10 episodes

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, get all the information and the latest updates, tips, and tricks from The Art Real Estate Group - your professional Virginia Real Estate Agents.

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    • Business

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, get all the information and the latest updates, tips, and tricks from The Art Real Estate Group - your professional Virginia Real Estate Agents.

    • video
    How You Can Appeal Your Home’s Tax Assessment

    How You Can Appeal Your Home’s Tax Assessment

    If you think your home’s tax assessment is too high, you can always appeal it. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale As a homeowner, tax assessments are something you have to deal with on every year. Upon finding out that their property tax has increased, many people simply throw their assessment in the shredder and accept the increase without giving it a second thought. Don’t do that! If you read your assessment carefully, you’ll see that you have a right to appeal it. If you’re concerned that your assessment might not be accurate, you can save hundreds—maybe even thousands—of dollars by appealing it. Talk to a real estate professional first to get a second opinion of whether the assessment is inaccurate.  If you decide you want to appeal, you can’t just call the county and tell them they’re charging you too much. You have to make a strong case to have your assessment reevaluated, and there’s a process you must follow, which is another reason to call a real estate professional (such as myself) to help you. When you make your case, you and your Realtor can find some bad comps to lower the assessment.  Also, remember that there is no direct correlation between your home’s tax assessment and its market price.  “ If you read your assessment carefully, you’ll see that you have a right to appeal it. ” In some instances, it’s good to have a high tax assessment. If you plan on selling soon, for example, you don’t need to worry about a high tax assessment—you’re leaving soon anyway. Some buyers look at tax assessments when home shopping and assume that it’s good to make an offer above the home’s tax value, so in that case, the higher your tax assessment, the better.  I actually worked with a seller once whose home had such low tax assessment that we had to call the county and have them increase it while their home was on the market. This client already failed to sell their home once with a different agent because all the buyers were comparing the home’s tax value to its list price and assuming it was way overpriced. In reality, it was just an error on the part of the county.  So before you accept a high tax assessment, call your real estate professional and see if you can save some money by appealing it.  As always, if you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

    • video
    Real Estate Market Conditions in Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland

    Real Estate Market Conditions in Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland

    Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale For this market update, I’ve compiled the data from the Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland real estate markets because all of the numbers are so similar. Here’s what you need to know.  Let’s start by looking at what the real estate market is doing today. The median sold price in the D.C. Metro is up by 2.91%. Although there is a 17% appreciation rate right now in Arlington, it’s from a much smaller sample size. The average days on market is down by 18.97%—from 58 days to 47 days. You might think 47 days is a long time, but this statistic takes into account luxury homes, which typically take much longer to sell.  “ Our inventory remains at an all-time low. ” For attached units such as condos and townhomes, their closed units are down 3.27%. The sales for detached units, or single-family homes, is up by 3.07%. Our inventory remains at an all-time low, sales have remained steady, and homes are still appreciating at a steady pace. Affordability, however, has taken a bit of a toll on the market as well as an uncertain economic future. Keep in mind that most recessions are typically good for real estate markets. With the exception of the last recession, which was caused by real estate, home prices have appreciated during recessions many times in the past. If you have any questions for me about the market or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

    • video
    Should You Invest in Real Estate Today?

    Should You Invest in Real Estate Today?

    Given that today’s market leans heavily toward sellers, should you invest in real estate? The answer is yes, but not without following these tips. Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale Our current market is booming with activity and inventory sits at an all-time low, which is leading many of my clients to wonder if there are still opportunities to invest in real estate despite the definite seller’s market we’re in.  Admittedly, as someone who’s almost always investing in real estate, I can tell you that opportunities are harder to come by when the market favors sellers so strongly. Still, that doesn’t mean there are none whatsoever. With the right guidance and drive, you can find a property worth investing in, and today I’ll offer some tips for doing so.  Your priority when venturing into the market should be to look for a property that you know will break even. You can’t break even on a property if you’re having to bring money to the table each month. “ There’s no limit to the number of properties you can invest in, as long as they have a positive cash flow or are breaking even at the very least. ” As a general rule, most people invest in real estate for one of two reasons: to generate cash flow or for appreciation. It’s not often that you’ll find a property that both appreciates and generates considerable cash flow.  As many of you know, my wife and I own property in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. The properties we own in Baltimore have yielded double-digit cash flow, but over the last 10 to 12 years, they haven’t appreciated at all. Conversely, my properties in Virginia have hardly produced any cash flow, but their appreciation is soaring—6% to 8% annually. Another tip when you’re out looking for an investment property is to try and stay under $400,000. Investing in a $1.3 million home in Arlington might sound like a good idea until you realize that the rent you charge will eventually cap out somewhere around $4,000 to $4,500, which won’t be enough to cover your mortgage, taxes, and the costs associated with finding a new tenant. I strongly caution against purchasing above the $400,000 price point if you don’t want your investment to become a financial liability.  Now, there’s no limit to the number of properties you can invest in, as long as your properties have a positive cash flow or are breaking even at the very least. However, without a constant stream of cash flow, you’ll end up sinking your cash into them month after month, and those are dangerous waters to be in.  If you have any further questions or you’d like to hear more of my tips on investing in real estate, please reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you!

