On television, online, and in magazines, staging is the word. Real estate experts will tell you that staging your house gives you an edge when trying to sell your house. But what exactly is staging?

Staging is organizing and decorating your home so that potential buyers can really see themselves living there. You don’t have to invest major money into a remodel—this is rarely a cost-effective strategy. Staging is all about highlighting your home’s best attributes and minimizing distractions.

With so many houses on the market, simple staging strategies can give your home the little boost it needs to attract more buyers.

Lose the clutter. Box up trinkets and small appliances. Pay special attention in the kitchen and bathrooms. Emphasize counter space by getting rid of the coffee maker, toaster, mixer, and the like. In the bathroom, hide shampoo bottles and other personal care items.

Clear away personal effects. Potential buyers don’t want to see your Christmas cards on the refrigerator, or your kid’s little league trophy. Same goes for framed family photos, your pet’s belongings, or the stack of books on your nightstand. Buyers won’t be able to picture themselves living in your home if your memories are around every corner.

Clean it up. Now is the time to invest in a cleaning service. Consider hiring a professional cleaning crew to give your home a thorough top-to-bottom cleaning. This might include steam cleaning your carpets. Professionals know how to make your house look and smell brand new!

More light and warmth. Make your home welcoming and inviting by opening curtains and blinds and making sure all rooms are well lit. You might be tempted to keep the temperature low, especially if you’ve already moved out. Before an open house, crank the thermostat up to a comfortable temperature and light the fireplace, if you have one. Creating light and warmth is especially important in the winter months.

Take a critical look at your furniture. YMake sure that your furniture is doing a good job of highlighting a room’s size. Oversized or too much furniture can make a living room feel cramped. On the other hand, small pieces in a large room can make the space seem cavernous and hard to work with.

Be neutral. You might love the bright tropical colors that you hand-selected for each room in your house, but potential buyers might not feel the same, and could be scared off at the thought of repainting multiple rooms. Consider painting walls a more neutral color to appeal to the masses.

Quick fixes. Buyers notice little things like loose trim work, leaky faucets, and crooked cabinets. Invest a small amount of time and money to fix cosmetic issues.

Small touches. Set the dining room table. Place fresh flowers on a dresser. Add luxurious throw pillows to beds. For inspiration, think of your favorite hotel, or pick up an interior design magazine.

Home staging is an easy and affordable way to give your home a little boost, whether you’re still living in it, or if you’ve already moved out. Ask your real estate agent for more staging tips.

If you would like some more tips on how to Stage Your Home contact me at 703-868-0061 or email me at jqueeney@cox.net

Foreclosure Activity in Virginia Up in July

Virginia Foreclosure Activity Level Increases in May

Virginia Foreclosure Activity Down in First Quarter

Foreclosure Activity at 40-Month Low

Why I’m Not Giving Up on Homeownership

 Click here to see the Full Foreclosure Market Trend Newsletter from RealtyTrac.

 Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping You Find Your Way Home

Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15 Percent in First Quarter of 2011

Best Places to Buy Foreclosures in 2011

Virginia Foreclosure Activity Climbs in February

Buy-and-Hold Investors Benefit from Tighter Lending, Returning Renters

Cheaper Mortgages When Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Are Gone?

Click here to see the Full Foreclosure Market Trend Newsletter from RealyTrac.

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

 LTV          UPFRONT                     MONTHLY               Change 

30 YEAR 

<95         1.0                                 1.10                       was .85

>95         1.0                                 1.15                        was .9 

15 YEAR                 

<90         1.0                                  .25                          was 0

>90         1.0                                  .50                          was .25

If you were once the fence to buy- now is the time! FHA remains the most cost effective mortgage insurance option for borrowers with lower incomes and lower down payments. If you wish to learn more about the home buying process or any new changes with FHA loans give us a call or email.

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

Virginia Foreclosures Down Slightly in 2010

Click here to see the Full Foreclosure Market Trend Newsletter from RealyTrac.

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

WEEKEND OF JAN. 8-9

Plan now to use alternate routes to avoid delays

  The Virginia Department of Transportation is urging motorists to avoid the Route 50 and Fairfax County Parkway (Route 7100) interchange area on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 8-9, as lane closures for construction-related pile driving will cause major delays.  The lanes closures are in effect from 11 p.m. Friday night until 11 p.m. Sunday night, weather permitting.

The following lane and ramp closures are planned:

*   On westbound Route 50, three lanes will narrow to one lane from West Ox Road to just west of the parkway.  Lanes will shift to the right through the work zone under the Fairfax County Parkway bridge.

*   On eastbound Route 50, three lanes will narrow to two lanes and traffic will shift to the right approximately 300 feet prior to the Fairfax County Parkway.  All three lanes will be open east of the bridge.

