Real Estate News About Woodbridge Virginia and Surrounding Communities

Is Your Home REALLY On The Market?

Has Your Realtor Shown You A Copy Of Your MLS Listing?

Have You Looked Up Your Home On FranklyMLS.com?

Do Your On-Line Listings Included Photos That Show Your Home?

It's been my experience over the past 20+ years that there are two types of Realtors who list homes for sale.

You get a Marketer, or you get a Lister.

A Lister practices the "Three P's" of real estate: 1. Put a sign in the front yard; 2. Put a listing in the MLS; 3. Pray the house sells quickly.

A Marketer takes far more action.

The Marketer will also put the sign in the front yard, and an entry in the MLS.  

A Marketer will also post your home information, with photos, on the web sites that pull the most traffic.  

When you Google a Marketer or your community, your prospective buyers will find his/her web site high on the front page, so it's easy for buyers to find your listing.

Why?  

Because over 80% of home buyers use the internet to shop for homes.  Homes that feature a photo or    

 video tour make our phone ring with buyers asking more about your home.

A Marketer gives you quality brochures with photos and features for folks who see your home to take with them; Photos make it easier to remember your home later on, when buyers are comparing their favorite homes.

A Marketer has an email list of the top-selling agents in the region, and he/she will send a bulletin about your home to the 5% of Realtors who sell 95% of the homes for sale.

Most important, has your Realtor shown you the list of homes recently SOLD in your neighborhood, and advised you to list your home at a price that is INSIDE the range of homes SOLD?  Over-pricing your home will scare your potential buyers away.

In case you're wondering about us, we are Marketers and we are proud of the results our marketing systems sell homes fast, for top-dollar, and with the fewest hassles.

Peggy James in our Listing Manager.

Peggy is among the best Marketers in the Northern Virginia area.

Peggy will help you stage your home for the buyer's eyes.

Your home will be marketed in ways that Listers cannot even imagine.

You can call Peggy during business hours for a free, over-the-phone consultation about marketing your home.

You can reach Peggy at 703-851-3085.

Text my phone at 703-677-1120, or call my cell at the same number, or contact me now by email Click Here 

 

Contact Peggy James or Erick Blackwelder  of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty,14029 Crossing Place,  Woodbridge VA. 22192. Realtors®, call 703-851-3085 (Peggy) or 703-590-2252 (Office) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Gainesville area's

Equal Housing Opportunity

 

Woodbridge Virginia Homes For Sale Get More Home Buyers With These Tips

  

You Must Listen To Your Realtor When Preparing Your Home To Sell

Find Out How You Can Sell Your Home Fast And For Top Dollar With The Fewest Hassles

In days of old, when homes were sold, the three most important factors were location, location, location.

In today's competitive home sale market, the most important factors are price, price, price.

Your competition for buyers is fierce; Sellers are pricing homes AT the market; Successful sellers are not "testing" the market with a price above the recent sales.

Look closely at the list of homes in your neighborhood that have SOLD over the past 90 days, and forget about their asking price... focus on the SOLD price, then meet it or beat it.

Now is not the time to ask, "How can I get the most money for my house?"

Now IS the time to ask, "How can I offer more house for less money, and beat my competition.

"Oh but Erick, our home is 'special' so it should sell for more than other homes."

Folks, I even heard a prospective seller say his home was worth more than the market because all of his 3 children grew up in the "special aura" around his house.  Each of his 3 children went to medical school and became doctors because of the "special aura" surrounding his house.  So a prospective buyer, in his vivid imagination, would also be assured that the "special aura" would make the children of the buyers successful doctors.

I kid you not!

Price your home AT the market, even if the market price sends you spiraling into despair.

  

Resist the urge to "test" a price above the market.  Now is not the time to overprice your home.

If your home gets no traffic the first 2 weeks, you need a drastic price cut; If your home gets traffic but no offers over the first 2 weeks, you need a useful price cut.  

Think of it as a "Price Improvement".

 

Text my phone at 703-677-1120, or call my cell at the same number, or contact me now by email Click Here 

 

Contact Peggy James or Erick Blackwelder  of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty,14029 Crossing Place,  Woodbridge VA. 22192. Realtors®, call 703-851-3085 (Peggy) or 703-590-2252 (Office) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Gainesville area's

Equal Housing Opportunity  

 

Short Sales In Woodbridge Are Explained In An Insightful Video

You May Think Twice Before Buying A Short Sale In Woodbridge Or Manassas After You See This Video

You May Be Stunned, Even Shocked To Find Out What Your Realtor Must Tolerate To Sell A Short Sale

Folks, this video may seem like an exageration to you, but you will actually hear some of the myriad of excuses given to me by short sale "negotiators".

