Kingsbrooke Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the Kingsbrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold Kingsbrooke Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 30 properties have sold in Kingsbrooke ranging from a 2-bed, 1.5-bath Townhome for $295,000 to a 4-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $610,000.Kingsbrooke Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 0.8 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell. The average sold pri... 08/06/2019

New Bristow Village Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the New Bristow Village neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold New Bristow Village Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 25 properties have sold in New Bristow Village ranging from a 3-bed, 2-bath, and 2-half bath Townhome for $373,000 to a 5-bed, 4.5-bath Detached for $605,000.New Bristow Village Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 1 month, which indicates the total number of months it would take for... 08/06/2019

Pembrooke Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the Pembrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold Pembrooke Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 16 properties have sold in Pembrooke ranging from a 3-bed, 3.5-bath Townhome for $365,000 to a 4-bed, 4.5-bath Detached for $596,000.Pembrooke Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 0.6 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell. The average sold price is $565... 08/06/2019

Sheffield Manor Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the Sheffield Manor neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold Sheffield Manor Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 13 properties have sold in Sheffield Manor ranging from a 3-bed, 2.5-bath Townhome for $327,300 to a 4-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $569,900.Sheffield Manor Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 0.5 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell. ... 08/06/2019

Victory Lakes Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the Victory Lakes neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold Victory Lakes Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 16 properties have sold in Victory Lakes ranging from a 3-bed, 2-bath, and 2-half bath Townhome for $360,000 to a 5-bed, 5-bath, and 2-half bath Detached for $650,000.Victory Lakes Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 0 months, which indicates there are currently no homes on the market. The average so... 08/06/2019

Villages At Saybrooke Homes For Sale | Bristow, VA - July 2019This is a snapshot of recent sales in the Villages At Saybrooke neighborhood of Bristow, VA. Real estate market data and analysis is provided by Peggy Yee, Realtor. Click here to sign up for my free monthly real estate market update.Highest and Lowest Sold Villages At Saybrooke Home ValuesIn the past 6 months, 7 properties have sold in Villages At Saybrooke ranging from a 3-bed, 2.5-bath Townhome for $330,000 to a 5-bed, 3.5-bath Detached for $503,500.Villages At Saybrooke Neighborhood Real Estate Market ActivityThese market activity gauges show the market trends for the previous month (May) as compared to the 5-year June average. The market supply is 2 months, which indicates the total number of months it would take for the ... 08/06/2019

We moved to the Manassas, Virginia area in 1988.  We currently reside in Bristow, a couple of miles to the southwest.  This is an area rich in history. My family has been in the Washington DC area a long time.  One line arrived in 1652, another in 1705, and yet another in 1737.   Other lines arrived thereafter over the centuries.One such line was the family of Thomas Wright of Bandon, County Cork, Ireland.  Born in 1805, Thomas married Catherine Mason Baldwin, born in 1807.  They were married in 1828 and had 7 children, all born in Ireland.  A family record states, "in the process of time [they] came to the United States of America and made their permanent home in the City and State of New York."Thomas and Catherine are pictured to the right, along with their youngest daughter, Sarah Ba... 05/30/2019

How Long Does it Take to Find Your Dream Home?The answer to that question is going to depend on a lot of circumstances.  Today, May 24th 2019, I was delighted to help a couple finalize the purchase of their first home.  Mind you, I was first in contact with this couple back in August 2018.  The wife had been browsing our Long & Foster website and landed in my net.  We got along well from the first moment we talked.  She told me a bit about their situation and we got together within the week to start the house hunt.While we were actively looking at homes, there were some pieces to the home buying puzzle that needed to get put into place.  There was an estate sale of a parental home that was something that needed to get out of the way.  Unfortunately, that was not happening very fast, par... 05/24/2019

