Archive for September, 2009
10 Ways to Pick the Right School District
September 30th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News
One of the most important issues for homeowners is selecting a property in a good school district. As your Realtor, I cannot legally offer my opinion about a specific school or school district but what I can do is steer you to good information on the topic.
This past weekend the Washington Post did a great article on “10 Ways to Pick the Right School District.” Here, in a shortened version, is what they suggest:
1 - Visit the school and ask to speak with the Principal. On a tour of the school, see if it’s well maintained, and if there is artwork and schoolwork on the walls. Prepare your questions and ask to speak with the Principal…if the Principal is unreachable, that may be a bad sign.
2 - If the district has gone through several recent superintendents, this also may be a bad sign.
3 - Talk to parents. Ask the school for the contact info of the officers in the PTA. Talk to parents, and listen.
4 - Listen to your kids. With young kids, this may not matter so much, but jr. high and high school children will have opinions. See if the schools have extracurricular activities they’re interested in.
5 - Check the data. There are many, many statistics and reports available to help in your choice, if you look online.
6 - Look for a challenging high school in the neighborhood. When looking at school stats, don’t just look at test scores, since those can be misleading and are affected by a number of variables. Examine college level Advanced Placement courses, college level tests, and other such statistics.
7 - If an elementary school meets your standards otherwise, don’t look at test scores. Plenty of elementary schools with low test results have great teachers interested in raising the achievement of each and every child.
8 - Make sure the middle school has a strong math program. It is to a student’s advantage to study algebra before high school.
9 - Don’t count on a top high school to get your child into a top college. The more brilliant the student body is, the more your child may lose out in the competition for the most prestigious colleges.
10 - Go with your gut. Unscientific, but trustworthy. Take everything into account, then do what you believe is right.
The Post has also added an education blog site called The Answer Sheet, A School Survival Guide for Parents (and Everyone Else). The site features pertinent articles as well as daily updates on school closings, schedules, events, etc.
For the complete text of “10 Ways to Pick the Right School District” click here.
And if you decide on a school district here in Northern Virginia, give me call and we’ll find that perfect house.
Michael
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10 Things Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Say
September 29th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News
MSN Real Estate posted an article recently on 10 Things Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Say - the first of which was:
1. “Your open house is really just a networking party for me.”
Hire a real-estate broker to sell your home, and one of the first things he’ll likely suggest is hosting an open house so that potential buyers can casually check out your property on a weekend afternoon. But while open houses are promoted as a great way of finding a buyer, a National Association of Realtors study found that their success rate is a mere 2 to 4 percent.
No matter. Holding an open house serves another important purpose — for the broker. “It gives him a database of clients,” says Sean McNeill, an independent real-estate broker based in New York City who says that he doesn’t like open houses, preferring to match clients with appropriate buyers. “
At open houses, you get all kinds of people walking in. Some are (trying) to see how much they should sell their own places for; others just want to get a look at what’s out there.” All are perfect pickings for a broker looking to increase his roster of buyers and sellers. “Think about it,” McNeill says. “The broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend. He won’t do that unless it helps him in a big way.” But it doesn’t necessarily mean that a seller should forgo an open house altogether — “It’s still a real good way to showcase your house,” McNeill says.
I have to say, this one really gets me. First, I take exception with the fact that McNeill says “the broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend.” Excuse me. The couple of hours that the house is actually open is preceded by days of working with sellers to get their home in tip top shape.
Then there are pictures to take, brochures to design, postings to do on multiple online sites, comps to have ready on neighborhood properties, signs to put out, balloons to blow up, etc., etc., etc. It’s not hard work - and I do it gladly - but it is more than a couple of hours (or maybe it’s just a couple of hours in New York City?).
Second, anyone who thinks this is the way a Realtor builds a significant data base is sadly mistaken. Is it a way to meet more people? Sure. Ultimately though, it is about showcasing your house to a wide variety of folks.
Is it the only way to sell your house? NO. It is simply one option and a lot depends on location and type of property. You and Realtor should work together to make that decision. That being said, I sold my very first property to a couple who came to see an open house I was holding. Six years later I did an open house on the same property because my clients were “moving up” - and yes, we sold it to someone who came to that open house.
Want to know more about buying and selling in Northern Virginia from someone who does it everyday? Give me a call at 703.927.4554 and lets talk about what an open house can do for you.
Michael
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4 Great Ways to Be a “Leaf Peeper”
September 28th, 2009 Categories: Things to Do
Here in Northern Virginia we are lucky enough to be in easy driving distance of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the mountains of western Maryland when we are ready to go “leaf peeping“.
But sometimes you just want - or need - a bit more. Something that adds an extra edge.
Thanks to a terrific article in the Washington Post, we’re happy to offer you 4 Great Ways to be a “Leaf Peeper”. Try these on for size and see what you think:
- Ride a gondola in Vermont
- Take the zip line in Massachusetts
- Soar over Pennsylvania in a glider
- Climb a tree in Virginia
I’ve got my eye on the gondola in Vermont. What about you? What kind of “leaf peeper” are you?
Michael
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