Northern Virginia Real Estate: Vienna, Oakton, McLean, Great Falls, Reston, Fairfax, and surrounding areas.

(Personality Is Always A Plus, But It Isn’t Everything! Statistics May Be Boring, But They Could Save You Time & Money!)

You’re thinking of selling. So how do you know which Realtor to work with? Your boss gave you the name of a Realtor. You met a Realtor you liked at an open house. Your sister-in law just got her license and says she’d love to help you. And what about the one who sold you your house 5 years ago (what’s his name again?).

Selling a home can be a very emotional decision. After all, this is your LIFE we’re talking about. The place where you created LOTS of memories. AND it’s your FUTURE we’re talking about. What happens with the sale of your home affects what options you have moving forward.

AND IT’S LIKELY ONE OF, IF NOT THE BIGGEST FINANCIAL DECISION OF YOUR LIFETIME. So you want to get it right. How do you do that?

1. The Personality Factor: You’re not looking for a new BFF here. (If you don’t have kids - that’s “Best Friend Forever”!) But you DO want to make sure you “click” with the person. After all, this person will be advising you on factors that affect you and your family’s life to a great degree. So the person needs to understand you and your needs. You need to “get” each other and trust each other and be able to speak openly & directly. And so while having a relative or friend in the business may be nice as far as the “clicking” part goes, sometimes the “speaking openly & directly” part may be an issue. You may not want to tell that person all your personal financial information. And even if you do, you may not want to have the kind of open & direct conversations that are often part of selling your home. Preserving your friendship or family relationship may take precedence over doing business together. Worst case scenario: Something goes wrong. Wouldn’t you rather fire the Realtor you hired as a business decision versus firing your best friend or sister-in-law?

2. The Communication Factor: The most common complaint we hear from people who hire us after they have tried unsuccessfully to sell with another agent, is that “after the sign went up, we never heard from her again until she called to ask us to reduce the price.” So when you are looking at Realtors, ask HOW they communicate, WHAT types of information they provide and HOW OFTEN they do so. And make sure that what they do works for you. Your Realtor should have systems in place that provide you with ALL the information you need to make smart decisions.

3. The Expertise Factor: Your Realtor should be an expert in real estate AND an expert in your market. Did you know there are more than 1.2 million Realtors in the U.S.? And almost 10,000 Realtors in Northern Virginia? So make sure you have one with experience. The more homes they have sold, the better their skills are likely to be. (We call this the “Are you really a Realtor or do you just play one on TV” question.) More experience normally translates to a faster sale and a higher sales price for you!

You also want an expert in YOUR market. So how do you find out how much of an “expert” someone is? ASK FOR THE STATISTICS! They may be “boring”, but they could save you TIME and MONEY.

Here’s an example:

Last year in Vienna, The Belt Team sold 58 homes. That is 3 times as many homes as the next best agent. The “average agent” in Northern VA did not even sell 1 home in Vienna. Not only did we sell more homes, we sold them 15 days FASTER and for MORE MONEY than average (1.4% more). So in this example, if your mortgage payment is $4,000/month and your home sold for $800,000 - The Belt Team would have saved you $2,000 by selling your home 15 days faster (1/2 of one mortgage payment) plus $11,200 by selling it for a higher percentage of list price than average.

This is why you need to ASK FOR THE STATS (in other words - “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”)

Contact us if you would like a FREE copy of “41 Questions You Need To Ask When Interviewing A Realtor To Sell Your Home” or “90 Tips To Prepare Your Home For Sale“. (If you’re ready to list your home NOW, call (703) 242-3975 to schedule an appointment.)

Should we put our home on the market now? Or should we wait until Spring? How long does it take the average Buyer to find a home? And where do they start their search?

“This Month In Real Estate” answers these questions & more:

For a personal consultation about what makes the most sense for YOU - call The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975. We’ll help you navigate the process and figure out what is in YOUR best interests!

Today, we were notified by Zillow that another one of our clients had submitted a review of The Belt Team on their web site. (If you’ve ever read hotel reviews on TripAdvisor or restaurant reviews on Zagat- the idea is the same. Among other things, consumers can write reviews & comments about real estate agents and their experiences with buying & selling their home.)

