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Winter Curb Appeal Helps Sell Your DC Home

11-11-11
Rachel Valentino - Valentino & Associates

Winter Curb AppealIt is possible to sell your DC home during the winter months, and creating winter curb appeal is one great strategy. Unlike the warmer months, you can’t fill your yard with blooming flowers and wicker chairs, but there are lots of other ways to make a potential homebuyer want to see more.

First, make sure everything is in good repair. Check your deck for any loose boards—you don’t want potential buyers getting hurt. Clean and seal the deck if needed.

Walk around the house and get rid of the annuals or other plants that have died off, and cut back other plants to remove dead foliage. If any plants happen to still be blooming, trim away dead leaves to make them more attractive.

Next check out the Internet or visit a nursery in your DC neighborhood to find plants that will thrive in your particular yard. Kale and ornamental cabbage are very pretty and can survive colder days and nights. If you live in a warmer area, primroses are great for a little winter yard color.

Consider putting seasonal plants in pretty containers. Then you can place them wherever they’ll look best for a showing—out front, on the deck, or on the patio. Some vegetables and herbs can stand cool weather and also look good in decorated pots. These include kale, mustard, and Chinese cabbage but there are many more you can find.

If it snows where you live, there are still ways to jazz up your outdoor space. Lights can sparkle up a deck rail, tree, or doorway in any season. Or wrap them around pretty pots and line your driveway with them. Put ornaments in hanging pots or luminaries around a tree. Decorative wind chimes will make music no matter what the temperature and look lovely glittering in the sun. Even if you don’t get snow, these are still great ways to liven up the exterior of your home, especially if you are selling.

In the end, it’s about making your home feel inviting and comfortable. Setting the mood on the outside will give buyers a great first impression that stays with them as they walk through the inside and picture your DC, Maryland or Virginia home as their own.

Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.

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Tips for Refinancing Your DC-Area Home

11-02-11
Rachel Valentino - Valentino & Associates
With 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at their lowest level in nearly 60 years, it’s not only a great time to buy but also a great time to refinance your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. Even if you don’t have perfect credit or a great deal of equity in your home, there are still ways to refinance at these great low rates.Refinancing Tips
Do Your Homework – Rates from one lender to the next can fluctuate by 1 percent or more, which will determine how much less (or more) you’ll pay each month. Besides checking rates, review the fees and services a lender offers. Ask the Valentino Team who they suggest – as experts in the market also means that they have relationships for vendors (including lenders) that you can benefit from. They know the best professionals who also offer the lowest rates…and who to stay away from too!
Know Your Break-Even Point – This is the number of months it will take you to recover the closing costs of the refinance, which can be thousands of dollars. Many websites offer online mortgage calculators to help you find this number. Remember, if you already have a great interest rate, say 5 percent, you won’t gain a huge savings by refinancing to 4 percent, especially when you factor in closing costs. The general rule is to refinance only if you’ll lower your mortgage rate by a half-percentage point or more.

Nothing is Free – Closing costs are generally 1 percent of the principal on your mortgage.Regardless of what’s advertised, you will always be charged for loan expenses in one way or another. The key is to ask your lender about all available payment options, and do what works best for you. Here are three possibilities.

  • Pay Upfront - You bring a certified check to the closing to cover the various expenses.
  • Roll-In Charges - All closing costs are rolled into your loan balance. You pay nothing up front but will have a higher monthly mortgage payment.
  • No- or Low-Cost Options - You'll pay no closing costs for this option, but you'll be charged a higher interest rate for your mortgage and likely have a higher monthly payment.
Cash-In Option – The traditional cash-out refinance lets you walk away with money in hand. But with a cash-in refinance, you get a smaller mortgage by bringing cash to the lender to make up the cost difference. If you have a low property value, this type of refinance allows you to bump up the equity in your home to meet current refinancing requirements. It’s a great option if you can come up with the required cash.
Get Written Rate Locks – With so many people refinancing, you don’t want to get lost in the shuffle.Having a written document holds your lender accountable for the number they set. It’s a good idea to ask for a 60-day rate lock and to be sure your bank can produce the mortgage before the end of the lock period.
If you love your current home in DC, Virginia or Maryland, refinancing is a great way to obtain a lower mortgage payment without having to move. Knowing your options will get you the best deal possible.
Rachel Valentino and her Valentino & Associates team at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.
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Know What Affects Your DC Home's Value

