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Real Estate Agent recommendations

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by pc23i, Jan 5, 2008.

  1. pc23i

    pc23i New Member

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    We are planning to sell our house in Ashburn asap. Does anyone know of a RE agent they can recommend? We need a fast and efficient agent.
    Thanks!
    SB
     
  2. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    Ron Cawthorne- great realtor who pays attention to what you need, fantastic customer service and follow up and he WORKS HARD.

    http://teamronandwayne.com/home.asp

    I have friends looking to buy in Ashburn- please PM me info on your house if it's a sfh with some property...
     
  3. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    We've used Terry Brownfield from Long and Foster's Alexandria office twice and been extremely happy with her. For what it's worth, we listed our Ashburn Village townhouse with her in March of 07 and it sold in three weeks. We used her to buy the townhome in June 2004, sell the townhome, and buy our current home.

    She's very nice, gives good advice, and although her office isn't in the Ashburn area, I can tell you from our experience that she now knows the Ashburn market pretty well. Plus she's very good about following up on all the details.

    TERRY.BROWNFIELD@LongandFoster.com
    (800) 336-6164 Ext. 232
    5845 Richmond Highway, Suite 150
    Alexandria, VA 22303
     
  4. jjenkins

    jjenkins New Member

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  5. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    My wife is in real estate agent with Weichert and I will start with I don't care who you use.

    But whoever you use make sure they give you a realistic idea of the current market conditions, which are not very good. And you are now competing with a lot of distressed homes up for sale including many foreclosures. Whether there is many in you area or not they still have an big impact on this market. Make sure they give an accurate assessment of the condition of your home and when it is shown it needs to be spotless including the windows nothing worse then the sun hitting dirty windows when showing a home which can't be seen when the sun does not hit them ;). That seems obvious but I can't tell you how many homes I have walked thru that are for sale and they are not spotless and dirty windows.

    And of course like custom builders realtor's sometimes will give you an exaggerated idea of what you can get for the home to get the listing, like the custom builder who low balls the price to get the job then kills for the extras after he or she has the job. Realtors sometimes do the opposite and give you an high end of the spectrum. Don't forget get a Realtor is not an appraiser the Realtor does market analysis and that is not the same as an a appraisal, which the bank will base how much they will loan on the property among other things.

    Make sure you get an Realtor that will work hard for you just listing the property and a few open houses is not enough in this market. Don't forget Realtors do open houses not only for you but also for potential other clients that have nothing to do with selling your property.

    That listing agreement will seem like forever that you you signed with the Realtor if you are not getting any potential serious buyers even if it is a short period of time to be listed with the realtor.

    Anyway selling a home at an good price is far more then listing it and open houses there is far more to it especially in this market.

    I will also say the market is far worse then last spring or summer and the worst is yet to come, so you need someone who can tell you the way it really is.



    Lee j
     
  6. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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  7. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Ditto with what Lee said. Here's what I have to add from my experience with buying and selling, going to open houses, and my current obsession with watch the real estate shows on HGTV :rolleyes3:

    1. Clean, clean clean. That includes baseboards, light fixtures, fingerprints on doors, air vents, windowsills, oven door, stove top, etc.
    2. Get a storage unit and clear out a bunch of stuff. We did that when we sold our townhome and I think it made a big difference. We got a storage unit from Boxcart, which is like PODS where a storage box is delivered to your house, you fill it up, then they take it away. I was fortunate enough that my realtor (Terry Brownfield) covered the cost of that. Ask whatever realtor you choose if they will do it. Anyway, remove most of your closet items, knick-knacks, boxes of holiday decorations, etc. If you have many books, pack them up now and put them in storage - you'll have to pack them later, anyway, and putting them away now helps to declutter your house. We even packed most of our CDs and put them in storage so that our CD tower wasn't out to take up valuable space.
    3. Do all repairs you can. We had a bathroom light fixture that was getting a bit rusty and so we replaced it (I even got a free new one from Freecycle.org). Patch any holes in walls, fix leaky faucets, re-caulk around the shower and tub, and whatever else. Replace your a/c filters.
    4. Did I mention cleaning absolutely everything? Fridge, cabinet fronts, counter backsplashes, shower doors should sparkle and have not mildew. Get a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and clean the scuff marks off your walls - be sure to wipe afterward with a wet rag so the eraser doesn't leave any residue.
    5. Dress up your house. That "staging" stuff really works. Even though someone isn't buying your stuff, just your house, they still get a first impression based on what your stuff looks like. Kind of dumb, but true. So put away the family photos and put up some neutral artwork. The HomeGoods store in Ashbrook has a lot of my money but I made it up with the sale of my house and using the things I bought in my current place. Curtains made a big difference in our townhome, too.
    6. The cookie baking thing really works, too. Or the smell of most anything baking. Plus it can cover any odd odors your house may have from cooking that bacon the other day. ;) I didn't bake entire batches of cookies but instead bought a roll of dough at the grocery and sliced off a few "cookies" to bake in the toaster oven on weekend mornings or any other time I thought people might be coming by to view the house. Then I set them out on a plate for potential buyers to eat. You could put out fresh flowers, too.
    7. Have a very competitive price. We went and looked through other homes for sale in our area to see what our competition looked like before we priced our home. One house had crayon marks on the walls and the glass front of the oven door was missing! What they were thinking, I'll never know.

