Curb Appeal – Setting the Tone, Attracting Home Buyers

Two important pieces of the marketing puzzle are web appeal and curb appeal. Getting both right is key to selling your home for top dollar in today’s market. I discussed web appeal in an earlier post entitled, “Web Appeal – Your Home’s First Impression to Buyers” (click on title to read). Today, we’re going to look at curb appeal.

Curb appeal sets the tone and attracts (or deters) home buyers. It makes your home stand out from the competition – hopefully in a good way. If done properly, it informs and attracts those just driving by as well as buyers/agents pulling up in their car to see the property in person. If done incorrectly, it will deter potential buyers and make your competition (aka similar homes for sale in the area) appear better and more appealing than yours which usually leads to the buyer placing an offer on your neighbor’s home rather than yours.

How do you go about getting an A+ grade on your home’s curb appeal? The same way you would go about getting your ready to sell. Give it a full detail. You won’t get top dollar of your car is dirty and doesn’t look well maintained. The same goes for your home.

Here’s a partial list of what should be done…

• power wash the exterior
• replace any damaged siding, bricks, wood, etc.
• give your home a landscaping facelift (mulch, shrubs, flowers, trees, grass, etc)
• fresh coat of paint if applicable
• bay and other window frames, shutter touch-up
• power wash (and possibly re-seal/stain) the deck

There’s more, but this gives you an idea of what I’m talking about.

One part of curb appeal which few agents/brokers talk about is the yard sign in the front yard. Why don’t they talk about it? Because the typical agent/broker yard sign does absolutely nothing to increase the curb appeal. In some cases, it detracts from the home’s curb appeal.

The typical agent/broker yard sign gives buyers only the following information…

• brokerage name and phone number
• agent name and phone number

The irony of it is that we, as agents and brokers are hired by you to market your home in the most effective manner possible in order to attract a ready, willing and able buyer with an offer acceptable to your terms. The bad news is that the typical yard sign gives no information about the property whatsoever which does nothing to attract a buyer which, in turn, does nothing to help sell your home.

The good news is that you don’t have to settle for the norm nor anything less than top of the line. Here’s why…

 

 

This is one example of a custom yard sign I made for a recent listing of mine. Here’s what this sign includes that others do not…

• price
• photos of the interior
• number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• description of other key interior features
• custom property web site URL

Why is this stuff on the sign? Because this is the type of information that buyers want and they want it right then and there. And as the saying goes, “If you got it, flaunt it” – inform potential buyers driving/walking by about your home, what it’s best features are and make them say, “I want to see this house!” This is key, because getting a buyer to want to see your home in person is the first step in getting an offer in your hands.

In the case of this particular listing, while the sitting at the settlement table, the buyer said, “We pulled up to the house and said, ‘Wow, that’s an awesome sign!’” That’s the kind of stuff that will make a buyer remember your home over others (i.e. “the home with the awesome sign”) which plays a part in getting your home sold for top dollar.

The bottom line is this… If you want to sell your home for top dollar in today’s market, you must have excellent and “stand out from the rest” web appeal and curb appeal. If you don’t your home will sit on the market while those around you sell or you lower the price. If your home’s web appeal and curb appeal is better than the rest, your yard sign will look like this,

 

 

Web Appeal – Your Home’s First Impression to Buyers

 

Many factors go into selling your home, two of them being web appeal and curb appeal. In the first part of this two part series, we’re going to talk about web appeal. How important is web appeal? The COO of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff said it well in an article on ABCNews,

Sellers used to have to worry about curb appeal: How does the grass look, etc. Now a seller needs to worry about Web Appeal: When a buyer is browsing on the Web, what is their first impression.

With over 90 percent of local home buyers saying that they start their search for homes online, there’s a 90 percent chance that a home buyer’s very first impression of your home will be what they see of it online.

If your home makes a lousy first impression on the web, the chance of a home buyer coming to see your home in person is seriously diminished. And if a buyer doesn’t see your home in person, there’s about a zero percent chance that buyer is going to buy it.

Are you starting to follow me now?

