Since HomeZill.com’s launch, I’ve been asked the same question repeatedly: “What was your reason for creating HomeZill?” -I’ll answer that question, but first let me give you a little background….

When I was younger, I remember thinking that homeownership in Northern VA was something that I’d be considering after getting married, and having a few little ones while rounding the corner into my 40’s. At least at the time, it was on track with what my parents and everything I saw on tv mirrored.

Every book that I have read dealing with success and becoming wealthy, centers around the fact that purchasing a home is the largest, and most rewarding investment of your life. Fortunately, and only recently, with the creativity of lenders and the predominantly low interest rates, people have been able to purchase a home at an incredibly young age. With this opportunity opens up a whole new ball game for a generation of younger, savvy homebuyers. Through the rise of technology, home buyers can search almost every property listed– soley on the internet without ever leaving their home. Unlike today, just a few years ago home buyers needed the assistance of a Real Estate agent in order to see what homes were on the market. Through MLS search feeds and New Construction databases, younger generation home buyers in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC are preferring to do their own search, on their own time without the pressure of dealing with an agent until the time comes to buy.

Gen-X home buyers, born from 1965-1977, comprise of 48 million people, or 33% of all home buyers and 40% of all first time buyers. These “latchkey” kids are extremely independent, thrive on change, and need a work/life balance. They want their real estate agent to be “hands-off” and are a little skeptical of working with real estate agents in general.

Gen-Y home buyers, 12 to 29 year-olds, comprise of 73 million people, or 32% of all home buyers and 39% of first time buyers. This generation values their uniqueness and thrives on a sense of community when buying their home. They want the new condo or town home community with all the amenities like shops, services, restaurants, schools and parks. These internet savvy consumers frequently scour VA, DC & MD real estate blogs, YouTube, Craig’s List and podcasts.

—————

Empowering home buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland through the use of technology, while giving cash back to our clients, produces a win/win for everyone… This ‘niche’ was the motivation and driving force behind the creation of HomeZill.com. -

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

It’s FRIIIIIIDAY, T.G.I.F. The day you couldn’t wait for when you were little. You remember the sweet lineup, Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, and Perfect Strangers. Now, you may find yourself at a local restaurant/bar socializing and drowning your work week in a dirty martini, shaken not stirred. Or you may be sitting with your kids watching Harry Potter, apologizing for the spilled coke that soaked the woman’s purse in front on you. Regardless of your Friday night activity, you are relieved that the weekend is finally here. Maybe you spend your Saturday relaxing or going to the park, Home Depot, or Bed Bath and Beyond if you have enough time. Or you like to grill out and invite the neighbors over for a barbeque. Well, some of you may have this luxury but as for my wife’s friend situation, it’s a little different. She has to spend her time in a motel room because the home she just purchased is full of mold! Why would she buy a home full of mold? That wasn’t the first thing that was going through her mind when she saw this beautiful home with such a great price tag. Being hyper excited about her first investment, she failed to get a home inspection. She didn’t want anyone else to have a chance at buying this home. Now you can’t put all the blame on her because she DID use a real estate agent. I know I wouldn’t blame myself for a huge mistake like this.

“RE/MAX is the world market leader in real estate, with a network of 6,149 offices in 62 countries and over 114,417 agents. Averaging three times the production and more advanced industry experience and education than other agents, RE/MAX associates are truly ‘The Real Estate Leaders®’ in quality customer service. The proof of quality service is in repeat customers and customers who refer RE/MAX to their friends and family. RE/MAX agents receive 70% of their business from repeats and referrals, while other agents average about 30% from those sources.”

I’m not saying that her agent was a bad one, just make sure when you choose your agent; they’re going to go out of their way for you. Cheers!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

As I was looking for homes the other day I came across a picture in the MLS that blew me away. It was the main picture of the home. I had not seen anything like this before and was flabbergasted by it. I mean, the Realtor that is selling this house must have no idea what gossip must be going on about this peculiar photo. If the owner of the house has not seen this photo yet, they are going to be thrilled.

