virginia in virginia

Reflections on Connections

2010-12-17T16:11:00.001-05:00

The tag line for my real estate business is "Smart Connections Between Hearts and Homes". It's really my mission statement. In my e-newsletter I provide my clients a snapshot of housing sale price and volume trends. I'm constantly trying to stay on the pulse of the direction the market is going - because that's what my Buyers and Sellers need to know when they are in the midst of a transaction.  It actually means keeping up with multiple micro-markets by geography, price, and type of home. I read everything I can and also track what my clients are experiencing because, quite frankly, we are creating the trends before they're reported.

So that's the "smart" part of my mission. It is such an important part of what I do, it is easy to miss the opportunity to enjoy the "heart" part. I want my clients to make a smart decision, but I also hope for them a warm-hearted decision.

Last weekend I got to visit with a client who bought a condo in Arlington back in  April 2007.  It was so wonderful to see the personal touches she had added. Even more wonderful to hear her say how much she loved living there, she never wanted to move, and it was the best decision she'd every made. Erika, you made my day. It doesn't get any better than that!

We spend a lot of time number crunching, looking at comps, and negotiating the best possible deal. But the best part of owning a home is the joy and love experienced there. It's the way the light shines in the kitchen window in the afternoon. The sound of rain on the sky lights. The dogs playing a wild game of chase around and around in the family room.  Loved ones gathered around the table holding hands before Thanksgiving dinner.

This holiday season, I hope each of you have time to breathe deeply and reflect on the connection you have with your own home. I wish for you sun shining through a window and hand-holding at the table. Peace.

Short Sale - What is a Hardship?

2010-11-15T17:48:00.004-05:00

A short sale occurs when a homeowner owes more on their property than the property is actually worth, but their lender agrees to accept a discounted pay-off in order to avoid the foreclosure process. In other words, a home is sold to a buyer for less than what is owed on the mortgage by the seller.

In order for a lender to agree to this discounted pay-off, they have to be convinced that the homeowner really can't pay off the loan when the home is sold. There has to be a hardship. So what would a lender consider to be a legitimate hardship? Some examples are:

Job loss
Significant cut in pay
Divorce
Illness or death in the family
Increase in property taxes
Increase in payment due to an ARM resetting

Many homeowners with ARMs tied to the LIBOR are pleasantly surprised at their new low payments when their interest rates reset. The other items on the list are commonly-occurring real life events. When applying for a short sale, the homeowner will have to prove their hardship, providing documentation just as they did in applying for their original loan - but this time to prove they can't pay rather than that they can. They will also need to provide a hardship letter that explains what has changed in their life that is leading them to sell their home.

What if you are the buyer of a short sale property? Why does this matter to you? If you are taking the time to write an offer, and then commit to waiting for a short sale to be approved (which can easily take 3-4 months or longer), you'll want to have some assurance that there really is a hardship situation that would cause the lender to approve the short sale. You won't be privy to the documentation, but your agent needs to have a conversation with the listing agent so that you have a good idea that this is a legitimate situation. Otherwise you'll be sitting around waiting for an approval that never comes while other desirable properties are being sold.

Bottom line is that whether you are a seller or a buyer of property, you need to have a trained, experienced real estate agent to guide you through the hurdles and pitfalls that you will encounter. I've successfully closed short sales both as a lising agent and a buyer's representative. In order to serve my clients even more effectively, I recently received my training and certification as a CDRS (Certified Default Resolution Specialist).

Honestly, short sales aren't fun. It's a question mark for both buyers and sellers whether or not it will close. There is a lot of paperwork for the seller. And the buyer has to wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. If you don't have the patience, don't get in the game.

With that said, it's always deeply rewarding to help people reach their goals - whether it is getting a home sold, or helping someone buy their new nest.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2010-10-11T15:00:00.002-04:00

Realtors don't really take the summer off - or weekends - but business does slow down. Wanting to make the best of that opportunity, we undertook some renovations to our home. My husband and I live in 1978 split foyer. We have 4 young adult children who come and go. Having 2 bedrooms and a bath downstairs where our guests can have some privacy is the perfect floor plan for our needs.

