Tips for Buying Bristow Homes and Condos

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 and Condos

Bristow has special regulations


Every area has its own building regulations. You need to know how these restrictions will affect the design of your Bristow home. Issues to consider include zoning, setbacks, rights of way and easements. Most subdivisions have CC&Rs (Covenants, Codes and Restrictions). Studies of Bristow demonstrate that these carefully to make sure they are not too restrictive for your needs or create excessive building costs.

Bristow Home Inspection


The purpose of a thorough home inspection is to ensure that Bristow home buyers know exactly what a home’s condition is prior to completing the transaction. A good Bristow home inspection should include an evaluation of the foundation, framing, roofing, site drainage, attic, plumbing, heating, electrical system, fireplaces, chimneys, pavement, fences, stairs, decks, patios, doors, windows, walls, ceilings, floors and built-in appliances. All significant or pertinent findings should be reported in writing to the prospective Bristow homebuyer. The home inspection report gives the Bristow homebuyer the information he or she needs to determine whether to buy the property as is or to ask the seller to make repairs.

In most cases, when an Bristow homebuyer makes repair requests, sellers usually agree to some if not all of the conditions.

Bristow Real Estate Contract Options


Finally, the Exclusive Agency Listing allows an agent to list and market your Bristow real estate. The agent will earn a commission if he/she or any other agent sells the property but not if the homeowner finds his/her own buyer. Very few if any agents are willing to agree to spend time, money and know-how on promoting a home without the guarantee of a commission when the home sells.

Many people imagine that the agent who lists their home begins an immediate search for likely homebuyers for Bristow but this is not always the case. The real skill of a good listing agent is her/his ability to market your home to other agents. Usually as soon as your listing agent returns to the office, your home is entered into the MLS and is now available to hundreds, maybe thousands of other agents.


Green Remodeling Your Bristow


If you are planning to remodel your Bristow, keep home resale in mind and consider going green. Green remodeling is becoming more popular as homeowners consider health issues, skyrocketing energy costs and Earth’s natural resources. And, when it comes time to sell your home, your energy efficient and Earth saving remodeling may help you sell your Bristow quickly and for top dollar.


Green Remodeling Your Bristow


Energy conservation. The average Bristow today uses systems for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and most homes are not built as efficiently as they could be, resulting in high energy consumption. The U.S. Department of Energy believes if current buildings were green-improved, they would use $20 billion less in energy per year. Bristow green remodeling puts a strong emphasis on making homes as efficient as possible with modifications such as energy-efficient appliances and thermostats that can be programmed at different temperatures for different times of the day.

The Benefits of Selling Bristow


If your Bristow holdings consist of both a personal residence and a rental, you can sell your personal residence and exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) on the gain. Then you move into your rental, live in it as your personal residence for two years and then sell it, again benefiting from the $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion. This is true even though most or all of the increase in value occurred before you converted the property to your personal residence.