Real Estate News

 
  • A group of well dressed individuals
    March 21, 2017

    What to Do Next After Losing a Listing

    When you lose a listing, do you ever see the seller again? Many real estate professionals quickly move on after the business is lost, forgetting all about the former client they tried to help. Do you know what that tells the seller?
  • Tiny house with a sunset backgroup
    March 21, 2017

    Why Can’t I Get a Tiny Home?

    Small homes do exist, but not many really small ones. Most lenders, in fact, will only finance homes that are no smaller than 40 to 80 percent of the size of a comparable, nearby home.
  • a big house surrounded by smaller blue colored house icons of same size
    March 21, 2017

    What Everyone Should Know About Equal Opportunity Housing

    The sale and purchase of a home is one of the most significant events that any person will experience in his or her lifetime. It is more than the simple purchase of housing, for it includes the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and economic destiny of those involved
  • new homeowners moving boxes in
    March 21, 2017

    Generation X Re-enters the Housing Market

    The number of Generation X home buyers is increasing thanks to an improving economy, multiple years of strong job growth and a notable increase in home values.
  • A house and some cash on a sclae
    March 20, 2017

    How to Buy a Home While Selling One

    ​Buying a home is difficult, but try selling your home and buying another at the same time. On a level of difficulty, this is the gymnastic balance beam of homeownership.
  • Equal Housing Opportunity Sticker Large
    March 20, 2017

    LGBT Housing Discrimination: How to Spot It and What to Do

    Helping LGBT people combat housing discrimination doesn’t make you immune from it.
  • Credit Counseling - lady counseling a man
    March 20, 2017

    The Benefits of Credit Counseling for Homebuyers

    Buying a home is a complicated process. It’s usually the biggest financial transaction of a person’s life, and often involves taking out a mortgage to pay for the new digs.
  • A house for auctioning
    March 20, 2017

    How to Bounce Back After Foreclosure

    Philip and Denise Powell lost their home in 2011 after Philip’s hours as a pastor were cut in half and Denise was sidelined by a surgery. But they were determined to become homeowners again, so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
  • For Sale sign on a lawn
    March 20, 2017

    Thinking of Buying? The Real Cost of Owning a Home

    Owning a home means you can blow out a wall to create a more spacious kitchen or paint your bedroom a flaming fuchsia — things that are certainly deposit-forfeiting and likely eviction-motivating offenses in rental land.
  • Hand carrying a home
    March 20, 2017

    How to Handle Your Home During Divorce

    The marital home is many couples’ most valuable asset, so deciding what to do with it during divorce can be difficult. You and your soon-to-be ex have two basic options: sell the home, or one of you stays in it.
  • Virtual Reality -How Tech Is Changing the way
    March 20, 2017

    Virtual Reality: How Tech Is Changing the Way You Buy and Sell a Home

    Virtual reality is no longer associated with just gaming. The real estate industry is adopting this evolving technology to help you buy and sell your home in ways never before possible.
  • house floor plan
    March 20, 2017

    Millennials, Don’t Forget Estate Planning

    Ask millennials to write down a list of their plans, and it’s likely to be chock-full of career accomplishments and vacation experiences. Graduating, getting a great job, getting married, starting a family, buying a home and traveling are likely to be high on the list.
  • exchange of house key
    March 20, 2017

    Buying a House: Working With a Real Estate Agent to Make an Offer

    Buying a house is emotional, and your agent can help level the field by bringing a more rational approach to the transaction. Here’s how the two of you can work together to get the best possible deal.
  • front view of a luxury home
    March 16, 2017

    How Much Home Can Your Lifestyle Afford?

    If you’re considering purchasing a home, you’ve likely already considered how much you have available for a down payment, what an ideal mortgage payment would be, and how much home you can actually afford based on your monthly income.
  • secret letter to seller
    March 16, 2017

    5 Secrets To Get Sellers to Choose Your Bid in a Hot Market

    Writing a heartfelt letter to the sellers of a Chicago home helped one buyer stand out in a sea of other interested parties.
  • Estate housing with usps car
    March 09, 2017

    For Millennials Ready To Buy a Home, the Pickings Are Slim

    As Millennials find better-paying jobs, start families and begin searching for their first homes, they’re encountering an unfortunate reality: Just as they’re finally ready to buy, the housing market has the fewest homes available for sale on record.
  • mortgage application form
    March 09, 2017

    Many Borrowers Say the Mortgage Process is a Major Pain

    At a time of super-strict underwriting standards, record-high credit-score requirements and hard-wired debt-to-income cutoffs, has the process of applying and qualifying gone a little over the top?
  • Infographics of Jan, 2016 new home Sales
    March 09, 2017

    Buyers Are Being Drawn to New Homes

    "We can expect further growth in new home sales throughout the year, spurred on by employment gains and a rise in household formations,"
  • A lady wondering about housing
    March 09, 2017

    How Will Housing Fare Over the Next Decade?

    Rising populations and a growth in the job market likely will release a pent-up demand in housing over the next 10 years,
  • gutter with dried leaves
    March 09, 2017

    New season, new buyer

    Spring and summer seasons always dominate the home selling market, but with our area being one that is so transient, it would be a mistake to overlook the fall.
  • 2 people holding hands
    March 09, 2017

    Should My Partner and I Buy a Home Before We Marry?

