Luisa Rodriguez

One of the 1st questions that clients ask me is: where are the best schools? Determining what are the best schools is difficult because everyone has a different opinion. As a home buyer, it is best that you determine for yourself whether a school fits your particular criteria. As Realtors, we can't really make that determination because what may be great for me, may not be the case for you. And even if we did, we might be guilty of steering. A good place to start is one of these website. Once you determine what are the best schools for you, we can find a home within the school district that you prefer.

http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php

http://www.schoolmatters.com/

www.Greatschools.net

The Historic town of Occoquan is offers country feeling in the middle of Northern Virginia Suburbia. Walking around the town makes you feel like you have gone back in town. If you are an Occoquan resident, they will know you by name at the post office. The town itself offers great quaint restaurants and delicious bakeries, to include Mom's Apple Pie, with the areas best homemade pies.

In addition to all that this little town has to offer, for boating lovers, Occoquan now offers luxury living at its best. The townhomes of Gaslight Landing are being constructed to blend in with the town's historic flavor. This spectacular townhomes start at over $900,000 and include an elevator, covered parking, and a boat slip in addition to the beautifully designed floorplans. What is standard in these homes is considered an upgrade in other luxury homes.

For more information on this new community go to http://www.gaslightlanding.com/homes.html

Okay, I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but properties are selling at a rapid pace in Prince William County--at least at the lower end. I have been having an incredibly difficult time finding an investment property for an investor client of mine. Our latest was a property that was on the market for 3 days and when I called, it was gone. There were 8 offers on it. This has been happening time and time again. Right now we are regrouping and thinking of other startegies, but just about anything selling for under $130,000 is moving faster than what we can keep up.

What does this mean? It makes my job harder, but I am encouraged. Obviously investors are sweeping up all these foreclosures at the lower end and helping reduce the amount of inventory in this county. The less foreclosures we have, the better. I think it is only a matter of time before areas that have been inundated with foreclosures see their communities improve as home owners move in and start keeping up their lawns. Even more important, is that this may actually pave the way for price increases.

I am very excited and hoping that this is the beginning of the end and that 2009 will prove to be a much better year for this county.

If you are a 1st time home buyer chances are you can qualify for a $10,000 grant. The grant money is to be used for the down payment or for closing costs. A minimum score of 580 will be required, the grant is distributed on a 1st come, first serve basis, and is subject to income limitations.

This is a wonderful opportunity if you don't quite have the 3.5% downpayment required under an FHA loan or just need a little extra cash for a conventional loan. The grant can also be used with a VA loan.

Call or email me for more information.

Luisa F. Rodriguez

EXIT 1st Choice Realty

14029 Crossing Place

Woodbridge, VA 22192

Office: (703) 494-0404

Cell: (240) 377-7104

luisarodriguez@mris.com

http://www.rapidsellers.com/lrodriguez3/

Ever since my daughter was born, I have become more and more aware of our environment. I guess it sprung from the feeling that I wanted to leave the world in a better shape than what I found it--for her future. I am one of those that buys organics, pays close attention to what kinds of soaps we use, cleaning materials....I am a recycling fanaatic and I even use organic methods for maintaining our lawn or garden.

So after each closing, instead of sending the usual gourment basket with a thank you note to my clients, I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to give them something that was environmentally responsible--something I knew they would use. So for my first closing, I made my own basket and dropped it off with a thank you note. It had those environmentally friendly bulbs and some great organic cleaners. I figured with the bulbs it would be the gift that would keep on giving and save them money on their monthly electric bill. Since then, I have found out that there are several companies on line that send pre-made gift boxes/baskets and for as much as those gourmet baskets cost--you can send them a "green starter kit."

If there are other environmentalists out there, I just wanted to share. And I would love to hear of any ideas for interesting ways of saying thank you to our clients.