Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Enjoy this rocking Video!!! Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Take care, Chuck Continue reading

Have you ever wondered what type of lockbox was on your door? Did you think that all Realtors use the same lockboxes and lockbox keys? Has your Realtor spoke to you about a plan B? Want to know what the heck I'm talking about? Checkout my video blog below! Hope you enjoyed the video don't forget to leave a comment! Thanks, Chuck Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Continue reading

1. 1. Headline: “ Angry Wife Chases Tiger into the Woods” 2. 2. I didn’t know a 4 Iron can be used as the Jaws of life 3. 3. Mrs. Tiger Woods just did her Tweet Cloud for past four days. Most popular words are Kill, Castrate and 50%. 4. 4. Tiger Woods must have been fading when he hit that tree and fire hydrant! 5. 5. Lucky for Tiger Woods, his wife has a hook in her swing and not a slice. 6. 6. The new EA Game Tiger Woods will involve dodging the angry wife in nightdress swinging at you? Must avoid the fire hydrants and trees while driving backwards. 7. 7. First time Tiger couldn’t drive 300 yards. 8. 8. Difference between Tiger Woods hitting a wedge and driving an Escalade? He can back up the wedge.... 9. 9. Breaking News: Tiger Woods has just signed on to be spokesman for Safelite Auto Glass... 10 10. Cadillac brings out the black in Tiger, Asian in him caused him to hit the tree--- Wanda Sykes Bonus ( We all need a little bonus every now and then) I Insert your Joke HERE"................................." Enjoy! Chuck Continue reading

So, what’s in the new Home Buyer and Jobless Bill for you! Here are some quick facts everyone should know about the bill; The total cost of the bill is estimated to be $24 billion. The Bill will cover both unemployment benefits and housing. Unemployment benefits will be extended for an additional 14 extra weeks. If your state has unemployment above 8.5% you will get 6 more additional weeks for a total of 99 weeks of unemployment. The average unemployment check is $300 per week. The housing buyer credit will be extended until June 30th. This means (very important) that you must be under contract by April 30th and close by June 30th . Very important!!!! There is a new $6,500 buyer’s credit for repeat buyers. You Must have lived/owned your principle home for the last 5 years to qualify for this credit. Here is a quick break down of the differences between the old and new bills: Need more info on the tax credit? Boston Globe Bloomberg National Association of Realtors FAQ Most commonly asked questions!!! Download Extended tax credit Cheat sheet Take care, Chuck Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Continue reading

Why is important to get rid of HVCC? We’ll let’s start at the beginning shall we…? A long, long time a ago in a distant parallel universe someone got the idea that loaning money to unqualified buyers and then reselling the loans as investment vehicles was a great IDEA! So good in fact, that if you could fog up a mirror and one of the three blind mice could vouch for the properties value that you were buying than you could get a loan. And not just any loan I mind you! I loan that is guaranteed to self destruct the minute you walk off the closing table! But hey, this is a parallel universe were Bankers with MBA’s and Greenspan rule all the dark forces around us. And everyone knows that home values never go down! Crazy Talk! Okay, fast forward to today and our reality. Our new bosses have to now prove to the world that they are not asleep at the wheel like the old bosses (does everyone know this song... In with the new boss... Same as the old boss… love that song okay back to the story). So, rules started flying off the shelves. Now you need to give fluid samples and swear a triple swear pinkie shake before a bank will even look at you. Our new bosses also imposed new appraisal rules just to make sure there is no funny business with home values. This brings me to the HVCC program. Did I lose you? Are you wondering what appraisals had to do with banks giving out bad loans and then reselling them? Fear not, so did everyone else in the Real Estate business! So, you are probably thinking “what’s the Big Deal with strengthening appraisal rules?” I say nothing! Having one of... Continue reading

Belmont Country Club is one of only a handful of exclusive gated communities in the Eastern Loudoun County area. Nestled between Ashburn and Leesburg this community is directly off of Rt 7 and is only a few minutes away from the Greenway and the new Wegamans shopping center. Like most gated communities of this type Belmont Country Club boosts a full array of amenities such as a club house, tennis courts, pool, volleyball pit and of course what country club would be complete without the 72-par Arnold Palmer Signature golf course! History of Belmont Manor Belmont Country Club was named after the Manor that sits near the gated community. Belmont Manor traces its origin back to the early 1800’s as a plantation house and home to many notable residents. The Belmont Manor and its grounds are listed on the National Registry as a Historic place and is maintained by the Park Service. This should preserve the manor and the majority of the open space around the manor for future generations! The Developer Belmont Country Club was brought by Toll Brother from IBM in early 1995. Toll Brother built and designed the community as a high-end exclusive gated community. The single family homes start in the mid $900’s and can go up to $1.5 million. The townhouses (when they are available) are priced in the low $400’s with a few foreclosures selling in the $300’s recently. Overall Toll Brother’s threw in every possible amenity to make Belmont Country Club its signature high-end home development. You might notice when you first enter the neighborhood that all the lawns are just about prefect. This is no accident; Toll Brothers actually cuts and treats your lawn. No more worries about the one neighbor who can’t seem to take care of their yard. Also included... Continue reading