This will be the 31st time this year that one of our clients took the time to write up a review about their “Belt Team experience”. We are so grateful! When the email notification arrives that says another review has been submitted & published, there is always a slight pause and our hearts skip a beat - because while we pride ourselves on service & skills that are “beyond the pale” so to speak, we never know for sure until we read the review what exactly our client has said. We take our Belt Team Mission Statement very seriously:

“The Belt Team is a team of committed professionals who provide unparalleled real estate expertise in the Northern Virginia market. We put our clients’ and customers’ interests first and serve them with the utmost honesty, trust and integrity, striving to exceed expectations in all aspects of our relationships. Our objective is to help you sell or buy your home at the best price and most favorable terms that the market will bear and to do this as quickly as possible with the least possible inconvenience to you. We seek the highest compliment you can give us, the referral of your family & friends. We expect to create a Success Story for each client!”

And since the reviews are submitted by the client directly to Zillow, we do not get to preview them before they are published. But we’re proud to say that EVERY SINGLE REVIEW that has come in this year has been a FIVE STAR RATING (the highest rating Zillow has). AND each client has taken time out of their busy moving schedule to write all sorts of amazing comments decribing their experience with The Belt Team.

So . . . If the New Year brings new changes for YOUR family and you find yourself thinking of buying or selling a home, give The Belt Team a call. Whether it’s a new job taking you on a new adventure, a new addition to the family that means it’s time for a bigger home, or a new stage of life and it’s time to “right-size” - we’re happy to walk you through the process from start to finish. Buying or selling a home doesn’t have to be stressful if you have the right team at the helm. (Plus - we’re great negotiators! As an example, our homes sell faster & for more money than the average agent - and there are almsot 10,000 agents in Northern VA!)

If you’re wondering what “The Belt Team Experience” is like - check out what our 2011 clients have said in their independent reviews on Zillow.com . It’s an experience you don’t want to miss!

In the meantime, we wish all of you a Happy Holiday & look forward to working with many of you next year. We promise to give you the full “Belt Team Experience”! Contact The Belt Team here or call (703) 242-3975 for more info about The Belt Team Experience.

What are the top reasons Sellers decide to move? And is it really worth it to hire a full-service Realtor? (Hint - only if you want to sell for a higher price in a shorter amount of time.) Here’s “This Month In Real Estate” with the quick two minute answer to both questions:

If you’re thinking of selling your home, contact The Belt Team for a FREE WRITTEN REPORT on your home’s current value or for a copy of “90 Tips To Prepare Your Home For Market”. We’re also happy to set up a pre-sale consultation so you know what does and what doesn’t need doing before you sell. Why spend money you don’t have to!

Realtors in Northern Virginia are a dime a dozen. Seriously. There are more than 11,000 Realtors in the Northern Virginia Board of Realtors. So, if you’re thinking about buying a home here, how do you go about finding the RIGHT REALTOR?

Tune in LIVE  to Real Estate Radio Washington - WAVA 780 AM on your dial from 1-2PM today (Dec 10th) when Terry Belt will answer these and other questions.

You can also listen to past broadcasts with great info for both Buyers & Sellers featuring CEO, Terry Belt and Belt Team Partner, Pauline Knipe.

Contact The Belt Team if you’re thinking about buying a home. We have partners who specialize in buyers only, first-time homebuyers, local buyers, relo buyers and more!

The Holiday Season is a wonderful time of year. It can be a great time to buy or sell a home. It’s definitely a great time for for gratitude, reflection & celebration. And oftentimes it’s a great time to travel.

As we enter the Holiday Season, we’d like to remind you to keep your home safe while you are away- especially in light of all the “new” ways we are in communication with one another.

Here are some tips:

(1) Be careful with your status updates on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Don’t be too specific. For example: “Can’t wait to see Grandma & Grandpa” might be better than “Leaving for Ohio in 2 hours. Back on Sunday.”

(2) If you still have a newspaper delivered instead of reading online, make sure you suspend delivery.

(3) Take advantage of the “nosy neighbors” you have (assuming you trust them!). Ask him or her to keep an eye out while you are away. Make sure they know how to reach you in case of an emergency.

(4) Think twice about setting up an auto-responder or voice mail message that says you are out of town - expecially if you work from a home office. A better idea might be to just say you are not checking messages until a certain date (as if you’re taking a “Stay-Cation”.)

(5) Set up timers on certain lights in your house. Install motion detector lights outdoors.

(6) Don’t forget to lock the interior garage door. Exterior doors are relatively easy to compromise.

(7) Stop your mail. Or have a neighbor collect it daily.

