Chris Ann Cleland, GRI

This Annandale condo, priced at $249,900 when it hit the market on September 28, 2009, sold in only sixteen days. That's not the number of days it took to get the offer. We had our contract after one day, and it was ratified on September 30th. It went to settlement this morning, October 13th.

The story behind the quick sale of this Annandale condo, located in the community of Lafayette Forest, involves a regular seller with a well maintained and lovely, contemporary condo and buyers who had been "left at the alter"...so to speak, by a prior seller. The buyers had gone to closing for the prior condo purchase on September 28th. Unfortunately, the seller did not have the money needed to make up the difference between the sale price and what was owed. The listing agent on that fiasco obviously didn't even think to list the home as a short sale.

The buyer's prior transaction fell apart the same day my seller's condo hit the market. It was a match from the very beginning.

While this Annandale condo did not sell for the list price, it did sell for the appraised value of $224,000. And the seller did not have to assist the buyer with any closing costs. Furthermore, the quick settlement happened the very last day before my seller would have been selling in a capital gains scenario.

Every once in a while, the stars align and a seller and buyer can come together to make a tight deadline. It also helps when there are true real estate professionals involved helping the buyer and seller navigate the home buying and selling process.

Northern Virginia Foreclosures May Not Be the Deal Buyers Think They Are.

For two days in a row, I have sat in front of two different sets of Northern Virginia buyers and had to explain why the foreclosure they had their hearts set on was not worth what they thought. It boils down to a poor business practice that, in my opinion should be outlawed: Underpricing a listing to sitr up unrepresented buyers.

With the first buyer, he saw a home that met all of his requirements come through on an automatic search I'd set up for him. Location, garage, square footage that he desired, all at a a bargain of a price. And we had previously had a very difficult time meeting these requirements and not escalating him to the very top of his price range, or moving him out 15 miles farther than he wanted to live. When he gave me the address, I immediately ran a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) to see if this home was priced correctly.

NOPE. THE HOME WAS PRICED A MINIMUM OF $35,000 BELOW MARKET VALUE.

We toured the home and while there, at least five couples walked through. Mind you, we were only there for 30 minutes. He was trying to understand why I was suggesting going so much higher than list price. That's what the bank wanted, right? Wrong! The bank wanted that $35,000 more, and the listing agent was probably going to get about 30 offers. I explained that one of theose 30 offers would win the battle of highest and best. If he wanted the house, he had one shot. It was still in his price range, just not the tremendous bargain he thought it was. He offered in the desired price range. We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I could strangle the listing agent. He is a habitual offender of this lowball list price phenomenom.

The second buyer was a similar story, just a larger home. I showed that family the home three times over three days. We were safe because this is a bank that does not take offers until the home has been on the market for a minimum of five days. That won't be until this weekend. I ran the comps and was in utter disbelief at the list price. Though, in his defense, the list agent probably had no clue how to run a CMA. When we chatted about list price vs. sale price, he seemed to think he was priced $10,000 below market value.

MY CMA SHOWED THE HOUSE WAS PRICED $40,000 BELOW MARKET VALUE.

After the third look at the house, it was time to write the offer. A difficult conversation was at hand. How do you make first time buyers understand the logic behind going so high above market value? I showed the buyers the CMA I had run, and how I got to the range I had. They worked the numbers and came to same conclusion. They debated for 60 minutes on what to offer. They seemed to want assurance they didn't outbid the next highest offer by more than $5,000, but the bank will not take an escalation clause. There was no way to know.

It boiled down, once again, to, "How badly do you want the house?" There were business cards on the kitchen counters from really good agents I had worked with. If their buyers were interested in making an offer, they would come to the same figures as me. Someone was going to pay market value for the house, and if my buyers wanted it, it should be them. They made a good offer and I think they have a good shot. We'll just have to sweat it through the weekend.

In both instances the houses will have no appraisal issues with the offers the buyers made. I just wish that when these homes hit the market, that they were priced more in line with market value. They would have no problem getting offers, but the listing agents would not be getting the multitude of unrepresented buyers lured in by "bargain" listings.

There are ten great reaons to buy this Bristow Short Sale, priced at $399,000. Previous reasons will have links at the bottom of the post. This post is reason #9.

#9 - ENJOY AN EASY COMMUTE!

