About Prince William County, VA

When it comes to short sale approvals, Wells Fargo's timelines are among the most desirable in the short sale business. That's coming from a Gainesville, VA short sale agent! From the time a complete short sale package arrives to Wells Fargo's short sale department, the days start ticking off to short sale approval. The target is thirty business days, though lately it's been more like 45 business days. And that's if there is only one loan you are working with. The time frame can easily double when you are working two loans, whether they are both with Wells Fargo or not.

Despite the well spelled out timelines and procedures, Wells Fargo short sale sellers can often find themselves at a loss for patience. The days go by and they hear nothing. Even if their short sale listing agent is calling with regular weekly updates, things can feel stalled. You see, when the short sale package is "under review", there is little news to deliver to the client. So you wait. And you wait. It can be maddening to a short sale seller.

The wait to a short sale seller is probably how I used to feel when Mom and Dad would put my brother and I in the back seat of our family car--the mint green Ford Galaxy--and head off to Grandma's. The trip was only four hours, but to a kid....it's an eternity. Mom and Dad used to try to quantify the time in Flintstone Shows. Dad would say, "We're half way there, only four Flinstone shows to go." Ugh!

My brother and I would do our best back seat theatrical presentation, trying to tick off the time with our interpretation of a Flintstone episode. We may have gotten five minutes in and all h*** broke loose. Then we were back to the incessant questioning, "How much longer?" NOTHING made that time go by any faster.

As the driver of the Wells Fargo short sale Ford Galaxy, I am here to reassure you that the time frame for short sale approval is ticking by and we will get there. Of course, it helps to get to that final destination of short sale approval when you have someone who has traveled the road before. I have a well worn road map that I am happy share as your Wells Fargo short sale listing agent.

The links in the subdivisions above are specific to the subdivision. The links below provide identical information for all of Prince William County.

TRANSPORTATION
Eastern Prince William County can brag about its' excellent commuting facilities. This site links to schedules for rail and bus as well as carpool and alternate transportation possibilities. People who commute to the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir and all major National Capital Area work centers will readily understand the area's popularity with commuters

SCHOOLS
It is not necessary to have children to appreciate the value of a viable school system when it comes time to resell a home. We have raised our familiy in the Prince William County School system and can attest to its' "value added" component to a home purchase. This site links to all aspects of the instructional capability of the school system

SHOPPING
It makes no difference whether you need a quart of milk or a complete household of furniture you are within 15 minutes or less of the most complete shopping facilities in Northern Virginia. The development of the area surrounding Potomac Mills (a major East Cost discount mall) has spawned major retail development in the center of Eastern Prince William County. This site provides valuable shopping information

RECREATION
When your workday or workweek is done you will soon realize Eastern Prince William County has somethig for every recreational taste. It is all convenient and reasonably priced and you will find links to

• Boating
• Fishing
• Camping
• Baseball
• Theatre
• Dining
• Historical sites
• Bicycling
• Hiking
• Bird Watching
• Swimming
• Running
• Free concerts
• And on and on and on

GREATER NORTHERN VIRGINIA INFORMATION
To view a site I have developed that contains more than 100 links to area wide information regarding

• Transportation
• County and State Government
• Colleges and Universities
• Museums and National Parks
• Professional Sports
• Performing Arts
• Points of Interest
• Click Here

EASTERN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY and NORTHERN VIRGINIA HOME FINDER

Contact Karen and Art by Email or call us at 703-690-6569. Put our record of customer service, real estate experience and state-of-the-art technology to work for you in Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Stafford County or the entire Northern Virginia Area.

During a thermal infrared inspection today, among other things I was there to investigate, I thought this would be an interesting picture.

This is a thermal image of a high efficiency condensing gas furnace. It is the one you have seen with PVC tubing exiting the unit. They are terrific furnaces. The one pictured here is 6 years old, which makes it the fourth generation. This later generation has worked out all the kinks. They work great.