(8) Don’t publish your physical address or personal information on your social media profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. It’s amazing how many people advertise their birthdate, home address and more - just because the site asked you to fill it in when you set up your account. It’s not just children who do this, but many adults who are new to the world of social media are guilty of this as well. Even if your site is “friend-protected”, you’d be surprised at what web-savvy folks can find out. Be discreet!

(9) You can always employ the tactics of Kevin McAllister in “Home Alone”!

Now - for our local readers (or those who want to move here!) - what has happened in the last week in Vienna & Oakton?

• Inventory in Vienna & Oakton dropped for the seventh straight week in a row. Vienna now has less than 200 homes on the market for the first time since early April. Oakton’s inventory has dropped to 65 homes, the lowest since early March.

• The past week included the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and while this did not stop people from buying homes, it did slow them down a bit. Vienna had 8 homes go under contract and Oakton had 2 homes go under contract.

• No homes this past week sold in less than 2 weeks. And only 20% of those that sold went in under 30 days.

• Despite the continued decrease in inventory, it looks like the slight slowdown in contracts has moved Vienna & Oakton from the precipice of a ”Seller’s Market” firmly into a “Balanced Market”. Vienna has a 3.8 month supply of homes and Oakton’s supply is at 4.6 months.

SELLERS: Make sure you read our recent blog post about whether or not it’s a good idea to sell during the holidays. In general, low inventory & low housing supply mean good things for you. But there are lots of things to consider. (We can also provide you with a list of 40 questions you should ask your Realtor when you’re thinking of selling your home.)

BUYERS: We have been publishing statistics for Vienna & Oakton on a weekly basis for over 2 years now. In all of that time, Vienna has NEVER been in a Buyer’s Market and Oakton has only trended that way for 3 weeks in 2010. This is just another reason why you need to make sure you are working with a Realtor as your advocate. And not just any Realtor, but a Realtor whose skill set benefits YOU. (You may want to read this article about what a Buyer should look for in a Realtor.)

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, you can email The Belt Team (or call us at 703-242-3975) to schedule a Buyer or Seller consultation, to request a FREE WRITTEN REPORT of your home’s value or to be put on our FREE PRIORITY NOTIFICATION LIST for special buying opportunities that are not in the MLS or on the Internet.

For our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 814
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 123 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 145 days
• Inventory: 196 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.0 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 3.8 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 2
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 107 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 50
• Inventory: 65 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 3.7 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 4.6 months

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, Contact The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975 for a more in-depth discussion & analysis - because it’s only the neighborhood YOU live in (or you WANT to live in) that matters. We’ll be happy to schedule a consultation and get very detailed about “YOUR Market” so that you can make the decision that is best for YOU!

First - let’s set the scene. What has happened in the last week in Vienna & Oakton?

• Inventory in Vienna & Oakton dropped for the sixth straight week in a row. Vienna now has 202 homes on the market and Oakton has 67. This is the lowest level Vienna has seen in 7 months and in 8 months in Oakton.

• Three homes went under contract in Oakton over the past week and 14 homes went under contract in Vienna. This is the identical pace as two weeks ago and still bodes well for the market.

• 12% of the homes that went under contract in Vienna & Oakton last week sold in 10 days or less. And 41% sold in less than 30 days. The overall average for homes that went under contract last week was 68 days on market. Not bad, huh?!

• Both Vienna and Oakton are continuing to teeter between a “Seller’s Market” and a “Balanced Market”. Vienna has a 3.6 month supply of homes and Oakton’s supply is  at 2.6 months.

SELLERS: Make sure you read our recent blog post about whether or not it’s a good idea to sell during the holidays. In general, low inventory & low housing supply mean good things for you. But there are lots of things to consider. (We can also provide you with a list of 40 questions you should ask your Realtor when you’re thinking of selling your home.)

BUYERS: We have been publishing statistics for Vienna & Oakton on a weekly basis for over 2 years now. In all of that time, Vienna has NEVER been in a Buyer’s Market and Oakton has only trended that way for 3 weeks in 2010. This is just another reason why you need to make sure you are working with a Realtor as your advocate. And not just any Realtor, but a Realtor whose skill set benefits YOU.

So what should a Buyer look for in a Realtor?

1. A real estate team who has a demonstrated track record of finding properties for their buyers that are not listed in the MLS. With inventory so low, this broadens the possibilities fo you and means it’s more likely you’ll find your dream home. Look for someone who is proactive and not reactive.