The problem was the bathroom. For starters, it was literally in the family room. When someone was using the bathroom there was really no privacy, even with the door closed, if you know what I mean. It was small, classic 70s harvest gold, and the hockey-puck size rust hole that developed in the tub meant it was definitely time for a renovation.

My husband had the brilliant idea of building a new bathroom using half of our large storage room, creating a door right next to the bedrooms. The bathroom style was inspired by the work of my favorite TV designer, Sarah Richardson. Here is the exact bathroom that was my inspiration. (Scroll to the white and green bathroom.) I DVRed the show and was able to show the contractor the look I was going for.

Our contractor was the wise and experienced Roger Amendola. His right-hand man, Socrates, was the hard-working and meticulous craftsman that put it all together.

Roger guided me to some resources. I basically chose the next-to-the-least expensive of every option I had: tile, faucets, lighting, cabinets, drawer pulls. The only place I splurged was with the frameless glass for the shower. Worth every penny. I even sewed the roman shades myself.

Here's the bathroom. Tah Dah!


My splurge - the frameless glass shower.

This is the original bathroom.

At the same time we were able to move the washer and dryer from the unfinished storage room - exposed studs, concrete floors - into what was the old bathroom. Now I have a cheery, pretty, and clean laundry room.

This is the old bathroom, new laundry.

While I was at it I redecorated one of the guest bedrooms. Furniture from Craigs List. Hand-me-down bed linens. Carpet from Home Depot. I made the bedskirts, pillows and window coverings. Art is from art.com and lighting from Pottery Barn.

We didn't tell our kids what we were doing, and it was an absolute blast to see their faces and hear them exclaim when they saw "their" new bathroom. Just like the HGTV shows.

Now only 2 more bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, family room, etc. etc. . . . left to do. Time to sell more houses!

Buyers are Liars - Or Not

2010-04-19T14:23:00.000-04:00

An adage that always makes me cringe when I hear it from real estate agents is "Buyers are Liars". My first reacion is that those buyers are my clients and their business is what helps me make a living. So I definitely don't start out thinking negative things about them.

Second, I don't think that buyers intend to be liars. I think they just don't always know what they really want until they actually start shopping for a home.

I recently worked with an adorable couple who found me on the Internet. They were newlyweds - they had only been married for two months - and they were just glowing. (Remember that feeling? Ahhhh, yes!) So freshly married and all smiles, they were ready to buy their first home.

They started out looking in the $300,000 price range. They knew the neighborhood they wanted to be in which really helped. When we visited the first home, the wife said it was just too small, she wanted a separate dining room, and larger guest rooms, and it wouldn't do. Uh oh. Big wants, little price tag.

We looked at many homes, several of which I thought would have been a good match, but they had very good reasons for them not being what they had in mind. They were finally able to find a wonderful home that had, not a separate dining room but a very large open dining room that will accomodate a big table and lots of guests. It had good sized 2nd and 3rd bedrooms. It had a big kitchen, hardwood floors, a big deck, a view of trees, was in excellent condition, and in the zip code where they wanted to be. The price? (Drum roll . . . ) $405,000.

Now I don't for a second think of them as being liars. They had an ideal price point, and an ideal home. They just had to find where those two ideals would meet. This month they will be closing on a home that they can enjoy living in for many years to come. And that is a better "deal" than out-growing a home in 5 years and having to move.

A & Y, I wish you many years of happiness in your new home. And that's the truth.

If I Can, I Will

2010-04-11T08:24:00.004-04:00

Three of my last four transactions have been competitive offer situations: more than one buyer making offers on the same property.

