Matt Wright's Forum

Houses & Girls pt. 2 - Listening to Friends

2008-03-03T11:01:00.001-05:00

When we look back on all the missed opportunities that we have had in our life, we also tend to remember the ones that stand out as our "greatest hits," if you will. The ones that our friends shake their heads at when they wonder how you let that special someone slip through your fingers, or why you dated that one that just didn't meet the standards that others held for you, which in my case is most of the women I seem to meet. Slight sidebar here, I have this one friend, who will remain nameless, even though she probably doesn't read my blog, which already goes to show you how unintelligent she is, that every time I even meet a new girl she breaks her down and says that I can do better. Since, she and I have become friends there has yet to be a girl that she felt was up to the extremely high standards she has for me. Now, on with the rest of this post
Just like with the girls that your friends love and hate, you will face all of the same judgmental eyes when you buy a house. Your friends/family/other random loved ones will look upon your investments just like they will look condescendingly upon your newest fling.
There was this one girl that I "dated" for a short period of time that all my friends looked down upon. She was amazing. One of my favorite girls I have ever dated. She was funny, sarcastic, intelligent. She loved sports, strike that, she loved sports teams that I HATED, which as you can guess, sparked some really fun debate. We agreed on things politically. We agreed on certain things when it came to family. We had a great back and forth, and we were masters of compromise (I agreed to let her attempt to sway our future children to root for her college teams, which I hate, I got the professional teams, and I got to pick out the names, which would have been Fenway, J.D. and Elliot). She was a great girl, but some of my friends looked down on our relationship and assumed that it wouldn't last for whatever reason, and because my friends didn't think it was a good idea, I ended up not following through with it, and I regret it. She was an amazing girl that I blew it with because some of my friends didn't warm up to her as quickly as I did. I should have listened to the one that said I should keep her around.
Conversely, there have been girls that I couldn't stand to be around. The sound of there voices were like a railroad spike driving into my temple, but my friends would see something there that they thought was special and look down on me when I would end it, even though I haven't looked back on many of them since I left them.
Remember when buying houses it is always best to listen to me, your head, and your heart, in that order. Other people just tend to gum up the works with their opinions. Trust your instincts, trust your thoughts, trust your Realtor, i.e., me. Your friends are great people, which is why they are your friends, but just like you can't pick who they end up with, they can't pick where you live.

Women and Houses, Pt. 1-Regret

2008-02-18T11:02:00.002-05:00

Ahhh, the moments in life that we will remember forever. Everyone of us has that person, the one that stands out in your mind as someone you wish that you had spoken too more, or maybe less, depending on the situation. I'm willing to bet that right now you are wondering what this has to do with buying or selling houses. Read on, and you will find out, my friends.

For me, the girl that I still think of on occasion is a girl named Rachel (Last name omitted). I met her when I was 21 and had decided to go back to school at George Mason. That semester I had decided that I wanted to display my acting talents and signed up for an acting class, which was probably my favorite class all semester. In fact, I think it might have been the only one I would have passed if I had shown up for the final.

On one of the first days of class, after the teacher had introduced us to the art of meditation before getting into character, (which is still one of my favorite ways to fall asleep when I'm feeling a bit restless at night) I noticed this wonderfully, amazingly, beautiful girl sitting across the room. Since I am actually a shy guy, which I understand is a hard thing to wrap your minds around, it took me a few weeks to get the courage to actually speak to her, and to be completely honest with all of my readers, it was she that asked me to walk her to her car, which is where I got to know the real her and not the fictionalized version I had created in my mind.

Rachel was, if memory serves correctly, 5'4" or so, with blond hair, an amazing bright smile and blue eyes. She was a dancer for GMU and had the toned body of one. She was from Massachusetts, near Lowell, I think, but I may be confused because I remember asking if she knew where Lowell was because one of my heroes, Jack Kerouac was from there, and she knew, a) who he was, and b) where it was. She was a Red Sox fan, which for all of you who have ever met me know, the Red Sox are slightly more important that breathing to me. (In fact, right now, I have my phone encased in a Red Sox skin, my key chain has a Sox lanyard hanging from it, and my belt buckle is, you guessed it, the Red Sox symbol.) All in all, she was the ideal woman based on that one single conversation and even more amazing than the version I had so cleverly made up.

"Wow, Matt,that is amazing. You met the perfect girl, you went out, fell in love got married, named your child Fenway, and lived happily ever after...right?"

