Short Sale Drama - Virginia Beach Neighborhoods

I had another discouraging experience with a short sale yesterday. It highlights the reasons that I shy away from them. John and Jane (names changed) wanted to move because their closets started exploding. This tends to happens when you have kids. It has happened to me, too. While you could hire a closet organizing expert, [...]

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There are thousands of homes for sale in Virginia Beach and you are probably trying to figure out which is the best one for you. Here’s how you do it. First let me tell you a story to make a point. I was planning a trip to Disney World and started looking for places to [...]

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If you ask ten people their favorite neighborhood in Virginia Beach, you’ll likely get ten different answers. Most people think their neighborhood is the best. If the house next door is for sale and they like you, they’ll try to get you to move into it. “This is the best neighborhood in Virginia Beach!” they’ll [...]

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I like to think I’m an optimist, but I’m really a realist. Things have been crashing down around us lately; rising unemployment, falling house prices, foreclosures. However, as a realist, I am now very optimistic. Unemployment is stabilizing. Home prices in Virginia Beach have stabilized. Interest rates are the lowest we will ever see (that’s [...]

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Tax Credit For First Time Home Buyers The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has extended the tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence. The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. [...]

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There is a trick to selling your home quickly in today’s market. Present your home in its best light and price it very close to where it is most likely to sell. Your home will stand out because it shows nicely and is priced fairly. This brings lots potential buyers and multiple offers very close [...]

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The problem with recoveries is that we don’t usually recognize them until they have already happened. Is the housing market recovering right now? The stock market is certainly having a great rally and pending home sales seem to be on the rise in Virginia Beach this month. But one month of improving data hardly defines [...]

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There has been much talk about the current financial crisis and who is to blame. The same goes with the housing crisis. It can be argued that they are one in the same. I claim that you can’t blame someone for something that they couldn’t see coming. If anyone truly saw this crisis coming they [...]

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Do you think that foreclosures are to blame for the falling home prices? I don’t. I think falling home prices are partly to blame for the foreclosures. But we can debate that for the next ten years. The most important thing to consider is how do foreclosures affect your neighborhood. First lets get a couple [...]

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I get this question more than any other. “How long do homes stay on the market” or “How long will it take for my home to sell?” There is no textbook answer because every house is different. The market time for homes in Virginia Beach varies widely. Here’s an example of a home that I [...]

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