Prince William County has some problem areas from which to commute. Bristow, where this lovely four bedroom colonial is located, is not one of them. Live close to Routes 28, 29 and 66. Or if you prefer public transportation into the Arlington and Washington, DC area, your new home is located within five miles of the VRE (Virginia Railway Express).

Route 66 East widens to four lanes in Gainesville. Enter there, at Route 29, or take Sudley Manor Drive to the Prince William County Parkway (a.k.a. the Route 234 Bypass). You won't be entering traffic that is at a a standstill.

Coming home, it's the reverse. Route 66 West narrows in Gainesville. Have the convenience of an easy exit to the Prince William County Parkway, as those around you come to a halt waiting to pass through Gainesville and into Haymarket. Living in Bristow you have the ability to take the last exit where traffic is still moving to get home!

Buying this Bristow short sale means an easier commute than living in Gainesville or Haymarket. And priced at $399,000, you'll get much more home for the money than if you bought in Fairfax County.

Click this link for Reason #8. If you missed any previous reasons to buy this brick front colonial short sale in Bristow, click the links below:

Reason #10

This Bristow short sale is listed by Chris Ann Cleland (Realtor, Licensed in Virginia)/Long & Foster.

For a tour please call 703-402-0037 or email chrisann@LNF.com.

There are ten great reaons to buy this Bristow Short Sale. We'll do this Letterman style and start with reason #10.

#10 - LIVE CLOSE TO SHOPS!

This Bristow short sale, priced at $399,000 with four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, is right inside the Linton Hall corridor and close to many shops. Let's start with grocery shopping.

Whether you prefer Giant Food, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Wegmans or Shoppers Food Warehouse, you are in luck! When you buy this Bristow short sale, you all close to all five major supermarkets AND a Super Target that also have a grocery store.

As the Bristow-Gainesville area has developed, we have seen many shops and restaurants springing up. Live within a few miles of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Michaels, Lowes, La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery, Target, Best Buy, Home Goods, Honey Baked Ham, Hair Cuttery, Gold Crown Hallmark, Great American Barber Shop (2), Panera Bread, Cold Stone Creamery, DSW, CVS (2), Chili's, Mimi's, Bertucci's, Chipotle, Bonefish, Glory Days Bar & Grill, Quiznos, Staples, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns, Pei Wei, Chik-Fil-A, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway (2), Qdoba, Ruby Tuesday, IHOP, Taco Bell and KFC...just to name a few!

Buying this Bristow, VA short sale will not make you compromise proximity to shops or restaurants.

Ready for the next reason to buy this Bristow, VA short sale? Click here for Reason #9.

This Bristow short sale is listed by Chris Ann Cleland (Realtor, Licensed in Virginia)/Long & Foster.

For a tour please call 703-402-0037 or email chrisann@LNF.com.

I was out house hunting today with a first time home buyer seeking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. We had a line up of homes that were relatively new to the market. And since we were searching under the $250,000 price range where homes have multiple offers in no time, I had my doubts if any of the homes would be available by day's end, not to mention next weekend when this particular buyer will be ready to make his offer.

We saw some great options. And there were slews of business cards in every one except for two. One was an age restricted community listing, for those 55 or older. Didn't surprise me that we were only the second ones through. Limiting the age of buyers has a tendency to limit showings. It's not rocket science. The second listing, however, shocked me.

It was a condo, priced extremely reasonably, in a sough after location. Considering the list price, and talking with the buyer about the lack of interior pictures, I wondered if we would have a lung disease when we left. One anticipates that when there are no interior pictures that a house may be in questionable condition. Realtors and buyers are no different in making that assumption.

Walking inside, it was plain that this condo was IT! It was beautifully staged and showed off every positive it had. My stomach turned as I searched for the multitude of business cards of agents that had been through. There was only one. I could come to only one conclusion:

NO INTERIOR PICTURES IN THE LISTING MEANS VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC.

Since my buyer is waiting for his significant other to join him next weekend to make their final choice, we are hoping that this agent will continue with his two week streak of having no pictures added to the listing. Sad that the listing agent went to all the trouble of advising his seller to simplify, declutter and stage their home, and doesn't have the pictures to show to the buyers shopping online. This condo is not getting the traffic it should and I'm sure the seller is wondering why.

This all works to my buyer's advantage, but it really does give a prime example of why taking interior pictures of a listing is so important.