No, unfortunately, I seem to have an issue when it comes to follow through with close to perfection. I never ended that semester of college, and I never saw Rachel again. I called her once, but I never heard back from her. Now, the actual version of Rachel has a fictionalized new life after school. I'm sure that she ended up back in Massachusetts, probably married to Dustin Pedroia or something, dancing with some amazing dance company.

"Matt, we all usually bow to your intellect, but we don't understand what this has to do with buying or selling a house. This sounds like you are just pining after a girl that you missed out on being with years ago."

Ahhh, good question. Many times when I take out clients, they see a house that is absolutely perfect for them, and for some reason, they don't jump at the chance to be with it. Then weeks, months, years later they regret the fact that they didn't purchase that perfect home when they could have, or when the market was amazing, or when it just didn't make 100% perfect sense. Why didn't I ask Rachel out that day when I walked her to the car? Why didn't I buy that condo in Springfield when it was less than $100,000? Why wasn't I able to pull the trigger so many times?

It's all about regret. Next time you look at a house, ask yourself if you would be ok with not purchasing it...next year. Call me with any questions comments and concerns. You know where I'm at...my desk, waiting for you to say let's buy a house.

And I'm Back...

2008-01-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for my absence over the past two months. It's those darn holidays and they always get me wrapped up in family outings and get togethers. And I don't know why but for some reason, I get really busy right around this time showing houses and what not. But I'm back so have no fear, the real estate universe has continued to spin.
Let me see, it's been a while since I have been here, do I have everything I need in order to dispense my knowledge upon the world? My ipod rocking Wreckless Eric...check, my frosty cold can of root beer...check, my pack of blackjack gum...check...my earphones up just loud enough that I cannot hear another living thing within a mile of me...check. So as I take a deep breath and realize how much better gum is than a pack of cigarettes, I shall begin. The only problem is I have no idea what to write about today.
I could tell you about how you need to not be read the newspapers or watching the news who are reporting doom and gloom with housing prices in our area. Prices are insane right now, yes, I just said insane. If you dont' mind a little bit of work, and I use that term loosely, I can get you a single family home for under $2ooK. If you are a buyer, I'm telling you, now is the time.
I could tell you about foreclosures. But that kind of goes hand in hand with the previous paragraph, so re read that.
Basically, anything that I have thought about talking about has led me to one conclusion. Now is a great time to buy. What is it your looking for? Single Family? Townhouse? Condo? It's all out there, buy one, or two. Right now is the most amazing time to purchase a home in the last ten years. Call me, I can help.

Old Town Manassas' Semi-Annual Gallery Walk

2007-10-31T12:07:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen and all of you people out there that believe they know a thing or two about art, this Friday from 6-9 in Old Town Manassas is the semi-annual Gallery Walk.
So, stop on by 9366 Main St. to have a little meet and greet with our exclusive artist, the excellent water-colorist, Katherine Nace. While you're here you can enjoy some great food, and a beer or a glass of wine, while we listen to some classical music in an attempt to bring a little more class to this little historic city known as Manassas. We hope to see you all here.

When Negotiating...Ask For More!

2007-10-25T08:57:00.000-04:00

As I have recently been oh so busy paying very close attention to this baseball post season and all the glory that it holds, I have asked my good friend to fill in for me today and write for you an amazing article on Power Negotiating. Enjoy.
Ask for More Than You Expect to Get

by

Roger Dawson

One of the cardinal rules of Power Negotiating is that you should ask the other side for more than you expect to get. Henry Kissinger went so far as to say, "Effectiveness at the conference table depends upon overstating one's demands." Think of some reasons why you should do this:
o Why should you ask the store for a bigger discount than you think you have a chance of getting?
o Why should you ask your boss for an executive suite although you think you'll be lucky to get a private office?
o If you're applying for a job, why should you ask for more money and benefits than you think they'll give you?
o If you're dissatisfied with a meal in a restaurant, why should you ask the captain to cancel the entire bill, even though you think they will take off only the charge for the offending item?

If you're a salesperson:
o Why, if you are convinced that the buyer wants to spread the business around, should you still ask for it all?
o Why should you ask for full list price even if you know it's higher than the buyer is paying now?
o Why should you ask the other person to invest in the top of the line even when you're convinced they're so budget conscious that they'll never spend that much?
o Why should you assume that they'd want to buy your extended service warranty even though you know they've never done that in the past?

