The very first step in this process is for us to discuss your needs, goals, dreams and desires.  This may involve specifics such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or may focus more on the layout of homes, the feel of a neighborhood, and the long term plans for your growing family.  I will be focusing on listening well, and hearing what it is you are working to achieve with our home purchase – and then helping to identify the best housing options for accomplishing those goals.

An important, parallel, part of starting the home buying process is to identify a target price range.  This can best be determined through consultation with a reputable, local mortgage lender (just ask… I know who they are) but will involve more than just determining the highest priced home that they would allow you to purchase.  It will be important to consider both your purchasing power, and your goals for how your housing costs will fit into your overall budget.  You will also talk with your mortgage lender about how different loan programs might work better (or worse) for your situation.

Once we have a shared understanding of what you are hoping to purchase, and we know what the price tag can and should look like, we can start to evaluate homes that are currently on the market.  This will usually start online, perhaps through an exchange of emails, and saving some searches in your account on my web site.  Then, you might choose to drive by some of the prospects before determining a list of homes to go view – or you may be ready to start seeing all of the homes on the list right away.  As we view this first set of homes, we will learn a lot – about the opportunities in the market, and about your preferences. 

If we don't identify a home after looking at all of the homes on the market that seem to offer what you are looking for in a new home, we will either re-evaluate our criteria to expand our search, or we will wait to view new listings that come on the market.  This extended home search process might take us weeks, or months, depending on the type of property you are hoping to purchase, and how often such a property becomes available.  All along the way, I'll be following up on previous homes we have viewed to let you know if their prices have dropped, and will be letting you know of new opportunities as soon as those houses hit the market.

Once we have identified the home you are hoping to purchase, we will prepare to make an offer.  This will include researching similar home sales to guide our discussions of price, creating a negotiation strategy, and preparing and reviewing the pertinent contract documents.  There is quite a bit of paperwork involved in making an offer on a home, and I want to make sure that you understand these contract documents and make sure that we have drafted them in a way to protect your best interests.

Negotiating the final deal on the property you purchase may take a few hours, or a few days.  We may go back and forth with the seller on price alone, or on many terms of the contract such as timing, contingencies, and more.  Once we have a final agreement, all parties will sign and initial the final documents, and we will have a full ratified contract.

Immediately following the ratification of the contract, we will need to schedule and perform a home inspection and radon inspection (assuming you are conducting both) to learn more about the property you are purchasing.  If these inspections reveal new (detrimental) information about the property, we will have the opportunity to request that the seller make repairs to the property, which may result in a renegotiation on price.  Typically, we are able to work through this second round of negotiations relatively quickly, so long as the seller is being realistic and rational given the new information about their property.

Simultaneously with conducting these inspections, you will need to be starting the financing process to work towards obtaining full loan approval.  This will start with signing your loan application and paying any applicable loan application or appraisal fees.  Your lender will then be diligently working to further qualify you as a purchaser as well as the property via an appraisal.  You will be providing many documents to your lender during this process as they work towards securing a loan for you to purchase the property.

Within the first few weeks after your contract is in place, we will need to select service providers to coordinate the additional aspects of your home purchase.  This will include a settlement agent or attorney who will conduct a title search of the property and prepare all documents for your settlement.  You will also need to set up a new homeowners insurance policy on your new property, as well as schedule utility service to start in your name as of the settlement date.

We'll now be just a few weeks before closing, and the final pre-settlement details will include reviewing the settlement statement (which shows all of the funds coming into and going out of the closing), conducting a final walk though of the property (to confirm the condition is as we expect it to be), and obtaining a cashier's check to bring the necessary funds to settlement.  All of the details should be falling in place now, and if all goes well, we will be set for an on-time settlement.

In nearly all real estate transactions (in this area) at your real estate closing you will sign all of the loan and settlement documents as well as receive the keys to your new property.  The house will now be your new home, and you can take possession and starting moving in immediately after settlement.  Later that day, the settlement agent will record the deed at the courthouse that officially transfers ownership of the property into your name.