Is Stainless Steel Really Stainless?Well, no.  It would be better to call it stain less, with two words.It can be stained!This is a stainless steel kitchen sink in BRAND NEW CONSTRUCTION.We were doing the final walk through inspection. The kitchen sink had small brown stains all over it.  They would not come out.  Running water and trying a rag did not remove the stains.  I have to think the cleaners tried also.So, what stains stainless steel?  The list includes many things, and this is not exhaustive: Sulfuric acid Muriatic acid Chlorine (pure bleach or a stronger bleach product) Glue products that contain cadmium Wood polish and cleaners Paint strippers that contain benzene Household cleaners containing methanol Obviously these stains were caused during construction.  I expect the onl... 05/10/2019

Ever Seen a Pre-Approval Letter That Reads Like a Sweepstakes Mailer?In the Bristow, VA real estate market, properties are not staying on the market very long at all.  In fact, I have had the pleasure of listing a handful of single family homes in Bristow that have resulted in multiple offer situations in less than two days.  Not all buyers are putting their best foot forward and fail to realize it.  Some have homes to sell that they haven't even gotten on the market yet.  Why are they making offers?  Bristow sellers are getting at least two non-home sale contingent offers in every multiple offer pile.  A buyer that is ready, willing and ABLE to act is what every Bristow seller is seeking.Then there are buyers that appear to be reading, willing and able to act on paper.  Twenty percent ... 05/04/2019

What happens when a spring is found under new construction?In the Washington DC suburbs all the lots in a few counties have all been used for development, commercial or residential.As such, in older neighborhoods, if one wants to live there, but not in the small house built there many decades ago, one buys the lot in a desired neighborhood, razes the former house, and builds a new house.Many developers are doing this, buying all the houses on a street and building newer, larger homes, sometimes taking up two former lots.Such was the case of this house.  It was a 6500 sq ft home built in an older neighborhood in a Virginia suburb of DC.During home inspections I sweep the entire house with my thermal camera, Mighty Mo.This is what I saw in a finished basement room.  The door on the top ri... 03/03/2019

Have bump keys arrived in your area? What are "Bump Keys?"  Have you heard of them? Bump keys are an easy, Internet-available way for non-locksmiths to get into your home.  Or most any home. And they are proliferating. Where are they coming from and how are they proliferating?  The photo to the right is of a set of bump keys. Notice two things - they all seem to be cut with the same pattern.  They are.  And the silver key on the right is stamped "Mexico."  These keys are all "Made in Mexico."  These keys typically come from Central America and are used in untoward ways.  An American locksmith will have his own set, but will not cut a set for you.  They are a real problem in my area - metro Washington D.C.  They might be in use in your area too - right now! The police say to watch out! T... 02/02/2019

Picking the right locksmith, and what to look for.I am reading lots of articles about crooked locksmiths.  This problem has cropped up in recent years.  You need a locksmith and do an Internet search and a local phone number pops up.  And you think you are calling a local locksmith who miraculously says he can come right over.What may have happened instead is that you have been routed to a clearing house in another state that sends someone to your house who is not licensed and has no idea what he is doing.  And later your house is visited when you least expect it.  And the visit happens with or without a key to your house.The locksmith industry is alarmed by this trend.  And necessarily!You have become easy pickings!The locksmith industry thinks the solution to this is --               ... 01/20/2019

What Do Snow Forecasts Have in Common with the Value of Your Home?This week the Bristow and surrounding Northern Virginia area have been hearing about an impending snow storm.  This storm was to start Saturday night and go into Sunday afternoon.  Wednesday afternoon forecasts showed the snow's total accumulation between six and eight inches.  A check of projected accumulation yesterday evening showed only one to two inches.  With the storm moving into the area within hours the forecast changed to six to ten inches total accumulation.   Now, as the storm has been going for a few hours, the forecast says for to eight inches of snow.  We'll know tomorrow afternoon what's right, but my goodness, the predictions have been all over the map.So what does this have to do with the value of your h... 01/12/2019