If you thought about this, you probably came up with a few good reasons to ask for more than you expect to get. The obvious answer is that it gives you some negotiating room. If you're selling, you can always come down, but you can never go up on price. If you're buying, you can always go up, but you can never come down. What you should be asking for is your MPP-your maximum plausible position. This is the most that you can ask for and still have the other side see some plausibility in your position.

The less you know about the other side, the higher your initial position should be, for two reasons:
1. You may be off in your assumptions. If you don't know the other person or his needs well, he may be willing to pay more than you think. If he's selling, he may be willing to take far less than you think.
2. If this is a new relationship, you will appear much more cooperative if you're able to make larger concessions. The better you know the other person and his needs, the more you can modify your position. Conversely, if the other side doesn't know you, their initial demands may be more outrageous.

If you're asking for far more than your maximum plausible position, imply some flexibility. If your initial position seems outrageous to the other person and your attitude is "take it or leave it," you may not even get the negotiations started. The other person's response may simply be, "Then we don't have anything to talk about." You can get away with an outrageous opening position if you imply some flexibility.
If you're buying real estate directly from the seller, you might say, "I realize that you're asking $200,000 for the property and based on everything you know that may seem like a fair price to you. So perhaps you know something that I don't know, but based on all the research that I've done, it seems to me that we should be talking something closer to $160,000." At that the seller may be thinking, "That's ridiculous. I'll never sell it for that, but he does seem to be sincere, so what do I have to lose if I spend some time negotiating with him, just to see how high I can get him to go?"
If you're a salesperson you might say to the buyer, "We may be able to modify this position once we know your needs more precisely, but based on what we know so far about the quantities you'd be ordering, the quality of the packaging and not needing just-in-time inventory, our best price would be in the region of $2.25 per widget." At that the other person will probably be thinking, "That's outrageous, but there does seem to be some flexibility there, so I think I'll invest some time negotiating with her and see how low I can get her to go."

Unless you're already an experienced negotiator, here's the problem you will have with this. Your real MPP is probably much higher than you think it is. We all fear being ridiculed by the other. So, we're all reluctant to take a position that will cause the other person to laugh at us or put us down. Because of this intimidation, you will probably feel like modifying your MPP to the point where you're asking for less than the maximum amount that the other person would think is plausible.
Another reason for asking for more than you expect to get will be obvious to you if you're a positive thinker: You might just get it. You don't know how the universe is aligned that day. Perhaps your patron saint is leaning over a cloud looking down at you and thinking, "Wow, look at that nice person. She's been working so hard for so long now, let's just give her a break." So you might just get what you ask for and the only way you'll find out is to ask for it.
In addition, asking for more than you expect to get increases the perceived value of what you are offering. If you're applying for a job and asking for more money than you expect to get, you implant in the personnel director's mind the thought that you are worth that much. If you're selling a car and asking for more than you expect to get, it positions the buyer into believing that the car is worth more.

Another advantage of asking for more than you expect to get is that it prevents the negotiation from deadlocking. Take a look at the Persian Gulf War. What were we asking Saddam Hussein to do? (Perhaps asking is not exactly the right word.) President George Bush, in his state of the Union address used a beautiful piece of alliteration, probably written by Peggy Noonan, to describe our opening negotiating position. He said, "I'm not bragging, I'm not bluffing and I'm not bullying. There are three things this man has to do. He has to get out of Kuwait. He has to restore the legitimate government of Kuwait (don't do what the Soviets did in Afghanistan and install a puppet government). And he has to make reparations for the damage that he's done." That was a very clear and precise opening negotiating position. The problem was that this was also our bottom line. It was also the least for which we were prepared to settle. No wonder the situation deadlocked. It had to deadlock because we didn't give Saddam Hussein room to have a win.
If we'd have said, "Okay. We want you and all your cronies exiled. We want a non-Arab neutral government installed in Baghdad. We want United Nations supervision of the removal of all military equipment. In addition, we want you out of Kuwait, the legitimate Kuwaiti government restored and reparation for the damages that you did." Then we could have gotten what we wanted and still given Saddam Hussein a win.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Roger, Saddam Hussein was not on my Christmas card list last year. He's not the kind of guy I want to give a win to." I agree with that. However, it creates a problem in negotiation. It creates deadlocks.
From the Persian Gulf scenario, you could draw one of two conclusions. The first (and this is what Ross Perot might say) is that our State Department negotiators are complete, blithering idiots. What's the second possibility? Right. That this was a situation where we wanted to create a deadlock, because it served our purpose. We had absolutely no intention of settling for just the three things that George Bush demanded in his state of the Union address. General Schwarzkopf in his biography It Doesn't Take a Hero said, "The minute we got there, we understood that anything less than a military victory was a defeat for the United States." We couldn't let Saddam Hussein pull 600,000 troops back across the border, leaving us wondering when he would choose to do it again. We had to have a reason to go in and take care of him militarily.

