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DC
METRO REAL ESTATE
Serving
the Real Estate needs of the communities of
Manassas, Bristow, Haymarket, Warrenton, Gainesville
and Culpeper in Northern Virginia
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Dave
Scardina
Broker
/ Owner
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703-829-SOLD
866-909-0900
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Tips for Buying Bristow HomesBristow HOME BUYING MORTGAGE PITFALLS TO AVOID
ALL MORTGAGES ARE NOT ALIKE. There are far too many variables—type of mortgage, term, lender and amount of points to mention a few—not to investigate all of your options in Bristow. Don’t simply accept the first plan presented to you, whether it is from a mortgage broker, an agent or on the recommendation of a friend. Spend time comparing to get the best plan for you.
HOME INSPECTION – A MUST. If you should ever think about skipping the Bristow home inspection in order to save money, stop and give yourself a good shaking. In the scheme of things, the Home Inspection fee is small potatoes but it is a very important step for any buyer to take. Going without a Home Inspection or choosing an unqualified inspector puts you at risk for not knowing about potentially expensive or even hazardous defects in the property.
Bristow Real Estate Cycles
During a slow economic time, fewer people are buying homes in the Bristow market. Even so, some homeowners find themselves in a situation where they must sell. Families grow beyond the capacity of the home, employees get relocated, and some may even find themselves unable to make their mortgage payment - perhaps because of a layoff in the family.
During sellers' markets, Bristow real estate sells quickly and sellers have a lot of pricing power. As a result, prices rise more rapidly than at other times. During buyers' markets, Bristow real estate may sit on the market for a while before selling, so sellers become more flexible and may even drop their prices.
Bristow Disclosure Rule
Types of Material Defects for Bristow might include any known structural deficiencies or building code violations. Material Defects might also include defects in walls, ceilings, floors, windows, foundations or electrical or plumbing systems. If you are selling in the summer and the place usually floods in the winter that is a material defect that is not going to be obvious to a prospective buyer.
When you are contemplating the possibility of selling your Bristow you might want to ask yourself what you would want to know about the property if you were planning to buy it. If a condition or situation would be important to you, disclose it and disclose it in writing. As a seller, this is your strongest protection against future litigation.
Bristow Homebuyers Quandry
When you find the home you want to buy you may make an offer contingent upon the sale of your existing Bristow. In a Seller’s Market, offers with such contingencies are not well received because the seller must remove his home from the market while you sell yours. However there are times when this kind of offer is successful, even in the Bristow market. A backup strategy might be to put in your offer with a very long escrow giving yourself time to sell your home. Very few sellers will accept these kinds of contingencies or long escrows if your house is not already on the market.
Bitten by the Bristow Home Improvement Bug?
Unless money simply isn’t an issue, the financial implications of remodeling are definitely something to consider. When it comes time to sell your Bristow home, the new buyer will usually not pay for over-improvements. This means that if you have the smallest home in an area of larger, more expensive homes, home improvements may make very good financial sense. However, if you already have the largest, most expensive home in Bristow, more improvements may make you more comfortable but may not bring you a good financial return. You may find that it is financially wiser to sell and move to a different home that already has the features you want to add.
Buying a Bristow Fixer-Upper
This, of course, depends on the condition of the Bristow home and the estimated cost of the repairs you must make. Bristow real estate in a good neighborhood that is priced about 25% lower than others that are in good shape may be a good deal if it simply needs cosmetic or minor structural repairs. If the house is a gut job, that is the entire inside will be torn out and rebuilt the 25% rule may work and may not so estimate your costs as closely as possible.
Shopping by neighborhood makes good sense when considering the purchase of a fixer upper. As a buyer, the more you know about the Bristow homes in a particular area the better able you are when it comes time to judge whether or not a home your are considering meets the financial parameters you are looking for.
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