Questions to Ask A Mortgage Lender Before Writing an Offer You’ve chosen your dream house, gotten pre-qualified and are about to write your offer – so now what? At Solutions, we recommend finding out as much as possible about your mortgage before you make the next big leap. In fact it is a good idea […]
Questions Buyers should be asking their Agents
What questions should Buyers ask before putting an offer on a home? Here at Solutions, we get asked lots of questions by clients in their search for their dream home. Because of Equal Housing Laws, there are some we’re prevented by law from answering, but there are a number of answers we can find out […]
How Are Buyer’s Agents Paid Anyway?
Here at Solutions, we often get asked many questions by prospective Buyers, but one in particular tends to stand out – “How do we, when we work as Buyer’s Agents, get paid?”Our answer is very simple – as Buyer’s Agents, we don’t work for free, but it’s the Seller who pays our fee, not the […]
Why use a Buyer’s Agent to Help With Your Home Purchase?
For most Americans, a home is the most significant and costly purchase they’ll make in their lifetime, with significant financial and emotional ramifications for the parties involved. Having proper representation, therefore, is critical. In this economy, and with ever greater access to the Internet, it’s easy to see why many people are looking to cut costs […]
Tips for a Successful “Walk-Through”
You’ve made it through the home inspection process, have your loan commit letter and approval in hand, placed your calls to the utility companies to transfer the accounts into your name, so, what’s left to do now before you close?One of the most important steps – the “walk-through” – is the next to last thing […]
Helping First-time Homebuyers Find What They Can They Afford
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “first-time homebuyer?” Chances are you think of a couple fresh out of college and starting new jobs. Did you know that a first-time homebuyer means anyone who has not bought a home in three years? Yes, you heard that right. This can apply to anyone, whether […]
What’s a Kick-out clause anyway?
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 […]
The Dos and Don’ts of calling the listing agent
The Dos and Don’ts of calling 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What is an “Escalation Clause” and when would a Buyer want to use it?
As the Charlottesville Spring 2014 market starts to get busy, Buyers who have been waiting for more houses to come on the market are poised and ready to “jump on” a newly listed house that looks just right. Here at Solutions, we recommend that our Buyers get pre-qualified with a local Charlottesville lender so they can […]
The listing agent did not tell me that
A very simple comment from a buyer client who was talking directly with the listing agent. The client said to me “The listing agent did not tell me that…” This is a recent comment from a client and the reason is simple… The listing agent represents the best interests of the seller (not you)… Think […]
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 […]
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 Aug […]
Charlottesville Solutions welcomes Sybil Mahanes
Well the word is out and we are very excited to announce that Sybil Mahanes has joined Charlottesville Real Estate Solutions. Sybil was born and raised in Charlottesville Virginia. Her love of the area and its people is infectious. Prior to real estate, Sybil was the owner of the Ivy Store, a landmark in Western […]
Explaining Virginia’s new Buyer Brokerage Agreement law
New Virginia Buyer Brokerage Agreement law What you need to know as of July 1, 2012 If you’re thinking of purchasing a home in Virginia, you’ll want to know that there’s a new Agency law that will take effect on July 1 that will change the way you can see houses no matter where you […]
First meeting with Charles in Charlottesville
As my clients know I love the Charlottesville area and I love showing Charlottesville Real Estate and Homes to my clients. A lot of factors go into the decision to relocate to a new area and one thing I have learned is that no two clients are alike in this regard. If time permits, we […]
Use a local Charlottesville Buyers Agent
When looking to buy a home in Charlottesville, or any area for that matter, logic dictates that you use a highly skilled local Charlottesville buyers agent. However, I see so many people go against this logic. So let’s look at why. A Local Charlottesville Buyers Agent Knows The Market This just makes good sense. Most Buyers […]
Top 3 Google+ tips for Real Estate Business
Write a good Bio Seems like this is a no brainer but I am amazed at how many people have little or no Bio on Google. Why spend so much time without having a good Bio, makes no sense to me. Engage Google+ is very social and you have the opportunity to engage with “specific” circles of […]
