The Stepping Stone Group Real Estate Video Blog with Betsy Voegtlin

Happy Holidays, Fairfax!

There are many great Fairfax area homes for sale! Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 703-798-9882 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions

On behalf of my team, we want to extend our seasonal greeting to everyone in Fairfax. Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year! We hope you are surrounded by a lot of laughter, joy, friends, family, and love. We wish you the best this holiday season!

We’re excited for the new year. We have some great things in store for our clients in 2016. In the meantime, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for your trust, business, and support in 2015. We’re so grateful for our clients, friends, and family over the years. You mean so much to us.

If you have any questions, as always, please reach out to us via phone or email! Happy holidays.

What Simple, Inexpensive Updates Can You Make on Your Home?

If you are looking to sell your home, your goal is to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. One of the best ways to add value and appeal to your home is through home staging. Home staging is the art of selling a home faster by making a home more appealing to the right buyer. You have a lot of options for how you want to go about it. You could hire a professional staging company, which could be substantially costly. However, most of the time, a few simple fixes is all it takes to transform a living room.

Today we are going to go through some of our most favorite, inexpensive home staging tips for you. We hope these will help you save both time and money when it comes time to sell your home.

A fresh coat of paint is always a good idea. Neutral, warm colors work best for highlighting the natural light in your home. This will make it easier to brighten the room with some colorful accessories and pull everything together.

A common design problem facing many homeowners is that they have no real entry way, as their front door opens up to the living room. To fix this, you can add a table, some lighting, and a rug to "fake a foyer" and make it feel like the living room and entryway are two different spaces.

A patterned rug, some pillows, or bright curtains add a ton of texture and an eclectic layer to the space, which is essential to a well-designed room.

In some cases, a "make-under" is just what you need. In the case of most fireplaces, taking some accessories and clutter away enhances the look and feel of the room greatly.

You could spend well over a few thousand dollars with a staging company, or you could do these fixes yourself for around $500. That's a small investment considering the value that you add to your home by adding those pieces.

If you have any questions for us about staging your home or anything else real estate related, give us a call or send over a quick email. We are always here to help, and would love to hear from you!

How We Helped Will Smolinsky Buy and Sell a Home

"I have used Betsy three times now, my wife and I have used her twice together, and I bought a condo right before the recession. Betsy is great, she does a good job of educating you on the process, what she thinks your home is worth. She was really helpful, especially for a first time home-buyer. The first condo I bought with her, my loan fell through on the day of closing, so there was a really nervous three hours or so, and she was a comforting voice of reason steering me in the right direction for sure. She did a great job of staging both the condo and house my wife bought together, and she told us what we needed to do to make everything look good. She does a good job from the time that you contact her about being interested in buying, to keeping you on the front of what is going on. She checks in regularly to keep you from worrying. It shows she is just as concerned about getting you into a home as you are. She does that really well."

How We Helped Scott Streicher Buy and Sell a Home

How We Helped Scott Streicher Buy and Sell a Home:

"I've bought and sold four or five houses with Betsy. The last two sold in less than a day. One of them sold in around four hours. I've had great results with Betsy. I absolutely adore her. She is very personable, very good at follow up and she made life so easy for us. When we put our home up for sale, she took care of everything from A-Z. She took care of scheduling all of the inspections. She's very good at all of the follow up, and kept us on track. It makes life a lot easier when you're buying and selling a home."

How We Helped Don Clarke Buy and Sell a Home

How We Helped Don Clarke Buy and Sell a Home:

"I got a wonderful house, which is a direct result of all the hard work she put in. We found a house we absolutely love. I was not convinced we even needed a house, but my wife insisted on an upgrade, as we're getting ready to have kids. That's when we found Betsy. Let me tell you, she was absolutely wonderful. She was extremely patient, and really helped us buy and sell a house at the same time. We were selling the one we were in as well as buying another. She knew all of the right questions to ask, the right places to look, and was able to narrow it down to what we were looking for while applying our wants to houses in the area. You never felt like a number. She was always in it for the long haul, and that was to make sure we found what we were looking for, so I truly appreciate that from her." Betsy Voegtlin Testimonials

Betsy Voegtlin Reviews: How we helped Robert Franklin buy and sell a home

Betsy is phenomenal. She found us our first house and when we were ready to sell it, she came in and helped us through the sales process. She walked through and realistically told us what needed to be done in regards to replacing things and cleaning up. When we did everything she suggested, she walked through again and gave us a touch up list. We were very aware of what other people were looking at, and what was going to sell the property the quickest. The sales process went relatively quick. Two weeks in we had a buyer on the line.

