Kelly McLaughlan

4 Critical Services Required for Effective Website and Internet Presence

As a Real Estate agent, broker or related business owner or organization in Fairfax/Loudoun County, Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington DC or Maryland, these economic conditions make it especially difficult to budget, prioritize and manage scarce dollars for effective Internet website development and marketing activities. What are the most important and critical factors in making sure your web development and marketing money is wisely spent, for the best return? For both your real estate-relate business and for your real estate clients?

Here's a quick roundup of the "4 Most Critical Services Required for Effective Website and Internet Presence". This is information that's extremely hard to find in one place - mainly because very few regional or local companies can actually provide all 4, especially #4:

1. Website Design and Branding
2. Internet Marketing and Social Media
3. Web Technology and Hosting
4. Information Technology Management

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From time to time, we find and offer some really wonderful value in new, custom family homes - in this case, the highly sought-after neighborhood of Bethesda, MD in Montgomery County.

These homes are extremely competitively priced for this neighborhood, and great location - near schools, businesses and convenient to all of Metro DC.

These homes are offered by Ingrid Myers, Realtor - Northern Virginia and Metro DC Maryland Real Estate. Ingrid has been providing this area usurpassed Real Estate services for private, commercial or agricultural (farms) properties for over 25 years.

5909 Melvern, Bethesda MD, Montgomery County New Home

5912 Somoma, Bethesda MD, Montgomery County New Home

5909 Melvern Dr., Bethesda, MD

A friend just got back from a fabulous tour of the Hudson River Valley, staying at a great Saugerties Bed and Breakfast, in historic downtown Saugerties NY.  Saw the Horse Shows in the Sun events (HITS), dined at Cafe Tamayo, and basically had a great time - the Saugerties Bed and Breakfast (the Inn at Cafe Tamayo) was a great deal, very comfortable and convenient to the horse show.

Here's a timely article for those considering upgrading or refurbishing their residential or commercial windows, from our friends at Ingrid Myers, Realtor (Northern Virginia Real Estate Journal) and Vinyl-Lite Northern Virginia Window Factory..

The Northern Virginia and Metropolitan Washington DC area (including the Dulles South and South Riding communities) is a region of significant temperature and weather variations, though not typically to utterly unreasonable extremes. Springtime weather may change from very hot and humid to cold and rainy in a single day, while mid-winter temperatures in the 70's (for January!) tend to occur every few years. Therefore, your choice and options for replacement windows in Northern Virginia should take into account the rapid changes and variations of weather, without necessarily focusing solely on seasonal averages. Your new or replacement windows should assist your overall energy conservation goals by effectively separating warm from cold air at all times, whether the cold air is outside the window, or inside the home. These objectives are relevant for any kind of window, from vinyl windows to wooden, from double-hung to single-pane patio doors or enclosures, and from home windows to commercial siding.

This time of year (late spring) is an especially good time to have your Northern Virginia windows examined, repaired and/or replaced. (Note that window repair should be considered for any type of window scratch, crack, stain or other factor that would decrease the effectiveness of heat transfer or reflectivity). Long rain events occur with decreasing frequency, thunderstorms are not yet into their summer cycle, temperatures are moderate and both heating and air conditioners are likely not being utilized as much. Installing during the time will allow you to set a baseline from which your energy cost savings resulting from installation of new, energy-efficient windows can be more accurately measured over the coming years.

Energy Advantage Low-E Glass is a high performance, energy efficient window glass made with an invisible coating that blocks heat flow. It was invented by Roy Gordon, a Harvard University "Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry", in the 1970's, with full-scale manufacturing and production started in 1989 by Libbey-Owens Ford, a company with more than a century of experience making glass. Low-E glass is manufactured with a microscopically thin and transparent layer of metal or metal oxide that reflects infrared "heat" energy back into the home, greatly enhancing the thermal performance of the window. "Low-E" refers to "emissivity", which is a measure of the ability of a surface to absorb or reflect heat. As an energy efficient glazing technology, Low Emissivity (or Low-E) glass is a poor absorber of heat.

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