How You Can Get a Home for Half Price

No, this is not a joke. Not a prank.  Not a gimmick.

The government has a little known program called the 'Good Neighbor Next Door' Program.

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency, HUD for short, has properties all across the country that they sell for 1/2 price of what the current market value is.

So if a house is listed for $100,000, you could get it for $50,000.

You can sell it after 3 years and keep the profit.

Wowsa!

How it works:

• The government has an inventory of houses located in Revitalization Areas
• They offer these homes for 50% of list price
• In return you commit to live there for 3 years.
• Also the  FHA Insured Mortgage Program can make down payment as low as $100

Who is eligible:

• Law enforcement
• Pre-K- 12 Teachers
• Firefighters
• EMT's

Why they do it:

• HUD wants to strengthen Americas communities

The catch:

• You sign a silent second mortgage for the other 50% that you must repay if you move or sell in less than the three year period.

The property inventory changes weekly.

Check it out the link below, and don't forget to come to Heather Maier when you are moving, buying, selling or looking to rent in the Northern Virginia area.  

I'll treat you right!

That's it!  If you found this information helpful 

please share it with a friend!

Best wishes,

Heather Maier

email: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com

305-281-1873

Link directly to government website: 

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/reo/goodn/gnndabot

Top 10 Ways To Know If You Are Ready To Sell Your Home.

When to sell your home is a highly personal decision and must be based on both facts and lifestyle considerations.

1.  Ask yourself why you want to sell?
    Are you underwater in your mortgage, wanting to downsize, 
    or just simply sick of moving the lawn?

2.  Equity.  Will you make, lose or break even?
     The best way to make an educated decision is to assess the value by having 
     Heather create a comprehensive and details Comparative Market Analysis for you.  
     This will arm you with a great deal of information to make a good decision.

3.  When do you want to move?
     Simple as it may sounds, people sometimes do overlook that moving in winter is
     slightly less convenient.

4.  Is everyone involved ready and committed to this move?
    If not, often sabotage creeps in to the situation in multiple ways.

5.  Is your home ready?
     Do you have unfinished projects, repairs, long overlooked maintenance things 
    you need to tend to?

6.  Are you prepared for staging?
     To make your house presentable you should be ready and willing to put away and 
     store and de-clutter many of your belongings. This means you won't have ready 
     access to your 'stuff' til the house sells.

7. Are ready to keep your home show ready?
    This means keeping your home sparkling and spotless all the time.

8.  Remove your valuables.
     I recommend putting all your valuables and jeweler in a safety deposit box or 
     locked safe.

9. Modify dinners. 
    If you tend to cook with a lot of strong spices and items with strong odors, 
    you may want to avoid cooking in your home during peak show times.  

10.  Be ready to split like a banana.
       It is best to leave your home when potential buyers are coming by to view 
       your home.  

       Find a place in your neighborhood that is comfy and safe for you to go to on                     whenever these showing opportunities arise.

If you found this information helpful please share it with a friend!

Don't forget to call Heather Maier when you are ready to buy, sell, rent, or want to find our your homes current value.  

Best wishes,

Heather Maier

email: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com

305-281-1873

Top 10 Smart & Sassy Weekend Projects

Improving your home need not be overly time consuming or expensive.  

Enjoy these smart, quick, easy and budget friendly upgrades you can do to your home this weekend!

Here are 10 smart weekend Projects:

1.  Landscaping.  Curb appeal will have a great affect on your daily quality of life by how it welcomes you home everyday, and it adds value by making it more attractive to potential buyers someday.

2.  Exterior paint and polish.  A weekend scrub down or paint job is well worth your time and effort.

3.  Windows.  Wash them.  Seal them.  Paint the trim.  Very nice.

4.  Front entrance:  Make it clean, tidy and presentable.  Paint the front door a welcoming color and place flower  pots on either side of the door.  Putting in a really nice front door is a good idea.

5.  Deep cleaning.  This allows you to see areas of your home you would usually not see and may identify and leaks or issues so you can take care of issues while they are still small.

6. Feng Shui it.  The harmonious placement of objects in your home really does make a difference in your day to day enjoyment in your home, and how well you connect with the people in it.  

7. Go on an Anti-Clutter Binge!  Get rid of it.  Give it away.                                   
I like the three bin method for sorting. Mark 3 bins this way:  
*   Friends (Use it/Love it) , 
*   Acquaintances (Infrequent use/ not vital) 
*   Strangers (Never use it/Don't love it).        
    Use these to help you determine each objects worth and value to you.  