She was very quick and helpful with the paperwork. She explained everything so that we had an understanding of what we were signing. It's good to have someone dumb it down for you, so its easy to digest. When we accepted the contract, she walked us through all of that.

When the buying agent had some problems, she stepped in to resolve them, so that we could sell our property faster. You have tendency to appreciate the extra work that she does.

- Robert Franklin, Homeowner

How Important Is Staging when Selling?

Selling your home involves a lot of different steps. One of the most critical steps in preparing your home for sale is home staging. Today we are very excited to be joined by one of our favorite home stagers, Victoria, from Voilà Designs by Victoria. She is here to discuss with us why staging is so important when you are trying to sell a home.

When you are selling a home, you have to understand that it is no longer your home. It has to be viewed as a house, a piece of property, a business investment that you want and need to sell. If you want to sell in today’s market, you’ve got to appeal to today’s buyers. This is where the home staging comes in.

Maximizing the space is one of the most critical aspects of staging. You have got to show the rooms to be as large as possible. Staging to sell is different than staging to live, so you’ve got to always have today’s buyers and their perspectives in mind. Maybe your home is a little older, so bringing in some fresh, new touches may help immensely.

When Victoria stages a home, she is looking for something modern, fresh, and clean. It’s really important that all of the elements of the home look as visually compelling and visually appealing as possible. When you have a vacant home, it doesn’t really translate to the buyer and doesn’t show as well with photography either, which is another important part of your home sale.

If you have any questions for Victoria, please get in touch. All of her contact information is on her website, which you can click here to visit. If you have any other questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We’ll be here for you, every step of the way!

Betsy Voegtlin Reviews: How we helped Barry Smith buy and sell a home

"I’ve utilized Betsy’s services on two different occasions: the first to purchase a home, and more recently to both sell a home and buy a new home. On both occasions she worked diligently to successfully purchase us a home using her outstanding skills and understanding of the marketplace, and was able to sell our home for the price we were looking for. I’ve never met a more professional, confident individual." - Barry Smith, Homeowner

Betsy Voegtlin Reviews- How we helped Michael Drueen buy and sell a home

"My ex-wife and I purchased and sold a town home and ultimately purchased the house that I’m currently residing in. It’s been five years since we sold the town home, and it’s still listed as the highest selling unit in that particular community. We sold it at the top of the market and got premium dollar for it. That’s largely due to Betsy’s work.

If you want to talk about going above and beyond, we were actually on a boat in the Caribbean when Betsy hunted us down via satellite and contacted the ship’s captain in order to get a message to us that a deal was eminent. We worked out the final details of the deal somewhere in the waters of the Caribbean drinking Piña coladas, while she was clearing all the paperwork up north." Michael Drueen, Homeowner

Why Are We so Excited?

We have some very exciting news to share with you today. My team was recently recognized by the Washingtonian’s “Best of Washington” list under “Top Real Estate Agents”. It is a huge honor for us to be recognized, so we just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU on behalf of our entire team for voting for us.

We know this honor stems from our past clients having great experiences and our personal philosophy of not just looking at this business as transactional. We are always here to serve you, answer questions, and provide you with any help you need at all.

If you have a minute, it would be great to hear from you. We are so grateful and honored to be in business with you, and we look forward to continue serving you and keep our reputation of “Best in Washington” going.

If you have any questions for us, just give us a call or send us an email. Until next time!

How Can You Put an Accurate Value on Your Fairfax Home?

Today I'd like to talk about Zillow. It's a great resource to find homes, but not a good resource to use if you're trying to price your home to sell. I recently saw an interview where the CEO of Zillow was speaking, and even he said that Zillow's Zestimate can be off by as much as 8%. In some instances, that number can be off by as much as 25%!

