homesbyjacques

Gorgeous 4 BR 3 BA house on a cul-de-sac in sought-after  Potomac Station neighborhood in Loudoun County just East of Leesburg (VA).   

Set in the quiet of suburbia with a tot lot across the street, paths and trails lead to Goose Creek.  Recreation centers, fine dining, cultural events, sports venues and shopping are an easy drive away.  Access to high speed FIOS, a dedicated study/office,  and close proximity to the commuter bus lot, the Silver Line, and Government and Contractor and IT company offices in Chantilly, Dulles, Reston, Tyson’s Corner, and Washington DC make this home perfect for work from home or occasional or regular commuting.  The large family room and the dining and living room couple with an open concept kitchen and a deck with space enough for grills and smokers, making entertaining fun for business or friends.  Community involvement is encouraged by closeness to schools, churches, the hospital, and charitable organizations. 

The original owners raised a family here and are moving to take care of aging parents.  While they raised a family, they also enhanced all major systems:

• New roof with architectural shingles and a 50 year warranty
• Newer upgraded EPA-compliant hvac systems with two stage compressors and natural gas burners and new ductwork enhance comfort and improve energy efficiency to reduce utility bills
• Attic and other insulation has been upgraded to enhance energy efficiency and comfort
• New appliances, including a Bose dishwasher that is so quiet it features a light that reminds the owners it’s running
• A new large-capacity gas water heater provides piece of mind
• New microwave, electronic oven, and gas stove-top range make cooking for holidays and parties fun and easy
• The ceramic tiled floor in the main level makes cleaning a breeze
• The tiled floor in the finished basement makes having parties and working on hobbies a care-free experience
• The tiled master bathroom provides a luxurious feel
• New Updates include paint, carpet, lighting systems, shutters, security cameras, new gas fireplace controls, a newly stained deck and stairs.
• The home has been deep-cleaned and sanitized — important in the age of COVID-19.
• The landscaping and flowering cherry trees and rose bushes and lilacs are well established 

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Five factors govern the formula used to score your creditworthiness:

Your track record as to paying on time: Their objective is to weed out late payers, people who are “a day late and a dollar short”. In particular any payment above 30 day late will affect your credit score. This amounts to about a third of the factors affecting your score.

How much do you owe? Here it is not so much the amount that matters but the proportion of credit that you use compared to what has been extended to you. They dislike people who max out their credit card and look for credit utilization lower than 30%. This factor will amount to another third of the score.

Length or credit history: this will take into account the age of your credit accounts. They will also look at how often you’re using your accounts. So keep your old accounts even if you don’t use them. About 15% of your score will depend on this.

About 10% of the score will depend upon new credit: when a number of new accounts are added, or credit inquiries pop up (“Hard Pulls”), your credit score will be negatively impacted. Just note that this is transitory as after about one year, the impact of these new credit applications disappears.

Finally, another 10% will depend upon the structure of credits received: credit cards, personal loans, mortgages.

Armed with that knowledge, it becomes easier for you to monitor and control how your score evolves.

Hiring a realtor is a serious business. Buying or selling a home is the most important financial transaction in your lifetime, so you want to make sure that whoever you select to guide you in this journey is up to the task. It is critical to ask the hard questions upfront and have expectations clarified early to ensure they will be met, leading to a successful transaction. Make sure your realtor is here to save the client (YOU), not the deal!
Here’s what you should focus on to make a sound decision:
What is the cost? If you’re a buyer, the commission is taken out of what the seller receives in the transaction. Typically this is 5% of the final price, equally shared between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent. So the buyer doesn’t “pay“ anything directly. It’s all included in the purchase price. Some services will charge less, but like always in life, “you get what you pay for”. Those services hire salaried agents. These have no incentive to be available on a Saturday night to answer that burning question you have about a home you want to submit an offer on, even less so to draft that offer in an hour if you made that decision close to the cutoff deadline. So on to the next question:

What am I getting for what I’m paying? As a buyer, you want to make sure that your agent will guide you through the maze of decisions to be taken and not just show you houses. As a seller, you want to make sure that your agent will market the home as effectively as possible: he should be able to provide you with staging services, photography, video, as well as references to contractors so the home hits the market in the best possible conditions.

What am I obligated to by signing a contract? The agent should clearly explain that the contract engages them to put your interest ahead of theirs. The only obligation that falls on the client is the payment of the commission out of the transaction proceeds. So essentially, that contract is a guarantee for you and a set of obligations for the agent.

How in practice will you be working together? Real estate transactions are not a 9 to 5 kind of job. Questions arise anytime and depending upon market conditions, decisions have to be made very quickly. It is a far most important is that your agent be ready to react on the spot and to share their expertise quickly and effectively. Emails, phone calls, texts are the preferred communication. Ensure that this is clearly defined at the outset.

How many clients are they representing right now? You want to make sure that your agent will have enough time to represent you effectively. If the agent is currently representing six or seven other clients, days don’t have enough hours for them to devote the time you need to ensure effective work.

Call me now to ensure these rules are observed and you get the treatment you deserve!

