Today I have a list of nine silly things that can sabotage your home sale. Are you doing any of these?

1. Visible cords. Mounted flat screen televisions sometimes have cords hanging behind them. When the television is flushed and you cannot see the cords, your home will show much better. 

2. Unkempt yards. Always have your yard properly maintained. 

3. A dingy front door. Since it is the first thing that potential buyers see when they walk up, make sure that your front door is clean and freshly painted. 

4. Pets. You may want to send your animals to stay with someone, or at least crate them, while you are showing your home. Either way, you must keep them away and address potential odors they may have left in your home. 

5. Cobwebs. Knock out all the old cobwebs and clean any filters. This shows that you are properly maintaining your home. 

Since it is the first thing that potential buyers see when they walk up, make sure that your door is clean and freshly painted.

6. Furniture arrangement. Use your furniture the right way and stage it properly. We are really good at helping with this. 

7. Junk drawers. When you are showing your house, a lot of people will be looking into your drawers and cabinets. Make sure that they are clean and tidy. 

8. Closets. Clean and organize your closets and having nothing on the floors. This makes them look big, which is important because people care a lot about closet space. 

9. Countertops. Remove the clutter from your countertops to make it fresh and open. This makes a kitchen seem a lot bigger.

If you have any additional questions about this or are interested in buying or selling, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

During the home buying process, there are five signs to watch out for that indicate you’re about to purchase a home you won’t be able to afford.

1. The lender tries to get you to agree to creative financing terms. This could mean getting you into a balloon mortgage or adding a second mortgage—both are red flags.

2. You agree to a down payment assistance program without a true down payment saved up. This is a big mistake I’ve seen people make. Now, if you’re using a VA loan, that’s really good because you’re basically getting free money to borrow for no down payment. But often, down payment assistance programs can be a bad sign.

3. Due to an unfortunate incident, your savings have been diminished. In the event of a catastrophe like extreme car/home damage or loss of a job, you probably won’t be able to afford home payments in addition to getting those issues taken care of.

In the event of a catastrophe like extreme car/home damage or loss of a job, you probably won’t be able to afford home payments in addition to getting those issues taken care of.

4. Financing your down payment by borrowing from your 401(k), retirement account, Roth IRA, etc. These are signs you shouldn’t be purchasing a home yet.

5. You don’t have a good feeling about buying a new home. If you’re out looking for houses, you want to have a good feeling when you walk in. Make sure you’re buying the right house for you—don’t take advice from other people.

If you have any questions about affording a home or buying one in general, you can give us a call or send an email. We’d love to help you out.

I hope you had an amazing 2017 and that you hit all your goals for 2018. I just wanted to take some time to talk about the great year we’ve had, let you know about a couple opportunities we have available to you, and give you our sincerest gratitude for your support this year.

We have a brand-new inside salesperson in training today, and I’m really excited about the year we’ve had in 2017. Last month alone, we set over 100 buyer appointments for our agents, meaning we had 700 people register on our website. If you know anyone who is thinking about selling their home, we might have a buyer for them right now. We’d love to help them out.

If you know anyone who is thinking about selling their home, we might have a buyer for them right now.

I recently had an amazing trip to Seattle. I was invited by Zillow to come check out their headquarters. I got to see their operation, learn some of the great things they’re doing, and also learn about recruiting new people. We’re always looking for talented agents, admins, ISAs, cold callers, and more. If you or anyone you know is looking for a great team to join, please contact us.

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for working with us in 2017 and for the referrals you sent us. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

I hope that you have a merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and that you crush all of your 2018 goals. Feel free to shoot me a message; I’d love to take you out to Starbucks, catch up, and see how things are going. Happy Holidays!

Today I want to take a look at a few market statistics and see how things today compare to where we were at last year.

In Prince William County, the average sales price this time last year was $337,000. This year, that number has gone up to $350,000. In 2016, Fairfax County saw an average sales price of $480,000 compared to this year’s $500,000. 

Stafford County’s average sales price in 2016 was $310,000. Now in 2017, the average has gone up by $20,000—now sitting at $330,000. Loudon County saw the same amount of growth, going from $440,000 in 2016 to $460,000 in 2017. 

In Culpeper County, the average sales price was $261,000 last year. In 2017 the average is now $275,000. 

Warren County has also gone up slightly. The average in 2016 was $212,000 and in 2017 is now $216,000.

While this growth in average sales price has been consistent across the board in our local areas, the growth in Fauquier County specifically is impressive. There, the average sales price has gone from $358,000 in 2016 to $389,000 today. 

As you can see from these numbers, we’re experiencing a steady growth of about 3% a year. This points to a healthy market, which is always a great thing.

We’re experiencing a steady growth of about 3% a year.

Lastly, I wanted to announce that our team is growing, too. If you or anyone you know has been thinking about a career in real estate, we ask that you visit our website: www.JoinTheColganTeam.com. 

We’re seeking talented, motivated individuals who have what it takes to become a part of our family. Last year alone we had 800 people register on our website to help with their real estate needs. 

Additionally, we are always happy to take referrals. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, we want to help you succeed in your real estate goals.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

There are many benefits homeowners get that renters simply can’t. Here are 10 advantages of buying a home over renting one:

1. Predictable monthly house payments. Your landlord can change your rent each time your lease is up. With a mortgage, your payments are fixed for a period of usually 15 or 30 years.

2. Appreciation. Real estate appreciates about 3% per year on average.

3. Tax benefits. You can write off your mortgage interest on your taxes, which you’ll be paying down a lot in the first few years you own the home.