For a home that is worth $200,000, a difference of 8% is a difference of $16,000! That is a significant amount of money. This is why you must take these Zestimates with a grain of salt. Zillow is not a pricing tool, it is an aggregate of homes that are around the neighborhood that have recently sold.

While it's helpful to have that information at your fingertips, it's better to speak with a real estate agent in order to get an accurate value for your home. We can place a very accurate and attractive sale price on your home if you allow us to come out and look at your property.

We would love to help you sell for top dollar by placing an accurate value on your Fairfax home. Please don't hesitate to contact us!

How Can We Serve You In Northern Virginia?

Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your 2015 has gotten off to a great start and you and your family are doing well. I wanted to share with you today our goals for this next year. At The Stepping Stone Real Estate Group, we hope to help 60 families achieve their dream of homeownership in 2015. We look forward to being able to not only meet that goal, but exceed it.

We would greatly appreciate your help in allowing us to achieve our goal. If you are thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate, or know somebody who is, we would love for you to give us a call and let us know how we can help. It would be our honor to serve you or anyone you know looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate.

Conditions in Northern Virginia are perfect right now for buying or investing in property. Interest rates are extremely low, and there are now even 3% down payment options, which is making real estate more affordable than ever. As we head into the spring market, we are going to see a healthy level of inventory continue to rise and we are going to have a lot of buyer demand in just a few short months.

We are here to serve all of your needs at any time. If you have any questions for us, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you, and we want to be with you every step of the way!

How to Determine the Perfect Time to Sell Your Home

A question that we get asked all the time is, "When is the right time to put my home on the market?" The answer to this question is simple: Whenever you are ready, that's the time to put your home on the market.

There isn't a special season or month that you need to wait for. Luckily, living in Northern Virginia, there are always people looking for homes. Whether it's people from the military, the government, or technology firms, people are constantly moving in and out of this vibrant economy we have.

The real questions you need to ask yourself are: When do you want to sell? And when will your home be market ready? Before putting your home on the market, you will want to make sure your home is clean, neutral, and de-cluttered. The only other piece of the puzzle is looking carefully at recent sales in your neighborhood to know where to price your home. As long as we price your home to market comparable ones, there really is no bad time to put your home on the market. It comes down to when does it work for you and your family.

No matter when you decide to put it on the market, we will get your house sold, Just let us know what you need when you need it and we'll be there to help you. We are here to serve you with all your real estate needs, no matter what that is. At the Stepping Stone Group, we will be with you every step of the way!

Conditions for investing in real estate have never been better

If you are looking to build your long-term financial portfolio and grow your wealth, purchasing real estate is one of the best investments you can make. The questions is: What constitutes a good investment property? For one, you need to know what is appealing to potential renters. Things such as location, great commuter options - such as bus stops, the VRE, etc. - and it's proximity to good schools and shopping areas. If you make the right moves and buy a desirable rental property, you will make money in the long haul.

Now is an ideal time to make this investment because interest rates are still spectacularly low. But as the economy improves, interest rates will gradually rise - which will have a negative impact on your purchasing power. If you invest now, you can take advantage of low rates, in addition to the appreciation in home value that accompanies a stabilizing market.

If these fantastic conditions have piqued your interest, give me a call or shoot me an email. I would be happy to discuss in further detail the ideal investment property, or answer any general questions you may have about Northern Virginia real estate.

What's the difference between a home inspection and a home appraisal?

When I get questions about home inspections and home appraisals in Northern Virginia, a lot of people assume they are the same thing. This could not be any further from the truth. They are very different components of the real estate transaction, each with separate processes that are important to know about if you are selling your home or purchasing a new one.

Home inspections are usually done 7-10 days after an agreement has been made on the sale of the home. It is conducted by the buyers at their own expense. During the home inspection, the inspector will be looking for problems with the structure and functionality of the house so that parties can agree on final terms for the home.

