Luisa Rodriguez

Conocimos a un senior y su familia que estaba interesado en comprar una casa. Cuando nos conto sobre su situatcion me dio una lastima muy grande porque obviamente estuvo en una situacion donde "profesionales" tomaron ventaja de el. Y todo lo que sufrio le afecto su posibilidad de comprar una casa. Su historia me dio mas animo para ayudarlos y aunque todavia no podemos empezar a ver casas, you se que en poco tiempo cuando arregle su credito vamos a poder a empezar el proceso.

La situacion con este senior nos dio a nuestro equipo una urgencia de tratar de ayudar a compradores y vendedores que tal vez solo hablen el espaniol. Queremos enseniarles lo que realmente es el servicio al cliente y esperamos que tengan la confianza que nosotras no tomaremos ventaja de ellos.

Somos tres "Realtors" que ayudamos en lo que son las bienes y raices. Trabajamos la areas de Virginia mas cerca a Washington, DC incluyendo Alexandria, Arlington, Springfield, Annandale y Burke.

Every two weeks I make the trip to the commissary on base (that is Quantico Marine Corps Base). I had noticed that a lot of the businesses on the corner of Route 1 as you are approaching the main entrance to the base had disappeared. For awhile, it just looked pretty dead and I kept wondering what exactly had happened. Did all those business go out of business?

During this last trip to get my groceries, I noticed a sign that said something to the effect of Prince William County Revitalization project. Well, that sign really caught my interest. Even though there were businesses there, it was not the "prettiest" part of Route 1. I wanted to see what exactly the county had in mind to beautify this part of Route 1 so with a little Google search I found it. The road is basically being widened to help relieve some of the traffic problems and there really will not be much space for new businesses. In addition, after the road widening is complete, the county is planning to develop a small village within Triangle.

These type of improvements can only help home values--so overall I think it is good news for the little town of Triangle.

For more information on the project visit: http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/triangle/article/road-widening_project_moving_along_in_triangle/39374/

I received a call today from a former client. They had received a letter with a letterhead from Homelife Trust. The letter said that they had been one of five or so winners of $30,000+ in the Homelife Trust Sweepstakes for recent home buyers The letter came along with a check for a little over $3000.00. The letter says that the $3000 is to help the winner pay for the taxes required by the IRS. It asks the winner to deposit the $3000 into their account and then wire or send by cashiers check $3000 to a representative to pay for those taxes. At a later time, they would then receive the rest of the 30K.

My client had already deposited the check but called me to get my opinion on the letter before sending the $3000. As soon as he read the letter, I was 99.9% sure it was a scam. To double check, I did a quick search on the Internet, and yes, my fears were confirmed.

The scam works like this: The victim goes ahead and deposits the check and they may even be able to cash it. However, the check is fraudulent and although the bank may give the victim the $3000 in cash, when it realizes that the check has bounced, they will come after that individual for the $3000. In the meantime, the victim has wired $3000 to these criminals thinking they are paying the taxes. However, in the end the victim will be out $3000.

It appears that whoever is behind this scam is preying on recent home owners. My client's letter identified him as a new home buyer--which is why he was inclined to believe that the scam was real. Realtors, please warn your clients about this scam--and home buyers, if a "sweepstakes" ever asks you to send money in to receive your price: it is a SCAM. If this has already happened to you, notify your bank and make sure to file a police report.

I am a Realtor that works with an investor and have successfully listed and sold or contracted three of his properties. Thankfully all three had offers within the first 2 weeks with two of them having offers within the first 3 days. I put a lot of effort into marketing these properties which includes taking my time photographing and including pictures in the MLS as well as my other marketing websites, flyers, etc. So it boggles my mind to have recently run into various renovated properties with little to no pictures at all. Even worse, some had the pre-renovation picture as the main picture in the MLS.

In one particular instance, my team member was specifically looking for renovated or newer properties for a client of hers with a budget under 250K. As some may know anything under 250K in Woodbridge, VA sells like a hotcake, especially if it is in good condition. I came across a property I knew was renovated because we had lost the bid to buy it with my investor and it was priced under 250K. I was suprised to see the old picture with the listing with no pictures of the inside. It had sat on the market for over 50 days. When I forwarded to the other Realtor, she told me she had skipped over it many times because the picture made it look like it was in bad condition. That property, I think, would had sold for more than the listing price had it been properly marketed---even if that meant just adding a few pictures.

Investors (and any seller for that matter)--make sure your properties are being marketed correctly. Even if the listing price is below market value for a quick sell, your agent still, at the very least, needs to include photographs. That can make the difference between one offer after the property has sat on the market for months and multiple offers within the first few days.

I know that this all seems like common sense, but what I have seen in the MLS lately, makes me think otherwise.

There is a little known program that just became available again. It offers a $10,000 grant to first time home buyers to be used towards the downpayment and/or closing costs if they can provide $2000 towards the purchase of the home. The program is subject to income limitations. I have successfully closed two transactions on this program and it is one of the best deals out there. Contact me for more information and I would be happy to point you in the right direction. Funds are limited so I wouldn't wait too long.