This is the perfect example of what NOT to do. This is not your ideal featured picture for your home. First of all, a big yellow Penske truck blocking half of the house is a big no no! At least make it a U-Haul.

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” especially, when you’re trying to sell your home. You have the opportunity for thousands of homebuyers to see your home. You want it to look spectacular. The aforementioned photo is like wearing jeans and a t-shirt to Prom, you look awkward and everyone is going to laugh at you, unless of course you’re Jesse Katsopolis (Full House).

Curb appeal makes the difference between a prospective buyer stopping for a look, or moving on. Clear the front and back yard of toys, bikes, sports equipment and anything else that could be a distraction. Also be sure that shrubs are trimmed, weeds and past-their-prime annuals are removed, and the lawn mowed. If your car is usually parked in the driveway, park it along the street, away from your home, while photographing. Vehicles parked in the driveway block part of the view and detract from your homes overall visual impact.

A slightly overcast day provides optimum shooting conditions for exterior photography, as bright sunlight causes high-contrast light and shadowed areas on portions of your home and yard, and creates glare off of windows and metal trim. Should the weather not cooperate, stand within photo-taking distance of your home at different times of day to establish the best light conditions.

When photographing the exterior, position yourself to take the shot on a slight angle. You can also get down on one knee to take the picture at a slightly upward angle. Photographing from these positions will make the home appear larger and better show its character than a straight-on photo taken from a standing position, which tends to produce an image that looks “flat” and uninteresting.

“Say Cheese!”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

So everyone remembers selling lemonade on the corner of your street when you were younger right? Of course, if Charlie Brown was doing it then it had to be cool. You had to compete with the other kids that were two streets over, and you weren’t friends with them because your parents wouldn’t let you ride your huffy off your street. Well whose stand did better? Maybe it was yours because you had your cute little sister holding the sign, maybe it was theirs because “Dad” got so caught up, he built a mini 7 Eleven, or maybe it was neither… It was the stand three streets down that always pulled their radio flyer back to their home with a jar full of George Washingtons–Their lemonade was priced right.

When it comes to selling your home, the most important factor is the price tag. You don’t want to overprice your home because you will lose the glow of the home’s attraction after the first couple weeks of showings. After three weeks, appeal and curiosity fizzle out. Don’t worry about pricing your home below market value because you will often times receive multiple offers, which will drive up the price to market value. I wouldn’t exactly call myself an expert, but here are some tips that are very helpful:

• Look at every similar home that was, or is listed in the same neighborhood or within a ½ mile over the past six months, paying attention to major streets, freeways, or railroads, and do not compare inventory from the “other side of the tracks.”
• Compare similar square footage, within 10% more or less from your property if possible as well as age, comparing apples to apples.
• To check out what other homes buyers will also be seeing, tour active listings. Make note of what you like and dislike, the general feeling you get upon entering these homes. If possible, recreate those feelings of reception in your own home.
• These homes are your competition. Ask yourself why a buyer would prefer your home over any of these and adjust your price accordingly.
• Same house, three different prices. After you have collected all your data, the next step is to analyze the data based on market conditions. For comparison purposes, let’s say the last three comparable sales in your neighborhood were $500,000. In a buyer’s market, your sales price might allow some wiggle room for negotiation but be strong enough (near the last comparable sale) to entice a buyer to tour your home. To sell in this market, you might need to price your home at $495,000, settling for $490,000.

Now you’re a little more prepared to compete out there. This time your lemonade is going to sell or maybe you’ll realize that you’re not ready in the current market.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

As much as we don’t want to admit it, the Great Bob Dylan said it first, “The Times They Are a Changing”.  Can you believe how much has changed just in the past ten years? Just think back to 1997. People didn’t even think about having a cell phone on them, email was only used by computer geeks talking to their cyber buddies, and the only popular thing on the internet was AOL.