We finally have step by step instructions on how to buy and win a foreclosure. This video will explain in detail just how to win when bidding on a entry level foreclosed home. Now I must go and show an entry level foreclosure to my client. Wish me luck! Special Thanks to Neal Greene for digging this up!! Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Take care, Chuck Continue reading

I know shocker right; I’m downing the Washington Post again??? It looks like the Post this time outsourced its latest Real Estate related article to writer Martha White who writes for the Slate Group on a variety of financial matters including Real Estate. Although, I read Slate regularly and find there content refreshing I found Martha’s latest article “Prolonging Home Buyers Tax Credit Will Prolong Recovery” simply uninformed and filled with funny math strung along by the thinnest of strings. One of the numbers Martha quoted off of a blog site she states in her article is that the actual cost of the $8,000 Tax Credit program is $43,000 per buyer because some buyers would have brought anyway. All I can say is; Wow really! There is actually a mathematical formula on a website that will tell me exactly what buyers intend to do before and after they buy? Is this like Nostradamus stuff? You know, after everything is said and done some "expert" will come out and says “you see this was predicted 500 years ago…duh”? Great, where were these experts say 2 years ago when the markets melted down? Can I use that same formula in Vegas? Or how’s about predicting what my 7 year old will do next on a soccer field? Here’s the bottom line, buyers and especially first time home buyers are moved by emotions and perceived opportunities. Physiology plays a huge part in the purchase of a home. Buyers want to know that the market is moving in the right direction and that they are not going rouge by buying to early( unlike Palin of course). It has also been my experience that one of the biggest barriers to home ownership is the down payment. This $8,000 tax credit gives those buyers on the... Continue reading

Just a quick update on a neighborhood spotlight I did on our very own Exeter in Leesburg a few weeks ago. The Washington Post just publish Exeter in the Where We Live Real Estate section. I think its a well deserved honor since this neighborhood has been a local secret for many years. Enjoy! Chuck Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Continue reading

As everyone might know I have gone fishing for the week but don't think I've forgotten about all my buddies! Enjoy a little comic relief while I'm gone.... I sure did! Take care, Chuck Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Continue reading

Grenata Preserve Leesburg by Creighton Enterprises Pulling into the circular driveway of the model home at Grenata Preserve in Leesburg you first notice the French Château architecture and the stunning pitched roof lines. The foyer opens up to a double cured stairway leading to the second level overlook. Surprisingly enough as big as you might think the house would be on the outside the inside rooms are very manageable and comfortable. The kitchen is as expected large and open with plenty of cabinets, granite and entertaining space. One of the nicest features is the angled two sided fireplaces and custom mantels throughout the home. The finished lower level is of course filled with all the goodies to make this the envy of any man cave in the neighborhood. This includes of course wet bar, theater room with wide screen projector and enough space to have a small pool hall. What I really liked was the feel and flow of the entire house. It is a large and extravagant house with fine details throughout but it wasn’t pretentious or over done. I’ve lived only a few miles from Grenata Preserve in Leesburg and have heard whispers about how magnificent the houses Jim Brown CEO of Creighton Enterprises was building at Grenata in Leesburg. During the boom years many of my clients in this price point where looking to be closer to DC and preferred the Mclean or Great Falls addresses rather then Leesburg. However, with the pricing changes over the last few years and the increasing amount of upscale shopping and amenities coming to Leesburg these one of kind custom homes are now in reach of many who want and demand more. I briefly met with Jim and his wife and found that Creighton Enterprises is truly a family run operation... Continue reading

Now Here Are Some Real New Tweets! Several weeks ago I went out to water my hanging baskets and was viciously attached by a crazy mad dove. Every time I got close to my plant the dove would swoop down near my head and bounce off the windows and side of the house. Not wanting to challenge the dove for my plant I gave up and headed back inside to the comfort and safety of my Lazyboy. I didn’t really want to water the plants anyway I thought as I kicked back with my handy remote! A day later my wife had the same experience with our nutty dove. This time I was called in to investigate. I used my super ex-Army infantry skills to sneak a peek inside the basket and found two small off white colored eggs nestled inside a small nest. I carefully and quickly backed away from the basket before the mad bomber returned with more friends. I informed my wife that we had squatters and being a Realtor I did not have the heart to evict! We made a family decision that we would sacrifice our hanging baskets and not disturb our Mad Bomber. I’m happy to report that as of last week we have two new Leesburg residences. We named them Tweet and Tweeter of course! They are welcomed to stay as long as they like...rent free! I love happy ends!!! Happy Saturday! Chuck Serving all of your Ashburn, Leesburg, Mclean and Loudoun County area Real Estate needs! Continue reading