So how do you get your home to make an A+ first impression and have awesome web appeal? Take full advantage of every possible aspect of online marketing. And I’m not just talking about some photos, a generic virtual tour and a few search platforms. I’m talking about great photos, video, virtual tours/shows, e-flyers, directories, a custom property web site, blog posts, aggregating your listing to all pertinent search platforms and using as many available tools as possible to expose your property to potential buyers.

Ask yourself the following,

• Does my listing include a virtual tour/show?
• Were the photos professionally done and edited before going up on the web?
• Do I have at least 30 photos of my property and subdivision/community up on the web?
• Is my listing aggregated to all of the pertinent search platforms buyers use to search for home for sale?
• Does my home have a custom single property web site?
• Is my custom single property web site as in-depth and clean yet, robust as this – http://45BerkeleyCt.com?
• Do I have the proper SEO and visitor tracking/analytics built in to my custom single property web site?
• Is social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc) a part of my home’s/listing agent’s marketing plan?

There’s more to it than just the examples above. But, if you answered anything but “yes” to all of the basic examples above, you have not taken advantage of all of the available tools to expose your home to potential buyers nor have you done so in the most appealing way. And that will cost you grief, stress and money by increasing the time it takes you to sell your home and decreasing the amount of money it sells for.

This is why I take online marketing very seriously – and so should you. New platforms and methods of marketing come out regularly and I make sure to stay on top of them and constantly learn in order to provide the best possible service to my clients. Real estate is no longer just about knowing a neighborhood or properly negotiating a contract…staying on top of technology and successfully marketing a property in today’s environment is key.

The next part of this two part series talks about curb appeal, another key component to successfully selling your home. Keep an eye out for it next week.

Does Your Home’s Web and Curb Appeal Get an A+? It had better.

There are many pieces to the puzzle when selling your home in today’s market. Two of them are web appeal and curb appeal. Both are extremely important and should be a main focus when selling your home. If either are not done well, you may turn away potential buyers and/or get a lower priced offer than you had hoped for.

Web Appeal

If your home’s web appeal is not A+, your home will fall into the “possibilities” and “discarded” folders of buyers’ searches. If your home stands out from the crowd and makes buyers say, “That looks nice!”, then your home goes into the “favorites” or “must see” folders.

Speaking from experience along with countless studies done on the topic, if your home is not in the top 3 to 5 of a buyers’ “favorites” folder, the buyer will most likely not want to see your home in person. And you can’t sell a home to a buyer who doesn’t come to see the home in person.

Curb Appeal

Once a buyer drives past your home or arrives to see it in person, your curb appeal is your home’s first impression to the buyer. The first impression can attract or deter the buyer within a matter of seconds. If your curb appeal is lower than an A+, someone driving past your home may say, “Bleh. The other house around the corner looks better”.

And someone coming to see the house in person will have a less than positive outlook on the entire property if the curb appeal isn’t excellent. You may either deter a potential buyer from seeing (and buying) the house or you may lose money because anything negative equals less money that a buyer will offer.

If you have your home on the market or about to put your home on the market, what grade would your home get for web appeal and curb appeal? If it’s not an A+, there’s something wrong. No, getting an A+ in web appeal and curb appeal is not like acing a master’s level class. And it can be done by even the busiest of sellers and listing agents.

So how do you get an A+ in web appeal and curb appeal? I’m going to go into detail about web appeal and curb appeal each in a separate blog post. The blog posts will be coming out over the next 10 days so grab the RSS feed, add this blog to your Google home page/reader/Google+ or other service you are using or just check back.

Regardless of how you access the posts, make sure you read them. Though the posts are free for everyone to read, what you get out of reading them may be the difference in whether you sell your home or not and/or may make you thousands of extra dollars when selling your home.

Can You Handle The Truth?

Most, if not all people say they want truth and honesty from others whether it be personally or in business. But not all people can actually handle the truth. This is especially true when it comes to their home because it’s often a perceived reflection of themselves.

Let me share a story with you illustrating my point…

Chapter One – Wanting Truth And Honesty

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by someone who had their home on the market. They were not very happy with their listing agent/broker and were thinking about switching. They contacted me after I was recommended to them by a past client of mine.