For two of these transactions I was representing the buyer. Both times I called the listing agent to say we wanted to make an offer and they said they were in mid-negotiation with an existing offer. I was able to get a very good offer written with my buyer, get it submitted, do some quick last-minute negotiation, get that accepted and ratified. This required that my buyers clearly understood the situation and were aggressive in their offers. It also required 10pm meetings to write and sign offers, and driving to their homes at night to get final initials.

For another transaction I was the listing agent representing the seller. We had received an offer that was at list but had other issues: tiny earnest money, VA loan which is riskier when it comes to appraisals. The other offer was also at list but huge earnest money and conventional loan. Just for the record, in a situation like this, the commission that Long & Foster and I would have earned is exactly the same amount. So my efforts were 100% based upon looking out for the best interest of my client.

Reflecting on these heart-pounding transactions, I honestly feel badly for the other parties who lost. At the same time, I was able to make my clients ecstatic by helping them get the homes they want, or the sale they want.

There are many reasons why I can't win for my clients. My clients don't have quite enough total resources (cash on hand plus approved loan amount). They need more seller subsidy. They aren't using a conventional loan, or sometimes we're competing with cash offers. But if there is a chance at success, I won't give up. I'll convince the other agent to keep working with me. I'll keep gentle pressure on my clients to move forward quickly if they really want the deal.

If you have a house to sell I'll do everything I can to get it exposed to the broadest market and bring in the best price. If you want to buy a home, and have the resources to do that, I'll do all that I can to help you win!

This Little Light

2010-04-11T07:40:00.000-04:00

Before daylight savings time started, I was showing a home after dark. It was a very nice split foyer house in Alexandria's Mount Vernon area. My clients were just starting to shop for a home and I knew they weren't ready to make an offer. They needed to get into a few homes and start to get their bearings on what their options would be. Therefore I wasn't 100% focused on the condition of the house and was kind of enjoying looking at all of the stuff in it while my clients were checking out the house.

The house was rather dimly lit inside. We first went downstairs to the family room where a TV was on, the sound turned down low. The channel was QVC and they were selling realistic-looking battery-powered candles. We then went upstairs and I noticed there were candles lit everywhere. I then realized that they were the same battery-powered candles that were at that moment being sold on QVC. Walking from room to room there were wall-mounted flat screen TVs in every single room, all turned to QVC, all showing the battery-powered candles, and there were those same candles lit in every room. It was surreal!

We also counted about 25 cuckoo clocks, all set to go off in sequence so you could hear each one's cuckoo separately.

This homeowner seemed to know what made her happy and she was reveling in it. No sale, but an interesting showing!

Not-So-Little Pink House

2010-03-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

My hubby and I went down to Charlestown, South Carolina for a meeting recently. I always love being back in that charming city. Our hotel was close to Battery Park and a walk along the promenade at sunset can't be beat. As part of his meeting schedule, we were able to go inside two the amazing homes right on The Battery. One was Roper House. Wow, what an experience.

For me, the highlight of the trip was seeing a former client. I helped her sell her townhome in Reston - an older home that she'd lived in with her 5 cats for many years. She did all the right things to get it ready for sale - fresh paint and carpet, all repairs made, and she even moved out to make it completely ready for a new owner. It sold quickly after multiple offers and well over list.

This set her on the path to having a home built for her just outside of Charleston. What a thrill to see this huge, beautiful home. 10' ceilings. 3 bedrooms. 2-car garage. Screened in porch. 2 walk-in closets in the master including one that was the size of a bedroom. Tons of windows with light pouring in. All on one level. And it was pink! (This photo isn't the house, but hers is just as charming, but much bigger.) To say that you can buy more home there for the same dollar is a colossal understatement.

I was squealing with delight at every turn because I was so thrilled for her to have this home for the rest of her life. The very best part for me is that, while showing me her home, she hugged me about three times saying "Thank you so much. You helped make this possible." Awww!

Judy, I wish you many years of enjoying mint juleps on your screened porch.

