Gina Tufano

First I want to say that I hope everyone had a great Halloween regardless of the few showers we had. With that being said, I'm sure that lots of you out there have extra, unwanted candy that you would be happy to give up and our office has just the solution - We are accepting donated candy for our troops abroad and local children in Afghanistan. So please feel free to drop off as much or as little candy to our office in Sterling by Monday, November 9th, between the hours of 9am-5pm. Let's give a little piece of home to our hard-working and dedicated troops overseas with a very 'sweet' gift.

RE/MAX Select Properties, Inc.
20 Pidgeon Hill Drive, Suite 201
Sterling, Virginia 20165

The other night I was chatting about real estate with a close friend of mine, who also happens to be an appraiser. We got to talking about what we think will happen in the near future with the foreclosure ratings and I started to grow a little concerned. Previous to talking with my appraiser friend, I had heard rumors about MANY, MANY more foreclosures that are projected to come to the surface. It was not until I came across multiple articles posted by RISMedia that I started believing those rumors and began to prepare for the next wave of distressed properties...

Currently, about 65% of the recent home sales have been distressed properties and the U.S. Treasury Department says there is more to come in 2010 - by the MILLIONS. So get ready, because they are coming whether you are ready or not!

Okay, don't stress, just freshen up on your skills and prepare for the worst - like mom always says. I made a list comprised of tips on how to effectively target prospective buyers of foreclosures. I combined the list of tips RISMedia gave and added a few of my own. This is what I came up with:

• Include the terms "foreclosures" and "bank-owned properties" in your listings and html tags. ALWAYS, check with your seller first to make sure they are not sensitive to seeing these terms when describing their property.
• If you have a personal web page, add a section about describing to the public what defines a short sale and a foreclosure. Follow with a link to your distressed properties.
• If clients contact you in regards to foreclosures and short sales, comprise a list for them and/or add them to an MLS property search.
• When working with a client, extensively educate your clients, buyers and sellers, on what constitutes a short sale and foreclosure.

For more tips and information regarding distressed properties, click here to go to the source of this article.

Okay, so I had new pictures taken recently because I got sick of the old ones and I thought I would freshen up my look a little bit. A great friend of mine took some beautiful photo's of me and now I'm stuck on which picture I like best..! I've narrowed it down to the three below:

1. Classic B&W (current AR picture)

2. Full on Color

3. Indoors, but with a little greenery in the background still

Which one do you think??

Over the past 11 years, Hair Port Salon & Day Spa has donated over $260,000 in support of the battle against breast cancer. This year our office, Ask Gina & Company, and Hooked, an award winning and locally owned seafood restaurant have joined the cause of supporting the fight against breast cancer. The Ask Gina Team contributed five 100 level tickets to a Washington Capitals game and a signed hockey stick by all the players to the Silent Auction. All proceeds from the auction will directly benefit breast cancer research and treatment.

Every year over 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in which about 1 out of every 4 dies from this horrible disease. Let's make a difference and lower that statistic together Come out on Saturday, October 24th, from 7-10pm, for the "The Pink Masquerade," a cocktail party hosted by Hair Port Salon & Day Spa in support of raising money for breast cancer research and treatment for women suffering from the disease. Enjoy an exquisite seafood & sushi buffet complete with a champagne fountain while watching live entertainment, a premier fashion show, and live & silent auctions at Hooked's newest location in Sterling at the intersection of Rt. 7 and Cascades Parkway.

Want a 10% off coupon for Hooked? Contact our office at (703) 574-3478 or via email at gina@ask-gina.com and we will drop one in the mail you!

Come out to the Hot Jazz for a Cool Night on Friday, October 23rd from 7:30pm - 11pm in benefit of local citizens of our community!

Enjoy an open wine & beer bar, dancing, desserts, silent auction, and entertainment by the Loudoun Jazz Ensemble! All proceeds from the event will directly benefit the Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, a local non-profit organization that provides assistance to adults with disabilities and the frail elderly maintain a strong quality of life in Loudoun County.

The event will be held at the Rose Hill Manor at 42140 Raspberry Plain Lane, Leesburg, Virginia 20176.

Click for more info... Buy Tickets and View Action Items