Over the course of two weeks, we exchanged numerous emails and phone calls and we had two lengthy face-to-face meetings at their home. I gave them an honest assessment of their situation which included, per their request, an assessment of how their current agent was doing from a selling/marketing standpoint.

I told them that their current listing agent was doing all the right things and their home had excellent exposure. When asked if I would do anything differently from a marketing standpoint, I said that I would do all of the things that their current agent was doing as well as a few things they were not which is what sets me apart from most other agents in the area (I give credit and take credit equally). I did not bash or disparage the other agent nor did I answer any questions that would cross any lines of legality or ethics. In fact, I gave the agent all of the credit they deserved, which was a lot.

Then they told me that they “just don’t feel right about the agent” and that there is something that “bothers” them. I told them that how they click with one agent versus another is the same way people click (or don’t click) with other people in general – you either do or you don’t. And that was not for me to discuss nor steer them one way or another. That’s something they had to decide amongst themselves on their own.

During and after they talked things over, they sent emails saying things like,

• “It was so great meeting you the other day and I thank you for my education lesson. You taught me a great deal!”
• “I will be in touch very soon- and thanks for being a guy full of integrity. I completely appreciate that.”
• “If this current offer goes no where – we will be KNOCKING on your door!!!!! You rock!”

After the offer they received did not work out, they told me they wanted to switch to me and sent me this,

• “We like the way you think. We can get the necessary doc you need to proceed with us and get to it when you get back [from vacation].”

At this point, things looked great!  But then…

Chapter Two – Not Really Wanting Nor Being Able To Handle The Truth

Their property is very unique and there was only one other property on the market that truly competed with theirs – same town, very similar price, similar size, etc. Well, that property went under contract while theirs was still active.

During our discussions about the situation, I said, “I wonder if the buyers that came through the other day are the ones that bought the property on XXXXXXXX. I say that because it would make sense for them to look at and consider that property along with yours.”

I then followed that up with facts – the property had a larger lot, more privacy due to not having a neighbor directly behind them nor having to share a driveway with another property, slightly more square footage, closer to a shopping center/amenities, etc.

Then they sent me this,

• “Actually, it would not, in our opinions! We have decided that it would be in our best interests to remain with [our current listing agent[ as [they] know the value of extremely well built homes in this area! You should be wary about criticizing the properties of potential clients in the future. Just a suggestion!”

The last sentence is what I mean when I ask you, “Can you handle the truth?” The irony is that truth and honesty is what they admired the most about me in the beginning yet, they used that against me when it didn’t agree with their personal opinion even though it was true and was exactly what they needed to hear.

In order to get the listing and make well over $10K in commission, I could have just agreed with them and told them that their home was the greatest thing since sliced bread because that’s what they obviously wanted to hear. But lying or blowing smoke to get a client is something that I will never do. Doing that is detrimental to you and will hurt your chances of selling your home.

But more importantly, it’s not what I’m about.

What I am about is honesty and the truth. I would rather be honest and truthful and waste my valuable time and money (as is the case in this situation) than lie to make thousands of dollars. Despite incidents like this, I will not ever change that philosophy.

Chapter Three – Can You Handle The Truth?

If these folks were you, would Chapter Two be written differently? Would you have taken my constructive criticism and the facts and applied them in a positive way? Or would you have also not wanted to hear the truth?

If you can handle the truth, then we will get along just fine and I would love to hear from you. If you can’t, I may not be the right agent for you.

Sub-$300K Loudoun Housing Market Remains Hot

The $300K or less housing market in Loudoun County continues to be hot. Properties in this price point are often selling within days and buyers are rushing to see the properties and put an offer in before they’re gone. For sellers, this a good thing. For home buyers, not so much.