So, that was a situation where it served our purpose to create a deadlock. What concerns me is that when you're involved in a negotiation, you are inadvertently creating deadlocks, because you don't have the courage to ask for more than you expect to get.

A final reason-and it's the reason Power Negotiators say that you should ask for more than you expect to get-is that it's the only way you can create a climate where the other person feels that he or she won. If you go in with your best offer up front, there's no way that you can negotiate with the other side and leave them feeling that they won.
o These are the inexperienced negotiators always wanting to start with their best offer.
o This is the job applicant who is thinking, "This is a tight job market and if I ask for too much money, they won't even consider me."
o This is the person who's selling a house or a car and thinking, "If I ask too much, they'll just laugh at me."
o This is the salesperson who is saying to her sales manager, "I'm going out on this big proposal today, and I know that it's going to be competitive. I know that they're getting bids from people all over town. Let me cut the price up front or we won't stand a chance of getting the order."

Power Negotiators know the value of asking for more than you expect to get. It's the only way that you can create a climate in which the other side feels that he or she won.

Let's recap the five reasons for asking for more than you expect to get:
1. You might just get it.
2. It gives you some negotiating room.
3. It raises the perceived value of what you're offering.
4. It prevents the negotiation from deadlocking.
5. It creates a climate in which the other side feels that he or she won.

In highly publicized negotiations, such as when the football players or airline pilots go on strike, the initial demands that both sides make are absolutely outlandish. I remember being involved in a union negotiation where the initial demands were unbelievably outrageous. The union's demand was to triple the employees' wages. The company's opening was to make it an open shop-in other words, a voluntary union that would effectively destroy the union's power at that location. Power Negotiators know that the initial demands in these types of negotiations are always extreme, however, so they don't let it bother them.
Power Negotiators know that as the negotiations progress, they will work their way toward the middle where they will find a solution that both sides can accept. Then they can both call a press conference and announce that they won in the negotiations.

An attorney friend of mine, John Broadfoot from Amarillo, Texas, tested this theory for me. He was representing a buyer of a piece of real estate, and even though he had a good deal worked out, he thought, "I'll see how Roger's rule of 'Asking for More Than You Expect to Get,' works." So, he dreamt up 23 paragraphs of requests to make of the seller. Some of them were absolutely ridiculous. He felt sure that at least half of them would be thrown out right away. To his amazement, he found that the seller of the property took strong objection to only one of the sentences in one of the paragraphs.
Even then John, as I had taught him, didn't give in right away. He held out for a couple of days before he finally and reluctantly conceded. Although he had given away only one sentence in 23 paragraphs of requests, the seller still felt that he had won in the negotiation. So always leave some room to let the other person have a win. Power Negotiators always ask for more than they expect to get.

Roger Dawson is the author of two of Nightingale-Conant's best selling audiocassette programs, Secrets of Power Negotiating and Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople. This article is excerpted in part from Roger Dawson's new book-Secrets of Power Negotiating, published by Career Press and on sale in bookstores everywhere for $24.99.

Prince William Home Buying Information Fair

2007-10-17T13:13:00.000-04:00

To all my friends out there on the inter highway, I have a quick announcement for all of you that might be interested in buying a home. This announcement also comes with an offer that will knock your socks off. Basically, I have just one question for you...what are your plans this weekend?

My friends, Virginians, Americans, lend me your eyes, for this weekend is the annual Home Buying Information Fair, being held at Freedom High School in Woodbridge. You may stop by any time between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and be graced with my presence. There whilst also be workshops on Managing Your Debt, A Home Buying Orientation, and Understanding Credit Reports & Credit Scores. I know what you are thinking. You are either thinking, "Wow, this is the event I've been needing so that I can get ready to purchase my first home. Thanks KWR Matt, you are a saint among men." or "Why would I want to waste a Saturday learning how to manage my debt, when I already know how to do that?" To those of you who are excited about this event, I can't wait to see you. To those of you who have not yet seen the benefit of the seminar then keep reading for the special offer that The Wright Miller Company and I are offering you.