Nowadays, people can’t leave the house without carrying their cell phones on them. Checking email is a daily routine and to some it’s a drug, checking their inbox at least 30 times a day only to find another piece of spam. You know who you are. And of course, the internet! It has evolved into something that this world could not live without. I mean new words are being added into Webster’s from the internet for crying out loud. Google is now in the dictionary. Family’s are booking vacations and wondering if the hotels are going to have the internet available or if they’ll get cell phone service on that remote island. We now are living in a technology dependent world. This is pushing everyone to adapt to the information super highway. Second graders are learning to use the internet when people in their 60’s don’t know where the Start menu is. “The Times Are a Changing.”

HomeZill realizes this change. Let’s be honest with ourselves, the majority of the technology savvy individuals fall between the ages of 18 and 45. For lack of a better word we’ll call these people, Zillers. Don’t blow a gasket Mr. 55-year-old, you computer whiz, you’re not the majority. So, another majority are people who do not own a home. This majority happens to fall between the same age group of the technology savvy individuals. Do you see a correlation?

HomeZill Re/Max agents recognize the fact that these Zillers don’t want to deal with an agent in their face 24/7. HomeZill agents make the home buying process more enjoyable. With not enough hours in the day anymore, you can find your home at your convenience. When you’re ready to pull the trigger, that’s where they come in. When buying your home with HomeZill, you’ll receive up to 2% cash back at closing. Yeah, you say to yourself 2% is dinky. Well it is if you’re buying a pack of gum, but when you’re buying a $500,000 home, that $10,000 isn’t so dinky, is it? You think this is good? It gets better when selling your home. You only pay a flat fee of $3,000. You’ll still get great service but you’ll be more involved in the process. HomeZill Re/Max agents are professionals and they’re going take care of all the negotiations and paperwork. After all, Re/Max is the #1 brokerage worldwide.

Search for a home online, call HomeZill to do the dirty work, and receive money at closing for real estate in Northern Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. More freedom and control in your hands. Just what the Zillers asked for. Believe it or not, the Internet is taking over and “The Times They Are a Changing.”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Last weekend my wife dragged me to a neighborhood barbecue in Northern Virginia. While I was there minding my own business, I was approached by a group of “real estate investors” as they like to call themselves. We all know this group of people. They’re the bunch who has the need to boast about how many properties they own or how flipping properties is as easy as walking down the street. They also seem to carry this plethora of knowledge about the real estate market that not even a Realtor can get their hands on. As they introduce themselves, I saw a pattern begin to develop. Sure enough, not one of them was in the real estate business.

I found myself daydreaming as I stood there waiting for each of them to finish reeling off their superlatives. Then one chimes in with a question that snapped me out of my daze. The jolly fellow with the Cuban cigar asks me, “I bet business is slow with the market being this bad?” This is a typical question that every Realtor runs into at least once a week. I regroup and simply ask him, “Who said this was a bad market?” The gentleman responds with “My neighbor’s house has been on the market for 6 months now.” So at this point I began to enlighten their noodle boxes. This market that we are experiencing right now is not “bad”. Yes, it may be slow for people who want to sell their home. There is an overkill of inventory available right now. So if you want your home to sell quickly in this market, you need to price it right. If you can’t afford to price your home at a reasonable price, then it better be the next best thing to sliced bread.

As far as buying a home right now, the choices are endless. With sellers having difficulty and builders having so much inventory on their hands, buyers have a better chance of receiving a seller concession or an incentive. Don’t think that sellers won’t budge on their prices. If you didn’t already know, many homeowners have a lot of equity in their homes from the real estate boom a few years ago. Don’t go expecting to buy a home right now and turn around in a year from now and make a ridiculous profit. All I’m saying is if you’re in the market to buy a home, this is your chance to find a great deal!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!