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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 Homes and CondosBristow 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: Art and Science
Buying a piece of Bristow real estate is a science but buying your Bristow home is an art. The science part involves getting the legal and financial parts down while the art is finding the Bristow property that you’ll be happy with.
The total universe of possibilities within the universe of Bristow real estate is quite diverse but narrowing your search ahead of time will help keep things in perspective.
In general there are two phases to any Bristow real estate search. In the first phase, you get a feel for the different areas and an idea of what is being offered at what price. In the second phase, you search for the Bristow real estate that meets all or most of your specifications.
Buying Bristow Below Market
On most real estate Websites you can enter the parameters you want for your Bristow. Include the price, size, features and location and the technology will notify you automatically the moment a property that meets your needs comes on the market. Now if what you are looking for is a particular type of property for a price that is significantly under market, you’d better be prepared to act quickly because you aren’t the only one who’s looking for a bargain.
Often times, when a home comes on the market priced under the market there are extenuating circumstances. Maybe the house needs maintenance. Maybe the yard needs work. If you are prepared with a certain amount of knowledge about the costs of roofing, painting, landscaping and other types of deferred maintenance, you will be in a position to evaluate whether or not the Bristow is priced well enough that it truly is a bargain and not a fixer-upper nightmare.
Rent or Buy Bristow
In the early years of your Bristow mortgage, nearly all of every monthly payment is interest. This means you are only paying off a tiny bit of the loan principal, but it is good news in terms of tax savings.
The monthly payment for a $100,000, 30-year, 8% mortgage on your Bristow would be about $734. In the first year of your mortgage, $7,970 of your $8,805 payment or 91% would be deductible as mortgage interest. Even in the tenth year, almost 81% of your payments would be deductible. What this is worth to you depends on your tax bracket but this tax savings built into the home-buying equation is why you can afford to make higher mortgage payments than your current rent payments without squeezing your budget. There is no similar tax subsidy for renters.
Taking Title to Your Bristow
There are so many details to consider when purchasing your Bristow and mounds of legal paperwork to read that sometimes it seems overwhelming. Some important decision can be made ahead of time so you know what is in your best interests when the time comes. For example, right at the end when the paperwork is being signed you may be asked how you want to take title. This is an important decision that should not be rushed but often is. Knowing some of the common forms of Bristow ownership ahead of time is one way to protect yourself.
A single Bristow buyer will usually want to take title in his/her name alone. Husbands and wives usually own property through a form of joint ownership such as joint tenancy. Unrelated individuals can take title in a limited partnership arrangement.
What Makes Bristow Sell?
People often ask me when is the best time to sell my Bristow? I usually reply that if you want to get the best price for your home, it is wise to give yourself as much time as possible to sell it. However peak selling seasons vary in different areas of the country, and Bristow is no exception, and weather has a lot to do with an area’s peak season. For example, late spring and early fall are the prime listing seasons in many areas because houses tend to show better in those months than they do in the heat of summer. Having said that, houses sell in every season in areas where there is a demand. By demand, I mean a significant number of prospective buyers moving to the area for a variety of reasons.
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