Hampton Roads Virginia Real Estate: Virginia: Virginia Beach

 

Tina's House Selling Tips

 

1.  Trash cans out of site - all of them.  You never see a trash can in a model home.

2.  Toilet seats down at all times (except when in use of course!)

3.  Buyers want to see your house, not your deodorant.  ALL toiletries go under the sink - get a bucket or tupperware container to store your daily essentials to make morning get-ready-time easy.

4.  Everything off the kitchen counters.  Acceptable exceptions:  vase of flowers, 1 coffee maker (spotless), microwave.

5.  Now is not the time to save on heating and electric bills.  If buyers are uncomfortable when they walk into your home, they will remember that.  Keep the windows closed during showings as well to keep outside noises to a minimum.

6.  Fireplace - clean/spotless with a few neatly stacked logs inside.  Make sure moulding/tile around fireplace is clean and polished.

7.  Things to keep on hand:  Mr. Clean eraser (for quick wall touch-ups) and Clorox/windex wipes.  Keep them under each sink so they are easy to access for morning cleanups before leaving for the day.

8.  Lights on!  Make sure bulbs all work and fan blades are dust-free

9.  Front mat - get a new one.  Keep a pot of seasonal flowers next to the front door.  Door glass should be clean, front door in excellent condition and front door lock in good repair.  Your front entrance is your first impression - make it a good one.

10.  No coats, shoes hats in the foyer.

11.  Start thinning out and packing.  A good rule of thumb is 1 item per display shelf (exception is books).  Keep personal photos and mementos to a minimum - you want buyers looking at your house, not at your stuff.

12.  Sniff test.  Ask an honest friend if there is any kind of funky smell in your house.  If there is, this can usually be rectified by washing all curtains, towels and linens and using liquid fabric softener in the laundry.  Also, a quick spray around the house of Febreeze every morning does wonders.

13.  Now is not the time to try to become a gourmet chef.  Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms to a buyer and needs to be pristine.  Scrub the appliances inside and out so they look brand new.  Buyers will look inside cabinets and even the dishwasher!  Consider eating off of paper plates while your house is on the market.  

14.  Liquid Gold - one of my favorite products for making a home sparkle.  You can find it in the grocery store with the furniture polish.  Use it on your cabinet doors, slate, wood...almost everything except the bathroom fixtures.

15.  Yard - mowed and edged.  Trim around mailbox.  Throw a layer of fresh mulch in mulch beds.  No dead plants - throw them away (they're bad Feng Shui too).

16.  Have carpets cleaned.  Professionally.

17.  Pressure wash any mold/mildew on siding, decks, porches and fences. 

18.  If you have a decent stereo or TV with music on demand channels, put on a smooth jazz station at a low volume.

19.  Make sure all prescription medications, mail, sensitive papers and valuables are out of sight. Buyers are nosy and so are their agents.  This includes your listing papers!

20.  Refrigerator.  No magnets.  No pictures.  Nothing....nada on the refrigerator.

21.  Try to keep your car(s) out of the driveway.  An empty driveway is welcoming.  An empty driveway allows buyers to walk up to your home and envision it as their own.

22.  If you have company come for a stay, don't feel well and don't want showings or just need a "break" from showings one day, please let me know.  I understand that having your home on the market is hard work.

23.  Keep curtains open and blinds down and open unless they look out to something unsightly.  Make all doors easy to open and remove and bars/wood sticks from patio doors during showings. Put WD40 on sliding door runners so they open and close smoothly.

24.  Keep home computers shut down.  They can get loud and hot and also, it's a security issue.

25.  Make sure your address/house numbers are readily visible.  Buyers and their agents need to be able to find your home in order to view it.

26.  If you happen to be home during a showing, keep your lips sealed!  Buyer agents are pros at pulling info out of unsuspecting sellers.  Be VERY careful about offering up too much information and never, ever follow buyers around.  Take a walk around the block and give them their space.

27.  Remember, this isn't your home anymore.  It's someone else's...we just need to find them.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Tina

 

According to Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports for December 2009, Virginia Beach home values were up 0.1% compared to November 2009 and up 0.1% compared to December 2008.