    First comes love, then comes the mortgage, then comes the wedding? It may seem unconventional for a couple to purchase a home together before making the trek down the aisle
  • A weathervane pointing to the North
    March 09, 2017

    Is America Becoming A ‘Renter Nation’

    Traditionally, the business of renting single-family homes has been a local mom and pop operation. But that landscape changed as investors, with no community ties whatsoever, purchased properties in bulk.
  • home for rent house icon
    March 09, 2017

    How To Find a Quality Tenant When Renting Out Your Home

    There is a lot of help for those looking to find tenants. A Realtor, real estate agent or rental management company can all work with you to find a renter for your rental home.
  • buy or rent image held by 2 hands
    March 09, 2017

    Rent vs. Buy

    In fact, even with housing costs on the rise and steep closing costs and other taxes on buying a home, in most areas of the country it is more affordable to own a home than it is to rent one.
  • interior design of a condo
    March 08, 2017

    FHA Changes the Game For Condo Buyers and Sellers

    When the bubble burst, FHA dramatically cut condo loans. But condos play an essential role for first-time buyers, creating a ripple effect for move-up buyers, home values, and local economies.
  • March 08, 2017

    America’s Growing Housing Affordability Challenge…How Will It Impact You?

    Growing housing affordability challenges are unraveling the American Dream for millions. Even those who can afford a home won’t be immune to the impacts. Over the past few years, home values have been rising faster than wages in over two-thirds of U.S. real estate markets.
  • A wooden stairs in a home
    March 08, 2017

    Do You Know Your Home Buyer Rights?

    While there are laws to protect buyers from discrimination by lenders, you still should be aware of your home buyer rights—especially if you think a lender may be ignoring them.
  • snow covered floor and roof
    March 08, 2017

    The Early Bird's Guide to Selling a Home

    Spring brings out home buyers en masse. But in these waning days of winter, many home sellers are still hibernating. Well, it’s time to wake up! Although technically the peak home-buying period is still a few months away, the time to get your home in shape to sell is right now.
  • Open house with 3 people
    March 08, 2017

    Buying or Refinancing Your Home this Spring? Tips for Success

    Many Americans start to think about their housing needs this time of year. For some people spring aligns with the school calendar, given the time it takes to find the right home, arrange financing and move in time for the next academic year.
  • buying a home - 3 people negotiating
    March 08, 2017

    Buying a Home? What to Know about Down Payments

    If you're in the market to buy a home, your down payment is probably top of mind. However, it’s important to understand all your options, particularly if you’ve heard the rule of thumb that you shouldn't pursue homeownership unless you can put 20 percent down.
  • Different homes layed out in a neighborhood
    March 08, 2017

    Not Sure How to Price Your Home? Avoid Mistakes With These Tips

    Home pricing is more of a science than an art, but many homeowners price with their heartstrings instead of cold, hard data. Here’s why crunching the numbers is always the better route to an accurate home price
  • flower and white vase
    March 08, 2017

    Seven ways to freshen up your home

    After months of hanging out indoors and staring at your four walls, you might be ready for an interior-design change but lack the budget for major projects. Luckily, freshening up your home doesn’t require a wad of cash as much as it requires a touch of creativity.
  • must-have-items in a standard kitchen
    March 08, 2017

    Must vs. Lust: What Do You Really Need in Your New Home?

    When you embark on the home-buying process, your heart is filled with all the dreams in the world. It’s really easy to get caught up in the “I have to have ___________, so I’ll cut back somewhere else ”
  • functional laundry and a carbinet
    March 07, 2017

    Builder Tips on Designing a More Functional Laundry Space

    Experts say if a homeowner is looking to renovate a kitchen and bathroom on the main floor, the creation of a more functional laundry room might also be on that to-do list. But sometimes, ironing out a new laundry floor plan is its own job.
  • Tax docs, calculator and cash
    March 07, 2017

    Are You Getting the Home Tax Deductions You’re Entitled To?

    One of the neatest deductions itemizing homeowners can take advantage of is the mortgage interest deduction, which you claim on Schedule A. To get the mortgage interest deduction, your mortgage must be secured by your home — and your home can be a house, trailer, or boat, as long as you can sleep in it, cook in it, and it has a toilet.
  • a man and woman, calculating retirement assets
    March 07, 2017

    Maximizing Your Assets in Retirement

    No matter how diligent you may have been about saving for retirement, unexpected life changes and economic realities can negatively impact your retirement budget.
  • Reston Transportation Map
    March 07, 2017

    Homeowners Oppose Proposed Transit Area Tax

    Homeowners voiced concern about paying a proposed service district tax that is being proposed in Reston and outside the Town of Herndon.
  • Home renovation and construction using woods
    March 07, 2017

    Home Renovations: Best Design Decisions and Common Mistakes to Avoid

    When you’re starting the initial discussions with prospective contractors and design teams, it’s important to be thorough. You want to feel comfortable with them, with the scope of the work and that they’re going to see the project through.
  • A home scenery in fairfax
    March 07, 2017

    Fairfax Real Estate Market Sees Slight Uptick in Sales Volume

    “Flat” – or maybe “stable” – is the word to describe the Fairfax County real estate market in October.
  • Masonic Temple image scene with evening skyline
    March 07, 2017

    NoVA Insider’s Guide to the Counties

    Each county in Northern Virginia offers its residents something different, with communities, food and beer scenes, arts and culture offerings. If you’re new to town, don’t worry: We break down each county by its population, must-see destinations and more.
  • A man staring at something
    March 07, 2017

    What Do Real Estate Pros Look for When It’s Their Turn to Buy?

    Since you can’t exactly take a home on a test drive, how do you decide? That got us to thinking about real estate pros. When they’ve seen practically everything on the market, how do they choose?
  • A house for auctioning
    March 07, 2017

    Buying a House at Foreclosure Auction is Risky Business

    If you want to get a good deal at a foreclosure auction, know what you’re buying and how you’ll be expected to pay for it.