Many gas furnaces, like my own, have flues which exit through the roof. My furnace loses a lot of its heat through that flue. Of the heat remaining to send through my house, I am gaining only a portion of that. Therefore, a small portion of the dollar I am spending for natural gas is actually converted into heat for my house. My furnace is "85% efficient," but that does not mean I am getting $.85 worth of heat for every dollar I spend on gas.

This unit eliminates the need for the flue that exhausts through the roof because it captures and re-burns that exhaust! So for every dollar spent on natural gas, it is getting nearly a dollar's worth of heat. And the exhaust is so cool, a PVC tube can handle it and you could virtually blow dry your hair with it (well, except for that pesky carbon monoxide presence).

Another terrific advantage it offers is that it brings in fresh air every time the system turns on. It exchanges 10-12% of the air in the house as it works to heat the house. So it is not simply reheating the same stale air.

Today, the outdoor temperature was 56 degrees F during my inspection.

This furnace is working as intended. The purple line just to the left of center is the air intake tube. The vertical yellow line to its right is the exhaust tube. The purple intake is 57.6F, and the yellow exhaust 95.7F. That is really efficient! And pretty cool, too, so to speak...

My recommendation: If you have a gas furnace and are contemplating replacement, look into a high efficiency condensing gas furnace. They are more expensive, to be sure, but very, very efficient. You will notice the difference on your first gas bill!

Treat Yourself to a Gainesville Area Home for the Holidays!

With Thanksgiving just one week away, visions of that dream kitchen are no doubt coming to mind. I'm sure you are just wishing you had more counter space, maybe a center island and definitely double ovens. What else is in your dream kitchen?

• Granite counters?
• Stainless steel appliances?
• Cherry cabinetry?
• Ceramic tile?

No matter what your dream kitchen consists of, there is a good chance that we can put our head's together in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to find it for you, wrapped up in a Gainesville, VA home.

With the first time buyer $8,000 tax credit extended to the Spring of 2010, and expanded to give $6,500 to homeowners of five years or more, there is no reason to not treat yourself to a Gainesville area home for the holidays. Your home buying dollar goes much farther in Prince William County than it will anywhere in Fairfax County.

Let's make your kitchen dreams come true this holiday, so you can spend next holiday season preparing those holiday meals in your Gainesville, VA home.

Woodbridge Real Estate News About A Unique New Carpool Concept

You Can Commute To Work Fast And Easy From Woodbridge When You Use HOV Carpool Lanes On I-95

Homes In Woodbridge Virginia Give You Easy Access To Pentagon, Crystal City, Downtown DC Via HOV

HOV Open To Vehicles Carrying 3+ People: Busses, Carpools, Vanpools, Slugs, Plus Motorcycles

Here is the latest concept in carpooling.

Bring your own SCUBA gear.

Did this post tickle your curiosity? CLICK HERE to send your question. Answers shall be sent by email ONLY, unless you specifically ask for phone call.

You can get computerized, automatic, customized FREE ALERTS by email when new listings of homes that fit your wish-list are posted on the Realtor's MLS. You'll find out about the newest listings before most Realtors know about them.

That way you'll know when your dream home hits the market.

Opportunities Are Everywhere...We Can Help You Find Your Dream Home.

Erick Blackwelder or Peggy James of Erick and Company - Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-590-2252 list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Cannon Bluff, Meadowbrook Woods, Blooms Crossing, Manassas Park, Beaver Creek, Hunter's Ridge, Brittany, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Nokesville, or anywhere in Prince William County.

Equal Housing Opportunity

President Lyndon Johnson lead a vigorous campaign through the halls of Congress that lead to Fair Housing legislation. The Republican Party members in Congress backed Fair Housing, while most of the congressional Democrat Party members opposed Fair Housing. Johnson, a Democrat, worked the phones day and night, calling congressional Democrats, calling in favors that persuaded enough Democrats to cross party lines and vote for Fair Housing, and against their party leaders.