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 […]
How to Avoid a Refinance Nightmare
Recent historically low rates created quite a rush on refinancing activity, making brokers and lenders quite happy with the increased business. Refinancing your home can be a great way to lower your monthly payments, but not all refinance deals are good ones.Sometimes a refinance loan might seem like a money-saver at first, but you could […]
Give a Neighborhood a “Test Drive”
While your Solutions agent is going to provide you with all the available details on the home you are purchasing, there are a few items that cannot be shared as there are Fair Housing laws that any agent must respect. We talked about checking out a neighborhood in a previous blog, but now is the time […]
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 […]
First-time Homebuyers
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 […]
Can I Cancel a Real Estate Contract?
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Finding a Charlottesville Home or Finding a Charlottesville School?
Great question! As a father who relocated his family to the Charlottesville area over 12 years ago, I can tell you that I started by looking at schools first. The neighborhood and homes were second and third on my priority list. Many agents will give you the mantra, Location, Location, Location. This is certainly important, […]
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 will […]
Green Charlottesville Homes
The trend towards Green Homes has certainly hit the Charlottesville Real Estate market over the last couple of years. I now receive inquiries regarding Green Homes in Charlottesville about once or twice a month. Green Charlottesville is Cool It is not just cool to go Green, it makes perfect sense. Many Charlottesville Homes are energy-efficient […]
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 […]
What I have radon?
What is Radon? Every few years I run a radon test on my own home. Last month I got a reading over the EPA recommended level and this caused me to take action. We had a remediation system installed this week and now our radon level is safe. What is Radon? This is one of […]
A Charlottesville Home Buyer speaks out
Charles, Just wanted to let you know that we finally have a contract on our Fairfax house. Rob and I were really missing your technical expertise throughout the contract process — our realtor e-mailed me the contract, then I had to print it out to sign and scan it to e-mail it back, and every […]
The Real Estate Handoff
Why did I refer you to another agent? When you contacted me you were looking for a specific type of property in a certain area. Well I want you to know that that is not my expertise. However I know the agent you need to work with. We have agents that specialize in certain types […]
A Clients Place at a Home Inspection
A message for Clients When we do a home inspection we want you to be a part of it. But the truth is that it could take 2-4 hours for an inspection and it just slows down the inspector if you are looking over his shoulder. Good idea Here is the best way to handle this. […]