Deutsches Haus

2010-01-09T19:31:00.002-05:00

My family spent Christmas through New Year's with my sister's family in Germany. Cae has lived there for 30-some years. She is a singer, recording artist, composer and jewelery artisan. You can read more about Cae's interesting life in her blog. Her husband, Eddie, is a Kammersänger opera singer. Between us we have 6 children, ages 17-27. None of the siblings living together anymore, so it's something special to actual get all of these far-flung souls together.

Keeping with the real estate theme of this blog, I wanted to write about three homes I visited while there.

The first is my sister's which is truly interesting. It's a large 3-level home next to a canal in a little village near Karlsruhe. Like most German homes it has a tile roof, stucco exterior and is built to last. What a pleasure to walk through a home where no floors squeak, and it is quiet from room to room. All of the homes I visited had what appear to be, and sound like, solid wood interior doors. The are designed with an over-lay so there is no light or noise that seeps through "the gap" as in American doors. Another feature common to most German homes are heavy exterior metal blinds. They are raised and lowered by a nylon strap inside the house, which is usually hidden by sheer or lace draperies. No need for heavy interior drapes because these exterior shutters provide all the privacy and insulation you need. When they are raised, they're virtually invisible. When completely lowered they make the interior room pitch dark. (Fantastic when needing to sleep at odd hours to recover from jet lag.)

My sister is an artist in every way and her home is one of her canvases. She has created a river of stone set within her driveway pavers. Her front door is studded with hand-painted ceramic drawer pulls which I think she got in England. To replace cracked tiles in her floor-heated ceramic main level, she layed in smaller stone grids. She used a small drill (I think its a Dremel) to carve a design in the stucco to frame the arched entry between her living and dining room. She created a round tile mosaic and had it embedded in the concerete wall outsider her kitchen window. I could go on and on. It's a wonderland.

Right next door to Cae is a newer home that was built slowly over many years in Italianette style. The owner is a lawyer and her father did much of the building. It's main level has large marble floor tiles, probably 14" square, set on diagonal, and as often is done, fully heated underneath. Italian chandeliers, a curved staircase, beautiful cream-colored kitchen cabinets. As in my sister's house, the appliances are modern but a bit smaller than the average American size. One of the bathroom's has a section of the ceiling above the huge soaking tub inset with hair-like strands with tiny lights at the end. They look like stars twinkling above the tub.

The third house where we stayed overnight was in a village of only 200 people and many more horses. This retired NATO military officer bought this 150-year old home which has a stable below and he rebuilt a two-level home above. It is nestled right in the town and the backyard is where 3 horses hang out during the day. The entry way is a bit aromatic as it is next to the stables, but upstairs everything is new, clean, sun-filled, open-beamed ceilings and two huge covered decks. Another feature it has common to many Germany homes is a two-sided banquet seating area with the table and then chairs on the other two sides. So cozy and comfortable. While in this town we all enjoyed a 4-horse drawn sleigh ride through the snow. Jingle bells!

I'm so grateful for the hospitality of my sister and her wonderful friends who opened their homes, their kitchens, and their hearts to all of us. Vielen vielen Dank!

Whatever It Takes

2009-12-24T07:39:00.004-05:00

I'm trying to help my client close on a home before the end of the year. That means fitting in a home inspection Christmas week, soon after our record December blizzard. The homeowners are out of town, so the 20" of snow on the driveway wasn't shoveled.

I didn't even attempt to get my Lexus in the driveway. It still got stuck just turning around on the somewhat-plowed street. The inspector had to rock my car out of that one - and that was even before the clients and the rest of the gang (see below) showed up.

Because the homeowners were gone, the listing agent had to unarm the security system. Unfortunately they gave her the wrong code, so after 5 minutes of the alarm blaring, they finally remembered the right numbers. She just stayed with us (not customary, but she's great) to be there for appraiser who also showed, and the radon inspector. The school system of the buyers closed because of the storm, so they showed up with the 3 kids and a mother-in-law in tow. We had a house full!