Buyers

Just ask any of my first time home buyers or investors looking to pick up a property in that price point and you’ll see their facial expression change instantly. Why? Becuase the process usually goes something like this…

• The property is typically a short-sale or foreclosure
• The asking price is below market value so that the seller/bank will get an offer as quickly as possible
• Multiple offers are received on the property within 48 to 72 hours – sometimes up to 10+ offers
• Many of these offers are cash offers from investors with no contingencies and able to settle within 2 weeks
• Many of the offers are for more than the asking price because the seller/bank has purposefully priced the property below what’s it’s really worth
• Even though your offer (with financing) may be higher in price, the seller may go with a lower priced, all-cash offer because it’s less hassle with a higher chance of closing

Does this mean that first time home buyers in Loudoun County can’t compete with investors?

No. It means that road will be tough and you will need to have a lot patience. You will most likely write several offers on several different properties before your offer gets chosen. Despite the road being tough, every first time home buyer and investor I have worked with in this price point, both in Loudoun County and the rest of Northern VA has eventually found and bought a home that they love and that works for them.

Does this mean that investors will drive first time home buyers with financing out of the market?

Yes and no. Yes because I have heard from other agents that their first time home buyers have either given up from frustration or are waiting for the market to become less hot and cut throat before getting into it. But there are still plenty of first time home buyers out there that are patient and have prepared themselves well for this market through research and/or through their Buyer’s Agent.

Sellers

• There is a lot of demand for properties in the sub-$300K price range (aka lots of buyers looking at your house)
• Even if you’re house needs work, if you price it accordingly, buyers and investors will buy it in its’ current condition
• If you price and market your property correctly, you will have an offer, if not several offers in your hands within days
• If you have multiple offers, you are able to pick the best one that fits your specific situation and needs rather than picking the first one that comes through

Does this mean that sellers can price their property for more than market value and get away with it?

No. Sellers should be confident and smart, not greedy. Buyers are smart – they know what market values are like whether it be from their own research or their Buyer’s Agent providing them with comps (aka the sales price of similar homes that have sold in the same community within the past 90 days). Buyers would rather pass on an over priced property and wait for a properly priced property than spend more on a property than what its’ worth.

Does this mean that sellers should accept an all-cash offer rather than one with financing?

Not necessarily. Seller should always look at the big picture and the small details of every offer. In most situations, an all-cash offer is most desirable. But not every situation nor every all-cash offer is the same. Sellers and their Listing Agent should discuss the pros and cons of each and every offer before making a final decision on which one to accept.

Need more info or a list of homes for sale in the sub-$300K market? Contact me via email or on my cell and I’ll be glad to help.

How NOT to Sell Your Home for the Most Money

We always hear about how to sell your home for the most amount of money. But equally, if not more important, is knowing how NOT to sell your home for the most amount of money. If you don’t know, you may just make the same mistakes so many sellers do and get less money for your home than you could have.

Here’s a true story about how my buyers bought a home for over $35,000 less than what it was really worth thanks to the seller doing some things he should NOT have…

When I first came across this property, I had a feeling that it would work well for one of buyer clients. But one thing struck me…it seemed like it was priced extremely well, but it wasn’t selling. That set off a red flag to me and I started to wonder what was wrong with it.

I previewed the home on my own the following morning and that’s when I realized why it hadn’t sold.

As I pulled into the long driveway, I was greeted by three barking and overly excited dogs – a Jack Russell Terrier, a Boxer and an Australian Shepherd. They came running at me at full speed. The Boxer jumped on me while the JR Terrier and Shepherd wouldn’t stop jumping around and barking at me. Not a big deal to me, but not everyone is a dog lover nor OK with strange dogs doing that to them.

The seller told me to not let the dogs in the home. But the dogs were bulldozing there way around and through my legs as I tried to enter the home via the front door and, of course, two got in. To get them out of the house, I had to break out my Cesar Millan/Jedi mind tricks on the dogs to calm them down a bit and then physically picked up one of the dogs while holding the other by the collar. (Not recommended when you’re a stranger on their “turf”, but how else was I going to get in?)

After the “grand entrance”, I proceeded to walk-through the home and take notes for my clients. There were a lot of positives, but there were also a lot of negatives. The house was cluttered, needed a cleaning and was definitely a bachelor pad in every sense (you should have seen the man-cave). Considering my clients were totally opposite  in their personalities and the typical 2.25 kid family, these things were going to be negatives.

