Tips for Buying Bristow Homes

DC METRO REAL ESTATE

Serving the Real Estate needs of the communities of Manassas, Bristow, Haymarket, Warrenton, Gainesville and Culpeper  in Northern Virginia


Dave Scardina  
Broker / Owner

703-829-SOLD

866-909-0900

Tips for Buying Bristow Homes

Bristow Home Buying Pitfalls


Buying your Bristow home whether you are a first time buyer or an ‘Old Pro’ involves legal, financial and emotional considerations. The more you know about the most common buyer mistakes in Bristow, the more likely you are to avoid them.

Make sure that when you put in an offer on any Bristow home that you have spent time narrowing down just what you are looking for. When the sellers accept your offer, you are involved in a binding contract that could cost you your deposit and other damages should you decide to back out. The opposite scenario, waiting for the 100 % perfect home can be an exercise in futility. With the thousands of variables available in housing, including location, style, size, amenities and condition, perfection is almost always an unreasonable goal.


Bristow Disclosure Rule


Tell All is definitely the rule for anyone who is selling Bristow real estate in today’s market. Let the Buyer Beware can easily come back and bite you in a delicate spot—your pocketbook.

Today, those selling a home or any Bristow are expected to disclose all known material defects that are not readily apparent to the buyer. A Material Defect is usually a physical condition that would affect a buyer’s decision to purchase the home or what price to pay for the home. A leaky roof is definitely a Material Defect. If a Bristow seller tries to disguise the leak by painting the interior ceiling and walls without fixing the leak, the truth will come out the next time it rains. Chances are the first call the buyer makes will be to his attorney.

Bristow. How Much Should You Offer?


A good starting premise is that everyone wants to buy a home for thousands of dollars under market and when the time comes, to sell that home for thousands of dollars over market. This is basic human nature. When you are in the position of making an offer on Bristow real estate property there are certain facts you need to know.

Is it a Buyer’s Market or a Seller’s Market? In a Buyer’s Market conditions favor the buyer. Bristow real estate listings are plentiful, home sales are declining or stagnant. In a Seller’s Market the opposite is true. There are more buyers looking for homes than there are homes available. Your low-price offer is far more likely to succeed in a Buyer’s Market than in a Seller’s Market. How do you know what kind of a market exists? Ask your REALTOR, read the newspaper, check online.


Building Bristow Home Equity


A popular question from prospective Bristow homebuyers relates to building home equity. Buyers like to estimate how much a home may increase in value based upon past appreciation. One of the many advantages of home ownership is that appreciation is based on the home’s market value rather than on the actual dollar amount invested or the down payment so that a $100,000.00 home that appreciates 5% is now worth $105,000.00, especially in Bristow.

With a typical 30-year loan, most of your monthly payment goes toward interest payments with only small amounts going to the principle in the early years. Only half the principle is repaid in the first 23 years of the loan. You can build Bristow home equity faster by choosing a 15-year loan instead of a 30-year loan.

Choosing Your Bristow Neighborhood


You’ve probably heard about the three major determinants of Bristow values are: 1) location, 2) location and 3) location. This is not only true about real estate in Bristow; it is true about real estate in general. If you cannot afford what you want where you want it, give up something inside the house rather than settling on a lesser location.


Bristow BARGAINS


A bargain exists in the mind of a buyer when entering into an agreement to exchange goods when the buyer thinks the price is favorable. Bargains can always be found in the Bristow market if a buyer is patient and willing to wait for a truly motivated seller. In economic downturns many people believe that foreclosures and short sales are automatically bargains when, in fact, this may not be the case.