After a five-hours long inspection we are finally ready to leave. The listing agent is the last to pull out and immediately gets stuck in the snow. Inspector had already left. Thank goodness my client has a big SUV and had a tow line. (He's a very competent guy in so many ways.) Success!

Just another example of doing whatever it takes to meet deadlines and help clients buy and sell homes! Happy Holidays to all my wonderful clients who've made this such a great year. Wishing you joy and peace in 2010!

Get Lucky - or Get Smart

2009-12-21T08:28:00.001-05:00

After being buried in 18 inches of snow, and spending waaaay to much time watching FIOS On Demand TV, I had one of those nights where I stayed awake thinking of random things. Last night I was wondering how many people there are per Realtor in Virginia. There are so many times when I tell people I'm a Realtor and they reply, "So am I". But they say that when their sitting across from me as a customer service rep at a bank, or helping me in a store. They may have their license, but it clearly isn't their every-week, this-is-how-I-pay-more-mortgage profession.

I searched statistics on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the Census Bureau, and Wikipedia. I took the number of Real Estate Sales Agents and Broker, divided by the population of Virginia, and found there are 635 people for every Realtor. 16.3% of every person over 16 in Virginia moved in 2006. 68.9% of Americans were homeowners in 2005, and the average household size in 2000 was 2.59 people. That gave me an estimate of the count of Virginia households who are homeowners who moved. Divide that by the count of Real Estate Agents and Brokers and there are 28 Virginia households moving each year for every Realtor. That sounds about right.

As intimidating as it is for me to think about competing to find my theoretical 28 households that are moving each year, it should be way more intimidating for the householder that is moving that doesn't know the business reputation of a Realtor. To simply choose someone because they are your sister-in-law, cousin, or the lady that teaches Sunday school at your church is really scary.

What should you look for in a Realtor? It's best to find someone with local knowledge of the area where you need to sell or want to buy. Experience is super important. It isn't how long they've been in the business but rather how many transactions they are handling a year. If someone does this as a hobby it's impossible for them to keep up with all the movement that happens every single month in the market place, changes within the standardized contracts, and the lending and legal developments.

Character counts. There are so many opportunities for someone to cut corners and fudge about what is said and done, and this can, at the least, lead to messing things up so that you don't get the house you want to buy or sell the house you need to sell. At the worst it can lead to expensive mistakes and even legal consequences.

Negotiation skills matter. Negotiating is not being a brow-beater, and pressing the other side until they feel abused. It only starts with getting to an agreement for the sales price. Negotiations continue through the many contingencies most contracts have that must be navigated on your way to the settlement table.

And that leads me to temperament. It's great to work with someone that has a sparkling personality, but what happens to that personality when the stress sets in? And it will. It's invaluable to work with someone who keeps a level-head when those about them are losing theirs. Someone who can sympathize with your emotions, but stays the steady course to come up with common-sense solutions to get you to your goal of buying or selling a home.

I love our slogan: Smart Connections Between Heart and Home. You might get lucky, but your odds are better if you start out smart. Choose wisely.

Love or Business

2009-12-03T09:56:00.001-05:00

One time I loved a house too much - and it almost got in the way of a sale.

The home was a center hall colonial in north Reston. The minute I walked in the door it had "great vibes" - a traditional home with transitional style. It was beautifully decorated in a consistent color theme from room to room - taupe and eggplant - without being over bearing like a model home. It was immaculately clean and perfectly maintained. I was thrilled to represent such a beautiful home. And I loved the personalities of the clients. I knew instantly we would become friends, and we are.

The challenge we faced is that it was January, the market was declining and there were very few sales happening at all. The sellers were realistic so we set an aggressive price.

Here's the hiccup. Whenever I met with my clients, it was in their home. They would greet me warmly at the door, and I'd walk through the lovely rooms, to the sun-filled breakfast area and look over their large wooded backyard. And then I'd say "I love this house." They would reply with their own affirmatives, "We do, too. It's a hard decision to leave, but we know its the right thing to do." Then we'd proceed to talk about showings, open houses, competition and the declining market.