Well, guess what happened when they came out to see the property a few days later…

The JR Terrier and Australian Shepherd chased and barked at them and their two little children while the Boxer jumped and tackled one of their kids. (The Redskins should have taken notice to this tackle. Just sayin…) I had to leap at the Boxer and pull him off their kid by his collar.

Not a good first impression to make on potential buyers.

After we finally made it inside (which included picking up one dog and holding the other by the collar – again), the how NOT to sell your home for the most amount of money lesson continued.

The clutter and lack of cleanliness were very apparent to my clients and they had a hard time looking past it. And their initial experience with the dogs left them with a bad taste in the mouth. Despite all of this, they loved the structure and location of the house. The next morning, they told me they wanted to place an offer on the property.

But…

While discussing what to offer, my clients took a few things into consideration…

1) Their initial experience with the dogs was a negative psychological barrier

2) The cleanliness, clutter and overall condition of the property was well below their standards (as it would be for most buyers)

3) I found out that the seller was in a bind to sell his house as soon as possible because he was in the middle of contract negotiations on another house in the area (aka more leverage for us when negotiating)

After negotiations, my clients ended up paying  $35,000 less than asking price. In addition, the appraised value was even higher than the seller’s asking price. Needless to say, my clients were thrilled! As for the seller, probably not so much.

Had the seller spent a few days de-cluttering the home, a few bucks hiring a cleaning service and making sure the dogs weren’t jumping at buyers and their kids, the home would have sold long ago and for much more. I will bet money that other buyers that came to see the property were also turned off by the dogs and condition of the interior. And I’ll also bet that at least one, if not some of the buyers would have placed an offer on the property had they not had such an experience seeing the property.

So there’s today’s lesson about how NOT sell your home for the most amount of money…

Spend the time and money to clean and de-clutter your home and make the home “approachable” rather than “hostile” to potential buyers. Your efforts and money will come back to you ten-fold in the way of days on market and amount you sell your home for.

Note: I am a dog lover and have two of my own so I understand wanting to keep your dogs happy. I’m not saying you should lock your dogs in a closet. But there are other steps you can take to ensure your dogs don’t harass potential buyers while allowing your dogs to be happy.

RELATED READING

Home Seller Tips, Part One – The Three “C’s”

Top 5 Home Improvement Projects Based on Cost and ROI

Is Selling Your Home in the Spring a Good or Bad Thing?

A Double Bottom in the Loudoun County Housing Market

There is going to be a double bottom in the Loudoun County housing market. No…not could. It is going to happen.

And it’s happening already.

The first bottom in the Loudoun County housing market came in the summer of 2009. The peak of the boom market was the summer of 2005. Prices went into a free fall from the summer of 2005 through the summer of 2009. (Sorry to bring up such a sore subject)

From the summer of 2009 to the end of April 2010, prices rose anywhere from 10 to 20 percent (some pockets of Loudoun County and Northern VA went up even more). Some of the reasons include extremely low housing inventory, record low mortgage rates, the federal home buyer tax credit and a renewed sense of confidence in the housing market and general economy.

But…between May 1, 2010 and today, market values have plateaued and even declined in many areas. Prices have gone down as much as 5 percent in many areas of Loudoun County since May 1 (some areas have seen 10 percent drops).

Values going down since May 1 means that there is going to be a double bottom in the Loudoun County housing market.

What happened?

Inventory increased and demand decreased. Banks started releasing more foreclosure/bank-owned properties on the market and sellers who saw prices increasing and had a renewed sense of (some) confidence decided to finally put their property on the market and make that move they’ve been putting off due to the crappy market.

Buyers who were going to wait until later this year or even the beginning of next year to buy bought earlier partially due to the federal tax credit. You had 12 to 18 months worth of buyer demand all crammed in to a few months while the tax credit was available. Now that all those people have bought, we have less buyer demand.

Also…with prices 10 to 20 percent higher earlier this year than in the summer of 2009, some buyers were priced out of what they originally wanted and could afford to buy.