Real estate appreciates about 3% per year.

4. The freedom to make modifications to the home as you see fit.

5. Buying is typically cheaper than renting, especially in the northern Virginia area. 

6. Increased privacy. You can find a great property around here on a one- or two-acre lot. A lot of rentals end up being apartments.

7. You can build up a lot of equity in your house. If you ever need it, you can tap into the equity of your house to either make another purchase or sell for a big profit.

8. Community ties. There are a lot of active communities to get involved with as a homeowner. If you’re going to be in the area for a couple decades, meeting the neighbors isn’t a bad idea.

9. Secure retirement. By the time the mortgage is paid off, the payment is gone and you can sell to make retirement a lot easier.

10. You are the owner. This kind of goes back to No. 4, but there is a lot you can do to modify and personalize your home to your tastes that you wouldn’t be able to get away with if you were renting.

If you have any questions for us or you’re looking to buy or sell a home in northern Virginia, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you plan on selling your home in the next couple years, what can you do to build equity in it? There are four factors that contribute the most when it comes to adding value to your home.

The first factor is the condition of your kitchen and bathrooms. If these two areas are outdated, most buyers nowadays won’t want to put in the work to update them. They want to see newer kitchens and bathrooms. I just recently remodeled my kitchen, and I think it added some great value to my house. 

The second factor is whether you can add square footage to the home. Coming from an appraisal standpoint, adding square footage is one of the best things you can do. That’s what appraisers look at the most. 

Pay attention to these four factors when it comes to adding value to your home.

The third factor is curb appeal. What’s the outside of the home look like? Are you getting the exterior power-washed? Does the landscaping looking good? 

The final factor is the overall condition of the house. Are there a lot of dings in the drywall? Does the paint show well? Does the staging look good? I recommend having a handyman pay a visit a couple times a year to perform the random knickknack tasks that you either don’t want to do or don’t have time to do and make sure the condition of the home stays in good shape. 

If you have any questions about this topic, use the question box at the top of this blog to shoot me a message. I’d be happy to help! 

How long does it actually take to sell a house?

According to Realtor.com, the average number of days on market throughout the United States is about 65 right now. However, there are some different factors I usually tell people about that will determine this number:

Location is the biggest factor in determining how long it takes a home to sell.

These are typically the factors that determine how long a home will take to sell in the northern Virginia market. If you have any questions for me or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the area, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be glad to help.

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday season. 

Today, I’m reaching out to you because we are currently hiring for three positions. We would love to have you aboard. 

First of all, we are looking for buyer’s agents. On the first Tuesday of every month, we have a career night so you can learn more about our team and our systems. If you would like to learn more about the buyer’s agent position, you can sign up for the seminar here. 

We are also looking for outbound prospectors to call potential clients and set appointments on the phone. 

We are hiring!

Finally, we are also looking for an administrative assistant to help us with paperwork and all of the behind-the-scenes tasks that happen during a real estate transaction. 

This past year, we did $45 million in sales and we are looking to hit $100 million in the next couple of years. Join our team and help us reach that goal. 

Since we are at the start of a new year, I also wanted to give you a bit of advice. Studies show that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. If you are looking for a great way to stick with your New Year’s resolutions, start off with the goal of hitting that resolution every day for 21 days. 

If you or anyone you know is interested in joining my team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. 

The new year will be here before you know it. We wanted to take a quick moment today to give you a forecast for what to expect from our real estate market in 2017. 

The outlook for 2017 is looking good, according to The Mortgage Banker’s Association. We have sold about 5.8 million homes so far this year, and The National Association of Realtors is predicting six million homes will sell in 2017. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both predict we will sell around 6.2 million next year.

We look forward to a great year in 2017.

The reason for this quick uptick in sales is that millennials are finally buying homes instead of renting them. Many of these buyers are starting to purchase homes after paying off their student loan debt, so that’s what’s going to be drive the uptick in home sales. 2017 is projected to be a really good year, and we’re certainly excited about that.

We have had a great year so far in 2016 and we look forward to an even better one next year. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Should you sell your home now or wait until next spring? 

There are a few points I want to share with you about that, but I briefly want to mention this great book I am reading by John Maxwell called Leadership Promises for Every Day, which is about how to be a great leader. 

Now, should you wait until spring to sell? I would say no. There are a few reasons why fall is actually a great time to sell your home: 

1. You will face less competition now than you will in the spring. Since everyone waits for spring to list their property, there is low housing inventory during the winter. Typically in Northern Virginia, we don’t get very harsh winters, so listing your home now is actually a great way to get ahead of all the competition that will come on the market in the spring. 

2. Interest rates may rise soon. The Fed has been talking about raising interest rates in the coming months. They will meet again sometime before the end of the year to discuss just that. Now is a good time to get your home on the market because rates are so low for buyers. Any time interest rates go up, buyers’ purchasing power decreases, which ultimately limits the number of people who can afford to purchase your home. 

Homes actually sell faster in the fall and winter than they do in the spring.

3. You will capture the job transfer market by listing in the fall. People who are getting transferred need to buy a home before January 1st. In order to capture that market, you need to list now. 

4. Statistics show that homes actually sell faster in the winter than they do in the spring.  

5. There are more serious buyers in the fall and winter. There are a lot of buyers out there during the spring, but many of them are just looking around and exploring the market. People who look at properties during the winter are very serious about purchasing a home. Think of it this way: they want to buy a home before the holidays just as much as you want to sell your home before the holidays. 

As you can see, there are many reasons why fall is actually a good reason to put your home on the market. If you have any questions about preparing your home for the market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!