• The home inspector points out that adding smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in every bedroom would be a good safety practice.  The buyer demands that the seller install these or the buyer won't buy the house.
   
• The home inspector points out that current building code would require more insulation in the attic than exists in the attic of a 30 year old house, and recommends that the buyer consider adding insulation in the future for greater energy efficiency.  The buyer demands that the seller bring the house up to current insulation code standards or the buyer won't buy the house.
   
• The home inspector says that one area of the roof has some loose shingles.  The seller has a licensed roofer evaluate the roof and re-fasten or replace the loose shingles.  The buyer demands that the seller replace the entire roof or the buyer won't buy the house.
  

1. Get angry.  Get frustrated.  Get discouraged.  All of these are reasonable.  You were trying to sell a solid home to the home buyers and you would be willing to address reasonable repair requests -- but the buyer is making unreasonable requests.
    
2. Move on quickly.  Once you have determined that the buyer has really moved on, and will not be purchasing the home based on their questionable conclusions about the condition of the property, you should move on quickly as well.  It won't do anyone any good to hang around for a few days or weeks trying to convince the buyers to buy the house.  Release the contract and get the house back on the market ASAP to seek and secure a new buyer -- hopefully one who behaves a bit more rationally.
    
3. Be transparent with future buyers.  If a future buyer is a reasonable and rational buyer -- when you explain the facts of the property condition, and what the seller has done or is willing to do, and how the buyer reacted and what they requested, most future buyers are going to understand and be able to fully consider the house despite the condition issues with which the first buyer took issue. 
   

• JMU would donate the needed land, valued at $3M.
   
  
• Engineers estimate the project will cost $9,140,000.
   
• The City will ask the Commonwealth for half of those funds -- $4,570,000.
   
• JMU would provide the remainder of the funds -- $4,570,000.

• Check the tax records to see how much square footage the City / County believes you have in your home.
   
• Measure the square footage of each room and hallway and add it all up.

So, how do you really measure square footage?  It starts outside the home!  You'll need to measure the exterior dimensions of each level of your home -- and then subtract any open areas, such as the open space above a foyer.

This measurement method, as odd as it may be, is what is used by nearly every appraiser, as it is how "gross living area" is defined by Fannie Mae, HUD, FHA, ERC and ANSI.  As such, it is important that you're measuring the square footage of your home in the same way that nearly every appraiser and Realtor would be measuring it, so that you're comparing apples to apples when comparing the size (SF) of your home to another home that has sold or that is on the market for sale.

And here's why I consider it to be an odd way to measure square footage....

• WALLS:  I don't know anyone that lives inside of the their walls -- but by measuring the exterior dimensions of your home, you are including the square footage that is inside the interior and exterior walls of your home.  As a side note -- this makes a home with an open floor plan slightly more spacious than a home with lots of separate rooms -- because the home with the open floor plan has less 'lost" square footage inside of interior walls of the home.
   
• STAIRS:  I don't know anyone who spends meaningful parts of their day on the stairs between levels of their home -- but by measuring the exterior dimensions of your home, you are including the square footage that is in the stairwell of your home.  As a side note -- this makes a 2000 SF ranch style home slightly more spacious than a 2000 SF colonial home -- because the ranch style home does not have any "lost" square footage in a stairwell.

• $175K townhouse = $995 to buy, $1050 to rent
   
• $225K townhouse = $1183 to buy, $1,300 to rent

• the closing costs when purchasing (-)
   
  
• the potential increase in your home's value if you buy (+)
   
• the cost of selling down the road (-)
   
• the potential maintenance costs (-)
   
• the tax benefits of mortgage interest (+)

So, let's look at it again, a bit more thoroughly...

 

Above I have tried to account for ALL of those factors, and looking at a two year window, three year window and five year window. 

This analysis indicates that you should probably plan to be in your home for 5+ years if you want the total financial transaction(s) to be a net positive.

That said, there are, of course, plenty of extenuating circumstances.  Many people might buy a $175K house (or townhouse) even if they are planning to be there for only 3 years --- because they want their own home (not their landlord's), or to get in a certain neighborhood, or because of the tax benefits, etc.

Every buyer's situation is different, and I'd be happy to help you run an analysis similar to those shown below if you're interested in analyzing your best housing move.