One thing that the real estate industry has in common with the stock market is the shouting contest between starry eyed optimists, who always see prices moving up, and the doomsayers who foresee the crash of the century just around the corner.
Obviously, Covid has brought the latter in droves.
The doomsayers thesis has the merit of simplicity: since Covid brought rising unemployment, the market should have crashed in 2020. But as forbearance has been extended to borrowers, as soon as that forbearance is going to come to an end, we will see prices crashing crashing by 20, 30 or 50%. Therefore, the crash of 2020 is now the impending crash of 2021.
They really had to tweak their thesis: In fact, in 2020, median home sales prices have made the largest increase on record, jumping 15% year-over-year for the week ending October 4. The previous largest increase was 14.5% way back in September 2005 during the housing bubble.
To account for a 30 to 50% house price crash, we would need about 10 million loans to go bad, which is what we experienced back in 2008 when 10 million loans went delinquent.The fact of the matter is that actually data released recently show that the number of loans in forbearance is now standing at less than 3 million and that it felt 18%. Instead of growing, that number is actually shrinking.
In 2008, most borrowers in difficulty had very little equity in their home as lax lending standards allowed people to finance homes with no money down. Furthermore, between 2003 and 2006 we experienced a cash-out boom where people were using their home as an ATM, to buy SUVs and big screen TVs, extracting what little equity they had. That made up for a very fragile market.
Today’s situation is vastly different. Most borrowers started with some equity in their home due to stricter lending standards: 20% down is pretty standard. Furthermore, since 2012, house price rises have increased that equity position. And finally, whoever is elected in November is very likely to extend the forbearance period.
Three additional factors make a crash very unlikely, first of all, the US has now the most favorable demographic situation for housing demand due to strong household formation.
Second, COVID-induced work/school from home and shifting demand favoring suburban homes sustain home mobility. Third and quite importantly, mortgage rates are at an all time low. The average US mortgage rate for 30 year fixed loan is 2.87% this week, one basis point (0.01%) away from the all-time low set in mid-September.
For all those reasons, the forbearance crash of 2021 is very likely to join all the failed prediction that doomsayers have been spelling out over the years.
History is replete with examples of their doom and gloom calls that failed to materialize. There is no reason to think that this time will be different.

Let’s start by acknowledging the benefits of web real estate platforms: like all things Internet, the consumer has immensely benefited from their emergence. In particular, they have significantly increased the real estate market transparency: spreading out accurate data allows the consumer to have a reliable picture of the market. True, not everything is perfect. There are occasionally significant differences between some estimates and the market. But on the whole, these are more exceptions rather than the rule.
So, are realtors now a useless thing of the past? To answer that fair question, the best way is to compare the business models of Internet platforms to that of Realtors.
Let’s start with the Internet platforms business model.
An Internet platform is not your counsel: like all companies, their goal is to further their own business interest. You’re not their client, they owe you nothing except accurate data to back up their reputation. Internet Platforms are not even your counterpart. True, some have launched Buyers system where by they stand ready to purchase houses. Make no mistake: the end goal of this product is not to accumulate real estate, a very capital intensive activity. Plus it would expose them to significant market risk which their capital base is not meant to absorb. One of the main benefit of such a program for those platforms is to generate leads.
That brings us to the core of their business model: aggregating data: when you click on the “buyers” button, the platform just acquired data on a potential listing. And the core of the business model is to sell those data. And whom do you think they sell it to? Actually to some realtor who is not working hard enough to create their own leads but buys them from a data aggregator. Therefore, you’re not the platform client, you’re not the platform counterpart, you are actually the platform product. It is a well-known fact that when something is free on the Internet, that means you are the product. T

What about the realtors business model?
A realtor can only survive if they’re successful at putting the clients interests above all else. And not only is it the key to success, it is also a legal obligation: any realtor who would fail to do so would expose themselves to disciplinary measures from the Real Estate Board. Acquiring a realtor license carries two consequences: the ability to carry out real estate transactions and the legal obligation to put the client’s interest above all others, including the realtor’s ones. When you sign a representation agreement with a realtor, read the fine print: you will see that you are obligated to nothing. All obligations fall on the realtor’s side, the main one being that they should put your interests ahead of all else including their own. So why do realtors sign those agreements? Such an agreement being signed is the necessary condition for the realtor to get paid for his work.The only contract obligation not falling on the realtor is for the property owner to pay the commission remunerating the realtors work. That’s it.
As you can see, comparing Internet Platforms business models and Realtors business models clearly identifies the need for homeowners and homebuyers to rely on a Realtor to walk them through the maze of real estate transactions. Dispensing of the use of a realtor exposes you to the risk of being defenseless during what happens to be the largest financial transactions of your lifetime. Obviously, not all realtors are created equal. So you have to make sure that you rely on an experienced and hard-working individual who will truly bring value to you. It’s not about access to the information (it’s all online), it’s not about holding the keys to houses that you want to visit. It’s about ensuring at every step of the way that your interests prevail over the multiple parties to the transaction.
An Internet platform will never do that.

Thinking of buying or selling? Call me now for unbiased expert advice with no commitment on your part!