Trip Advisor came out today with their popular Dirtiest Hotels list for 2010.  I'm always curious to see who makes this list so I can be sure to avoid them.  Often, the hotels are in large cities San Francisco, New York, Chicago and the like.  Unfortunately, this year, 2 hotels in the Top 10 (actually, in the Top 5!) were right in my real estate market!

Here is the list:

1. Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, California

2. Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, Missouri

3. Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, Virginia

4. Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia

5. Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

6. New York Inn, New York City, New York

7. Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, Florida

8. Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, California

9. Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, California

10. Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida

 

Hopefully, these hotels will clean up their act and get this big black spot off of the Virginia Beach resort area.  As one of my favorite clients said, "You don't have to have money to be clean".  

 

The Art Institute recently opened a campus in Virginia Beach and will officially hold it's first day of classes there on January 11, 2010.

Located at 2 Columbus Center, the campus is conveniently located in the Virginia Beach Town Center.

"The Art Institutes schools have earned a strong, national reputation for excellence in creative arts education, and we look forward to bringing our signature culinary, fashion, design, and media arts programs to Virginia Beach," says John Mazzoni, president of The Art Institutes.  “We see our expansion in the Virginia Beach community as a great opportunity to provide an inspiring environment to a new, creative class of students, while preparing them well to enter the workforce.”

The Art Institute of Virginia Beach will offer the following programs:

• Advertising
• Culinary Arts Management
• Fashion and Retail Management
• Graphic Design
• Interior Design
• Media Arts and Animation
• Photographic Imaging
• Web Design and Interactive Media

For more information, call the Art Institute of Virginia Beach at:  877-437-4428 or click here to visit their website.

 

The little country high school that could.....

Once remotely removed from the hustle and bustle of Virginia Beach development, Kellam High School stood solid as the "Green Line" approached and neighborhoods sprouted all around it in the past 25 years.  Built in 1962, Kellam High School, one of the City's most popular schools, became overcrowded and outdated.

In the beginning of this month, a new, 108 acre site was chosen for the new Kellam High School.  Located at the corner of West Neck Rd. and North Landing Rd., the new site will allow for a larger school, more parking and spacious athletic fields.  This new location is more than three times the size of the current site.

The land already has utilities present so development should move forward once the sale is closed and the design is formalized.

Rising high school students going to Kellam beware...the Municipal Center area is speeding ticket central and with the increased traffic from the new school, will probably become even more so.  Also, the question arises regarding the need to expand North Landing and Princess Anne Roads...will this ever happen?

January 23, 2010 will bring a new and exciting social media event/convention to Virginia Beach.  Social Media @ the Beach will be held at Peabody's and will feature a day packed with great information for both the social media novice and expert alike.

Keynote speaker Jeff Turner will headline the event.  Jeff is an internationally known social media educator and we are so fortunate to have him coming from California for our event.

Of course, in the spirit of other notable social media events and conventions, we have a designated charity:  Mothers Fighting for Others (MFFO).  

So, mark your calendar and visit the website to register for THE social media event in Hampton Roads for 2010!

 

On Saturday, October 17th 8pm until midnight, the Virginia Aquarium is presenting Commotion in the Ocean. Enjoy live music, adult beverages, a silent auction, live music, dancing and delicious food.

Proceeds from this wonderful evening, will help to fund a permanent interactive children’s learning gallery at the Virginia Aquarium. Tickets are $75 per person.  Black tie preferred.  Sponsorships and tables seating 10 are available. For more information call (757) 385-0261. 

The Virginia Aquarium is located at 717 General Booth Blvd. in Virginia Beach.  Visit them on the web at www.virginiaaquarium.com

• This means that if you are a buyer or an agent with a condo client who wants to buy or sell FHA, you should get them to do it NOW. After November 2^nd, the whole project will have to be approved for just one FHA loan and it will be a long and tedious process.

·         Project approvals are currently taking 6-8 weeks. If FHA holds to their current November 2^nd rules, and some 55,000 condo projects nationwide have to get re-approved, who knows how long an approval may take.

• For example in a 30 unit project only 9 FHA loans will be allowed. Since FHA is the preferred program currently for most condo buyers, condo sales for the remaining 21 units will be difficult.