Northern Virginia and Maryland High Schools Among Top-Ranked High Schools Nationwide According to 2012 U.S. News and World Report

The 2012 Report is in and dozens of Virginia, Maryland and D.C. schools made U.S. News & World Report‘s list of the highest ranking high schools. To produce the report,  21,776 public high schools were analyzed in 49 states and the District of Columbia. This is the total number of public high schools that had 12th-grade [...]

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Lawn Work Ranks as Favorite Summer Relaxation For Some and as Necessary Chore for Most Others

Americans would rather see their dentist or visit their in-laws than spend time manicuring their lawns – with the exception of that 7% who would give up about anything to keep their lawn beautiful and actually enjoying it :-) The remaining 93% would rather do just about anything than mow, fertilize, and perform other lawn [...]

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Bank of America Plans Writing Off Mortgage Debt for Qualified Borrowers

More than 200,000 underwater home owners with mortgages through Bank of America may be eligible to have a reduction in the amount they owe on their loan, which could possibly trim their monthly payments by up to 35 percent. Bank of America has sent letters to home owners who may be eligible to take part [...]

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Five Low Cost Do-It-Yourself Home Projects to Increase Home Sale Value by More Than $10,000

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to improve a home and make it more sellable, according to HomeGain’s 2012 National Home Improvement Survey. . HomeGain surveyed nearly 500 real estate professionals nationwide to determine the top do-it-yourself home improvement projects that offer some of the biggest bang for your buck when selling a home. “In [...]

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Countries with Soaring Home Prices and Hottest Housing Markets in 2012

Worldwide, real estate prices have made large gains over the last five years, which has raised fears in many countries about brewing housing bubbles. In the last five years, China alone has seen prices soar more than 110 percent. The sudden spike in home prices has led the government take several efforts to try to [...]

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Healthy Weed Free Lawn and Garden Without Pesticides or Harmful Chemicals – Green Planet

A healthy weed-free lawn is possible without the pesticides or harmful chemicals. Here are a few reasons to cut out the chemicals: Pesticides are poisons and therefore harmful to human health and the environment. Pesticides can reduce the biological activity in the soil, resulting in slowed natural decomposition and leading to thatch. Pesticides and synthetic [...]

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City vs. Suburb: More Americans Favor Living Closer to the City in 2012 – Northern Virginia Homes and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

More Americans are showing a preference for living closer into the city than the outer suburbs, according to newly released U.S. Census data. The annual rate of growth in American cities and surrounding urban areas recently surpassed exurbs for the first time in two decades. . Residential exurbs on the edge of metro areas once [...]

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The Fastest Way to Improve Home Values is to Live in a High-Scoring Public School District

Northern Virginia Public Schools: http://viviannerutkowski.wordpress.com/category/2-re-buyer-resources/nova-schools/ Directs links to Public Schools in  Fairfax County VA, Loudoun County VA, Prince William County VA, Arlington County VA, Fauquier County VA: http://www.realtorviviannerutkowski.com/schoolinfo.shtml . Living in a high-scoring public school district can raise home values up to $205,000 higher compared to homes located in neighborhoods with low-scoring school districts, according to a new [...]

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Springtime Painting Tips for Freshening Up Exteriors of Homes in Northern Virginia

Springtime is the best time to give a home a fresh coat of paint, according to the Paint Quality Institute. “By painting in moderate weather, you’ll likely get a longer-lasting paint job,” said Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert for the Paint Quality Institute. Zimmer said that exterior painting is best to do when temperatures [...]

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High Gas Prices Fueled the Housing Crisis in 2007 According to the Economists – Transportation Costs vs Home Values in Northern Virginia

Most of us know the housing bubble of 2002-2006 and the subsequent housing crash that followed in 2007 was caused by the deregulation of the lending industry by the government, which brought into the market many sub-prime lenders offering no-downpayment-interest-only-loans,  ARM loans and option ARM loans, and other “exotic” loans. This easy credit and availability [...]

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Builders Offer a ‘Home Within a Home’ for Multi-Generational Households – Floor Plans in 2012

As the number of people living in a household expands, builders are responding and tweaking home designs to meet the growing needs of multigenerational households. . In recent years, the number of grown children moving back with their parents and the number of elderly parents moving-in with their adult children is increasing, causing more households [...]

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Three Generations Living Under One Roof as a Way to Trim Housing Costs

What a difference a few years make. With interest only loans gone, with no money down loans gone (with exception of VA loans) and lenders going back to more conservative lending requiring 10%-20% down for conventional loans ( FHA loans require 3.5% down), a growing number of families are moving in together, which sometimes means [...]

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Tips that Might Help Home Buyers to Qualify for a Mortgage

Many home buyers complain that one of the biggest hurdles they face is qualifying for financing. So what are some ways that home shoppers can ensure they qualify for a better mortgage deal — particularly one that takes advantage of the near record-breaking low mortgage rates? A recent article at Money Magazine highlighted some of [...]

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Homeowners Hazard Insurance: Time for an Annual Check-Up – Homes For Sale in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County VA, Loudoun County VA, Prince William County VA

An annual check-up on your homeowners insurance can result in a healthier policy and a healthier pocketbook. What type of coverage do I have? The most effective type of coverage is known as “replacement cost,” which covers, up to your policy limits, what it would take today to rebuild your house and restore your belongings, [...]

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Correcting Errors on CLUE Insurance Report – Homes For Sale in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County VA, Loudoun County VA, Prince William County VA

An error in CLUE insurance report can increase homeowners insurance premium or even prevent from getting coverage at all. What is C.L.U.E.? C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) is a claims history database created by ChoicePoint that enables insurance companies to access consumer claims information when they are underwriting or rating an insurance policy. https://personalreports.lexisnexis.com/fact_act_claims_bundle/landing.jsp . [...]

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Americans Choose to Purchase a Home First If Finances Allow

Fifty-one percent of Americans in a recent poll say that if their financial situation were to improve, they’d buy a home. Coming in second on the list of wishes, 23 percent said they’d make repairs or improvements to the home they already have, according to the poll of more than 1,400 Americans conducted by the [...]

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National Association of REALTORS Successfully Defended REALTOR® Trademark in Domain Name Challenge – REALTORS and Real Estate Agents in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County VA Homes For Sale, Loudoun County VA Homes For Sale, Prince William County VA Homes For Sale

The National Association of REALTORS® has won a challenge to the use of its trademark REALTOR® in a domain name operated by the website GayRealtor.com  NAR rules allow members to use its trademark REALTOR® in domain names according to specific requirements and rules. After extensive but unsuccessful efforts by NAR to persuade the operator of [...]

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Spring Home Cleaning the Green Way with Minimum of Chemicals

Every year when the daffodils start blooming, it is time to think about the spring home cleaning. I’m certain you keep a Green Home as much as possible and here is your another chance to protect the environment this spring with GREEN Spring Home Cleaning. ENJOY this annual rite of home ownership! Let’s start with [...]

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Post Short Sale and Post Foreclosure Home Owners Are Ready to Purchase a Home Again

More than 4 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since 2005 and many of those former home owners are now ready to purchase again. Some banks have guidelines that prevent them from issuing loans to people with a foreclosure or short sale in their credit history in some cases for as much as seven [...]

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Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Expires on December 31, 2012 – Unless The Congress Approves Extension

Lenders do, on occasion, forgive some portion of a borrower’s debt in the short sale. The general tax rule that applies to any debt forgiveness is that the forgiven amount is treated as ordinary income and the borrower must pay tax on the forgiven amount.  The amount forgiven is treated as taxable income to the [...]

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