You are bound to have questions about the home buying process – before you begin, as we go, and even after settlement.  I am here to answer all of those questions, or to guide you to the professional who can.  There is plenty to learn about the home buying process, and I am here to help guide you through it and to help you make excellent decisions about your purchase of a home.

Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air you breathe. Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Radon can also enter your home through well water. Your home can trap radon inside.

Any home can have a radon problem. This means new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements. In fact, you and your family are most likely to get your greatest radiation exposure at home. That is where you spend most of your time.

Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the United States is estimated to have an elevated radon level (4 pCi/L or more).

• 2015:  $182,250
• 2016:  $187,718
• 2017:  $193,349
• 2018:  $199,149

That would mean that a median priced home ($182K) may increase in value by about $17,000 over the next three years.

1. I can now search for properties for you in a much larger area -- though do bear in mind that my main area of expertise is in Rockingham County, so if you are looking to buy or sell in the green area above, I may refer you to one of my colleagues who is more qualified to represent you in those areas.
    
   
2. All of the data in my monthly market reports is SLIGHTLY different now.  In the past, all of the analysis that I compiled for Harrisonburg/Rockingham home sales was coming out of the Harrisonburg/Rockingham MLS -- which would have missed any Harrisonburg/Rockingham home sales that were reported in the Staunton/Augusta MLS (for example).

It's a whole new world with this new MLS -- new data displays, some data issues, and much more.  If you're seeing any oddities online (on Zillow, my website, any other website) -- just let me know -- I'll be happy to help you figure out what is going on amidst this transition.

• Home sales have increased 13% YTD.
• The median sales prece has increased 8% YTD.
• The average sales price has increased 12% YTD.
• Median days on market has decreased 12% YTD.

As shown above, February, March and April 2015 home sales have all surpassed the same month in 2014.  We are likely to see 100+ home sales per month over the next 5 or 6 months as we continue through the Spring and into the Summer selling season.

OK -- one last tidbit for you before I make you go read the full online market report, or download the PDF....

As shown above, more buyers (109) signed contracts in April 2015 than in April 2014 (107).  This continues the trend of increased market activity in 2015 and is likely to lead to strong months of sales during May and June.

OK, that's it for now.  I'll hit some high points here on HarrisonburgHousingToday.com in coming days.  This month has been a bit of a whirlwind, in part because of the new local MLS.  If you study my reports intently from month to month, you'll see some new data making its way into the mix -- more on that soon.

Read the full May 2015 Harrisonburg Housing Market Report online or by downloading the PDF.

If you are ready to buy or sell a property in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County, contact me at 540-578-0102 or scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com to get the process started.

Drivers of Tesla electric cars have a new place to recharge in the Shenandoah Valley, with more locations on the way.

By the Side of the Road Inn and Cottages in Harrisonburg announced Wednesday that Tesla Motors has installed two charging stations at the bed and breakfast.

In addition, the car company announced last week that it plans to build Supercharger stations for its Model S car in Strasburg, Charlottesville and three other locations in Virginia in the next year.

Dennis Fitzgerald, an innkeeper at By the Side of the Road, said the inn was recently offered membership in the Select Registry, a network of hotels, resorts and restaurants that provide charging equipment for electric car owners.

• Area 5 - South of Route 33, East of I-81
• Area 7 - South of Route 33, West of I-81
• Area 9 - North of Route 33, West of I-81
• Area11 - North of Route 33, East of I-81

The aged appearance of the map above might be an indicator of how long ago this map, and these "areas" have been used as a way to divide up Rockingham County.

But.....no longer!  While these areas technically still exist in our new MLS, they are now an optional field, and some new listings include them and some do not.

So, if you became accustomed to thinking about properties (or searching for properties) in one area as opposed to another, all of that must now change.  If you just focus on this now-outdated system of "areas" you'll likely be missing out on some properties as we move forward.

My recommendation for moving forward is to define your search based on a zip code, a school district, or on a custom area on a map.

Stay tuned for further updates on additional changes we are seeing in our local MLS and thus our local real estate data.

Side note -- our "MLS" is the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Multiple Listing Service -- which, among other things, is the online database where all real estate listings are stored.