Northern Virginia Real Estate Podcast with The Gillies Team

There are five easy steps you can take to winterize your home. They will help you avoid headaches down the road this winter and keep your home warm and running efficiently. Looking to buy in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Perform a full home search Looking to sell in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Get a free Home Price Evaluation What are the best ways to prepare your home for the winter? These five tips will help you avoid major headaches during the colder months. Winterize your hose bibs around Thanksgiving. It's easy to do, but if you don't know how, you can find instructional videos on YouTube, or we can recommend a contractor to you to help out. It will help prevent frozen pipes and water issues in the winter. Additionally, don't forget to remove the hose to prevent ice from making its way into your house. Clear your gutters and downspouts, especially if you live in a wooded area. Clogged gutters hold excess water and can cause 'ice damming,' which can cause ice to get into your house through the eaves and cause all kinds of issues. Service your HVAC. This will help the system run efficiently and put less stress on it. If there is an issue, it's better to find out now when it's nice out than when it's below freezing. You should service the unit yearly or twice a year, once during the fall.Check all insulation points, especially as it starts to get cold. There can be a ton of heat lost at your attic hatch, no matter the type. Check around your exterior doors as well, which can be a huge heat loss point. Make sure windows are completely closed and locked. This may sound silly, but I hear plenty of stories from contractors going to a cold house only to find a window that's open by a half inch in the dead of winter, killing the house's ability to stay efficient and warm.If you have any questions about winterizing your home or about the real estate market, give us a call or send us an email. We're always here to help.

Should you buy or sell a home during the holidays? The holidays can be a great time to be in the real estate market for both buyers and sellers, and there are a few reasons why.   Looking to buy in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Perform a full home search Looking to sell in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Get a free Home Price Evaluation Should you buy or sell a home over the holidays? Many people are uncertain about whether they should enter the real estate market during the holidays, but the 4th quarter can be a great to buy or sell a home. As a buyer, the holidays can be an outstanding time to purchase a home. Some of our most cherished memories center around the holiday season. Why not have moving into your house be one of them? I remember a family that was only able to get their Christmas tree moved in before the 25th but it has become such a great story for them.  OUR MARKET NEVER TOTALLY DIES DOWN! Secondly, there are still plenty of homes on the market. There is always movement in our local market. There tends to be a swell of activity in the spring, but at the same time, buyers face more competition in the spring. Don’t be afraid to buy during the holidays! As a seller, keep in mind that buyers looking this time of year tend to be ready to go. Most buyers aren’t out between Thanksgiving and Christmas if they don’t need to find a home quickly. Holiday buyers are typically very serious and already pre-approved, creating a good opportunity to sell your home despite a smaller buyer pool overall. You will also face less competition this time of year. If you waited until spring to put your home on the market, you could be competing against 10 other houses in your neighborhood. By listing during the holidays, you may only have to compete against one or two homes for sale in your area. Staging and professional photography will also help you stand out from the reduced competition. If you have any other questions about buying or selling during the holidays, give me a call or send me an email. I have a few other tips to make the whole process more fun and enjoyable for you and your family. I look forward to hearing from you!

Looking to buy in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Perform a full home search Looking to sell in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Get a free Home Price Evaluation For the fifth video in our relocation series, I want to talk about corporate relocation. In the Greater D.C., Fredericksburg, and Stafford areas, we have a ton of clients with great relocation benefits. It’s important that you are able to maximize these benefits. Here are a few things to think about when preparing for a relocation move: 1. There are a lot of moving parts. It’s important the agent you choose knows what those moving parts are. They need to know about possible problems as well, so they can easily guide you through them. This will make you feel a lot more comfortable with your benefits program. 2. Appraisers. The relocation company may give you a list of appraisers to choose from. The evaluation process is a huge part of reaping the benefits of your relocation services, and we want to ensure you get the top value for your home. 3. Marketing. There are times when a relocation company might recommend an agent or company, but you as the homeowner have got to be your first and best advocate. We can market your home in a way that helps you hit required timelines and have the best shot at incentives that may be offered through your relocation program.  The key here is that your benefits can set you up to be in an awesome position, so make sure you’re not missing out on anything. We would love for you to give us a call or send us an email to help you maximize these benefits. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Looking to buy in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Perform a full home search  Looking to sell in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Get a free Home Price Evaluation When moving in the Stafford and Fredericksburg area, how can you best prepare yourself? Many people try to start this process alone and start their search online. Although this is a great start, there’s so much you can’t find online. When you’re first planning your next move, you should talk to two people. First off, you need an exceptional lender to know what price range you can afford within your budget. An online calculator isn’t enough. This person mediates the financing process and provides you the resources you need to make an educated decision for your family. Secondly, you need an outstanding agent to fight on your behalf. They should be active in the specific neighborhood you’re looking to purchase a home in. They’re familiar with the school districts, builders, and more. When you hire us, we can help you pre-screen Realtors to pick out top talent. Remember to not only put your ducks in a row in town, but the area you’re moving to. We understand how crucial it is to plan a move before you start packing up that first box. Utilize our team as a resource to mediate this process for you and your family. As always, if you have any questions about buying or selling a home in the surrounding area, consider me your local real estate resource. Contact me by phone or email with any needs you might have!

Looking to buy in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Perform a full home search  Looking to sell in the Stafford/Fredericksburg area? Get a free Home Price Evaluation Today we’re going to talk about whether we’re seeing a buyer’s or seller’s market here in Virginia. We’ve had a lot of questions about this lately, and we are going to give you a rundown of exactly what you can expect in this market. Truthfully, both buyers and sellers are in a great position. Our current inventory has dropped by 9.2% compared to last year, and this low inventory can bump sale prices up for sellers as more and more buyers are bidding on fewer homes. This can lead to multiple offers and bidding wars, which sellers love to see.   As far as buyers are concerned, interest rates are still historically low, in the 3-4% range for 30-year fixed loans. The lower the interest rates, the higher purchase prices buyers can qualify for. We are anticipating a strong market for both buyers and sellers this year and if interest rates continue to stay low, sellers are going to continue to be in a great position as well. An interest rate hike would take some buyers off the fence to purchase, which would lead to a lot more activity on seller listings. If you have any questions, or are thinking about buying or selling, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!