Thinking About Selling or Buying a Home?

The Northern Virginia area currently has 4.09 months of inventory. Less than 6 months of inventory is considered a sellers market.  Do you know what your home is worth?  If you are wondering what your home is worth, The Yahner Group can help you! Give us a call 703-430-1116 or visit our Website http://www.TheYahnerGroup.com

Time to Winterize – TYG Can Help!

Fall is a great time start thinking about preparing your home for winter, because as temperatures begin to dip, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape through the winter. Remember – The Yahner Group has a great list of trusted service providers – just call our office 703-430-1116 or e-mail info@TheYahnerGroup.com.  We are happy to give you are referral!

Here are ten tips to help you prepare your home for winter:

1) Furnace Inspection

• Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.
• Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.
• Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.
• If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.
• Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

• Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.
• If the chimney hasn’t been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
• Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
• Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.
• Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

• Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
• Use weather-stripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
• Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.
• If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
• Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

• If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.
• Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.
• Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.
• Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.
• Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

• Drain gas from lawnmowers.
• Service or tune-up snow blowers.
• Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.
• Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.
• Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

• Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.
• Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.
• Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.
• Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.
• Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

• Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.
• Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.
• Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

• Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.
• Drain all garden hoses.
• Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.
• Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.
• If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

• Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.
• Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.
• Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.
• Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.
• Don’t automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.
• Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

• Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.
• Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.
• Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.
• Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.
• Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

Time to Fall Back… This Sunday

Daylight Savings Time officially ends this Sunday, November 7, at 2:00 A.M.  Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour.  Whoo hoo!  We can snag an hour extra of sleep… or exercise, or visiting with loved ones… or………..

Broker Open This Tuesday in Leesburg!

New FHA Guidelines

The following information was contributed by Caryn Grafton, a premiere lender at George Mason Mortgage.  See her website at www.carynforyourmortgage.com

There have been some new updates regarding FHA financing and the way that the funding fee and mortgage insurance is calculated.

Effective for all case numbers ordered on or after October 4, 2010:

• Up front MI will decrease from 2.25% down to 1%.

• Monthly MI will increase from .55% to .90% annually for LTV’s > 95%.

• Monthly MI will increase from .50% to .85% for LTV’s < = 95%.

FHA still allows for a 3.5% minimum down payment and is a good choice for home buyers, especially first time buyers with low cash reserves or those buyers with credit scores between 620-700 or both.

Call me anytime to find the right loan program for you!

Caryn

Neighborhood Chat – September 2010: Potomac Falls (Zip Code 20165)

Potomac Falls, Virginia is the area designated by zip code 20165.  Neighborhoods within Potomac Falls include Cascades/Lowes Island, Countryside,  Rivercrest, River Bank Woods, South Bank, Great Falls Chase, Great Falls Forest,  Potomac Hunt, Environs/Glen Heather, Broad Run Farms, Cascades Estates and Eden.  The major roads surround these neighborhoods are Route 7 and Algonkian Parkway (which turns into Fairfax County Parkway).  The northern perimeter is bordered by the Potomac River and Algonkian Park. Homes in Potomac Falls were primarily built in the 1980’s to the 2000’s; however there are homes in Broad Run Farms that were built earlier.

As of October 1, 2010 there are 69 single-family homes active for sale  in Potomac Falls.  4 of these are short-sales and 4 are foreclosures. The average price is $603, 786 (note: this price is skewed due to 2 listings in the Cascades Estates over $1 million.  If these are removed the average sales price of active listings is $569,720).  There are 51 townhomes active for sale in Potomac Falls with an average price of $360,915. 8 of these are short-sales and 6 are foreclosures.  On average, active single-family homes have been on the market for 75 days and townhomes have been on the market for 59 days.

The following chart display information for homes closed in September 2010 in Potomac Falls:

September 2010Homes Closed	# Homes Closed	Average Sold Price	Average Seller Subsidy to Buyer	Average Net Sold Price	Average Days on Market before Contract	Average Net Sold Price as a % of List Price
Single-Family	17	$518,735	$4,303	$514,432	62	97.12%
Townhomes	16	$318,681	$3,070	$315,611	66	96.98%

(Market Statistic Disclosure: Data retrieved from the Metropolitan Regional Information System. Information is deemed reliable; however is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be relied upon without independent verification)

TYG’s New Blog!

Welcome to the Yahner Group’s New Blog Site!  We are so happy to have you here.

Hello world! Welcome to TYG Real Estate Chat.

This is the Yahner Group’s first post to their new blog and we are so excited!  We are ready to share so much information with you going forward.  On a regular basis, we will