brian block: Freak or Freedom: Realtors Wearing Capes?
- 09/04/07 06:59 AM
Many of you no doubt read the book Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I read it the other year. It was a bestseller and caused quite a buzz and a stir when it was first published. The book is an interesting and entertaining read that discusses some controversial idea, among them that legalized abortion helped reduce violent crime in the 1990s. Most relevant for us in the real estate industry, the authors compared real estate agents with the Ku Klux Klan! I don't know about you, but I was flat out, downright offended by such a shocking statement. The gist of … (20 comments)
brian block: Biking Around Northern Virginia and the D.C. Area
- 08/31/07 02:49 AM
Throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall, Northern Virginia and D.C. residents enjoy the outdoors. One such way is by taking to the roads, or better yet the paths... the bike paths. Bicycling paths and multi-use trails abound throughout the Greater Washington area. Bicycling is a great way to get some exercise, enjoy the fresh air, maybe meet some new people, learn about new areas of town, and even commute to work in an environmentally safe way while avoiding traffic. Seven years ago when I was working for a law firm in D.C., I used to bicycle in to the office almost every … (0 comments)
brian block: What to Expect at the Closing Table in Northern Virginia
- 08/30/07 06:29 AM
When you are buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia, if everything goes smoothly you will find yourself at a closing or settlement table either in a lawyer's office, or more likely at a settlement or title company. If you've followed my buyer's or seller's flowcharts, you see that the final step is the settlement. Many Northern Virginia homebuyers and some sellers are confused about what occurs at settlement and have misconceptions of the procedures. Some people picture a crowded room with buyers, sellers, attorneys, Realtors, mounds of paperwork, lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! How long does a settlement last? … (4 comments)
brian block: When Lightning Strikes... Your Condo!
- 08/27/07 06:56 AM
You never expect it to hit you! Saturday night around 9:30 p.m., my condo building Alexandria Knolls West in Alexandria, Virginia was struck by lightning. The lightning struck the roof and started a fire. The smoke went down through the elevator shafts causing much of the hallways in the building to fill with smoke. The fire and lightning shock destroyed an major electrical panel on the 8th floor causing it to explode through the wall and causing severe damage to a unit on the 8th floor of the 18 floor building. The residents of the building were evacuated and not let back … (19 comments)
brian block: Where Your Blog Visitors Come From & Why it's Important to Know
- 08/24/07 03:45 AM
Do you know where your blog visitors live? I don't mean their street addresses. When you blog, your writing and posts are launched out into the internet for all to see. While you might be writing mostly for your local audience who comprise most of your potential homebuyers and sellers, you may have people visiting your blog from all across the nation. Why is this important? One word: Relocation I've been blogging since March on an outside blog and here on Active Rain for about 2 months. My outside blog has a neat statistic tracker called Visistat which provides all sorts of interesting statistical … (22 comments)
brian block: Six Myths About Northern Virginia Real Estate
- 08/23/07 02:25 PM
A myth is something that is widely believed but false. When buying or selling real estate in Northern Virginia, it is important to understand the process,the realities of the market conditions, and the facts of how to work with an experienced Northern Virginia Realtor. This article will dispel six of the most widely held myths about Northern Virginia real estate. Six Myths about Real Estate in Northern Virginia Myth #1: All Northern Virginia real estate brokerages and real estate agents charge the same amount to sell your home. FACT: All fees and commissions are always negotiable. There is no standard or set fee schedule for real … (1 comments)
brian block: Selling a Home in Northern Virginia & D.C.: Step by Step Flowchart
- 08/22/07 03:18 PM
So, you've got a house to sell in Northern Virginia or D.C. How do you go about doing getting the home on the market and navigating through the complex real estate maze of selling your house. Perhaps you are going to be buying another home in Northern Virginia or D.C. at the same time, complicating things further. I offered a step by step flowchart for purchasing a home several days ago. You would think that having bought a home in the past might qualify you to fully understand the home selling process. However, things are very different on the other side, and … (1 comments)
brian block: What Homes did NOT Sell in Alexandria During the Past Week?
- 08/20/07 11:42 AM
In trying to keep up with the Northern Virginia real estate market, we often focus on what has sold recently, and the current inventory of homes on the market. An often overlooked factor in determining pricing of homes for sale is to examine expired listings, or the homes that have NOT sold during a particular period in a certain area. Analyzing the homes that have not sold can be an important step in pricing your home for sale properly. Why don’t homes sell? In Northern Virginia, as elsewhere around the state and the country, most homes that do not sell were … (1 comments)
brian block: Up Up & Away: What a Day -- The RE/MAX Balloon
- 08/18/07 01:59 PM
I went out to Bealeton, Virginia today to the Flying Air Circus to watch WW-I era bi-planes doing aerobatics and to see the hot air Balloon Festival. I had no idea whether there would be a RE/MAX balloon there, but fortunately there was. Wow!! It is truly incredible to see the massive RE/MAX balloon up close and personal for the first time. The aerobatic plane show was amazing, and there was even a wing-walker. A woman climbed out onto one of the wings in mid-flight at about 100 MPH and then hung upside down holding on with her ankles! Wow! We … (26 comments)
brian block: 7 Things You Must Do to Sell Your Home in Northern Virginia
- 08/15/07 02:07 AM
With the record inventories of homes for sale in Northern Virginia, it has become increasingly crucial to follow certain steps in order to sell your home in the current market. As of this morning, there are close to 9,600 homes for sale in Northern Virginia: Fairfax County: 7,630 homes for saleAlexandria: 1,353 homes for saleFairfax: 787 homes for saleSpringfield: 717 homes for saleHerndon: 595 homes for saleReston: 500 homes for saleMcLean: 395 homes for saleVienna: 364 homes for saleLorton: 330 homes for saleBurke: 262 homes for sale Arlington County: 892 homes for saleAlexandria City: 827 homes for saleFairfax City: 166 homes for saleFalls … (4 comments)
brian block: "We can always reduce the price later" -- Price Reductions are NOT A GOOD MARKETING PLAN for Northern Virginia Homes
- 08/13/07 07:27 AM
The number one secret for selling homes in Northern Virginia quickly and at the highest possible price is to price the property properly when it first goes on the market for sale. It's long been known that the longer a home lingers on the market, the lower price it is likely to command. WHY? If you can remember when you first bought your home, one of the first questions you probably asked about each home you previewed was "How long has it been on the market?" We tend to assume that if it has been on the market for quite some time … (6 comments)
brian block: Buying a Home in Northern Virginia & D.C.: Step by Step Flowchart
- 08/13/07 12:35 AM
To the uninitiated, the homebuying process can seem daunting. For first time homebuyers, it can be like learning a whole new language: what's PITI? (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) How about an ARM? (adjustable rate mortgage), what does DOM mean? (days on market). People living in the Washington D.C. area with the abundance of government employees and military may be used to acronyms and abbreviations, but real estate truly has many of its own. Even those who have bought and sold homes before may not remember all of the steps in the sometimes lengthy process. To make things easier, I have created a … (5 comments)
brian block: Who?? MeME!
- 07/23/07 03:38 AM
Last night, I got back from a send-off party for a friend who's heading out for a four month tour of duty in Iraq and found out that courtesy of Patricia Kennedy, I'd been Meme'd! It’s not easy to pick just 5 things, but here goes: 1. CATAPULTED OFF AIRCRAFT CARRIER: I’m one of only very few civilians who has been catapulted off of an aircraft carrier. In college, I was part of a seminar program called National Decisions Program in Foreign Policy. Our professor was friends with many high-ranking military and arranged several very interesting class trips for us. His … (34 comments)
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