When is the second bottom in the Loudoun County housing market going to be here and how much will values go down again?

If I knew the answer to this question, I’d be a billionaire. Thus, I still work. But I can make an educated guess…

The first rise in prices took almost 4 years (the boom market of the early 2000′s). The first bottom took 4 years exactly to get here (summer 2005 – summer 2009). The most recent rise in values took about 9 months (summer 2009 – April 30, 2010). I’d say the next bottom will be here 9 to 12 months from May 1 (end of 2010/spring 2011).

Values went up 50+ percent in the boom market and then came down about the same amount. The recent rise in prices was 10 to 20 percent so I’d say a 10+ percent downward correction in the second bottom is very possible.

But that’s just an educated guess. If rates continue to stay low, that may help soften the blow of the second bottom. But rates are artificially depressed thanks to government intervention and Europe’s general economy not doing too well. Should rates go up (which they most likely will) and investors who took money out of Europe and put it into the US stop doing so, all bets are off.

In addition, the cost of financing has risen 33 percent over the past few years. And beginning September 1, the cost of FHA financing (which is very common in this area) will go up substantially, further raising the cost of buying a home. A rising cost in financing and monthly payments is not a good thing for market values.

Yes folks. There is going to be a double bottom in the Loudoun County housing market and we’re already in the midst of the second bottom.

What does this mean to you?

It’s different for everyone and depends on your specific situation. If you would like to chat more about it, email or call me anytime.

Photo Credit

Is Selling Your Home in the Spring a Good or Bad Thing?

Many sellers wait until the Spring to sell their home. Why? Because they think the “Spring housing market” is the best time to sell their home. But is selling your home in the Spring a good thing or is it really a bad thing?

Selling your home in the Spring could be a good thing for reasons such as,

• you have a pool that looks better open than winterized
• the thousands spent on landscaping a million times better in full bloom than in the winter
• having leaves on the trees in your backyard hides the fact that your neighbors are right up on your lot line
• you want to time it so that you settle on the sale of your home and move right after school lets out

But, selling your home in the Spring could be a bad thing. Consider this…

Business/Economics 101: Supply vs Demand

We all know the centuries-old golden rule of business/economics – the more the supply in relation to demand, the longer it takes to sell the supply and the less it will be worth.

Let’s translate that to real estate and the housing market

Your home on the market + more other homes on the market at the same time (“Spring housing market”) = longer time to sell and less money.

Let me explain further

By waiting until the Spring, you will be listing your home when,

1. All of your neighbors (aka competitors) who waited for the “Spring housing market” list their home for sale too
2. The home buyers you want focused on your home and your home only will have more homes to choose from
3. Your home will more easily blend in “with all the others on the market” (actual words from home buyers)
4. A competing seller relocating once the school year is over who has a buy-out package from their employer lists their home at a reduced rate because they don’t care so much about the price rather, selling quickly

I can hear some of you now, “But the Spring is when most buyers come out to buy homes.” Let me respond with some facts you may not be aware of…

Statistics show that January and October have been the #1 and #2 busiest months for homes going under contract (aka buyers buying a home) in Loudoun County/Northern Virginia over the past 6 years (despite Armageddon-size snow storms like the one here this weekend). For me personally, December, January and February are the three busiest months of the year when it comes to home buyers house hunting and writing a contract on a new home.

And if you haven’t checked out my post from the other day entitled, “When Does the ‘Spring Housing Market’ Start?” click here to check it out now.

Other than having to wait until Spring due to work, family, life or some important  selling factor (such as one of the three listed earlier in this post), you should be on the market in January/February. If you can’t list your home in January/February, then aim for another month when the fewest number of other sellers/competitors are listing their homes for sale.By following this approach, you’ll face the least amount of competition and have the greatest chance of selling in a reasonable time and for top dollar.

If you have questions or concerns about selling your home or the local housing market, click here to email me or call me – 703.582.6900 (cell).

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Tags: home seller resources, loudoun spring housing market, northern virginia spring housing market, selling in spring, selling your home in Loudoun County, selling your home in Northern Virginia, spring housing market, spring real estate market

When Does the “Spring Housing Market” Start?