A home appraisal is a similar process with some technical differences, usually taking place 3-4 weeks after the principle agreement of the home sale. Appraisals are ordered by the home buyer's lender. They want to make sure that before they hand over the money to the purchaser, the home is worth what the buyer is about to pay. The lender will come out, view the property, compare it to other homes in Northern Virginia, and 3-5 business days after the lender views the property, they will determine whether the price on the particular home is fair so that the sale can close.

If you are selling, it is very important you list your home within the corresponding price range of other homes that our comparable to yours . If you are even entertaining the notion of selling your home, give The Stepping Stone Group a call and we'd be glad to walk through the property with you, give you information about pricing, and offer you any kind of assistance we can. At the Stepping Stone Group, we are with you every step of the way!

Don't Get Caught Up with Cosmetics When Buying a New Home

What to Look For in a Home as a Buyer
With summer approaching, I wanted to help all of my buyers in Fairfax with their home searches. In this short video, I will be discussing what is important to look for. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect home. Unless you're building a custom home on a new lot, there will be some compromises that you have to make.

Having said that, you should have an idea of some things that you will not be willing to compromise on when it comes to your new home. Cosmetic issues like the color of the paint or the carpeting can be changed after the fact, so don't sweat these things so much.

What you really need to worry about are the things that you cannot change. Some examples would be the floor plan or the location of the home. Instead of focusing on whether or not there is granite in the kitchen, you should be considering the structures that surround the home because these things cannot be changed.

This is just something to keep in mind as you walk from home to home. Of course, you may have to compromise here and there because no house is perfect, but make sure you stick tight to the things that are really important to have in your home.

We always tell our clients to focus on the bones of the house and not to get distracted with the siding. You can always put some extra TLC into the home after you buy.

As always, if you have any questions about this topic or about real estate in Fairfax, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Time is of the Essence If You Plan on Buying in Fairfax

Tips for Buyers in 2014

Today I'm just going to share a few tips for all of my prospective buyers this year. The market is going to be competitive this year in Fairfax, and you need to know some ways that you can stand out from the crowd.

Get Pre-Approved: This should always be your first step when you're buying a home. It will make you look like a serious buyer in the eyes of a seller and it will increase the likelihood that your offer is met with positive feedback.

With low inventory and high demand from buyers in Fairfax, you will need to act quickly. If you're pre-approved to buy a home it will increase your chances of getting the home that you want. Before you buy a home, you have to prove that you have the financial wherewithal to do it.

Let Your Realtor Know What You Want: This makes it much easier for us to find you a suitable home. Determine a price point, a number of bedrooms or bathrooms, or even a particular neighborhood that you find suitable. Research school districts and the amenities of different neighborhoods. Finding out what you actually want takes a lot of guesswork out of the process for us, and it allows us to find a more perfect fit for you.

We can also insert search criteria into the MLS, so that when a property comes onto the listing with features that match your interests, you will be notified by email as soon as it hits the market.

The bottom line here is that you need to know what you want, and be prepared to act when you find a property that is suited towards your needs. Just let us know what you want and we can map out a strategy to get you the home that you need.

Give me a call and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about Fairfax real estate. You can call me at (703) 798-9882 or email me at betsy@steppingstonegroup.com

Maximize Your ROI on Home Repairs with my Expertise

Know Which Renovations will Excite Your Buyers

Today I'm going to be talking with you about your Return on Investment (ROI) when you sell your home. There are some repairs that you can make that will benefit you much more than others. So, before you pick up a paint brush or even consider listing your home, have me come take a look at your property to see what can be done to maximize your ROI.

I will walk with you in your home, and we will go room-by-room and talk about things you can do to prepare your home for a sale. I will cover the overall appearance of your home both inside and outside.

When I come do this walk-through, I will be focusing on repairs that usually yield the highest ROI. Repainting and installing new carpeting are among the best repairs you can make to your home in order to get the highest return on an investment. Kitchen and bathroom repairs are also very appealing to potential buyers.

I can also help make sure that your home is as appealing to buyers as it can possibly be. I am aware of recent design trends and can recommend certain changes that will excite and attract buyers. I would hate for you to spend a lot of money on a repair that will not get you anywhere in the selling process. Not a lot of home sellers ever think about which repairs will net the most money, but it's a nuance of the real estate business that I am well aware of.

