Whenever one of my clients moves, I give them the local utility phone numbers to change all of their services. I did the same as always yesterday for a client moving into a house in Crozet. I was surprised when I received the following email – The number I used today for Dominion (Power) was 888-782-0455, which took me directly to customer service.Nice thing, after setting up our electric service, I was able to set up our Phone, Cable/Internet (Adelphia), and Newspaper via Dominion.Was a long phone call and very successful.Neat. Simple. I didn’t link Sprint because I hate them. And need a land-line.
Browsing Category Buyers
What is a Buyer’s Broker?
What is a real estate buyer broker? What does one do for a buyer client?
In search of the GenX Buyer
This article speaks to how I try to do business, and about one of the “target markets” I like to think I work well with.Members of this age group care very much about HOW the entire sales process goes. Intangibles, like whether the desired information can be found online, or the personality and sales style of their real estate agent, take on considerable importance. Mess up there, and the buyer walks.As a group, Generation X home buyers are characterized as pragmatic, flexible, self-reliant, independent, informal, and disillusioned. The want what they want, the way they want it—and they want it now. To work effectively with these buyers, an agent needs to step back and give them cooperation, without imposing their perspective. Competence is valued over schmoozing.An important quality of this group is a preference for loyalty and long-term relationships. They share recommendations with their friends, and they keep coming back.Hmmm – guiding and advising rather than dictating, establishing trusted relationships with the expectation that these relationships will be ongoing and long-lasting … I can do that.
Mold can be bad
The issues arise when 1) the mold is the From all the home inspectors I have worked with, the gist is this – remove the source of the water infiltration, and the mold problem will often sort itself out.I have heard anecdotal evidence that having a radon mitigation system installed will help to dry out a basement — it may be worth it some some to have a mitigation system installed to work in conjunction with an always-recommended dehumidifief The EPA has some good resources on radon here, here and here, even a page specific to Virginia.The cost of a contractor fixing a home generally ranges from $800 to $2,500, depending on the characteristics of the house and choice of radon reduction methods. The average cost of a radon reduction system is about $1,200.Most types of radon reduction systems cause some loss of heated or air conditioned air, which could increase your utility bills. How much your utility bills will increase will depend on the climate you live in, what kind of reduction system you select, and how your house is built…. The “Installation and Operating Cost Table” lists the installation and average operating costs for different radon reduction systems and describes the best use of each method.
Due Diligence
MLS listings say at the bottom of every page, “Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.” This is an important statement that is often overlooked in the Purchasers’ (and often enough, the Realtors’) zeal to get to Contract and Close. While most do their best to provide the best and most accurate information, mistakes happen…. Verify that the train “doesn’t run after 11pm” (I have actually heard that one from an unwitting Purchaser – after closing!).
Fuel prices’ impact on “where to buy” decisions
if you live an additional 10 miles away from work, that means that (most likely), two cars are driving an additional 20 miles a day – an extra 40 miles per day…. —Assuming gas remains around $3/gallon, and that a vehicle gets 20 mpg, a family would be paying at least an additional $6 per day in fuel costs. Using these assumptions (not bad for an English major!), that additional 10 miles further equals an additional $180/month and an extra $2160/year…. If you have kids, factor in the soccer practices, tae-kwon-do, dance lessons, etc. and living closer makes more sense than ever – now if one can just find one of Dennis Rooker’s $225k townhouses …
“Exclusively marketed by”
These words, “Exclusively marketed by,” are infuriating, as they are, in my opinion, misleading to the average real estate consumer. You see this all over the area (and other regions as well) … the impression that this phrase often makes is that in order to see or purchase one of the homes in a certain development, the consumer must contact the marketing/listing company.Not accurate.