    I think you've heard enough out of me for a while so I'll stop here. Good luck with the sale of your house (once it's on the market it becomes a commodity and not a home anymore).
     
  8. We Love Disney

    We Love Disney New Member

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    What realtors specialize in helping a seller stage their home? I know they all try to help but which ones are really good at it? Local Broadlands realtors?
     
  9. sunnydog

    sunnydog New Member

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    We like Kyle Davis - he can be reached via email at KDavis001@aol.com
    Not sure who he is with now, lives in Ashburn (former Broadlander) and stages homes as well.
     
  10. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    From the WP today. I think Villager wrote it :clap::clap:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/05/AR2008010500117.html



    As far as staging there are many different degrees of it from the The Real Estate Agent to professional stagers that do it for a living to people that have great furniture and taste and will live in your home with their furniture until it sells. These are professional house sitters with their own beautiful furniture and decorating and can move at a moments notice when the home sells and they always keep the home looking showroom condition while they live there.
     
  11. mckmak23

    mckmak23 New Member

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    We used Byron Hudtloff when buying our home. We had a wonderful experience with him. His web site is soldbybyron.com.

    He is very experienced and really takes his time to answer any questions you may have. We even receive periodic market updates and he makes himself available for any questions we have.

    Good Luck!
    Karen
     
  12. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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  13. webeadams

    webeadams New Member

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    I've been following the local real estate market very closely (there's a short sale/foreclosure one street from me) and in this market you should do staging and definitely paint! A decorator I've used (Broadlands resident) has done a lot of staging because of this market and she was recently written up in the magazine that comes with the sunday Washington Post. My painter is great and currently has a really good winter special.

    Decorator - Jennifer Mangum, http://www.redecorate-today.com/
    cell: 703-867-6164

    Painter - Ronald Jimenez, RJ Painting & Drywall, 703-932-0551
     
  14. violinmusic

    violinmusic New Member

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    We successfully sold our house in Herndon last year, and bought in Ashburn. We had an amazing experience with Pam Stream (Weichert). She really goes above and beyond- she did an AMAZING job staging our house, and I think that made all the difference. Didn't charge us extra for it, either.
    www.pamstream.com. Good luck!
     