Text my phone at 703-677-1120, or call my cell at the same number, or contact me now by email Click Here

 

Contact Peggy James or Erick Blackwelder  of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty,14029 Crossing Place,  Woodbridge VA. 22192. Realtors®, call 703-851-3085 (Peggy) or 703-590-2252 (Office) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Gainesville area's

Equal Housing Opportunity  

Search Immediate Delivery Homes, Foreclosure Deals, Approved Short Sales, Vacant Homes, Just Listed Homes, Just Reduced Homes, New Homes even For Sale By Owner Homes listed on the MLS Begin Here

Buying And Selling Homes In Woodbridge VA At MARKET PRICES

Home Buyers Won't Even Look At An Overpriced House

Homes For Sale In Woodbridge Have Three Prices; 1. The Price The Seller Wants; 2. The Price The Buyers Will Pay; 3. And The Price That Trumps 1 and 2 Is The Value The Bank Gets From The Appraiser

Over the course of my career, I have been the bearer of tough news for my listing clients many times.  I don't ever relish the thought of sharing bad news with anyone, but I must admit that my skills in this area have improved dramatically with experience.

Home values are higher than 2003 values, but lower than 2005 values.

You want top-dollar for your house when you sell.

What is top-dollar right now in 2009?

You may be tempted to say, "I want top-dollar, just like the guy up the street got in 2005 who sold his house for $850,000". 

Unless you've been in a coma for four years, it's highly likely that you know home values have declined from peak values the market would bear in 2005.

Here is what you can expect to get from me or any other agent who has sold homes for a living, through rising markets, falling markets, and flat markets.

Here are five things things you can expect from me when you interview me or Peggy to sell your house:

1. Lay The Cards On The Table.  Sometimes, it's best to just spit it out, then deal with the explanation.  When I see you for a listing appointment, and I know that the home is worth substantially less than what you were hoping for, you and I have nothing to gain by beating around the bush.  Together, we'll get review MLS records and tax records out on the table so you can see what buyers are offering, and see what your neighbors are getting for their homes in 2009.  When you accept the facts and figures, you and I can set a price and value that will get your house SOLD for 2009 top-dollar.  If you cannot accept the 2009 market facts, you may expect me to make a quick exit. 

2. You Will Get Realistic Coaching From Peggy Me. "Mr and Mrs Seller, I fully realize this is not what you were hoping to see and hear".  "The market doesn't care about your hopes and dreams."   

3. " Mr Erick, YOUR OPINION About The Value For Our Home Is Too Low."   Hey folks, in my opinion, your home is worth $15Billion, but the market doesn't care about my opinon or your opinion.  When you see the report showing recent SOLD values for homes like yours, in your area, you are getting FACTS from database of SOLD homes, NOT my opinion of value.  When you see the report of recent sales and values I show you, keep in mind that you are seeing a report created with the same methods as an appraiser would. 

4. Your Home Actually Has THREE (3) Different Values Right Now.   The price YOU want for your house; the price a buyer is willing to pay, and the value the appraiser reports to the bank that is loaning the buyer the money.  Golly, you could overprice your house and, to your delight, you get a full-price offer from a buyer.  Remember this, the mortgage melt-down was partially blamed on appraisers.  Appraisers and appraisals are scrutinized like never before.  When the appraiser's report shows your house value right now is $20,000 below the contract price you got from the buyer, you have two ugly options: Lower the contract price to the appraised value and move forward, OR the buyer walks away.

5. You May Find An Agent Who Will List Your Overpriced House, But That Cannot Change Market Value.  Don't ever choose an agent based exclusively on price.  "Erick/Peggy, we interviewed you and two other agents.  We're going with Joe Blow from XYZ Realty because he said he could get us (stupid-high price) for our house.  He said he could get that price for us."  Okay, I accept that, just know that Joe will be back in two weeks for a price reduction.  Inside our industry agents call that trick Joe pulled on you, "Buying the listing."  No, Joe is not buying your house, he's just telling you what you want to hear.

