About Gainesville's Carterwood

An Opinion Regarding Sellers Purchasing Home Warranties

To all sellers out there. Please always have a home warranty for your buyers. But most importantly for you; peace of mind is priceless , so I thought.

My story is not new and unfortunately all too common. Anytime I am working with a seller I always recommend them to purchase a home warranty. It is very common for most agents to make this recommendation so I am no one special.

However, I assisted another agent whose clients choose not to take the advice of purchasing a home warranty when selling their property. That seller ended up purchasing a water heater shortly before closing; at the cost of $1200.00 instead of paying about $100.00 for a trade call fee.

Because they were not my client I was unable to say anything to them. I wanted to tell the clients of the other agent “I know you don’t want to spend any more money but a service call fee beats the cost of replacing the appliance any day”. Sometimes you are not able to say anything. We are natural risk takers. The higher the stakes the greater the pay off if we win. The down side if we lose the loss is great too.

Sellers are you felling lucky?

Is it necessary to have a termite inspection for a condo?

During my last home inspection a debate was created regarding termite inspection for a condo. The conversation ranged from the condo association will cover termite remediation, just confirm with the condo disclosure docs. And headed towards it depends on what floor the condo unit is located. Finally the debate ended at crossing out the entire section on the contract if its 3^rd floor unit or higher. As the debate grew many biased comments were made.

What to do? Do what is legal, what is ethically right, and what will protect buyers. The regional contract that I use does not have an option to not have a termite inspection for good reason. Termites that are found inside the condo unit may be the unit owners responsibility. Wood boring termites live inside paintings and furniture. If current tenants or residents of the unit have traveled and or purchased gifts containing wood; termites could be present. Only the subterranean termites need to return to the earth every night. So they limit how many floors they will travel within the building. Subterranean termites have been found as high as the 7^th floor in a building. Also termites are not the only insect the inspector is looking for; the inspection looks for wood destroying insects which could be beetles, bees and ants as well.

Termite inspections are such a low cost especially for a condo. It protects buyers to purchase their inspection to control the reporting accuracy and have choices. If sellers want to pay then do it at settlement and allow the buyers to choose and pay for their inspection.

The law: do not cross out the pre-printed contract and or add your own wording. Ethics and buyer protection for me is combined. If the sellers want to pay then pay at settlement have the fee listed on HUD1; allow the buyers to choose their inspector.

In closing inspections do not provide full guarantees: walls, ceilings, and floors will not be removed. The visual inspection by trained and licensed personnel will provide buyers their due diligence in making an investment purchase over an emotional attachment.

Termite photos provided by Terminx

Living and working in Prince William County Virginia.

I attended my local economic committee meeting at Prince William County Chamber of Commerce and found interesting information about the county I live and work in. Also the county was feature in CNN "Where the jobs are".

Almost 50% of the county workforce has a college degree. Prince William County ranks #11 in the nation for the highest median income. The 2^nd largest school system in Virginia is Prince William County School District. Half of high school graduates transfer to 4 year institution.

In addition to the traditional suburban communities Prince William County also offers Gated, Marina, Range, and Golf Course living. The county houses 11 public golf courses, 55 parks, and a county Wildlife Refuge.

Data Centers generates over a billion dollar investment to Prince William County also creating a few hundred jobs. Federal contractor agencies bring a multi-million dollar investment with over 3200 jobs. Expansion of technology in the county has brought in two companies who are doing research on cancer and anthrax.

Prince William County is working on building new VRE (Virginia Railway Express) Stations. Within the last year more than half a dozen businesses have relocatated to the county. We should continue to see business expansion in the future.

Thank you for allowing me to share living and working in Prince William County Virginia.

It's time to celebrate another military family making a PCS move from Northern Virginia to a new duty station. The good news the home was SOLD with the assistance of the US Army Corps of Engineers-Homeowers Assistance Program (HAP). It is often said that timing is everything and in this case it was even more critical.

The owners needed to get to their new duty station immediately as the husband, an active duty Marine will be deploying to Afghanistan within a few days. Getting the family settled before he leaves was a top priority.

If you are a Northern Virginia military family eligible for the HAP program give me a call at 703-346-2213. If you have upcoming PCS orders for the summer of 2010 now is the time to talk about your options. The current timeframe for HAP benefits with PCS orders expires in September 2010. Let my success in coordinating with the real estate specialists in Savanah and the local attorney's handling funds in our area work for you.

CARTERWOOD

TOWNHOMES

There are 4 "ACTIVE" Single Family Townhomes for sale in the Carterwood community of Gainesville. These townhomes are priced from $239,900 up to $305,000. The Average Days on Market for these properties is 119 days. Currently, there are 6 Single Family Townhomes in the Carterwood subdivision "UNDER CONTRACT". In addition, there are NO Single Family Townhomes available for rent at this time. For SOLD statistics please contact me directly.

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

There are 3 "ACTIVE" Single Family Homes for sale in the Carterwood community of Gainesville. These homes are priced from $345,000 up to $364,500. The Average Days on Market for these properties is 205 days. Currently, there is 1 Single Family Home in the Carterwood subdivision "UNDER CONTRACT". In addition, there are NO Single Family Homes available for rent at this time. For SOLD statistics please contact me directly.

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"Helping You Get What You Want In The Time That You Want"

-Keith

Keith M. Elliott Jr.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY REAL ESTATE EXPERT
Realtor®, e-PRO®, ABR®, SRES®, Commercial Specialist®

RE/MAX Olympic Realty
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Haymarket, VA 20169
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