10-29-11
Rachel Valentino - Valentino & Associates
Think Purple PaintMost of you know that location increases the value of your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. It’s worth a great deal when the home is in a nice neighborhood or on a quiet street or has a good school district nearby - or how about all three!
But a recent article from the MSN Money site reminds us that we also need to know the things that can decrease our home’s value. These are factors that many of us might well miss until their absence hits us in the wallet when it’s time to sell.
If your home is very different on the outside from others on the street or in the neighborhood, a low appraisal value is lurking. Examples include:
  • Your home is a colonial while the neighbors' homes are contemporary.
  • The total square footage is more than adjacent homes--whether it was built that way or you added an addition.
  • Your exterior decorating style is far off the beaten path. (Think purple paint.)
On the inside, count bedrooms. Having fewer of these than your DC neighbors could decrease value. The same is true if everyone has a large family room and you don’t. There should be a consistent style throughout the home rather than lots of different influences. And if you start a remodeling project, finish it. Unfinished remodels are an extremely effective way to get a lower appraisal.
This doesn’t mean you can’t renovate! Remember though -- most improvements don’t return what you invest. Do just enough to be able to say “new” or “updated” kitchen, bath, etc. A well-done kitchen remodel can sometimes increase appraised value up to 10 percent.
Along with maintenance and style, the age of your home also determines the appraiser’s number. Obviously younger homes are valued higher, but I have also seen very well-maintained older homes hang with the "youngins".
Some appraisal factors you just won’t be able to control, and they can be detrimental. One is sloppy neighbors, which can lower your appraisal by 5 to 10 percent. Registered sex offenders living within a block or closer can decrease a home’s value by 9 percent. Even inanimate neighbors can reduce value. If you’re within two miles of a power plant, expect to be valued at 4 to 7 percent less than similar homes farther away. Landfills drop value by 6 to 10 percent. Other value-busters include a cemetery or even a school.
If you’re part of a homeowners association (HOA), it needs to have the right balance between rule enforcement and over-the-top restrictions to have a positive effect on your appraisal.
Finally, check your original tax assessment. If this was not done properly, you could find that your home is not the same size as when you bought it. Often it ends up being smaller but sometimes it’s larger, so it’s worth checking out.
While all of these factors can affect a home’s appraisal, it doesn’t mean they will, and most neighborhoods have very few of these issues. Knowing all the possibilities simply gives you the option to fix what you can for more value and to set realistic expectations when it comes time to sell.
Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.
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Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Reduce Your DC Heating Bills

10-13-11
Rachel Valentino - Valentino & Associates

Ways to Reduce Heating BillsWhile not technically part of the northeast, we who live in and around Metro DC have lately had winters that would argue this point. (Think of 2009’s “Snowmageddon.”) As the cold months again approach and heating bills loom large, simply sealing up the drafty areas in your home could reduce your heating costs from 3 to 18 percent. In cash savings that equals about $250 on natural gas and $550 for oil heat.

Here are some easy and inexpensive ways to block those drafts and have a more comfy home.

Weather Stripping

To tell if your home has drafty doors, try sliding a piece of paper between doors to the outside, the basement and the attic. If the paper goes in easily, weather stripping is needed.

Rather than the self-adhesive foam that will come off well before spring, use a more durable product such as bronze strips. These are cut to size with metal snips and fastened with nails so they never need replacing. Cost of kit for one door: $20.

