real estate advice

Contributed by Sara Foulkes, Realtor®, eric stewart group of Long & Foster When there are 100 reasons not to do something, what is it that compels you to go ahead and do it anyway? That’s right, I’m talking about the headache that is selling your home and moving to a new one. My name is Sara Foulkes, and this is how my family moved with three kids and a new puppy -- and why it was worth it.

I’m often asked if there’s a fall real estate market and when it begins. I long assumed that there were two markets each year, the spring and the fall, as I'd been taught that for many years without stopping to challenge the assumption. The myth goes that there’s strong demand in the spring when the flowers come out; in the fall, after people are away and return after Labor Day, they will start looking for houses again.... but do they?

I’ve heard of many kinds of scams over the years, but more recently I’ve seen a scam involving skimming money from unsuspecting tenants who are applying to lease residential real estate from an out- of-town landlord. Here’s the story.

I recently took a listing in Alexandria, VA, and the seller requested that I create and share a “coming soon” listing with other local agents, even though it won’t be on the open market for six months. She prefers to sell it quietly, and I offered a discount on my commission if we’re able to do it without the extensive (and expensive) marketing that we use for homes on the open market.

Return on investment (ROI) is often top-of-mind when people make home improvements. What is “worth doing” and what isn’t?

Here's a crazy stat: there are only 44 resale homes currently on the market in Seattle, a metro area with over 80,000 residents. When you factor in the inventory versus demand, it causes home prices to skyrocket. We're seeing this in the DC Metro Area, but, thankfully, not to that extent. As Eric Stewart mentioned in today's Real Estate Minute on WMAL, in case you find yourself tired of the stress and strain markets like these can cause, did you know there are cities where it only costs $60,000 a year to live comfortably?

Do you know what an egress window is? Do you know what the requirements are for an egress window? It sounds like it should be complicated, but there are only 4 requirements your basement window must meet in order to be up to code.

If you've decided you're ready to buy your first home, you've probably gotten tons of unsolicited advice regarding what you should and shouldn't do. Take it from the real estate professionals - there are a lot of things you should and shouldn't do before buying your first home, but let's take a look at the top 5.

February is National Time Management Month, Spiritual Wellness Month, and National Senior Independence Month. Each week, we'll be giving you tips and tricks for time management, how to better your spiritual wellness, and what senior independence means, as well as a Potomac, MD market update heading into the Spring Market. Read on for tips you can implement today to better your time management skills, especially in the home selling process.

During the sale of your home, you will probably come face to face with an ugly truth - there are certain parts of your house (design and structure-wise) that buyers might not like. It's hard to hear, but read on to learn some of the major aspects of your home that buyers will be looking for and what they really don't care to see (or smell)!