  15. Lee

    Lee Permanent Vacation

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    MARKETWATCH


    Home Sellers: What to Fix

    [FONT=times new roman,times,serif][FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By AMY HOAK
    December 30, 2007
    [/FONT]
    [/FONT]
    If you're planning to sell a home in 2008, it's time to start thinking about how to make that home stand out from the rest.
    But beware: Homeowners aren't able to recoup as many improvement costs as they did in recent years, according to a recent study by Remodeling magazine. In selling a home, "it's more important that it's neat, it's clean and it looks spacious, rather than making sure it's the top of the line," says Cheri Kuhn, owner of Waters Realty in Minnetonka, Minn.
    "The thing I find with sellers -- if they do a lot of remodeling -- they will take the cost of the remodeling and add it to the cost of the home and ask the buyer to pay for it," she says. But often they're not going to get that higher price.
    To keep costs down and remodel wisely, consider the following tips:
    Ask for advice. When Ms. Kuhn first meets with clients -- sometimes six months before listing the home -- she'll make a list of improvements that will make a difference. Cleaning the carpets, painting the walls and removing wallpaper are common fixes -- if they're needed.
    But prior to any remodeling, declutter your home and rent a storage unit if necessary to hold extra stuff while the home is on the market, says Shannon Aldrich, a Realtor in Maine and New Hampshire with Keller Williams Coastal Realty.
    Dig deeper. It also could pay to look below the surface by getting a home inspection before listing the property. That way, problems that could hold up a sale are addressed in advance, says Dan Steward, president of Pillar to Post, a Tampa, Fla.-based home-inspection company. Some estimate that for every dollar of perceived defect, buyers want a $2 to $3 discount, Mr. Steward says. If that's true, it might pay to spend $2,500 replacing an old furnace.
    If there's a problem with an essential element of the house, Ms. Kuhn says, a buyer might think "if that was neglected, what else was?"
    Look outside: Pay attention to exterior details such as the condition of siding and windows, Ms. Aldrich says. According to Remodeling magazine, a wood window replacement recovers an average 81% of cost at resale and a siding replacement recovers an average 83%, some of the best payoffs in the survey.
    Spend time in the bathroom. Freshening up the bathroom doesn't have to be expensive, but can be important. "People will put up with a lot of cosmetic challenges in a house if they know they could use the bathroom right away," Ms. Aldrich says. It's important for the bathroom to be clean, but also consider replacing cracked tiles, as well as the sink and the toilet -- if they need it, she adds. A toilet, for example, can cost less than $250.
    Keep it small in the kitchen: Remodeling magazine found that homeowners could recover 83% of the cost of a minor kitchen remodel at resale compared with 78% of a major kitchen remodeling. Ms. Kuhn cautions her clients not to replace refrigerators, stoves or dishwashers. Buyers considering remodeling the kitchen will likely have their own preferences.
    Along those same lines, replace a countertop if it's crumbling but not if its only fault is that it's outdated, Ms. Kuhn says. Even then, seriously consider material costs -- there's no need to update to granite unless the competition has granite countertops as well.
    Read more at marketwatch.com
     
  16. Sunny

    Sunny Chief Advisor

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    I know 3 EXCELLENT realtors that work hard and get results.
    The first is Tobey Converse 703-470-7094- he is a bulldog with negotiations, he has been a realtor for many many years and is a broker and notary public as well. He is so full service it is great- he is a walking real estate & home encyclopedia. He goes ABOVE and BEYOND and always has for us. Plus he has sponsored Broadlands Live in the past, so I give total props to the guy. He has handled ALL of our real estate business and is helping us on something right now. He does the baking the pie bit for open houses, he does a talking houses at your request, he is just incredible and like I said, highly knowledgeable. Just call him and talk to him and you'll see what I mean. Tell him I sent ya.

    2nd is The Doman Group. They are Broadlands savvy and have listings here at the moment. They are out-of-the-box thinkers and are good at marketing. Their open houses are powerful because they enlist other realtors to hold opens on the same day to generate more traffic and get people in to see your house. They are a growing group that should not be overlooked when deciding on a realtor. I recommend Beth (Great Realtor and staging expert)703-200-4589 or Joe (Joe Knows Real Estate!) 703-929-5716.
    Either way, tell them all who sent you:) AND if you end up listing with them I will get you a housewarming gift at closing:) (backstage passes at Broadlands Live?? ha ha, just kidding.)
    Good luck with everything!
    Call around and talk to different realtors before you pick one- there are so many that don't know what they are talking about (my 3 rec's are solid!)
     
  17. MadCat07

    MadCat07 New Member

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    A little off topic but I'm curious -- there is a house near us which is listed on-line at what would seem to be below Market Value and is also listed as a "Short Sale". Is "Short Sale" the same thing as a foreclosure ?
     
  18. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    A short sale is when a property is sold and the lender agrees to accept a discounted payoff, meaning the lender will release the lien that is secured to the property upon receipt of less money than is actually owed.

    More simply, the lender allows a property to be sold for less than the amount owed on a mortgage and takes a loss.
     
  19. Jde

    Jde New Member

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    Yes, I would highly recommend Kyle Davis - he's with ReMax Select and can be reached at kdavis001@aol.com or by cell phone: 703-801-8460. I need to correct Sunnydog because Kyle is STILL a broadland homeowner!
     
  20. sonalibatish

    sonalibatish New Member

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    Not sure if you are still looking for a good real estate agent but we swear by Paul Columbo (paulcolumbo@hotmail.com, cell - 703.203.2750). He showed us at least a 100, if not more, houses when we were looking to buy a house in the area and was tremendously patient the whole time. He is still our go-to-for-everything guy and a close friend too.

    He is associated with REMax and we have recommended him to several people over the last few years, all of whom have been very happy with him.

    Good luck!
    Sonali.
     

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