So, think about the Yule Log tradition - make it your rule - hitch up the mule and drag in the yule!We've mostly all heard of the Yule Log tradition.  But what is the tradition of the Yule Log anyway?It's a tradition probably extending back before medieval times, and said to be Norse.In Scandinavia and Northern Europe, YULE was/is the name given to Winter Solstice festivals.Way back the tradition consisted of selecting a tree, tall and straight and true.  The whole family would go out the day before the day before the Winter Solstice (or in Christian homes on Christmas Eve Eve) and find the perfect candidate.It would then be cut down, stripped of its limbs and measured and cut again into the perfect length.  The horse, or mule, or family would then drag it home!A bit of the log from the... 12/18/2018

Are Repair Deductibles on Rental Properties a Good Idea? Looking back on my real estate career, I know that repair deductibles on rentals have not always been present.  I think it must have been sometime during the market downturn that landlords decided it would be a great idea to sign their rental properties up for a home warranty and put their tenants in charge of the deductibles associated for repair calls made.  The number I saw most often in rental listings was $100.  The tenant would be repsonsible for the first $100 of any repair.  Every landlord seemed to be doing it, so it was normal.Over the years, as I've picked up more and more returning landlords who have me rent out their properties, I have come to the conclusion that these repair deductibles are not having the intended ef... 12/15/2018

The Christmas wreath.This is our wreath, hitched between our two garage doors.Traditionally the wreath means welcome, and this is is the season for that.Is there symbolic meaning to wreaths?Yes!  In addition to its welcome, the circle has been used for millennia to represent the Christian view of eternal life, which shape fits the wreath perfectly.Wreaths can be decorated in many ways and be made of many things.Of course the evergreen would again remind one of eternal life, and the renewal of the resurrection.Ornaments on Christmas trees began with the use of nuts and cookies and small cakes and fruit and gingerbread.  These things represented the spring to follow.From there ornaments began to be made of glass (somewhere in the 1600s in Germany) and from there progressed to various gorg... 12/15/2018

Sing the Song Now - Seven Ways To Kill Your Dryer!One of the most dangerous appliances in the house is the dryer.  Not maintained, or incorrectly vented, it can burn the house down!  And they do, tens of thousands of times a year in this country.Can I introduce you to seven ways to kill your dryer?In home inspector classes, we learn a lot of mumbo jumbo (sometimes it's jumbo mumbo).  Actually it is usually pretty good information!As regards dryers we learn things like:  a dryer vent should extend no more than 25' vertically or horizontally from a dryer.  And for every 90 degree turn, 5' should be reduced from that 25'.  And 3' should be reduced for each 45 degree turn.  So, if a dryer vent has two 90 degree turns, its vent should not extend more than 15'.AND THE MORE TURNS THERE ARE INC... 11/24/2018

The Dreams That Die on the "As Is" HillWhen you hear the words "As-Is," what you hear depends on whether you are a buyer or a seller.  And what a particular client hears may be far from the reality of As-Is.  A property I showed earlier this week was a fantastic example of the dreams that will be crushed for seller and buyer both, thanks to those magic words. SELLERNo seller wants to be bothered fixing up a home prior to putting it on the market.  They fear the money they will put into it, will not equal the money they get out of it.  And in some cases, those sellers may be right.  As a full-time, professional real estate agent in Bristow and Gainesville, I can not tell you how many times I have sat across the table from sellers who will say, "We'll just sell the home as-is."  Somehow, ... 11/04/2018

Unexpected Happenings at a Pre-Drywall InspectionA couple weeks ago, I was watching over a co-worker's business while she was on vacation.  One of her clients was not only a seller, but a buyer of new construction.  This client is one that I got to know pretty well as a seller.  He was in a rather contentious home inspection negotiation when I came on the scene.  When we got that put to bed, I thought I would simply be handing the folder back over to my friend when she got back.  Nope.  The client called and needed me to show up for a pre-drywall inspection of his new construction home. At least that wouldn't be contentious or otherwise troubling for him....or sot I thought.  Cut to my pulling up for the inspection behind a police car.  It was a first to see a police officer dusting a h... 10/30/2018