We hear a lot about home prices being elevated and with the notable exception of 2008 this has been an ongoing trend over decades.
In absolute terms, there is no question that this is definitely true: the so-called Case Shiller index, which measures home prices nationwide, stood at 100 in January 2000. It is now towering above 221 (221.64 exactly). That’s a 121 percent appreciation which shows that real estate is a great investment.
But of course, to measure an investment performance, you need to subtract inflation from the appreciation. If we do that, real estate is still a great investment since prices have increased by 53.98% since 2000. So the net appreciation of real estate in real terms (after inflation) is 44% (221% divided by 153% gives 144%). That’s a fantastic performance for an asset which doubles as shelter for your family. Let’s not forget that the main benefit of real estate is to be your home. You don’t live in stocks and bonds, you do live in your home.
So yes, home prices have appreciated and you can look at them as being elevated. Nevertheless the picture changes once you take into account the cost of housing derived from mortgage repayment. From 2000 to 2020, 30 Year mortgage rates have moved from 8.18 percent to 2.90 percent. As a result of this, the monthly payment on a 30 year $100,000 mortgage has plummeted from $746.35 to $416.23.A $746 monthly payment at today’s interest rates repays $179,311, 79% more than the same payment at 2000 interest-rate. Consequently, buyers are ready to purchase a pricier home, hence house prices appreciation.
Therefore, the total appreciation explained by inflation and lower interest rate amounts to 158%(144% inflation times 179% mortgage improvement equals 258%, so 158% more). This compares to the 121% we mentioned.
Which means that in real terms and interest rate adjusted, home prices have actually depreciated or at least not kept up with inflation and lower mortgage rates.
OK, so that’s nice and dandy but what does all this mean for us in real life? Well, two main conclusions: if you’re a seller, most home appreciation has been due to falling interest rates. But interest rates are now at zero therefore the likelihood of further appreciation has actually significantly diminished. Not much can be expected in terms of home appreciation going forward compared to what has happened up to now, so don’t waste time
As a buyer, interest rates hitting zero mean that they have only one way to go: up. So the particularly attractive monthly payments available these days might not be here tomorrow: to avoid seeing interest rates move back up and payments increase, a swift move to purchase makes absolute sense.

Covid looks like it’s going to be around for quite some time, not disappear instantly. Therefore it’s important that you be prepared for the current situation to accommodate the children’s needs for an extended period of time. Investments are therefore justified. Obviously, as this is coupled with a work from home situations it definitely implies that more room would be needed. That typically leads to purchasing a larger home. -this is partly what is behind the current hot real estate market- But not necessarily so at least not necessarily right now. While it is important to prepare for that larger home, let’s review what can be done instantly to adjust the existing place. We’ll review three things: Principles Organization and Practicalities.Principles: several facts will govern your choices: the age of the child, space available and also how much support the child needs. Some of the objectives need a little bit of work to be reconciled: for instance, you need to keep an eye on the child, but at the same time they need to be away from any potential distractions to allow them to concentrate. Similarly, the environment should as much as possible remind the child that he is at school. Typically children differentiate between the school environment dedicated to learning and home environment dedicated to relaxing and unwinding. In that case the home will cover both needs therefore the work space has to be structured in such a way that it says “school“. At least that he feels that way. A creative use of space might be needed: the proverbial dining room where nobody sets foot except on Thanksgiving might actually be devoted to the learning space

Organization: Homeschooling might not mean total isolation: school pods, where several families pool their resources to teach the kids concurrently allow the parents to alternate between homeschooling and working: Should three families pool the resources and time, while one family is in charge of homeschooling, the others can go to work or work from home more efficiently. Schedule has to be agreed-upon to define who is in charge of homeschooling when. Similarly, for the child to learn, they need to keep focus and concentration intact. That means that that there will be needs for recess, probably quite frequent ones. No one expects a child to concentrate for six hours a day in front of a screen. So each learning session should last less than an hour and be complemented with time to unwind and re-gather concentration for like 10 to 15 minutes. Indeed, it should happen outside in the yard if at all possible. In any case it’s important that the kids become physically active during that particular period of time to expend energy.Practicalities:The space devoted to learning should be away from other family members and potential distractions. This will of course depend upon the age of the child and the amount of supervision that they need. In any case some special space should be constructed by using even some thing as mundane as a display board behind the computer today to delimit the space as working space and block out potential distractions. Office supply stores provide several options from this standpoint. Evidently, noise management will be critical. Some mention that soft background music or a white noise machine might help. Different possibilities will need to be tested to find one that fits. Of course, the work table should be clutter-free and appropriate furniture is needed. Specialists mention a need for the 3×90° angle: Feet flat on the ground, comfortable seating with a straight up back and elbows on the table. When several kids are involved it might be a good idea to sit in between them to prevent unwanted interactions and distractions. The idea is to keep them separated in makeshift cubicles to foster concentration and limit disruptions.As mentioned, this makes up for a tall order. The present home might be difficult to reorder to meet those objectives, and the interest of the kids may well mandate moving to a more appropriate dwelling arrangement. This is where my role is to serve you: cashing out your built up equity in the present home and taking advantage of the historically low rates to upgrade to more appropriate space is the right move.

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