Fredericksburg's Real Estate Voice

Question # 1: What Type of Home Inspections are Required in Our Area?

In a previous post we itemized 6 Questions you should ask before your next real estate endeavor.  As a recap, the questions are listed below.

1. What types of home inspections are required in our area?
2. Is a survey required?
3. How long will it take to close after an offer is accepted?
4. Who does the title search to make sure the title is problem free?
5. What kind of disclosures are sellers required to give buyers?
6. What are the closing fees?  Who's responsible for them?

Today, we will address question # 1: What types of home inspections are required in our area...

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

This past weekend there was an article in the Free Lance Star about Wells Fargo.  As a Mortgage Planner, I didn't particularly like the article.  Once again, the article implied that "Mortgage Brokers" are not to be trusted.

Wells Fargo did not mention in the article that it is on the predatory lending list or that Wells Fargo's Alternative Lending Division is no longer doing loans.  Again we all need to verify what we see and hear in the media. Not only to keep them in check but to educate ourselves.

Kim Thagholm
Mortgage Planner
People's Choice Mortgage
(540) 295-6674

6 Questions You Need to Ask

Many things in life are simple, real estate usually isn't one of them.  The following is a list of 6 questions we will explore over the next week or so.

Before your next real estate endeavor, ask yourself these questions...

8% Commission? Is that a good incentive?

One of the things that I really focus on as a Realtor who specializes in listings is pricing a home correctly.  Pricing is a delicate balancing act. 

The price of a home for sale needs to be high enough so that the seller gets the maximum amount of profit from the sale.  Yet it needs to be priced appropriately so that buyers see the value in the home.  Yet again, the truth about market value is... a home is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.

So, generally speaking I refuse to list a home and commit my team's marketing budget to that home, unless the seller is willing to price the home correctly.  That being said, I recently had a home on the market that was overpriced.  I took the listing as a favor to someone, even though every fiber of my being said to not take the listing...

Lots 4 Sale - $1.00...

In North Dakota.  No joke, on our vacation, passing through Fairmont, North Dakota, we took a picture of this sign. Lots For Sale $1.00.  I blotted out the phone number to protect the seller since this photo is going into the blogosphere.

Click on the photo to see the full size image.

In future non real estate related postings I will pass on some information about the upper midwest part of our beautiful country and our take on things we saw.  Particularly regarding Mall of America, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands.  By the way, if you have a cell phone and are going to South Dakota, you may just want to leave the phone at home, or rename it a "paper weight."

Jeff Edmisten
The Edmisten TEAM
Keller Williams Realty
(540) 538-7222
jedmisten@kw.com
www.jedmisten.com

I35W Bridge Minneapolis, Minnesota

There will be more real estate posts to come in the near future, I promise.  Today, however, I felt compelled to share an experience with you.

Part of today on my family's vacation was great.  We visited the street corner in downtown Minneapolis where Mary Tyler Moore, as Mary Richards in the Mary Tyler Moore show threw her hat into the air.  We visited for the 2nd day, the Mall of America, which is quite the place.  But we also had a part of our day that was much more ominous.

My family walked out on the foot/bicycle bridge at Mill Ruins Park in downtown Minneapolis.  From this bridge you can clearly see where the I35W Bridge that collapsed was supposed to be...

Mall of America & Technology

As of the time this post goes live on the blogosphere, my family will have been on the road for 24 hours.  We are embarking on our summer ritual of a cross country road trip.  This year the Mall of America in Minnesota is the hub/focal point of our trip.

Many people we know frown at taking road trips with their kids.  They don't know what they are missing.  How else will our kids know what the fruited plain which is America is made of if they don't experience it?

At last count my kids had been in well over half of the states and we will add at least one more to the list on this trip.  We have seen awesome things, experienced regional foods, met some of the greatest people and spent awesome family time together on these trips.

Just a quick summary of a small portion of the things my kids have experienced on these road trips include...

Catfishing in the Rappahannock River

Wednesday brought temperatures of about 104 degrees with a heat index of 126 degrees to our fair city of Fredericksburg.  Despite the incredible heat, I seized an opportunity when it presented itself and went catfishing in the river down at the City Dock.

We began fishing just a few minutes before dark and stopped at about 2:00am.  At 1:00am the temperature still rested at a balmy 90 degrees.  So, why did I brave the clearly uncomfortable climate to go fishing on this day?  I didn't want to miss a rare opportunity.

My brother, his wife and 3 year old son are visiting from Ohio.  Like me, my brother loves to fish.  So, fishing gives us a chance to bond and reconnect.  That is a rare situation since we both left home and have created our own lives in different parts of the country.

So, we pulled up some camping chairs, spread out an array of bait, including clam snouts, chicken livers, blood dough bait and some drinks chilled on ice and tossed some lines into the water...

Mortgage Situation

I received an email this morning from a trusted source that was passing along information as heard/seen on the Neil Cavuto program on Fox News Channel.  It restated what is known and is common sense among those of us out here in the "real" world of real estate, but seems lost on those in the media and certain echelons of the mortgage industry.

The message... yes there is a problem in the mortgage industry, but it is nowhere near as critical as the media would have you believe and that certain lenders are overreacting to the situation.

Here are the statistics provided from Neil's show yesterday...

68 Sebastian Rd - Featured Property

Come, sit on the front porch swing... what is that you hear? Nothing, except maybe the birds in the nearby trees. Savor the incredible peace and quiet from the front porch, back deck or the fenced backyard of the 1/2 acre lot. Enjoy the benefits of a wonderful neighborhood, but without the HOA! Spacious living areas and exceptional value are yours in this fantastic home.

For more information, photos and details, visit http://68sebastianrd.com/.

Jeff Edmisten
The Edmisten TEAM
Keller Williams Realty
(540) 538-7222
jedmisten@kw.com
www.jedmisten.com