*   Two ramps will be closed: northbound Parkway to westbound Route 50, and southbound Parkway to eastbound 50.  Traffic headed north on the Parkway will turn left on Rugby Road to Route 50.  Traffic headed south on the Parkway will be detoured left on Fair Lakes Parkway, and left on West Ox Road to Route 50.

*   On the Fairfax County Parkway over Route 50, one of two lanes in each direction will be closed.

Avoid eastbound Route 50:

*   Shoppers heading to Fair Oaks Mall should use I-66 rather than Route 50 and Stringfellow Road rather than the Fairfax County Parkway.

*   Take Route 50 East to Route 28 South to I-66 East or to Route 29 North.

*   Take Route 50 East, turn right on Stringfellow Road, left on Route 29 North.

Avoid westbound Route 50:

*   Leaving Fair Oaks Mall, take Fair Lakes Parkway, turn right on Stringfellow Road, left on Route 50

*   From I-66, continue west past Route 50 and exit at Route 28 North

*   Coming from the City of Fairfax, use Route 29 as an alternate route.

The lane closures are part of the Fairfax County Parkway and Fair Lakes Interchange construction project which began in late October.  VDOT’s contractor will be driving piles to add a pier to widen the Parkway bridge to three lanes over Route 50.  The actual pile driving will be done between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. both days.

VDOT typically allows its contractors to close lanes only at night or on weekdays between rush hours.  However, this work requires at least 10 hours of uninterrupted construction which would not be possible on a weekday without affecting rush hour traffic.  The work cannot be done at night because Fairfax County’s noise ordinance prohibits pile driving at night. The work was postponed until after the Christmas holidays to minimize the impact to shoppers.

Fairfax County police will be staged in the work zones for safety and traffic management.

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

Congress renewed the $5,000 DC homebuyer tax credit for two more years as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced.  The DC tax incentive will be retroactive for 2010 and continue through 2011.

An individual making less than $90,000 is eligible for at least some tax relief. If married and filing jointly, the ceiling increases to $130,000.

Since the DC Tax Credit is smaller and couldn't be taken simultaneously with the Federal Tax Credit, it has largely been ignored. Now that the federal credit has expired, the DC Tax Credit, which has not expired since it took effect in 1997, will regain some of its appeal during the second half of this year.

To see if you are eligable to receive the $5,000 Tax Credit give me a call or email. I would be happy to help you find your way home

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

703-868-0061 or jqueeney@cox.net

Whether your home is a condo or a larger home, decorating tips are always usuable. Below is an article from yahoo.com and by Sunset Magazine that will give you some eye candy on small home interiors.

Get great tips on small-space living in style and comfort from a 900-square-foot cottage, eco-friendly loft, vintage trailer, houseboat, bungalow, and more.

> See more of this home

2. Remodeled Airstream home

> See more of this home

3. Creative loft

> See more of this home

4. Modern houseboat

> See more of this home

5. Sunny bungalow

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent in Third Quarter.

How The Mortgage System Works — And How It's Been Rattled

Vacation Home Investors Flourishing in Frugal Economy

Click here to see the Full Foreclosure Market Trend Newsletter from RealyTrac.

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

NEWSWEEK has compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for the recovery.

These are places where the jobs are plentiful, and the pay, given the lower cost of living,

buys more than in bigger cities.

There are the New Silicon Valleys—Raleigh-Durham,

N.C.; Salt Lake City; and urban northern Virginia—which offer high-paying high-tech jobs

and housing prices well below those in coastal California.

THE NEW SILICON VALLEYS

Although Massachusetts and California are lauded as the places “where the brains are,”

neither ranked high in the growth of tech jobs over the past decade. More important is where

the brains are headed.

A lot of them are going to North Carolina, Virginia, and Utah.

To the north

in Virginia, lies another Silicon Valley wannabe, stretching across Alexandria, Arlington, and

Fairfax counties.

The link is:   http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/08/the-top-10-places-in-america-poised-for-recovery.html

Now that fall is in the air, some of you might be finally getting around to completing those home repair; others may be relaxing and watching some Sunday Football.  If you are in the group who is procrastinating on the home repairs, let the $1500 Tax credit be your motivation.  With simple items such as replacing your Windows and Doors with energy-efficient product or renewable energy systems you may be eligible for the $1500 tax credit

Below you will find an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency.

Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. ENERGY STAR distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than standard models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit. 

Tax Credit:30% of cost up to $1,500

Expires:December 31, 2010

Details:Must be an existing home & your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify.

Biomass Stoves

Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning(HVAC)

Insulation

Roof(Metal and Asphalt)

Water Heaters (Non-Solar)

Windows & Doors

For a full breakdown of the tax credit and eligibility click here

Information from Energystar.com

Brought to you by Dare to Compare Team of Century 21, New Millennium

www.DareToCompareTeam.com

Helping you Find your Way Home

The metrorail construction continues with a target date of 2013.  Go to http://www.dullesmetro.com/ for more information on construction and each new station.

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.