Contact me with plenty of time to plan these things out, because the sooner we talk about them, the better off you will be when you sell your home. You can call me at (703) 798-9882 or email me at betsy@steppingstonegroup.com

Thinking about Buying? What an Excellent Idea...

Lately I've been receiving a lot of questions about whether or not now is a good time to buy. Before I give you a long, drawn out reason, let me just tell you: YES, now is absolutely a good time to buy.

Why Now is the Time to Buy
With spring approaching in Fairfax, I expect the market to warm up dramatically.

Typically spring is when inventory is up, so consequentially, more buyers will be vying for properties. More inventory is great since Fairfax has not seen a deep inventory for the last 8-12 months.

However, with more inventory and more buyers comes more competition.

Be prepared to act quickly in this type of market.

Have your Pre-Approval Letter ready.

Do your research beforehand: If a listing pops up in an area that you like, be sure that you are comfortable with the school district and the neighborhood. Knowing these things beforehand will make your decision much quicker and easier, allowing you a better chance to get the property you want.

If a home is priced well and is in good condition, it is going to sell very quickly in our Fairfax real estate market.

Also keep in mind interest rates: These are expected to rise significantly by 2015, somewhere around 5% compared to our current 4% or 4.5%. This means that you will be paying significantly higher monthly mortgages if you wait another year. It could literally cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to delay on this decision.

If you need help making an offer or want me to help walk you through the home buying process, please do not hesitate to give me a call. My phone number is (703) 798-9882 and you can email me at betsy@steppingstonegroup.com

3 easy home staging essentials that'll help you outshine the competition when listing

As more and more homes come on the market this season, sellers are anxious to get their homes prepared for the expected flood of buyers hitting the market. Here are our three tips for home readiness that we suggest:

Clean It From the Inside, Out
A clean home is essential when selling because not only does it allow buyers to see everything for its full potential but also it leaves buyers with a great first impression. Remember, you only get that one opportunity to leave that first impression and you want to do it well. You never know how many homes the buyer will be viewing, so you want yours to be memorable. Aside from cleanliness, work to make the home attractive. Also, pay attention to the home’s exterior; there are some easy ways to achieve curb appeal without spending lots of money online.

Go Neutral, Both In Color and In General
Buyers like to feel like they are walking through a home that they can make their own. By choosing colors that are easily changeable or at least in muted beige and soft neutral tones will allow them to paint their own imaginary canvas. Rather than allowing too many personal influences take over buyers’ view of the home, make an effort to depersonalize, particularly the interior, by removing personal items such as family photos, personal effects like toiletries, excess books and other items of personal nature.

Reduce Clutter and Simplify
The best thing you can do to prepare your home plus make it warm and inviting for buyers is to de-clutter the home and remove excess items that become overbearing. Too much stuff will hinder the buyer’s ability to actually see the home for its beauty and features. There is an added benefit of being able to get a head start on your move since you will be able to pack boxes ahead of time. This is a great time to either throw away old unused items, or donate things that you no longer have a use for.

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All these tips will support your sale price, foster strong buyer interest and drive better offers. If you or someone you know is considering selling a home now or in the future, we invite you to contact us today. We would be glad to walk through your property to provide customized insight, share information specific to your home and share pricing and comparable property information that will help build a selling strategy.

703-798-9882
betsy@steppingstonegroup.com

Why Hire Betsy Voegtlin to Sell Your Home?

Simply put, our objective when selling your home is to get you the most money, in the least amount of time, with the fewest inconveniences. No matter where you are selling in Northern Virginia, our team is relentless in ensuring we achieve your every home sale or home buying goal.

That is why, through the years, our clients turn to us again and again for real estate representation. We have built the Stepping Stone Group, one client at a time…earning their trust, leading with integrity, and building successful long-term relationships.

At the Stepping Stone Group, we’re with you every step of the way. That’s not just our slogan. It’s our promise.

Betsy Voegtlin

Keller Williams
Stepping Stone Real Estate Group

10300 Eaton Place Suite 120
Fairfax, VA, 22030

Betsy@steppingstonegroup.com

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