    • video
    The National Market Is Shifting, but Are We Shifting Along With It?

    The National Market Is Shifting, but Are We Shifting Along With It?

    Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale   If you’ve been paying attention to the latest nationwide market statistics, you might’ve noticed that in many areas around the country, we’re shifting from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. In our Northern Virginia/D.C./Maryland area, however, we’re still in a seller’s market. Let’s recap some year-over-year statistics from this past September. In Virginia, the average days on market was 39 days, which was a slight drop compared to September 2017 (41 days). In D.C., the year-over-year average days on market rose from 36 to 37 days. The total number of closed sales for detached units from all three areas dropped 12% to 15%. This means there are fewer buyers out there, and what’s going to start happening in the next several months because of this is that inventory will climb. In fact, I think we’ll have more inventory next spring than we’ve had in the past three or four years. “ I think we’ll have more inventory next spring than we’ve had in the past three or four years. ” If you’re thinking about selling, now is the best time to do it—don’t wait until next spring. If you’re a buyer, you should also think about buying now as well. Although inventory is down about 45% overall in our area, you can lock in a lower interest rate if you buy now. Currently, the average interest rate is 4.6%, which is almost a full point higher than where it was at this time last year. If you’ve been paying attention to the latest nationwide market statistics, you might’ve noticed that in many areas around the country, we’re shifting from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. In the meantime, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home or you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

    • video
    Buyers’ Standards Are High—Does Your Home Stack Up?

    Buyers’ Standards Are High—Does Your Home Stack Up?

    Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale My guest Mike is a real estate broker in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C; he and I partnered up a month ago and today we’d like to talk about the importance of your property’s condition when it comes to selling your home. Three months ago when the market was busier, people couldn’t get away with failing to paint their house, fix the grout in the bathrooms, or other such details, even though they felt they could. We’re discovering that we have an available pool of buyers who’ve been pre-qualified, but they’re also quite particular about the homes they’re willing to bid on. If the house isn’t in top condition, they won’t pull the trigger. This is why it’s important to have an agent who knows the area and what buyers are looking for. They can tell you what you’ll need to do in order to make a good impression on the buyers, whether it be hiring a handyman or a contractor to fix your home up. We all know that we have historically low inventory, but still house aren’t selling. Sellers wonder why, but we’re here to say that your home’s condition could very well be a factor. “ Buyers don’t have to race to put offers on a property; rather, they can hold out until the house is in their definition of move-in condition. ” Buyers understand that our market isn’t undergoing a kind of gold rush. They don’t have to race to put offers on a property; rather, they can hold out until the house is in their definition of move-in condition. These buyers are ready to purchase, but they won’t move until it’s just right for them. We’re still in a strong seller’s market. We have about two months of supply, though in D.C., inventory is starting to grow. We'll have to wait and see what will happen over the next month or so, but we’ll continue monitoring the market and updating you with valuable information. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be glad to help.

    • video
    What the Upcoming Recession Means for Real Estate

    What the Upcoming Recession Means for Real Estate

    Selling a home? Get a free home value report Buying a home? Search all homes for sale Many of my investors ask me when the next recession is going to happen. The truth is that I don’t know. All I can do is look for answers. Many smart economists predict that the recession might start in 2020. Our economy has been expanding since 2009 and we have seen almost a decade of growth. All signs point toward a recession soon. However, to my friends that invest in real estate, there’s no need to panic. With the exception of the 2008 recession, real estate has done really well in the past five economic recessions. A recession doesn’t equate to trouble in the real estate market. “ I wouldn’t be concerned about falling home prices in an upcoming recession. ” This recession will occur when the GDP begins to shrink for multiple quarters in a row. It’s more complex than that, but that’s what it is on a basic level. We don’t have any data to indicate that the real estate market will cause another recession, which is the only way a recession would really affect real estate. So, I’m not concerned about dropping house prices during the upcoming recession. You shouldn’t be either. If you have any questions about the recession or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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