8.  Paint a room.  You might be surprised on what a lift this can give your home.

9.  Polish those floors.  Depending on what type of floor you have, it needs some care and maintenance.  Be it sealing grout, waxing or just a good scrub, cleaning your floors will brighten your home and make it more pleasant to be in and to show.

10.  Pull out the Fridge, Stove, Washer and Dryer.  Inspect the floors under them and the walls behind them.  This allows you to identify and correct  leaks, mold or gunk that might be attracting pests into your home.

Before you begin any big renovations, it is a good idea to start with a Comparative Market Analysis Home Report.  

This will help you assess what upgrades will bring you the best Return On Investment in your current market.

Comprehensive Comparative Market Analysis Reports provide 

in-depth information that will benefit you greatly

and give you the knowledge you deserve 

about your homes current value.

Call for yours today.  

Your detailed Home Report is not free. I create these in exchange for your donation of any size to one of the charities listed in the top right corner of this page.

Call for your appointment today.  A limited number are offered per month on a first come, first served basis.

Best wishes,

Heather Maier

Email: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com

305-281-1873

Please hit the share button & leave a comment below!    

The Northern Virginia Radon Map You Want To See

Making a wise investment means making wise choices.

A radon test is a small investment relative to the peace, safety and ease of correction it provides.

You want the radon test as part of your inspection contingency.   It does cost more, but  it is well worth it.

If radon is found, you can ask the seller to correct this prior to closing.

Correcting a radon issue means putting in venting pipes so it is not built up in the ground beneath your home, and costs somewhere int he neighborhood of $1000.

This map shows the areas of elevated radon

This video provides a good overview about radon, why it is important to check for it, and how to fix it.

That's it!  If you found this information helpful 

please share it with a friend.

Don't forget to call Heather Maier when you are ready to buy, sell or to get a detailed analysis of your homes current market value.

Best wishes,

Heather Maier

email: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com

305-281-1873

Crime Mapping: Safety Ratings of Your New Neighborhood

It is best to be as well informed as possible when moving to a new area.

My family moved so many times for my husbands career, that I got quite good at knowing what to look for. Often we had to find and move to a new home sight unseen.  

Once, three days before our move, on a whim I googled the address of the home we would be renting.

The search engines brought up multiple news reports of a major drug bust that just occurred in that home, and how the police had been watching it for months due to gang activity.

Needless to say, there was no way I was moving my family into that house.

I had done all my research, due diligence, and thought we would be moving to safe, quiet, suburban home.   Obviously not the case!

Here are a few links you may find helpful when choosing the are you wish to live in:

https://www.crimereports.com/

http://spotcrime.com

http://sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov/sor/

None of us have any guarantees about safety or the decency of the people around us, but we can use these tools to help us make the wisest choice we can about where we want to live.

If you found this helpful please share it with a friend!

Don't forget to call Heather Maier when you are ready to buy, sell, rent or need a qualified home analysis to measure how your home value stands in this current market.

Best wishes,

Heather Maier

email: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com

305-281-1873

Top 10 Things to Do To Sell Your Home Quickly

Once you have made the decision to sell your home, you probably want to get it sold as quickly as possible so you can move on to the next chapter in your life.

Here are Heather Maier’s top 10 suggestions to help you sell your home quickly

1.  Price it right.  This is the number one factor.

2.  Get a CMA – Comparative Market Analysis so you can make data-driven decisions and make sure you are listing your home for a price that is both fair, and will make your home sell quickly in whatever the current market conditions are.

3.  Clean up the front of your home.  First impressions count.

4.  Remove all clutter and organize. Organizing shows that your home has been well cared for.

5.  Pack up and store as much as you can.  Let your home be a blank slate for the buyers to imagine it as their own.

6.  Purge!  Get rid of all the things you don’t use, need or like.

7.  Clean. Clean everything.  Windowsills, baseboards, windows. Everything. Clean counts.

8.  Organize those closets.  Not only will this make your home more presentable for sale, but it will make things easier for your come move time.

9.  Make your kitchen spotless! Including organizing the cupboards. 

10.  Make the house smell clean, pleasant and inviting. 

These are the essential things for you to do in order to help your home sell quickly.

Are you ready to get your Custom Home Report?

Heather will prepare you a custom and detailed report in exchange for a donation of any size to one of her listed charities. CALL TODAY!

EMAIL: HeatherNovaHomes@gmail.com for more info.

CALL: 305.281.1873