Now for the special offer that all of you have been waiting for with bated breath. If you stop by my booth, shake my hand, and I will give you a coupon for a FREE home inspection by Lee Home Inspections courtesy of The Wright Miller Company if you buy a house through me. How amazing are the members of the Wright Miller Company? Let's give it up to them. Huge round of applause, I can feel it dancing deep within my soul.

I look forward to seeing each and everyone of you this weekend. And remember, if knowledge is power, I'm just trying to give you the power.

Save some more energy costs, aren't I swell?

2007-10-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

In my ongoing effort to save you, my loyal, and revisiting readers money, I have come up with yet a few more ways to cut your costs and energy usage. You can tell me how wonderful I am, but please wait until the end of the post before you begin to shower me with your praises, for I like all of my tidbits of genius to be stored away in your mental ant hole for the colder winter months, where I speak of warmer climates and how I dislike the snow, while the lazy grasshoppers who declined reading my article while there was a still plethora of time, are wondering just how, exactly, they could cut energy costs. So, click that little link down there that says "Read More" and enjoy the next chapter in saving money, energy, and maybe the planet.

Remember, the world is full of many enemies trying to infiltrate our world and a big one that could cost us more than we are ready to give up is...air. I bet you thought I was going to say terrorists. They are also on that list but air kind of fits more with the subject at hand, so let us stay on topic here. Stop trying to change the subject, we're talking about saving energy, not the constant threat of terrorism...at least today.

You're going to want to check the weather stripping on all of your doors and windows. If it appears to be old, worn, or non existent, then it might be time to change replace the old with a little of the new. I'm sure that you can find it easily at your local hardware store, or one of the big chains.

I'm also sure that each and every one of you have a tube of caulk in a drawer or closet or under a sink that has been there since...well, you moved into your humble little abode. I want you to take said tube, and caulk around all of the doors, windows, and all openings on the exterior of your house. The goal is to keep the inside air in, and the outside air out. When it comes to air segregation, we are all for it.

Insulate the hatch cover leading to attic with batting material. (Don't google that phrase, instead I put a link there for you to get you toward the real definition of it.)

If you have a hole in an air duct somewhere in your house you have good air just spraying randomly not in the direction of the houses natural flow. This is what we don't want, we want a good air circulation going on. Not air just spraying willy-nilly around causing in door cold fronts or heat waves where they shouldn't be.

Installing foam switch plates, and foam socket covers behind your switch plates and foam sockets will help insulate your house just a little more than you already are.

Make sure that you close the flue in your fireplace when not use, and plug the opening during the summer. I would like to think that I don't have to say this, but be sure to remove it. Bad things will happen if you don't...take it from my own personal experience here.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle, because knowledge is power. So get to cutting your energy expenses and save yourself a little green. And to all of you who have read my article, pass it along to your friends who might also be in need of my tasty little nuggets of knowledge. Friends don't let friends be out all winter with no food.

Raise your credit score in a month and a half

2007-10-09T15:47:00.000-04:00

Almost every person in my age group worries silently every day about something that affects our lives so significantly. You know what I'm talking about. I'm thinking of a number between 400 and 875...that's right, we're talking about the joyous topic of credit scores today. Lets not all get scared and change the page yet, because if you click that link below that says "Read More" I will tell you how to raise your credit score in 45 days, and how to lower it in a week.

First, you have to rid yourself of collection accounts. In one of the many catch-22s involved with dealing with credit issues if you just pay off your collection account it actually dings your credit record. I know, it makes about as much sense as a soup sandwich. What you should do is call the collection agency and explain to them that you are willing to pay off the account if all reporting is withdrawn from credit bureaus. And request a letter from the collector that says their agreement to delete the account upon clearance of your payment. Although not all collection agencies will delete reporting, removing all references to a collection account completely will increase your score and is worth the involved effort.

Second, and extremely obviously, pay off your past due accounts. If you need more of an explanation on that one I understand why your credit is down the tubes.

Third, get rid of charge offs and liens. Pay the newest ones first, another one of the catch-22s. Charge offs and liens older than 24 months don't affect your credit so paying them off doesn't help or hurt, so pay off the newest ones that are sending your credit down faster than the Yankees in the playoffs. (sorry to all my Yankee fan readers, I thought you had a chance to make it to the ALCS this year) If you have both past dues and collection agencies coming for you, pay off the past due balances first, then pay the collection agencies as referenced two paragraphs up.

