Buying a home in Northern Virginia is likely one of the biggest financial transactions in which you'll ever be involved.  It's incredibly important to understand the homebuying process and good advice to work with the assistance of a knowledgeable experienced REALTOR who can guide you through from searching and finding the right home, negotiating the price and contingencies, and smoothly getting you to the settlement table.

Along the journey of purchasing a home in Northern Virginia, there can be many twists and turns.  Here's a brief guide to avoiding some costly mistakes.

Avoid 8 Costly Mistakes When Buying Your Northern Virginia Home

1.  Don't limit your search to open houses, advertisements and the internet

A lot of homes that are listed for sale in the magazine you pick up at the grocery store or on the latest and greatest home search tool may have already been sold or are under contract.  In fact, close to 50% of the time that I get a call from somebody who found a home on Zillow, Trulia, or Realtor.com, it turns out that this home is no longer available.  Not every home is held open on Sundays and you'll likely miss some of the ones out there if all you do is drive around to open houses.  If you work with a Northern Virginia Realtor, they can show you all the homes on the market.  You can get started by searching all the available homes right here in the box at the top of this website or just click here to search Northern Virginia homes.

2. Thinking that there's only one perfect house out there.

Some buyers think that there's only one perfect house in Northern Virginia that will suit their needs.  This is not generally the case.  Make a list of your priorities -- your must-haves, your wants, etc.  And then be open to possibilities and open to compromise.  Crappy wallpaper can be removed.  Ugly paint colors can be changed.  Concentrate on your highest priorities and remember that buying a home is a process of elimination, not so much selection.

3. Making an offer on a home without being prequalified for a mortgage.

It's important to talk with a lender at the beginning of the home purchase process.  Rather than seeing homes and falling in love with one that you can't afford, take some time and discuss your options with a lender who will help you determine your affordable price range based on your income, debt, and credit rating.  That way you're not wasting your time on homes and offers that will end up falling through when you don't qualify for the loan.

4.  Not considering your long-term needs.

How long do you plan to be in this home?  Is your family growing?  Will your job be moving?  It's crucial to think ahead when your planning your Northern Virginia home search.

5.  Not having a home inspection when you purchase.

You test drive your car, you need to Take Your Northern Virginia Home for a test drive!  It's better to find out at the onset that you have large repairs to deal with rather than saving a bit of money upfront and finding out you have a big mess later on.  Ever see the Tom Hanks movie, The Money Pit?  Trying to save a little money today can end up costing you big time tomorrow.  A qualified home inspector will detect issues that you might overlook when viewing the home.

6.  Not asking the right questions upfront

As a Northern Virginia homebuyer, you should make a list of concerns that you have related to issues like crime rates, schools, power lines, neighbors, environmental conditions, etc.  Ask these questions befoe you make an offer on a home.  Your real estate agent can answer some of these questions, but be aware that they are prohibited by law from answering others such as the racial demographics of a neighborhood (that would be a Fair Housing violation).  Your agent can however point you in the right direction of where to obtain answers to some of these questions.  Due your due diligence to get your important questions answered.

7.  Not buying a home warranty

There are several companies that provide home warranties which are like mini-insurance policies that last one year from closing.  In Northern Virginia, these home warranties can cover basic repairs of the major systems and appliances.  This can give you some piece of mind, especially in the first year of owning your home.

8.  Not knowing all the costs involved in the purchase.

Early on in the purchase process, you should ask your agent or lender for an estimate of your closing costs.  Often these can be in the range of 2-3% of the sales price of the home.  These fees include such tings as title insurance, homeowner's association fees, title company costs, attorney fees.  You'll want to see this estimate so you know how much the Northern Virginia home will really cost and so that they'll be no surprises at settlement.

This goes under the category of a meme -- or something that has been passed along the internet, so it's likely that you've already seen some of these tips or even gotten an e-mail containing all of them.  However, for the benefit of Northern Virginia homeowners, here's some ideas that can help keep you, your family and your possessions safe.

13 THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU

Memorial Day serves as the traditional beginning of Summer even though Summer doesn't really start until June 20th this year.  In Northern Virginia, Memorial Day also generally sees many area residents leaving the area to go to the beach or other Summer vacations.  One good side effect of that is that there's less rush hour traffic.

While the focus is often on the Fourth of July when it comes to backyard celebrations, Memorial Day is often a popular choice as well.  Our weather is finally becoming warm enough to truly enjoy the outdoors as the summer season kicks off.  Memorial Day is the perfect time to gather friends and family together for the perfect backyard barbeque.

What's On The Menu?

Since Memorial Day is usually more low-key than July 4th, consider going the extra mile when it comes to the food you choose to serve.  Barbecued ribs are a good favorite that everyone will appreciate.  They can be a little expensive, though, so they might only be a good choice for a small gathering.  Hamburgers and hot dogs are an old standby, but you can always grill some chicken, shrimp, fish, and roasted vegetables to spice things up a bit.

A homemade coleslaw or pasta salad is always a classic choice for a side dish, but you can also consider taking it up a notch with some homemade baked beans. 

Fun And Games

Set up some fun games for people of all ages to add to the fun.  Classics like a three-legged race, a water balloon toss, or a cake walk are always popular choices.  You can also consider getting a piñata filled with small toys and candies for the young children.

A treasure hunt around the neighborhood is another great way for everyone to have a good time, and works especially well if your neighbors are joining your barbeque.  Create a list of things to find and send out teams on the hunt!  When everyone comes back, have prizes for the teams who have been successful!

Memorial Day is a great way to start off the barbeque season and have friends and family over for a great time.  Take advantage of your long weekend and plan a great barbeque everyone will be talking about.

As for me, I'm planning to spend a bit of time at our condo's pool -- opening this weekend -- our building (Alexandria Knolls West) is planning a potluck barbeque/picnic celebration on Sunday.

What if you bought your Northern Virginia home during the last 5 years?  How's the value doing?  The chart below is calculated based on comparing the median sales prices today in Northern Virginia to the median sales prices in each of the prior 5 years.

There are several key points to take away from this chart:

• For many Northern Virginia home owners, this chart may not have a lot of correlation to the actual value of your home.  The calculations are based on median sales price, and your particular home (and/or neighborhood) may have performed VERY differently during any of these time periods.
• If you bought your home after 2007, your value should be doing okay. 
• April 2007 was not a good time to buy a house in Northern Virginia.  On the flip side, April 2009 may have been one of the very best times to buy a home in Northern Virginia.

This chart can provide a general guide to what has happened with home values in Northern Virginia over the last 5 years, but remember that every home and neighborhood is unique.  If you'd like more details about values in your neighborhood, please contact me.