Door Sweeps (AKA Draft Dodgers)

Mostly likely you’ve seen or used the version made of material that resembles a stuffed snake. There are also strips that attach to door bottoms. Both of these tend to get in the way, catch on rugs or scratch the floor when the door opens. A newer alternative for our local homes is a spring-loaded automatic sweep that will lift up as the door opens and press down when it closes to seal out drafts. Cost: $11.

Attic Tents

With no sealing or insulation, pull-down ladders to the attic can be huge draft producers. An attic tent is a zippered insulated fabric hut that installs over the ladder opening and is stapled to the attic floor. You zip it open to enter the attic, and zip it closed when you leave. Cost: About $200.

Air Conditioner Covers

Whether it’s an in-wall unit or a large window unit that stays in place all year, air conditioners can let cold winter air blow easily into your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. A custom-made insulated wrap for each unit will quickly and easily solve this draft issue. Cost: $60.

Insulating Foam and Caulk

Use caulk to fill any visible cracks or gaps including where baseboards meet floors and where pipes come through walls under sinks.

To find the not-so-visible gaps, close all doors and windows and then turn on all exhaust fans in the attic, bathrooms and over the stove. This sucks air out of the house and pulls drafts in. Hold a stick of burning incense near the areas stated above as well as any other suspected gaps. If the smoke moves, you’ve found a place to seal with insulating foam. Cost: $3.

A few dollars and a little sweat equity can yield substantial savings without the expense of a new furnace or special home insulation. Try these simple fixes to keep both your home (and your wallet) snug and warm all winter.

Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.

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Don’t Wait on DC Home Maintenance—For More Reasons Than You Think

10-05-11
Rachel Valentino - Valentino & Associates
DC Home MaintenanceOn your list of favorite activities, home maintenance is likely at or very near the bottom. Yet doing regular repairs on your home can create value in lots of different ways. You’ll save money, maintain your home’s value, and get to enjoy your home while you’re living in it—not just for a few weeks before you sell.
The title of the old song says “Little Things Mean A Lot,” and this is as true for home maintenance as it is for romance. In most cases, finding and fixing a little issue means spending only a little money. Ignore the small problem, and there’s a good chance it will grow into a very costly repair. For example, cracked caulk around a window can be fixed for around $4 with a tube of caulk. Hold off on this minor restoration and likely water will get into the sheathing, mold will grow, and you could shell out $5,000 or more to repair what began as a small easy fix.
Your property value will also suffer from a lack of regular upkeep. Appraisers state that homes which have not been maintained can lose, at minimum, 10 percent of their appraised value, which can equal a $15,000 to $20,000 reduction. When it’s time to sell, fewer buyers are interested in a poorly maintained home regardless of the DC, MD or VA neighborhood, and this could lower your selling price. On the flip side, a study by the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University indicates that “maintenance actually increases the value of a house by about 1 percent each year.”
Annual maintenance costs can vary from year to year but average around $3,300, according to the U.S. Census. Lenders put these costs at one to three percent of a home’s initial price. So if you buy a $200,000 house, plan on spending $2,000 to $6,000 annually for maintenance. If possible, try to set aside these funds in a budget that’s just for home repairs so you don’t end up scrambling for dollars when something major breaks.
Being proactive with home maintenance means you’ll stay ahead of many headaches.Create and follow a regular maintenance schedule or have planned visits from a professional inspector to show you what needs to be done. It’s also essential to keep a log of all fixes, replacements or upgrades, especially of the more “invisible” repairs like plumbing and electrical work. This will be invaluable when you’re ready to sell your Metro DC home.
If saving money and maintaining value aren’t enough motivation to keep your home in great shape, do it for your own personal gratification. Making regular repairs versus fixing things up right before selling means that you (and not simply the next owner!) get to enjoy all the things you’re paying for, which is money and time well spent.
Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about homebuying programs in DC that might help you out.
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