By Nesbitt Realty – a family business
Real estate tips, ethics, law, anecdotes and definition of terms.
 About the Author --- Aubrey Nesbitt is a native of Northern Virginia who attended Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a veteran of the US Army and helps his family business by providing informational articles like this one. In addition to photography and blogging, Aubrey provides administrative support for the office. |
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, emails sent for the purpose of advertising real estate services must contain specified disclosures at the beginning or end of the message. Does that mean disclosures are required in all emails?
Let's look at the case of Earl and Brian. Earl lists his home for sale with an agent named Brian. Earl is a busy guy and doesn't like phone calls. Earl prefers email and thus he and Brian communicate regularly by email. Late one night, Brian replies to one of Earl's emails but includes none of the required disclosures!
Has Larry violated the rules of the Commonwealth of Virginia?
The answer is no. Earl is already Brian's client and thus these emails are not solicitations. Disclosures are unnecessary when dealing with existing clients and in any correspondence required by the ordinary conduct of business.
When you've picked out the house, townhouse or condo you want to make your own, it's time to write the offer. An offer is a written description of the terms under which you the buyer would purchase the subject property. If the seller accepts your terms the next step would be to proceed to closing and thus full ownership of the property. Although most Realtors in Northern Virginia use the standard Northern Virginia Association of Realtors contract there are many possible contingencies, addenda and options that will alter the offer to make it specific to your situation.
One of the most common contingencies added to the offer is the "financing contingency". This contingency specifies that if the buyer cannot get financing then the deal is off and the earnest money is returned to the buyer without penalty.
Another matter that must be addressed in the offer is the down payment. One way that the down payment differs from the earnest money in that the down payment is paid at closing rather than at the time of the offer. The seller wants to know the buyer's down payment amount because it provides further evidence of the buyer's qualifications to secure a mortgage.
The offer also describes the interest rate and some terms of the proposed loan. The rates and terms described in the offer are not an offer of credit from a lending institution and do not reflect the loan that the borrower will receive. Rather, the rates and terms are describe to provide a safeguard against any dramatic change in interest rates between when the offer is made and when the loan is closed. In other words if the rates double but the buyer is still approved for financing the buyer could cancel the offer because the terms exceed what he can tolerate financially.
Every purchase will have closing costs. Both buyers and sellers have expenses at closing. Buyers, especially first time buyers, are usually scraping for down payment and closing costs. The seller cannot help with down payment, but the seller can subsidize the buyer's closing costs. If so negotiated the seller can pay all or a portion of the buyer's taxes, origination fees or title insurance. This money comes directly from the seller's pocket so if buyers who need assistance can expect to pay a little higher price than those who do not need a subsidy.
Although the seller cannot help with down payment, the seller can offer some or all of the financing. The terms of the offer will describe the loan that the buyer expects to receive from the seller.
When we make the offer I can help advise you on what terms and conditions will best suit your unique circumstances and what terms are mostly likely to be acceptable to the seller.
Hidden Oaks Nature Center is located at 7701 Royce St. in Annandale VA. The Hidden Oaks Nature Center is found within the 52 acre Annandale Community Park in Fairfax County. The nature center features a gently winding trail just one third of a mile long. The trail is perfect for an easy stroll because it works through the woods and then ends where it started. The County of Fairfax maintains this park and provides seasonal brochures that highlight the season. The Nature Center is open to students and the public providing reference materials about local fauna and flora.
Bird watchers and photographers love to visit Hidden Oaks. The Park has an antebellum railroad embankment that is part of the Virginia National Historic Landmark Manassas Gap Railroad. The Urban Woodlands exhibit reveals the secrets of an urban woodland forest. This exhibit features interactive stations in where children and parents alike can discover and learn through hands-on learning activities such as the indoor turtle pond.
Set within the 52 acre Annandale Community Park, Hidden Oaks Nature Center is located in the heart of Fairfax County, a few minutes inside the Capital Beltway. The woods surrounding the center feature an easy loop trail 1/3 mile long. Seasonal brochures enable visitors to discover the changing nature of the woodland at points along the trail. For further exploration, additional trails lead through the woods to two streams. Bird watching and photography are special pleasures in these quiet surroundings.
In December the Nature Center is open 9am to 5pm Monday, Wednesday-Friday; noon-5pm Saturday, Sunday; closed Tuesday. In January and February, the nature center is open 11am-4pm each day, closed on Tuesdays except for scheduled programs. The nature center is open 9am-5pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; noon-5pm Saturday, Sunday. Closed Tuesdays except for scheduled programs. Grounds open dawn to dusk. Call the nature center at 703-941-1065 for more information.
Annandale --- For a map of Annandale or to shop and compare homes for sale in Annandale.
For more information or to set up an appointment call Stuart at (703)765-0300.
The trail follows the edge of the Potomac and is relatively quiet even though it's just off the George Washington Parkway.
The day was not so gloomy as these pictures turned out and it was very pleasant just off the trail.
There was a bird here and I tried hard to get him on camera, but he was much too quick. He would dive and then surface with a fish in his beak. We saw him eat at least six fish. I was amazed by how much one little bird could eat.
Foxy came with us and she trotted into the water to bark at ducks but didn't have the courage to take a swim.