2. Lights out negotiators. With inventory so low, the “good properties” sometimes still get multiple contracts. This means you may be competing with other Buyers to get the home of your dreams. Can your Realtor share examples with you of strategies they have actually used to compete & win out for their Buyer clients in the past?

3. A Realtor with partnerships that benefit YOU. Ask your Realtor who their partners are. They should have partners who have proven track records as well. This includes lenders, appraisers, settlement companies, home inspectors, remodeling folks & more. When you’re looking at potentially buying a home, you may need to consult some or all of these experts for advice. And if problems arise, you need to make sure you have folks who will respond. Realtors who do more business have stronger relationships. Their clients get better, faster service. Your Realtor should have relationships that benefit you.

4. A real estate team that knows the area inside & out. Here’s an example of why that’s important. Until you live in or work in a particular area, you really don’t know what your actual commute might look like. It might look good on paper, but in real life - yikes! Your Realtor should know the area like the back of her hand, and should give you the “good, the bad & the ugly” so you can make good decisions about where to live. In a recent study, Swiss economists discovered a human fault they refer to as “the commuter’s paradox”. They found that when people are choosing where to live, they consistently underestimate the pain of a long commute. According to their calculations, a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40% more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office. This is just one example of an area your Realtor should be advising you on.

5. Experience that benefits YOU. YOU should not be the experience that benefits the Realtor. Did you know that 80% of Realtors nationwide sell fewer than 3 homes per year? Unfortunately, Realtors who sell fewer than 3 homes per year have to almost completely relearn the business. There are more than 10,000 Realtors in Northern Virginai and you don’t want to be the guinea pig!

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, you can email The Belt Team (or call us at 703-242-3975) to schedule a Buyer or Seller consultation, to request a FREE WRITTEN REPORT of your home’s value or to be put on our FREE PRIORITY NOTIFICATION LIST for special buying opportunities that are not in the MLS or on the Internet.

For our detail-oriented readers, here are last week’s stats:

Last week in Vienna Real Estate (22180,22181, 22182):

• Number of Contracts: 14
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 123 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 60 days
• Inventory: 202 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 4.1 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 3.6 months

Here are last week’s stats for Oakton Real Estate (22124):

• Number of Contracts: 3
• Average Days on Market for Active Listings: 97 days
• Average Days on Market for Listings That Went Under Contract: 105
• Inventory: 67 homes on the market
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 90 day contract rate): 3.5 months
• Number of Months Supply of Homes (Based on past 30 day contract rate): 2.8 months

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, Contact The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975 for a more in-depth discussion & analysis - because it’s only the neighborhood YOU live in (or you WANT to live in) that matters. We’ll be happy to schedule a consultation and get very detailed about “YOUR Market” so that you can make the decision that is best for YOU!

We’re proud to announce that Pauline Knipe, Realtor Partner with The Belt Team, has been tapped as one of the local Northern Virginia real estate experts on the radio show Real Estate Radio Washington. A variety of topics are discussed each week and recently Pauline was asked to discuss how professional advice from a TOP Realtor can make a difference for a Buyer or a Seller. You can listen to a clip from the show here:

How Can Professional Advice Make A Difference For A Buyer or A Seller?  (And How Is Selling Your House Like Dating?!)

CEO of The Belt Team, Terry Belt, has also guested on Real Estate Radio Washington and has shared some expert advice that you don’t want to miss if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia.

Listen here:

• Selling Your Home - Don’t Make These Mistakes!

• Pricing Strategies for Sellers

• Is There A “Cost Of Waiting”? What Separates a Good Agent From a Bad Agent, More Importantly What Separates A Great Agent From A Good Agent?

• Who Is Terry Belt & The Belt Team

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home and want a GREAT Realtor to represent you, Contact The Belt Team . It would be a pleasure for OUR family to help YOUR family make a successful move!

Did you know that Washington DC was listed as one of the top cities in the country for Trick or Treating? The ranking is done by Zillow.com and they based their rankings on a combination of statistics like population density, median home value, walk score & crime report. You can read more about our take on Zillow (an online real estate site) -  and see Zillow’s full list here.

We’re not scientists - but based on our 40+ years of real estate experience (and the fact that we ourselves and our children trick or treat here!) - we’d rank Northern Virginia a LOT higher on the list. Our guess is that only large cities were ranked by Zillow - but if smaller towns & cities were used - we’re sure places like Vienna, Fairfax, Falls Church, Arlington & Oakton would be included!

