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Chris Ann Cleland, GRI

Treat Yourself to a Gainesvillle Area Home for the Holidays

Treat Yourself to a Gainesville Area Home for the Holidays!

With Thanksgiving just one week away, visions of that dream kitchen are no doubt coming to mind. I'm sure you are just wishing you had more counter space, maybe a center island and definitely double ovens. What else is in your dream kitchen?

  • Granite counters?
  • Stainless steel appliances?
  • Cherry cabinetry?
  • Ceramic tile?

No matter what your dream kitchen consists of, there is a good chance that we can put our head's together in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to find it for you, wrapped up in a Gainesville, VA home.

With the first time buyer $8,000 tax credit extended to the Spring of 2010, and expanded to give $6,500 to homeowners of five years or more, there is no reason to not treat yourself to a Gainesville area home for the holidays. Your home buying dollar goes much farther in Prince William County than it will anywhere in Fairfax County.

Let's make your kitchen dreams come true this holiday, so you can spend next holiday season preparing those holiday meals in your Gainesville, VA home.

Gainesvillle, VA Residents: Join Long & Foster's Annual Coat Drive!

Long & Foster Gainesville is hosting an annual Coats for Kids Drive. If you are a resident of Gainesville, Bristow or Haymarket, Virginia, here's your chance to make a difference in someone's world this winter. Bring in your donation of a new or clean, lightly used coat, mittens, gloves, scarf, or hat to our office. Adult outwear is also welcome.

The Long & Foster Gainesville office is located at 7526 Limestone Drive, Gainesville, VA. From the intersection of Route 29 & Linton Hall Road; take Linton Hall Road South; at the 3rd traffic light turn left onto Wellington Road; take a left onto Limestone Drive. Long & Foster Gainesville will be on the corner of the strip of shops, across the street from 7-Eleven.

Donations will be taken through March 31, 2010. Call 571-261-1400 for office hours.

Thank you for your donations!

Gainesvillle, VA Toys for Tots Drop Off

Long & Foster in Gainesville, VA is happy to be a collection site for Toys for Tots. Simply stop by our offcie to drop off your donation of a new, unwrapped toy.

The Long & Foster Gainesville office is located at 7526 Limestone Drive, Gainesville, VA. From the intersection of Route 29 & Linton Hall Road; take Linton Hall Road South; at the 3rd traffic light turn left onto Wellington Road; take a left onto Limestone Drive. Long & Foster Gainesville will be on the corner of the strip of shops, across the street from 7-Eleven.

To check our business hours, please call 571-261-1400.

Toys will collected until December 18th. Bring a smile to a child's face this Christmas. Drop off your new, unwrapped toy and know you have made a differnce in someone's life this holiday season.

What Does a Sick Cat Have in Common with a Bank of America Short Sale?

Ah, Sunday. A day for me. A day to do whatever I wanted. No Bank of America short sales to deal with on MY day. I had nowhere to be. No one to meet. My time was my own, and I made good use of it. I did laundry, cooked, and worked on my 2010 busines plan. I even had my trash and recycle out at the curb at a reasonable hour. I wasn't scrambling to get it together at Midnight after startling awake on my couch.

What I was not expecting, was to have a cat with diarrhea at 10pm. Diarrhea that was preceded, and accompanied by, vomiting. My little two year Shadow was miserable, and naturally, our regular vet is closed on Sunday. Why do these things always happen at the most inconvenient time? My husband and I packed Shadow into his kitty carrier and drove one hour to the ER Vet. (Yes, there is one closer, but they nearly killed one of my cats two years ago. Unless they can't breathe or have a limb falling off, my cats go to the ER Vet recommended by my regular vet.) Diagnosis: Gastroenteritis caused by one of Shadow's favorite foods--Swiss Chard.

As I checked in our sick boy this morning (locked in the laundry room, of course), and cleaned up the "finale", I had that same sense of calm come over me that I get when I get approval on a Bank of America short sale. No more suprises flying out at me. Things were looking good.

As a Gainesville, VA short sale agent, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Bank of America short sales have a lot in common with my sick cat. Bank of America's short sale process is long, messy and you never know what's going to happen next. Whatever does happen, I know that as a Gainesville short sale agent, it will be my job to clean it up and "make it better." Bank of America lost the file they've had for two months? Send it again. Bank of America is demanding a promissory note of the sellers? Negotiate the amount down to a number managable to the sellers. Bank of America is contradicting themselves? That's my favorite part of the job. Point out the date and time of the statement made that contradicts whatever the hourly service center employee, or negotiator, just gave me. I keep copious notes.

Shadow's sickness came on suddenly, and looks like it will clear up within twenty four hours. Bank of America short sales can take a MINIMUM of 4 months to get approval from the time a contract is submitted. These days, those approval letters seem to be taking an average of six months to get. No matter when it comes, once you have the approval letter in your hand (and no second trusts on your property) you can expect your Bank of America short sale to go to closing within 30 days.

If you may be facing a short sale and would like an agent who isn't afraid of hard work, or the messes that come with a Bank of America short sale, give me a call. Consider me your Bank of America short sale ER doc.