I hope that this is helpful for you.  I am known with my past clients as being direct and honest, without being blunt.  There is a fine art to communicating effectively.  Hopefully, these tips will give you a leg up on your competition.

Did this post tickle your curiosity?  CLICK HERE to send your question.  Answers shall be sent by email ONLY, unless you specifically ask for phone call.

You can get computerized, automatic, customized FREE ALERTS by email when new listings of homes that fit your wish-list are posted on the Realtor's MLS.  You'll find out about the newest listings before most Realtors know about them.

That way you'll know when your dream home hits the market.

Opportunities Are Everywhere...We Can Help You Find Your Dream Home.

 

 

 

 

 

Erick Blackwelder or Peggy James of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-590-2252  list your property for sale or to  purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Cannon Bluff, Meadowbrook Woods, Blooms Crossing, Manassas Park, Beaver Creek, Hunter's Ridge, Brittany,  Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Nokesville, or anywhere in Prince William County.

 

      

President Lyndon Johnson lead a vigorous campaign through the halls of Congress that lead to Fair Housing legislation.  The Republican Party members in Congress backed Fair Housing, while most of the congressional Democrat Party members opposed Fair Housing.  Johnson, a Democrat, worked the phones day and night, calling congressional Democrats, calling in favors that persuaded enough Democrats to cross party lines and vote for Fair Housing, and against their party leaders. 

 

You Can Sell Your Woodbridge Virginia Home For Top Dollar When You Price Your Home At The Market

What Is "Top Dollar" Anyway?

The Worst Deal Killer The Will Chase Home Buyers Away And How You Can Avoid It

Your home is more to you than just a pile of sticks and bricks.  Your home helped you create memories of happy times you will carry with you so long as you live.

How can you put a price on a home filled with joy?

If you have children, your home may be the backdrop for countless photos of birthday parties, and holiday family gatherings showing how your children have grown.

Your family has priceless memories in your home, and your home is part of your family.

The time has come for you to move.

You MUST make a few mental adjustments to the way you see your home, and how your home.

First, when your house goes on the market FOR SALE, you MUST see your house as a house you are selling; put your business hat on, then stop thinking of your house a your "home". 

"Home" is an emotion-charged word that too often causes sellers to make deal-killer decisions.

"House" is a neutral word that helps wise sellers make top-dollar decisions.

Your home is now a house you are selling.  It is a house you are selling 

Home is something you take with you when you move to your next house, it's not something you leave behind.

The simple definition of "Top Dollar" is the highest prices for which homes around yours have sold in the past 90-120 days.

"But Mr Erick!  The houses that have sold lately sold $565,000 - $590,000.  Three years ago, the house next door sold for top-dollar at $725,000!!  You said you could sell our house for top-dollar.  Now you say that we can't get top-dollar anymore.  You're saying our house will likely sell under $600,000.... that's not top-dollar!!  You are trying to give us a bait-and-switch."

"Folks, I DON'T MAKE THE MARKET.  The market rules.  The market price for your home in TODAY'S MARKET would be $590,000." 

The Number One Deal-Killer is allowing your emotions to over-price your house. 

Over-pricing fails every time it's tried, market pricing works every time.

"Testing The Market" with a price above market values will frustrate you, waste your time.

Your Realtor should show you the list of homes that have SOLD in the past 90-120 days so you can see what buyers are willing to pay.

Never price your home outside the range of SOLD prices for other homes similar to yours in your area.

Never, never, never.

Absolutely avoid your urge to "Test the market" with a price $10,000, $20,000, or more over recent sales.

Look at it this way.  Pretend for a moment that you own 1,000 share of stock in Apple Compter, Inc.  So you call your stock broker and say, 'I want to sell all of my Apple shares today... what's the price per share today?'." 

Your stock broker says, "Today's price for Apple is $189 a share and holding steady."

Would you then say to your broker, "Well, my shares are special, so sell my shares today for $225 a share."  Would you do that ?  Of course not.

If you did tell your stock broker to sell your shares for $225 a share, your broker would say, "No can do, the market for Apple today is $189 a share.  You can't get $225 a share when the market price is $189."

Folks, house prices work the same way.

Folks, believe me, I've heard every excuse for overpricing from home sellers:
* "Our home is special."  So is everybody else's.
* "We can always come down in two weeks if it doesn't sell at 'your' price."  It's NOT MY price. You set the price.
* "Don't people make offers?"  Buyers already know the prices at which homes have sold in your area.  If a house is over-priced above the comps, buyers perceive you as being unreasonable, unrealistic, so they won't even look.