So - Happy Halloween to all of you out in Northern VA!

And don’t forget - if you know folks who have been “tricked” by the real estate market and need someone to “treat” them right - tell them to call The Belt Team at (703) 242-3975!

No Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Just Treats

If you’re thinking about selling your home, you may be wondering how technology has changed the process over the years. It’s definitely NOT your Grandma’s real estate market! So what are some of the top tech tools being used today to sell homes?

1. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Systems

On each home marketed by The Belt Team, we install a special rider on the sign so that anyone who is interested can call and get information 24 hours a day. They can hear a recording and get a fax about our properties any time of the day or night. Yes, all of our info is easily found on all sorts of web sites, but when you’re driving by - it’s a lot easier to just call. You’d be surprised how many people call as early as 5AM or as late as midnight!

The good news for our Sellers is that our system captures the caller’s number via caller id. Since the technology includes an 800 number, we are able to caller id every caller. Within seconds of a call, we receive an email notification with the caller’s message (if one was left) and their phone number. And one of the Realtors on our team follows up with a return call to make sure the caller got all the info they need. No page left unturned so to speak!

2. SOCIAL MEDIA

GChat, Hangout, Facebook, IM, Twitter, Skype, Texting, You Tube, LocalMinds, FourSquare, Video Tours, Blogging, Circles, etc, etc, etc. These are terms you may or may not be familiar with. (And between the time I write this and the time I post it, there will probably be more new terms!)

Some things in real estate haven’t changed much since your Grandma bought & sold her house, but the way we communicate has definitely changed. Today’s Buyers & Sellers want to be communciated with in very particular ways - and no two consumers are the same. So we make sure that when we’re selling homes, we’re on top of that communication path. If none of these terms mean anything to you - that’s ok. When we’re selling your home, we handle the technology for you. And if you already know what hangouts & circles are - great. You know exactly what we’re talking about!

Today’s market requires creativity and a need to be on the leading edge of technology. The Belt Team has embraced this philosophy. It’s one reason why we were selected to be Community Bloggers for various online news sites like Vienna Patch, Oakton Patch and WUSA9. And it’s why we have close to 500 followers on Twitter.  And why we have a You Tube channel. And why our agents are on Facebook. And why we write a lifestyle blog about Vienna. You get the picture. We don’t wait for Buyers to come to us. We’re proactive and reach out to draw them in.

Back in the 50’s & 60’s there used to be TV shows about “the future”. (My favorite was The Jetsons!) But boy would your Grandma have been surprised back then to see what we can do now.

Imagine this scenario:

You’re selling your home. You take the kids to the Outer Banks for a week so your house will actually stay clean. Your spouse is on travel in South America for business. Your in-laws co-signed when you bought the house, so they have an interest as well. And your Realtor is here in Vienna.

A contract comes in on your house. Now what? Your Realtor emails the contract to everyone. You’re on vacation, so you pull it up on your smart phone. Your spouse travels with an ipad, so he pulls it up there. And your in-laws have an old-fashioned desktop and check their email as well.

Your Realtor sets up a “hangout” on Google Plus (or conferences everyone in on Skype - you know the thing you set up so the grandparents could “see” the kids!) and all 5 of you go over the contract and discuss your options. Then your Realtor sends out the document via DocUSign so each party can sign electronically and no time is wasted in ratifying a contract.

Back to your regularly scheduled vacation - where you toast the fact that you were smart enough to choose a “tech savvy” Realtor!

With today’s technology, we have actually even sold several homes where the Buyer never even stepped foot in the home until AFTER they owned it!

3. THE “BAT PHONE”

Remember when Batman would get “important calls” on the red ”Bat Phone”? Well, all the calls that come in on our listings are important. So we have a dedicated cell number we use on all advertising for the homes we sell. We call this cell phone the “Bat Phone”. Our goal is no only to be “high tech” but also to be “high touch”. And so each week a different Realtor Partner on the team handles the Bat Phone. Our goal is that this phone is ALWAYS answered. Today’s consumer wants answers immediately. And we aim to please.  This tech tool might sound pretty “low tech” - but when was the last time you called and got a live person on the phone instead of voice mail or a bunch of recorded prompts?!

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, contact The Belt Team.

We combine yesterday’s values with today’s technology to make your tomorrow bright!