, below are some helpful facts about state taxes. As an FYI, you must also pay federal taxes to the IRS in addition to the state taxes. […]
When to list your Charlottesville Home
This is a question that a client recently asked me. The answer is, well, it depends. It depends quite often on what your circumstance are. If you are relocating, then your timing will certainly be different than if you are just looking to downsize. So let us put the reason aside and ask, when is […]
Looking for a Charlottesville Home during Christmas
Most agents and people will report that the real estate market is slow during the holidays. This is generally true, but what I do find is that people who are looking are serious. This is because people spending their limited time, during Christmas, to shop for homes are typically not just browsing. So what is […]
Crozet Graffiti or Art?
For many people, the town of Crozet is really not very big. I often hear from people who are visiting that say “we are driving out to Crozet”. I have mixed thoughts when I hear that. First, I love Crozet but to me it is more of a feeling that a place. Second, I think […]
UVA at a glance
The University of Virginia (often abbreviated as UVA, UVa, or Virginia) was conceived and designed by President Thomas Jefferson and established on Jan. 25, 1819. The first classes met in March 1825. UVA’s first Board of Visitors included former Presidents of the United States Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, who owned the initial site […]
James Friend Dickerson joins Charlottesville Solutions
Good news travels fast and having James Friend Dickerson join us at Charlottesville Solutions is certainly good news! Jim is a wonderful addition to Solutions as he brings years of experience and exceptional customer service. A native of Central Virginia, James lived in Charlottesville, Albemarle, and Louisa Counties before heading to Virginia Tech to study Forestry […]
Historic Charlottesville Walkways
There is a lot of history around Charlottesville and sometimes, when I am walking down a sidewalk I wonder why else has walked there. Below is a photo of a sidewalk I took at the University of Virginia. These walkways were designed by Thomas Jefferson and built by his architects. There have been literally millions of feet on these […]
Charlottesville Cicadas are here
What’s worse than stink bugs and lady bugs put together? You guessed it, the 17 year Cicada, and they are beginning to arrive in Charlottesville right now. Your pets may snack on them and your ear drums may suffer but long term there shouldn’t be lasting effects. I photographed this fine specimen this morning while […]
Will an Open House sell my home?
This is a question we get all the time and we often have to be brutally honest with our Charlottesville home sellers. First lets define an open house. Wikipedia defines an open house as “a free, one-day event held by a real estate agent to show a listed residential property to any interested parties” and […]
Resale Home Prices will Rise
Maybe sooner than expected. It is all about the numbers, let me expand on this statement. With the slowdown in the economy, what we have been seeing locally in Charlottesville, and on a national level, is New Construction has been out pacing Resales for the last couple of years. Buyers have been drawn to new, […]
Charlottesville City Schools
Schools are an essential part of learning about any area and Charlottesville City Schools are no exception. Tour homes – Tour schools When looking at real estate, touring homes is important, but it is also extremely important to learn about and tour the schools in that area. This is true in any area you are considering. […]
Charlottesville Solutions is a Green Business
What do I mean by this? When we opened the doors at Solutions, two years ago, I had a few simple rules for myself and our agents. One of the most important rules was “never hand me a piece of paper“. The story actually started several years ago. I wrote a blog post in […]
Let’s Celebrate Charlottesville’s 250th Birthday!
For those who know and love Charlottesville, or even those who are just starting to call our beautiful city home, we’re about to celebrate Charlottesville’s 250th Birthday! For more details on how the city is celebrating – from exhibits and concert events to a civic ceremony on the actual date, Nov. 12, 2012 – please visit: Celebrate […]