When they received an offer it was, of course, much lower than we hoped to get. They were having trouble coming to terms with accepting a negotiated price and moving on. After a couple of visits, I realized I was part of the problem. It was my "I love this house" each time I was there that was reminding them how much they loved the house. And it was reinforcing a perception of value that the current market was not going to support.

I often meet clients in their home, but I needed to get this couple out of the house and in front of a computer so that they could see the facts: a spreadsheet I had put together of comps data and a study of other listings so they could understand where they stood. When we removed the emotion that was there when we were in the home, they were quickly able to see the writing on the wall and come to a mutually agreeable selling price for the home.

My friends are now living happily in a new home in Potomac Green, an over-55 community with facilities like a high-end resort. They have decorated their new home with the same good taste as their colonial. They now have a low-maintenance home and a lifestyle they'll enjoy for years to come.

My now friends have thanked me repeatedly for getting their home sold before the market continued to deteriorate. They feel fortunate compared to the subsequent sales prices of some of their former neighbors' homes.

I learned a valuable lesson. When it is time let go of emotional attachments and perceptions, get out of the home and into the office. Business decisions are best made in business settings.

Model Home, Strange Life

2009-11-22T08:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I saw something I've never seen before. I was showing homes and came across a listing that said it was a former model home and all of the furnishing were for sale. The tax records said it was purchased a year ago by an individual, and now only 15 months later they are selling.

This house is still completely furnished as the model home. The towels in the bathrooms still have the ribbons around them. There is fake wine - plastic - in the wine glasses on the dining room table. There is foamy beer - plastic - in mugs in the family room. The hard plastic loaf of bread is on the kitchen counter. The house is packed with decorator tschotskes - model cars, books, wall art, silk flowers. Even the flat screen TV above the fireplace is cardboard!

Everything is dusty. The kitchen is being used - the cooktop is dirty. Only 2 of the bathrooms, one bedroom, the garage and the storage room are used. The other 13 rooms in the house have not been touched! (By the way, there is a junk yard in the lot behind the house. They don't show that in the pictures.) What a strange way to live.

Short Sale Hostage

2009-11-20T08:12:00.007-05:00

Oh, the cruel vagaries of short sales. Not every buyer can handle the experience. You have to be flexible about when you are able to move. Absolutely no deadlines for when you have to be out of your current home. You must have the patience of Job to wait wait wait as tidbits of information on the progress of the short sale drip slowly through the system, like Chinese water torture. You might need to pay more for the home than you offered because the lender's appraisal says it's worth more. If you don't pony up, they'll kick you out of the transaction. Runner up for the worst outcome for buyers: The lender doesn't approve the short sale and reworks the loan with the current owner - no sale. Winner of the worst outcome for all parties: The lender forecloses on the property in the midst of the short sale. No deal. No house. Return to GO and collect your earnest money back.

I recently had a client who bought a townhome in Reston - regular sale, totally and beautifully renovated, great price. Contract was accepted in 3rd week in May. He had to be out of his current home by end of July. Sounds like plenty of time. The one contingency was "Home of Choice" - that means the seller had to find a home they wanted to buy within the specified time frame. Only problem was that there weren't (and still aren't) very many homes for sale. She couldn't find anything she wanted to buy.

Finally she chose - oh dear - a home being sold short sale. So now my buyer, who bought a home as a regular transaction, had to wait through the whole excrutiating and uncertain short sale process. He had to move four times between the end of July and when it finally closed the end of October! I won't even go into the details of how we had to adjust the offer price three times to keep the deal alive.

Interesting that the transactions (and the lives of approximately 12 people) didn't depend so much on the short sale being approved as it did on my client's willingness to wait out the whole nightmare. If he pulled, out the whole chain of transactions broke.