 

1. Ironically, one of the reasons why we don't see very many new "for sale" neighborhoods being developed and built today is because the high cost to the landowner or developer of abiding by the much more stringent stormwater management requirements.  That is not to say that the requirements should be loosened to allow homes to be built that would have stormwater issues in the future - but it is worth mentioning that at least part of the reason why we are not seeing more new homes being built for buyers to buy is a result of these increased stormwater management requirements.
    
2. If developers a decade ago developed properties as they were told to develop them, it doesn't seem realistic or reasonable to think that they would need to come back and cure these issues.  Or, as Mr. Miller put it at the public hearing -- "Mr. Miller indicated that he does not know of any mechanism to get developers to contribute money for something they did eight to fifteen years ago; if for no other reason, what they did was in accordance with state regulations at the time."
   

• Crawford Avenue - the left turn into the Purcell Park neighborhood after crossing over I-81 and directly after the turn for Starbucks.
   
• Hillcrest Drive - the second left turn into the Purcell Park neighborhood, directly after Crawford Avenue.
  
  
• Hunters Road - the left turn mentioned at the top of this article, that leads to the Starbucks with the drive through and to Hunters Ridge Condominiums.

"The changes, which will include signs and flashing lights to remind drivers of the restricted hours, are focused on reducing crashes and congestion at these intersections. Left turns are one of the most dangerous turning movements and are responsible for a high percentage of crashes with injuries. Left turns off of Port Republic Road onto neighborhood streets also have a tendency to cause rear-end crashes when the vehicle turning left has to wait for a gap in traffic and comes to a stop in the through-lane, causing the drivers behind the turning vehicle to have to rapidly or unexpectedly come to a stop."

"Those traveling to or from the neighborhoods between Main Street and Interstate 81 can use South Main Street as an alternative route during these hours. Those traveling to or from neighborhoods on Hunters Road should use Bradley Drive as an alternative route."

'The City realizes there is a tradeoff between convenience and safety, and recognizes that some trips will be slightly longer due to this change,' Director of Public Works Tom Hartman said. 'This is the reason for the restriction being limited to only peak travel times.'

'At the end of the day, we want to make sure drivers can safely move through this corridor to get where they are going,' Hartman added. 'And while these changes will take some getting used to, we know the end result will be a much-improved area for all who live in and pass through this area.'

1. There were 149 home sales in July - up 13.74% from last July!
    
2. We've seen 784 home sales this year, down just 0.13% (or, one house) from last year at this time.
    
3. The median sales price thus far in 2019 has been $219K -- up 1.86% from last year at this time when it was $215K.
    
   
4. It's taking even less time (a median of 17 days) for homes to go under contract this year, a 22.73% decline from last year's median of 22 days.

1. The pace of detached home sales increased 1.71% over the past year.
    
2. The median sales price of those detached homes is down 1.09% to $227,500.
    
   
3. The pace of attached home sales decreased 5.87% over the past year.
    
4. The median sales price of those attached homes rose 4.85% to $173,000.

1. If you have questions about the market that I don't regularly cover in these monthly reports, feel free to email me.
    
2. If you're planning to sell your home this Fall, we should start chatting soon about timing, preparations for your house, pricing within the current market and more.  Call (540-578-0102) or email me and we can set up a time to meet to chat.
    
3. If you are planning to buy in the near future -- again -- be ready to be patient and then to ACT QUICKLY!  :-)  Make it a bit easier for yourself by knowing the market, knowing the process, knowing your buying power, and closely monitoring new listings!

1. Starting to look at homes will help to create a context for you to understand what is a reasonable price for houses that might interest you.
    
2. You will also start to see how quickly homes that would interest you go under contract - thus letting you know how quickly you may need to act when you are ready to buy.
    
3. You can also start to determine how readily available homes will be that match what you're looking for.  Plenty of homes might seem interesting online but once you go inside them, are most really good options for you, or only a few.  This will give you a sense of how easy it will be to find a good option for you to buy.

• The closing for both will be on the same day.  Let's say it's a Friday.
   
  
• You'll have to be out of your current house by the evening before closing (Thursday evening in this case) so that you can close on the sale of that house the following morning (Friday morning).
   
• You won't have access to the new house to move your belongings in until after you close on Friday afternoon.
   
  
• So, where are your belongings going to be from Thursday evening until Friday afternoon?  And where will you be?

• Systems Plans (Heating, AC, Electrical, Plumbing, etc.)
• Appliances Plan (just the appliances)
• Combo Plan (both of the above)
• Build Your Own Plan (just what you select)