Herndon, VA

Are you looking for a home at a bargain price that could benefit from some loving care? You might want to cast your eyes on the homes which are available as foreclosed or short sales in Herndon Virginia ... I've put together a link to a list of homes which are offered by their owners for less than their current mortgages or have already been foreclosed by Lenders on the resale market on a 1st come,1st served basis. You need a Realtor to show them and help you through the process ... And Yes, they've already factored in the Realtor cost so you can get the sort of help you'll need to land one of these bargains. Visit www.reston-area.com/forsale.htm and look to the links at mid-page for Foreclosed and Short Sale Homes.

Sally: I am thinking about selling my home in Herndon. Do have have any tips for getting it ready to show and sell?

Steve: Clean, neat, and neutral without being crowded with too much furniture are the main keys to making a positive impression on prospective home buyers.

Organizing your home for showing is different than organizing your home for living.

For example... we have too much furniture in our home for selling and showing. We have pieces from my parents, grandparents and my aunt Hazel.

It works well for living since the kids (and us) often have a fair number of people over and they all need a place to sit.

All this furniture fails to show off the room sizes well if I were selling. One third at least would have to go to storage when we show and sell our place.

Also, most folks including ourselves have a few things on the kitchen counter tops that make living easy and fast...cleared off counters are a must when selling and showing your home for sale.

Actually, we had this same discussion with my mother-in-law whose property we sold last year. Here is a video we kind of made for her discussing this topic:

Sally: Nice video but I have so many collectibles and pictures...I have spent soooo much time making this home a reflection of who I am and what my interests are....I do not think I can get it staged like everybody says...it will be to painful.

Steve: Sally...truly most home sellers feel exactly like you...but think of it this way....buyers are not buying your memories and the reflection of yourself.

They want a clean and neat canvas where they can paint their own memories.

We tell clients that when their home goes on the market it stops being their home. It becomes a product that must compete with the other products out there. This is a hard saying we know. We also advise them to stop calling it their home...it is now the "house or the "property". Their home is where they will be going after this "property" sells. We will post much more info in the future on this topic.

Connie: Do you think those home selling and staging shows on TV have much merit?

Steve: YES! The advice given is generally right on target. They have actually made our job easier since their inception...sellers believe the folks on TV and take their advice to heart....whereas they often would get offended at our polite, helpful suggestions.

This is a huge topic and we will have many more posts on it in the future.

Please drop us a line with questions or comments.

By the way, if you have a home that is in rough shape and you do not have the money for a big re-do.....just make the adjustments in your asking price compared with the homes you are competing against.

Also, ask your agent to take you to visit some of the homes that are similar to yours that are on the market...see what condition your competition is in. We have found this to greatly benefit our buyer's preparation and mind set.

Wednesdays at Worldgate

February 29, 2012

There aren't many units available at Worldgate today.

There are 3 units for rent ranging in price from $1250 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bath unit to $1400 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit.

There is only one unit, a Blair, for sale at Worldgate. It's located at 12905 Alton Square and is currently priced at $235,000. As you enter, you'll notice that the living room and dining room are on your left and the bedrooms are on your right. The living room and dining room are quite spacious. And because it's an end unit you get windows on 2 walls providing lots of natural light. Just off of the dining room is the patio with a lovely brick knee wall. The master bedroom is quite large too and has two closets one of which is a walk-in. New carpet, new appliances in the kitchen and fresh paint make this unit move in ready.

For more pictures, please click here. If you like what you see, contact me so I can give you a personal tour of this home.