About Berkeley County, WV

If your considering investing in Real Estate, the wait is over. This could be the Best time to Buy. Interest Rates are really low and should remain low through May, while the government is selling bonds for the stimulus plan. There is a huge supply of homes which means prices of real estate is low! The government has also created a eight thousand dollar ($8,000) tax credit for first time home buyers. First time home buyers are defined as those who dont own and havent owned real estate in the last three years. We are also heading into the second quarter of the year, which is one of the busiest times for real estate sales. If you have been waiting for the Best time to Buy, your wait is Over! Thanks

Aaron Poling

Long & Foster

www.aaronpoling.com

304-283-0214

A few months ago I was finishing up a house for the final inspection. I had a few things to do in the crawl space. I was bent over walking through the crawl space when I tripped over something under the plastic. I pulled up the plastic and was very surprised what I had found. I expected to find some kind of construction debris, a tool left by a subcontractor, or possibly a clump of dirt that somehow didn't get spread out. Instead I found a huge snapping turtle! I was quite freaked out. The crawl space had been sealed up for a long time so I have no idea how he made it down there. I decided to do what any grown man would do, I called my dad to come get it out. I took these pictures of the turtle, please enjoy! Have you found anything interesting in a crawl space or anywhere else? Please let me know.

Thanks

Aaron Poling, Realtor

Long & Foster

I am working for some buyers, and we currently have a home under contract. The home is a bank owned foreclosure. The buyers are getting a great deal. I am a real estate agent but i am also a general contractor that builds and sells new homes. The purchase price of the home is well below the amount it would cost a contractor to build it. That is understandable, it is a foreclosure and the banks want to get it off of their books. The appraisal came in at exactly the purchase price. I had assumed it was going to come in way higher, atleast what it would cost to build. This scares me. If homes are appraising for less than they cost to build, we have a bigger problem than i thought. Part of me thinks that it appraised for that exact amount because the appraiser kept it as low as possible without hurting the deal. Does anyone have an opinion about this or a similar story? If so let me know. Thanks Aaron Poling

My Girlfriend was recently searching for a used car on craigslist. She found what she thought was a great, to good to be true deal, and she was right. When she inquired about the car, that had been advertised locally, she was told that the car was actually in florida. The guy selling the car was stationed in Florida getting ready to be sent to Afghanastan and really needed to get rid of the car. He said he was willing to send the car free of charge to West Virginia, as soon as she sent the money. Just to see his response we replied and said that my father was in Florida and would come pick the car up and drive it back in lieu of flying back. His response was that the car was in some magical ship yard that he had no access to unless he was shipping it across country. After asking around and doing a little research it seems that there are a lot of these scams going on. They may look a little different, but they are all a scam. Just thought i would let you know to be on the lookout. Thanks Aaron Poling

Many homeowners have found themselves as landlords, courtesy of the current real estate market. I have had tons of questions regarding ways of minimizing your duties as landlord. So below I listed some that has helped me over the years.

1. Paint Touch Up: When you are preparing a home for rental use flat neutral color paint. It is easy to use, and makes it easy to touch up later. Most people want to use custom colors and semi gloss paint, they are impossible to touch up and the more colors to keep track of the more work you have made for yourself. I use a product by Olympic paint called Fast Hide, but most brands will have something similar that also works well.
2. Heat Pump Maintenance: Most heat pumps have filters that need changed every three months. As landlord I schedule myself in every three months to change those filters. While your there you can check to make smoke detectors are working properly, and that the batteries aren't being removed to operate the remote. It also gives you a chance to check out the property to ensure its being taken care of.
3. The Leasing Hassle: Too many people that don't understand real estate have found themselves leasing out property. If you don't have the experience and patience let a professional Agent do your leasing. It will save you money in the long run. You still have the final word about everything concerning your property, but you will not have to worry about advertising, meeting with clients, pulling credit, finding a lease, or breaking any fair housing laws, you can let the agent worry about that.
4. Eliminate the Small Things: Add a clause in the lease that puts the tenant in charge of small maintenance items, changing light bulbs, plunging the toilets, t/u paint, caulking, etc... The clause could say anything under $25 or $50 dollars. This will help eliminate a lot of phone calls for the minuscule items.
5. Walk Through List: Have your tenants fill out and sign a walk through sheet, showing what the house was like when they moved in, and take pictures. Give the tenant a copy and it should help them remember how they need to leave your house when they are gone.

I hope this can help someone, that is frustrated with having to rent out their home. Let me know if you have any more ideas that have worked for you.

Thanks

Aaron Poling

Long & Foster