Loudoun County! What's Next? by Jim Stakem 9/15/2009 Without rehashing the point any further, this has been a very difficult couple of years for the Real Estate market. Our market in Loudoun County has experienced its fair share of problems. The million dollar question is what's ahead for us. Loudoun County is composed of three distinctly different markets. The first and most active is the heavily developed Rt. 7 corridor from Leesburg east. We also have the partially developed Rt. 50 corridor east of Rt. 15 and finally the rural market west of Rt. 15. This is what I expect to happen in the next twelve months. First we have to look at the factors that influence Loudoun County. We are very lucky to be so close to Wash. D.C! We can expect solid growth in the future as a result of government spending which is currently adding jobs to the local market as well as bringing more private sector jobs our way. We are already experiencing an increase in financial sector jobs arriving as a result of the increased regulation and need of financial institutions to be near the Washington regulators, the Washington Post reported on this in Sept. 13th , and this is just the beginning. We are also very lucky to have Dulles International Airport and the subway connection to Washington in the near future. We are the most attractive and promising market, in the most stable city in the country. Although we have had so many problems, as has the rest of the country, we are very lucky to be in Loudoun! In the two eastern areas we have a housing shortage! We have a market which at any other time in history would be experiencing explosive price increases. This is especially true in the Leesburg,... Continue reading

I was scanning through my Social Media network today and ran across this video( thank you Matt). I'm sure it will go viral very soon! Check it out and let me know what you think! Continue reading

Great news all you short cut lovers. Sycolin road is now open and paved! For those who have never taken the short cut, Sycolin road cuts through Belmont Ridge road and parallels RT 7 and the Greenway all the way to Leesburg. I found it a great short cut during rush hour and when I just didn’t feel like paying $4 to drive 10 miles on the Greenway. Now that it’s paved the entire way to Leesburg this should be an even more enjoyable trip. BTW… the speed limit is 35 mph and although I did not see the ribbon cutting ceremony with the usual talking heads I did spot our local Barney Fife. He was hard at work this Sunday morning making sure all us civilians are obeying his authority. Cheers \/ ! Chuck Continue reading

A bridge too far no more! Battlefield Pkwy bridge is finally OPEN! Sort of…. You see before any bridge opens in Leesburg it is the law that all the normal needy talking heads need to gather at the center of the bridge and do the ceremonial pat on the back. I understand it is also law that each of these needy self-important people must speak for at least 5 minutes. That’s right, not also do they need to pat themselves on the back but they must also sing- song everyone to sleep with their monotone drone. The good news is that after all the ceremonial pat on the backs are done (good job councilmen and women way to put up those support beams!) traffic heading south on rt 15 should be greatly reduced. Those of us who live in the SW part of Leesburg should also save a few minutes on there commute. Those who live in Tavistock Farms should see the most timesavings. I do have one word of caution for anyone taking this route as a short cut, the speed limit is 35 MPH and it is enforced by our own Barney Fife. No kidding! I run this route daily and I normally spot at least one speed trap. He's a killer I tell ya! Take care, Chuck! Continue reading

One of the great perks of living in Leesburg is the yearly Leesburg Airport Open House. The airport is home to several flight schools and is one of the most active small airports in the region. I personally love the vintage and experimental aircraft that call Leesburg home. On any given clear blue sky weekend you can spot a vintage War World 2 aircraft slowly and gracefully circling the Leesburg area. Here is a iphone video taken today of a B17 rolling towards take off. And of course what blog would be complete without family photos;0) Some ground defenses in case an enemy aircraft tries to land. It's great being a Real Estate agent in Leesburg! Take care, Chuck Continue reading

Today I read an article written by Post Staff writer Renae Merle. Although, overall better then most of nonsense they put out about Real Estate they did fall into that same old lazy journalism trap. Rather then seeking out Realtors or customers who have completed Short Sales they instead reached out to the same old tied Rolodex. Crazy stuff but nothing new for the post?? If you can work your way past the editorials and options without facts there are some decent points. Reading this article is kind of like eating a fruit cake, you have to eat around the bad stuff to get to the good stuff( what little good stuff there is??). Here is my comment to Renae this morning. I doubt she'll read it but what the hell? " Hi Renae, Successfully completing a Short Sale is much better on not only your credit but also your life as a whole. Think about it, how many times have you seen employment and lending application ask” Have you ever had a Foreclosures in the past X years? Now, try getting a security clearance? So, yes your credit will take a hit when completing a Short Sale(especially if you are not making your mortgage payments..ie 30 days late - 60 days late etc..) however, there is no way that it is nearly as bad as a foreclosure. So, you see it is not a myth {( btw.. this is the second article in the post that I've read this!)} that Short Sales are better overall then Foreclosures. Secondly, did it ever dawn on you to possibly speak to someone who teaches Short Sales? Like say Alex Charfin who teaches this stuff around the country. If you Google Short Sale Realtors (then our area) I’m sure you’ll get hundreds of... Continue reading