Home Repairs That You Should Not Wait to Do
Be honest. If you are like me, you like to put things off. They have a word for that, I think? Oh Yeah…procrastination. It’s easy to put things off, especially at home when there is no sense of urgency. But when it come to getting the most money and value for your home, then you need to address these 4 items: Leaks. As soon as they are detected, whether they are plumbing, roof or gas, leaks should be taken care. Don’t wait. Water leaks especially, the longer you wait the more damage it does…and the higher the repair prices will get. With a gas leak, its best to call 911 and leave the home (in fact, leave the home first and then call 911) Take care of it as soon as you notice it to avoid any dangers such as explosions. Pests. Pest infestations can ruin a home. They eat through wood and chew on roofs, causing leaks. Plus, who needs all those extra pets anyway. Damaged Gutters. Pools of water around your home can mean the gutters need cleaning or are broken. If you do not repair them, water can leak down to your foundation and basement and create mold and rot. Cracks in Your Home Foundation. Foundation cracks can easily become larger and wreak havoc on your wallet. Over time, they can cause stability issues in a home. Also, water and pests can get in through the foundation cracks as well which will cause greater damage. Jonathan Montgomery Founder and President of the The Real Estate Appraisal Group.He has been a real estate professional since 1998. He’s been a broker, and...
How To Tell Clients What You Can’t Tell Them
Mum Isn’t Always the Word. In case you don’t know, real estate appraisers and most real estate professionals are bound by the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act exists to protect people against discrimination in the business based on a number of factors, the biggest being: “Race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap.” This is all perfectly understandable- discrimination is wrong in any business. When it comes to real estate though, the Fair Housing Act can get in the way of a couple burning questions most clients have about the neighborhood, such as… Average Income. (Is it a poor neighborhood? We don’t want to be the wealthiest or poorest neighbors in the area.) Schools. (What are the schools like in the area? How many kids are in private school? ) Education. (Is the neighborhood mostly educated? Did most homeowners graduate high school or have a degree?) Religion. (There’s a Mosque/Church/Temple up the street… Is this neighborhood mostly Christian/Muslim/Jewish?) Sexual Orientation. (Is this a gay-friendly neighborhood?) Crime Statistics. (What’s the crime like in this area… will my children be safe here?) Environmental Concerns. (Is this a green neighborhood? Does most of the neighborhood recycle?) Anyone can understand how a client might be frustrated when their agent can’t share answers to these burning questions. Just because you can’t answer questions like this, however, doesn’t mean you can’t point your clients in the right direction to answer these questions for themselves. Below we’ve put together a list of websites that can easily be searched to research every issue above. Questions About Income While you can’t answer questions about...
You Need To Know The Difference Between A Home Inspection & an Appraisal
What is a Home Inspection? What is a Site Visit? Which One Do I Need? As real estate appraisers, clients are sometimes surprised at exactly how much of their property we need to see. Sometimes clients are surprised when we tell them the appraisal will take more than 5 minutes, other times they’re surprised when we tell them it won’t take 3 hours. Regardless of how long a home inspection or a real estate appraisal takes, we often get questions like: “So you’re not going to get on your back and squeeze through our crawl space to look for rot?” “You didn’t bring a ladder?” How will you get on the roof to see the chimney?” “How will you make sure our pool is working? You didn’t bring a snorkel? While there are a few similarities between the two, and in some places appraisers and inspectors look for the same thing, they ultimately serve very different purposes. A site visit is only part of a real estate appraisal, while a home inspection can usually be started and finished directly on site. In this short video, we explain the difference between a home inspection and a site visit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ajR0ytFARY For more short-and-sweet informative videos, visit our YouTube Channel. Jonathan Montgomery is the founder and president of the The Real Estate Appraisal Group, and has been a real estate professional since 1998. He has been a broker, an investor, and currently works full-time as an appraiser. He enjoys handling real estate appraisals in Washington D.C., Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia. #TREAGroup...
The 7 Need-To-Know Housing Styles In D.C.
WASHINGTON D.C. – The nation’s capitol. At the heart of the country, D.C. hosts some of the most beautiful architecture you’ll find anywhere in the world. As real estate appraisers, we find a lot of variety in D.C.- but we also find a lot of the same. Whether you want to become an expert on architecture in the district, or you’re just starting a career in real estate- as long as you learn to recognize these seven most common housing designs, you’ll do just fine. 1. Federal Housing Federal properties are as simplistic as it gets in architecture. Starting to rise in DC in the early 1800’s, federal style houses were both easy and quick to build. They can be distinguishing from the similar Victorian-style houses popular in DC by their modest scales and low-stoops. Federal housing properties are usually symmetrical, 1-2 stories tall, and hold 1-2 bedrooms. 2. Victorian If you’ve ever been impressed by the architecture of a row house in Washington D.C., it was most likely a Victorian. Often found in D.C.’s historic districts, Victorian style houses differ from federal houses in that they often “pop out” of the typical flat-row housing in any way they can- they often have large window boxes or bay-windows. Curved roof peaks are another give-away. Victorian style houses are typically 2-3 stories tall, and can house as many as 5 bedrooms in the nicer ones. 3. Tudor Revival Tudor-style homes started popping up in D.C. in the early 1900’s. Recognizable by their pointed roofs and European (almost medieval) look, Tudor properties often have...Appraisal Secrets eBook – Click Now!
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