Northern Virgina Real Estate Video Blog with Zach Wessolleck Zach Wessolleck

Do you want to reach a credit score of 800 or higher? I’ve got six tips to help you reach that goal. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale When it comes to credit scores, it’s quite an achievement to reach one above 800. Today, I’d like to give you six tips on how to reach this impressive score. 1. Always make payments on time. Whatever the bill is, paying things off on time will show that you are responsible and will help bolster your score. 2. Keep your account balances below 10%. To reach 800, keeping your account balances as low as possible will be a great help. 3. Limit how often you apply for different types of credit. Stacking up credit won’t make a positive impression on lenders. “ If you are patient and work hard at improving your credit, you’ll reach 800 before you know it. ” 4. Diversify the ways you’re building credit. While you shouldn’t take on more than you can handle, this can be a good way to improve your score. 5. Commit to your credit. Building a good credit score isn’t an overnight process. Plan on having lines of credit open for, ideally, around 10 years. This will show you are reliable in a long-term sense. 6. Be consistent and patient. Like I said in the last point, it takes time to build up credit. If you are patient and work hard at improving your credit, you’ll reach 800 before you know it. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Do you plan on selling your home? If so, there are six tips you can use to add more value to your listing. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale If you plan on listing your property, there are six home improvements that will bring you the biggest return. 1. Make cosmetic updates to your bathrooms. This has been proven to bring an approximately 102% return on your investment. 2. Work on your landscaping. First impressions matter, and the landscaping around your property will serve as a buyer’s first impression. This improvement can bring a 100% return on investment. 3. Make cosmetic updates to your kitchen. Like bathrooms, kitchens are a huge selling point. You don’t need to overhaul the entire room, but strategic improvements can bring you around a 98% return on investment. “ First impressions matter, and the landscaping around your property will serve as a buyer’s first impression. ” 4. Improve your deck or patio. Especially in the summer months, many people like to sit outdoors and enjoy the weather. Cleaning and repairing your deck or patio can bring about a 91% return on your investment. 5. Remodel your basement. This is a slightly bigger project, but it has been shown to typically bring around a 90% return on investment. 6. Replace your windows. Buyers don’t want to have to worry about these details when they purchase a home. So, this relatively simple improvement can often bring around an 89% return on your investment. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Northern Virginia is a great place for craft beer, and I have four breweries that you should check out. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale If you’re like me, you know that we’ve had a lot of new breweries pop up here in Northern Virginia. Here are a few that I recommend checking out: 2 Silos Brewery in Manassas at Farm Brew Live. I’ve been to Farm Brew Live, and it’s a fantastic venue which features live events and lots of great food as well. Adroit Theory in Purcellville. This is a smaller brewery that focuses a lot on barrel-aged beers. One in particular that I recommend you try is called War Cannibal. “ Richmond is a bit of a hike for those in our area, but it’s worth it for good beer. ” Richmond, Virginia was recently voted as the No. 1 beer spot in the world. Richmond is a bit of a hike for those in our area, but it’s worth it for good beer, and here are some Richmond watering holes you won’t want to miss out on: Center of the Universe Brewing Company in Ashland. Some of their good beers include Orange Is the New Stout and Ray Ray’s Pale Ale. Castleburg Brewery and Taproom. This venue has a medieval theme, and two beers I recommend there are the Black Knight IPA and the Executioner’s Porter. There are plenty of other great brewing spots in Virginia and I’m always ready to try one out, so if you have any places you’d recommend or you just want to talk beer, feel free to give me a shout. If you have any other questions or real estate needs, don’t hesitate to call or email me. I’d be happy to help you.

If you plan on buying a home but aren’t sure how you can save enough money for your down payment, I have seven tips to help you today. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale If you are planning on buying a home, there are a few things you can do to save for the down payment. Here are the top seven tips: 1. Start with the end in mind. Meet with me and meet with a lender to determine a ballpark figure of how much you will need for your down payment. That way, you’ll know what your goal is before you start saving. 2. Reassess your TV packages. There are a lot of packages out there that can help you save on cable. You can negotiate with your cable company, or you can use a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu. Do some research and find the one that suits your needs best. 3. Reassess your gym membership. There are a ton of online classes, DVD sets, and even apps that can help you exercise for less money than your gym membership. Work out at home and save yourself some time and money. 4. Start selling some of your stuff. We all have stuff that just sits around our house. You can sell those items on Facebook Marketplace or eBay. You can even have a yard sale. Declutter and put some money in your pocket at the same time. “ Declutter and save money at the same time. ” 5. Get a cash back rewards credit card. If you already purchase things like food or gas with a credit card, why not earn a little bit of money back? That way, you can save while making those purchases. 6. Put away your tax refund. A lot of us get that refund in the next couple of months, so set it aside and reinvest it into your down payment. 7. Call me. You might not even need money for a down payment. There are a number of first-time homebuyer programs, as well as programs for military men and women, first responders, and educators. We can talk to a lender to see if we can get you into a home with little to no money down. If you have any other questions about saving for your down payment or the home buying process, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

2017 was a great year for our market, and I see it staying hot in 2018. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale The Northern Virginia market had a fantastic year in 2017. There were a total of 36,597 home sales, which was an increase of 4.3% from 2016 when only 35,089 homes sold. During that same time span, the median sales prices increased 3.5% from $430,000 to $445,000. From 2016 to 2017, the average days on market dropped from 22 days to 14 days, which is fantastic. People were putting their homes on the market and selling them rather quickly.  “ In 2017, people were putting their homes on the market and selling them rather quickly. ” In 2018, I see the market staying hot for a little while. It’s still a good time to sell, and interest rates are still good. Toward the middle and end of the year, I think we’ll see a bit of a shift toward a buyer’s market.  If you have any more questions about our market moving forward, you’re curious how much your home is worth, or you’re thinking of buying a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

There are many reasons to work with a Realtor when buying new construction. Today, I’ll go over just a few. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale If you are buying a new construction home, it’s important to be represented by a Realtor during the process. Sometimes people believe they’re helping themselves by forgoing representation during a new construction transaction. They may think they’re going to get a better deal, but this simply isn’t the case. There are a couple of reasons why this is. First of all, a builder will not lower their price by the percentage they would pay a Realtor. If they did, it would cause a fluctuation in their record. They want their comps to all look fairly similar. “ When buying new construction, help yourself out by hiring a Realtor. ” Also, builders typically want good relationships with Realtors. Builders know that homebuyers often start their home search with Realtors. So they know that since these agents are the ones bringing them clients, they need to maintain a positive relationship with them. Realtors also have the skills to negotiate on your behalf. They keep your best interests at heart when they enter any transaction with you. When buying new construction home, help yourself out by hiring a Realtor. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.