A pal who is among the top-performing Realtors in Denver has a simple yet thought-provoking question he poses to folks who feel compelled to overprice their houses:  "So, do you want to sell your house, or do you want to learn a lesson?"

Did this post tickle your curiosity?  CLICK HERE to send your question.  Answers shall be sent by email ONLY, unless you specifically ask for phone call.

You can get computerized, automatic, customized FREE ALERTS by email when new listings of homes that fit your wish-list are posted on the Realtor's MLS.  You'll find out about the newest listings before most Realtors know about them.

That way you'll know when your dream home hits the market.

Opportunities Are Everywhere...We Can Help You Find Your Dream Home.

 

 

 

 

 

Erick Blackwelder or Peggy James of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-590-2252  list your property for sale or to  purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Cannon Bluff, Meadowbrook Woods, Blooms Crossing, Manassas Park, Beaver Creek, Hunter's Ridge, Brittany,  Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Nokesville, or anywhere in Prince William County.

 

      

President Lyndon Johnson lead a vigorous campaign through the halls of Congress that lead to Fair Housing legislation.  The Republican Party members in Congress backed Fair Housing, while most of the congressional Democrat Party members opposed Fair Housing.  Johnson, a Democrat, worked the phones day and night, calling congressional Democrats, calling in favors that persuaded enough Democrats to cross party lines and vote for Fair Housing, and against their party leaders.  

Woodbridge Virginia Short Sales Success Improves With Special Software

You Can Get A Fast Short Sale Approval And Save Your Finances From Disaster

We Have Software That Takes Your Hardship And Fills In Vital Documents Banks Need To Approve Your Sale

Five years ago, the term "short sale" was practically unknown.

First, market values for homes dropped 30+% since 2005.

Second, toxic loans have reset to sky-high rates and payments over the past two years, that bust the family budget.

The good intent for folks taking mortgages that reset in two years was the promise that two years of on-time mortgage payments, combined with anticipation that home values would keep rising, was the possibility of refinancing to a safer loan when the loans reset.

The road to disaster is paved with good intent.

A domino-effect is clogging the market with short sales that are difficult to obtain because too few banks do not have systems to process short sales.

Realtors had no systems for obtaining short sales.

So banks and Realtors have been creating the rules on the fly.

We Purchased Expensive New Software Creates Approvable Short Sale Packages

My team has enjoyed better than average success with short sales because we did deep research into the processes that create approvable short sale applications.

We found out that an approvable short sale package is comprised of numerous complex forms.

Well, we just paid big $$ to obtain software that creates approvable short sale packages quickly.

The software opens with a series of questions that creates a complete profile describing your situation.

Next, with just one mouse click, ALL the forms are automatically created, specific to your situation, in a package that is approvable by most banks.

We get you fast approval for your short sale, at terms that will price your home to sell, so you can get your home fast, for market value, and with the fewest hassles.

DISCLOSURE: Not all banks accept short sales.  Some banks just cannot accommodate short sales.

So call Peggy right now to find out whether or not your short sale will get approved by your bank: 703-851-3085, or send Peg an email, Peggy@ErickAndCompany.com

Did this post tickle your curiosity?  CLICK HERE to send your question.  Answers shall be sent by email ONLY, unless you specifically ask for phone call.

You can get computerized, automatic, customized FREE ALERTS by email when new listings of homes that fit your wish-list are posted on the Realtor's MLS.  You'll find out about the newest listings before most Realtors know about them.

That way you'll know when your dream home hits the market.

 

 

 

Opportunities Are Everywhere...We Can Help You Find Your Dream Home.

 

 

 

 

 

Erick Blackwelder or Peggy James of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-590-2252  list your property for sale or to  purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Cannon Bluff, Meadowbrook Woods, Blooms Crossing, Manassas Park, Beaver Creek, Hunter's Ridge, Brittany,  Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Nokesville, or anywhere in Prince William County.

 

      

President Lyndon Johnson lead a vigorous campaign through the halls of Congress that lead to Fair Housing legislation.  The Republican Party members in Congress backed Fair Housing, while most of the congressional Democrat Party members opposed Fair Housing.  Johnson, a Democrat, worked the phones day and night, calling congressional Democrats, calling in favors that persuaded enough Democrats to cross party lines and vote for Fair Housing, and against their party leaders.