I'll gladly share credit with Carole Burnett, also with Long and Foster, for coming up with creative solutions to keep the transaction alive and our clients focused on the outcomes that they wanted- their new homes. I love happy endings!

Cleanliness is Next . . . . - On Your To-Do List

2009-11-15T18:31:00.002-05:00

If you've been a renter of a private home - and sometimes for apartment complexes - you've experienced the strict lease clause requiring the property and the carpet to be professionally cleaned in order to get your security deposit back. It can come as a shock that the standards aren't nearly as strict when you are buying a home. The Sales Contract states only that the home has to be broom swept and trash and debris removed. That leaves room for a lot of dirt and grime to be left behind. (As a Realtor, I always point this out to my clients when they are signing the contract, but it can be an easy thing to forget when there are so many other important steps in the sales process.)

When you're buying the home, most likely the owners have it in the best and cleanest condition it has been in since they bought it. That's all part of having the house on the market for sale. Some home sellers take a lot of pride in leaving the home spotlessly clean for the new owners.

Yet, often in the chaos and stress of moving, cleaning is the last thing a home seller has time to do. In the rush of getting that last box out the door, they just may not have time to clean.

Home buyers may consider having the home professionally cleaned, or schedule time themselves to don the yellow-rubber-gloves before they move in. That way they know they are starting life in their new home with a clean slate.

Behind Door # 1 . . . .

2009-11-10T07:50:00.001-05:00

A Realtor never knows what will be on the other side of a door. I always hope for an up-to-date, Q-Tip clean, and tastefully decorated home. And I also hope that if the homeowner is home - they have their clothes on!

Here's my routine when showing a home: Follow the showing instructions in the listing, such as calling the owner and/or the listing agent. If owner doesn't answer, leave my phone number in a voice mail so they can call me if the showing time I propose doesn't work for them. When arriving at the home, ring the doorbell and wait, ring it again and wait, knock loudly on the door and wait. Open the door and yell "REALTOR" to alert I'm entering the home.

In spite of these best efforts, I still catch people unaware. There was the man sitting on his couch, no shirt, beer belly, refilling his belly with beer. There were the three little boys alone in the living room watching cartoons who were dressed - from the waist up. There was the woman who, after we had already entered the house, finally came upstairs from the family room, flushed and disheveled. As we toured the home and went down to the family room, there was a man, also flushed and disheveled. They were both pretty happy though.

One time I had made an appointment, the wife answered the door and invited us in, chatted with us, etc. When we went upstairs, the husband was standing in the master bedroom with only a towel on - yelling at us for being in his house . Gosh, I assumed he wanted to sell his house considering it was in the multiple listing service. This was when the market was dead and he was lucky to even get a showing.

One particularly memorable incident occurred in Reston with my client, his little son, and both of his parents. We had an appointment. The lights in the house were all on. I went through my routine before entering. We toured the main floor, went downstairs and outside. They really liked the house so they were spending a lot of time looking at everything and talking about it. Back up to the main floor, sounding like a herd of elephants. Just as we were about to go upstairs, the homeowner starts screaming at us from up there. She had been in the shower the whole time and hadn't heard us. We profusely apologized and hurried out - everyone's nerves rattled. Thank goodness we hadn't made it upstairs and opened the bathroom door while she was still in the shower! She was m-a-d, until we bought the house.

My advice to Sellers is not to include the deadbolt key in the lockbox, so that you can lock that during the time you need privacy while at home. And in general, people - keep your clothes on!

Money Happens

2009-11-07T08:40:00.001-05:00

If you haven't already heard the news from every Realtor, lender and title company you've ever done business with, the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers has been extended. Even better, current home owners can get a tax credit of $6,500. Even better, the income limits to be eligible are significantly raised from $75k for single filers and $150k for joint filers to a whopping $150k and $225k. One catch: You have to be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close in 60 days. Read the details here.