February 3, 2010 by Danilo Bogdanovic  
Filed under Buyer Resources, Seller Resources

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Many sellers and buyers are waiting until Spring for the “Spring housing market” to sell their home or buy one. But when does the “Spring housing market” really start?

The most common answer is, “Spring!” Is that correct?

Nope.

The “Spring housing market” has already started. In fact, it starts in January. In the 6 years of being a Realtor, January has been the busiest month of the year for me (and in general) when it comes to buyers house hunting and writing a contract on a new home. The third busiest month? February. (The second busiest month is October)

“Really?”

Yup. And here are some guesses as to why based on what buyers have personally told me…

More time + more money = more buyers in the market to buy a home.

People are busy with end of year work, holidays and their children’s winter break in December. This puts selling their home or buying one on the back burner. Once January rolls around, all of that is behind them and they have more time on their hands so they start house hunting.

December and January also equal Christmas/year-end bonuses. And let’s not forget that many people know they have tax money coming back to them from Uncle Sam soon so the thought of a hefty down payment is a bit more bearable.

What it means to you if you’re a seller

If you’re thinking about selling your home, for these and other reasons, you may want to strongly consider listing your home in January/February (more on this in another post coming soon).

What it means to you if you’re a buyer

If you’re a home buyer house hunting in January/February, know that other buyers are doing the same thing so be prepared for increased competition (aka multiple offers) on properties that are great deals.

If you have specific questions or concerns regarding buying or selling a home or the local housing market in general, click here to email me or call me – 703.582.6900.

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Is Selling Your Home in the Spring a Good or Bad Thing?

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Tags: buying home in spring, loudoun spring housing market, northern virginia spring housing market, selling home in spring, spring housing market, spring real estate market

Dulles Airport Impact Overlay District Disclosure Requirements

December 15, 2009 by Danilo Bogdanovic  
Filed under Buyer Resources, Seller Resources

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Several of you have asked me about the Dulles Airport Impact Overlay District and any required disclosures. To best answer your question, my broker and I spoke with the Dulles Area Association of Realtors (DAAR) about the subject. Here is what DAAR had to say…

As a follow-up to our discussion this afternoon, the attached section of the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance states that Homeowners Associations are required to make disclosure if the property is in the Airport Impact Overlay District.  This would require a home being resold within a particular subdivision that has an HOA to provide the disclosure as part of the HOA “Packet” that is transferred to new owners.  As you know, the rules covering subsequent disclosure are in the Virginia Property Owners Association law.   The county ordinance also clearly states that all deeds of conveyance are required to have the disclosure. Since the county ordinance states that all deeds of conveyance must contain the disclosure that covers all transactions for properties that do not have an HOA.


A great tool created by the Washington Airports Task Force for buyers and the real estate community is “The Homebuyer’s/Broker’s Guide to Compatible Land Use Around Washington Dulles International Airport” found under http://www.washingtonairports.com/noiseandlanduse/homeownersguide.htm.  The intent of the guide is to assist potential homebuyers and the real estate community in assessing the effect of aircraft noise and flight operations on homes in areas close to Washington Dulles.   You may also find useful a presentation conducted before DAAR members last month by the Washington Airports Task Force on this issue.


If you or your clients would like to determine whether a particular property lies within the AID, visit Loudoun County’s mapping system at http://gisinter1.loudoun.gov/weblogis/default.htm An address can be typed in and determination made as to whether the property lies in any type of overlay district (ie Historic, Mountside, etc.)


If there are further questions about flight activities in or around Dulles, contact:


Anita Kayser, Director, Washington Airports Task Force anita@washingtonairports.com, Phone: 703-572-8714, Address: 44701 Propeller Court, Suite 100, Dulles, Virginia 20166

If there are further questions about the AID designation within the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, contact:

Loudoun County’s Zoning Hotline at 703/777-0118.  They are really great about getting back to you within 24 hours.

In addition, check out the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance that covers this subject (click here if you do not see the embedded document below)…



Loudoun County Dulles Airport Impact Overlay District Disclosure Requirement –

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