The AJ Team Realty Podcast

Rates moved again, and the usual advice hasn't caught up to what's actually happening out there. One of our clients made a decision on a Monday, was under contract by Friday, and locked terms that were gone the next week. In our latest video, we each walk through what we're seeing across the DMV right now, including the one number we've been telling sellers to plan around for two years. Watch our video before you make your next move.

The calls keep coming in: homeowners who raised their families in a big house, watched the kids move out, and are now wondering what comes next. Downsizing sounds simple until you start, and then the questions pile up fast. In this video, we walk through what to think through first, including the timing sweet spot most people miss by years. Watch our video to plan while the choice is still yours.

If you've asked us about Aruba in the last couple of years, you probably got a long answer and a pile of restaurant names you forgot before you got home. We go enough that a customs officer once looked at one of our passports and said, huh, you've been here a lot, so we finally put the whole answer in one place. In this video, we walk through the six things we tell everybody before they go, starting with the one move that saves you the most money and the neighborhood we book every single time. Watch our video to see where we'd send you first.

Here's the question we get asked more than almost any other: why don't we put both our names on the same house? It's a fair thing to wonder, especially since we're married, and roughly 90% of what we own is held in different names and entities. In this video, Allen and I walk through the debt-load calculation most couples never run, and the short sale we watched years ago that convinced us to structure everything this way. Watch our video to see how the math actually works.

Driving past Quartz District and wondering what all the construction is for? We've got you covered. We break down the two big things going up across from the development, the new luxury high-rise near Elm Farm, and the teardowns by BJ's. We also talked to the county supervisor about a real window most people miss: the chance to tell the county which restaurants and businesses you want before the decisions get locked in. Watch for the full update and how to make your voice count.

Do you know the full story behind Juneteenth, and did you know you're invited to celebrate it? On June 19th, Prince William County is hosting its Juneteenth & Me Festival, and we're going to be there with a booth, ready to spend the day with our clients, friends, and neighbors. In this video, we share what Juneteenth actually commemorates, why it belongs to all of us as American history, and the details on where to find us, including the giveaways we've got planned. Watch our video, then come celebrate with us.

Selling your home and wondering where you'll land before your next move comes together? We see this all the time, and we built something to help. In this video, we walk you through the short-term fully furnished rental options we own across Arlington and Old Town Alexandria, including who they're a good fit for and how to lock one in before they fill up. If you or someone you know is going to need a comfortable place to stay between homes, this is worth a few minutes. Watch our video to see what's available.

Should you put both names on a home loan? Most couples do it without thinking, but it could actually hold you back from building wealth. We'll break down why we keep most of our properties in just one name and how that helped us take advantage of opportunities when the market pulled back. You'll learn the difference between being on the loan vs. the deed and why managing your debt load separately gives you more room to grow. Watch our video to see how this one simple strategy changed the way we invest in real estate.

What would you do if the people you trusted to guide you through buying a home didn’t show up or didn’t take you seriously? That happens more often than people think, and it’s exactly what AJ ran into when he bought his first home about 25 years ago. Today, we're sharing the story behind how AJ got started in real estate, and why that experience pushed him to get licensed and do things differently. You’ll also see how our parents’ real estate decisions helped pay for college and set us up to buy our first home. Get the full story in our latest video.

What if a beautiful house for sale is…haunted? We wanted to share an unbelievable story of what could be our craziest sale ever! When the seller’s wife heard the piano playing on its own, she refused to stay in the house. This just proves that you can’t assume you know why someone is selling, even when the home is beautiful and the paperwork looks clean. Get the full story in our latest video.