Here's why this is such a great program: Economist predict that job growth should kick in by the 2nd quarter next year. This program will spur economic activity during the 1st quarter. Although these tax credits are big amounts for individual payers, the tax revenue that buying a home generates will cause it to pay for itself, plus, plus.

Just think about all of the businesses that make money, and pay taxes, when you buy a house starting with, yours truly, your Realtor. There are also the loan officer's commission, the banks and their admin staff, appraisers, title companies, home and radon inspectors, termite inspectors, and home warranty issuers.

Think about the trades that get business either when a home owner is fixing up their house to sell, or when an inspection reveals work that needs to be done, or after the home is purchased and the buyer is making it their own. That includes plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters, flooring companies and installers, appliance manufacturers and their stores, handymen and home improvement stores.

Speaking of getting your house ready for sale, you'll need to be on the market by March 1st at the absolute latest to have a ratified contract by April 30th. It isn't too early to start thinking about what you need to do to get your home ready.

The last couple of winters I've been able to stay inside and toasty warm most days because there weren't a lot of people buying and selling. I expect this year I'll be breaking out the hat, mittens and snow boots. I'm ready!

From Boardrooms to Bathrooms

2009-11-06T09:47:00.005-05:00

I love being a Realtor. There are so many hats I get to wear: business owner, marketer, administrator, quasi-lawyer, financial analyst, psychologist, strategist, negotiator, interior decorator, community expert, inspector, architect, handyman. Now our client Agreements say that I'm none of those things, but in real life, to help my clients reach their goals, I need to have some knowledge of all of those roles.

In a training class I took when first launching my career as a Realtor, all of us newbies were intimidated about competing against more experienced agents to find clients. How do we answer the question, "How long have you been a Realtor?" The trainer suggested, "It feels like my whole life!" In many ways, I have been training my whole life in the areas of expertise needed to succeed.

Part of that training is the fact that I've moved 27 times in my life. I've also bought and lived in 13 homes across the country. That's a lot of moving trucks, redecorating, and finding new doctors, preschools and my way around town. When I found Reston, Virginia, I knew I had found my home. I moved here in 1996 and I've never wanted to live anywhere else since.

Prior to becoming a Realtor, I worked for Mosaic Sales Solutions for 11 years. During that time, it grew from a $2million boutique field marketing company located on Madison Avenue to a $200million business in Dallas. I ended my career there as Senior Vice President of Business Development, reporting to the then president, Bill Lee - an amazingly creative and inspiring leader. During those years I was involved in every aspect of the business from account management, budgeting, hiring, training, reporting, technology implementation and business development.

I also had the privilege to work for clients that included American Express, AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, Disney, all of the major film studios, Microsoft's Xbox, and many others. After countless boardroom presentations and a million miles on American Airlines, it was time for a change.

That change began when I married my wonderful husband, Stephen Clark. Now I had a reason to stay off airplanes and stay home! While in Reston I had sold a townhome and bought a condo through my Realtor, Claudia Weintraub. Claudia has been a Realtor in northern Virginia for 32 years. While working together, we became friends. Claudia wanted a partner to join her in business so that she could transition to semi-retirement and some day full retirement. When I was ready to leave the boardrooms, I asked her, "How about me?" It's been a perfect partnership ever since.

Now for the bathrooms. During my first week of showing homes, I was standing in a master bathroom with a husband and wife who were discussing the merits of double vanities. I thought to myself, "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore!" I'd moved from writing $20million program proposals and discussing performance metrics with clients to discussing the morning grooming routines of clients.

And I wouldn't go back for the world. I love the intimacy of really getting to know people and guiding them safely through the process of finding a home that suits their life styles and their budgets. (Our slogan says it perfectly: Smart Connections Between Hearts and Home)

So, without violating any client-confidentiality, I'll be sharing some of my experiences and insights - both entertaining and informative ones. I hope you'll learn something helpful for your journey of buying or selling a home.