Haymarket Homes Values / A Guide for Buyers and Sellers

DC METRO REAL ESTATE

Serving the Real Estate needs of the communities of Manassas, Bristow, Haymarket, Warrenton, Gainesville and Culpeper  in Northern Virginia


Dave Scardina  
Broker / Owner

703-829-SOLD

866-909-0900

Haymarket Homes Values / A Guide for Buyers and Sellers

Guidelines for Buying Haymarket


Whether you are a seasoned veteran of real estate transactions or a first time buyer, my advice is the same: Know the Market, Know Yourself and Rely on Experts to give you the whole picture of what you are buying.

Know the Haymarket Market. Another way of stating this is Research, Research, Research. Of course the Internet is a great way to give an overview of Haymarket homes or homes in any given area but may not be enough, especially if you are looking to buy a home some distance from where you currently live. If you are looking to buy locally you can drive the neighborhoods that you are focusing on to get an idea if there are any problems you need to be aware of. Does part of the development back up to a busy highway? If so and if you want to avoid looking at homes in that area, know what streets are involved so you can recognize listings that may be involved.

Haymarket: Art and Science


Buying a piece of Haymarket real estate is a science but buying your Haymarket home is an art. The science part involves getting the legal and financial parts down while the art is finding the Haymarket property that you’ll be happy with.

The total universe of possibilities within the universe of Haymarket real estate is quite diverse but narrowing your search ahead of time will help keep things in perspective.

In general there are two phases to any Haymarket real estate search. In the first phase, you get a feel for the different areas and an idea of what is being offered at what price. In the second phase, you search for the Haymarket real estate that meets all or most of your specifications.


Before You Buy Your Haymarket Home


Whether you are a first time buyer or someone who is moving up to a more expensive home it’s a good idea to start by cleaning up your credit report. Let’s say you apply for a loan to purchase an Haymarket condo, town home, single-family home or any type of Haymarket. The lender will check out your monthly income and outgo to determine if you can afford to repay the loan. Therefore, it is to your advantage to pay off as many high-interest consumer loans as possible. If you are planning on buying a car, a boat or other major purchase, put it off until after you have bought your selected Haymarket real estate. Lenders look for certain patterns they consider red flags. These are: late payments, overextension, liens, garnishments and, of course, bankruptcy. Remember, debts reduce the amount of cash you can spend on the Haymarket you want to buy, so clear the decks as much as possible before applying for a loan


Bitten by the Haymarket Home Improvement Bug?


Money isn’t everything however so that if the most important consideration for remaining in your Haymarket home happens to be the school where your children attend or the proximity to your work or to a particularly attractive recreational opportunity then remodeling may be the best option. On the other hand, if the idea of having your Haymarket house torn up for weeks at a time makes your blood run cold, it really doesn’t matter how much money you might make turning a fixer-upper into a model home. You will be far better off selling the home you have and moving to a home that better fits your needs.

Buying a Haymarket Fixer-Upper


Finding the right Haymarket fixer upper often involves finding a seller who is in financial difficulty and wants to sell in order to protect their credit or to avoid foreclosure. Various government agencies such as VA, HUD, IRS and others offer homes in foreclosure for sale and these homes can make excellent fixer-uppers. Bank owned properties known as REOs, real estate owned, offer good opportunities since financial institutions want to eliminate their real estate holdings by selling foreclosures quickly.

Join my network of Haymarket buyers looking for specific types of properties. Call or Email me today.


Buying Haymarket Real Estate...Will it Pay?


A frequent question from prospective homebuyers relates to building home equity. Haymarket buyers like to estimate how much a home may increase in value based upon past appreciation. One of the many advantages of home ownership is that appreciation is based on the home’s market value rather than on the actual dollar amount invested or the down payment so that a $100,000.00 home that appreciates 5% is now worth $105,000.00. This is one way of building your Haymarket home equity but there is more you can do.