Next, get rid of your late payments. Contact all the creditors that have reported late payments on your credit and request a good faith adjustment that removes all the late payments. Be persistent. Don't give up. Remember if the first person won't give it to you, call back and try again with someone else. If seven of them say no, then maybe you have to pay them off. Be polite though, if you are frustrated or rude, you make it difficult for them to help you. Actually you don't make it difficult for them to help you...the blood suckers just won't help you if you're rude.

Then find out what your credit limit is on all of your credit cards and find out the balances on each and evenly distribute the debt between them and pay them off at the same rate. Also, make sure that your limit has been reported to the credit bureaus. If they don't report a limit, it shows up as a "maxed out" account.

Don't close out your credit cards. The way that the sick credit software works is that if you owe $10,000 with an available credit amount of $20,000, you are using 50% of your available credit. If you close out a card that is worth $5,000, suddenly you only have $15,000 of available credit and are using 66% of it and DING, DING, DING, your credit score goes down.

Keep all of your old credit cards active. A good chunk of your score is decided on how long your credit file has been open. Try to use each card at least once every six months to keep the account from going to "Inactive." Use it, then pay it off the next month. Every person with a credit score of 800 and above has one thing in common...a credit card that is older than some of my friends. Trust me, I wouldn't lie to you.

And if you want to drastically lower your credit score in a week, go to every store that has credit cards on the same day apply for them and use them. A week later you won't qualify to get a McDonald's hamburger on lay away.

Now you now, and knowing is half the battle, 'cause knowledge is power. Turn those credit scores around and call me if you have any questions, or you can hit me up online almost everywhere. If you google "KWR Matt" there are about a billion sites that come up which all have ways to reach me. As one of the most easily accessible agents around, I want you to know that as the market rises and falls, ebbs and flows, I will be the rock that is there for you to build your house on. Oh, and for all of you looking for quite possibly the best father/son movie since "Field of Dreams" watch "Life As a House." That was an impressive movie. Sorry, just felt that you needed to know that. It is rated R for just about everything there is so use discretion when viewing.

Real Estate Prices

2007-10-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

The best part about the information age is how easily we can find almost anything we want to see. If you type into Google almost any random combination of words you seem to find something that fits those exact words. You don't even have to spell it right. I personally believe that Google is the smartest thing ever created, next to yours truly. So what could I find if I typed in the seemingly random words of coaster, real, roller, and estate? Let's find out.

What do you know, the folks at Speculative Bubbleactually made a video of American House prices, adjusted for inflation, from 1890 to today and choreographed it to a computer generated roller coaster. How cool is that? God bless the google. As you can see, me being me in all of my kindness and wisdom, I have included said video for all of you kids out there who are interested in the economic ride of your lifetime. I've actually watched it 15 times.

If that ride had a couple of barrel rolls, and a loop or two and I would so ride it. I just would really like to know what was coming after 2007, because that ride is about to get massively intense.

My favorite part about this video is that they didn't even attempt to speculate the future. The fine folks at Speculative Bubble knew that by trying to predict the future probably would only get them into trouble. Imagine if on this blog every day I told you about all the possibilities as though they were fact. How mad would you be if I told you the values of your homes would continually rise and they dropped off quicker than a lemming off of a cliff? Probably pretty mad.

Unfortunatly for us, the future is unwritten, as we learned from the Back To The Future trilolgy, and I do not yet have the ability to control it just by writing it out in one of my many notebooks. I am working on that ability, but it has not yet been perfected. Once I have it down, I promise, I will help make all of my readers very prosperous.

Remember, the market goes up and down, but I will remain unfaltering for you, my clients, my friends, my family. If you need anything, please feel free to contact me. I always look forward to talking to each and every one of you. Hope you have a fabulous day and an even better tomorrow.

Energy Saving Part Deux

2007-09-26T11:32:00.000-04:00

In a world with so much energy consumption, I like to throw out a few ideas every once in a while that will help you, my loyal constituents, to save money doing easy tasks, that will take only a minute of your time. It's all because I care about you. Who looks after you while you sleep? That's right, Jack Nicholson does, but I'm there while you are awake, because I'm not creepy like Jack.

As many of you know, my favorite times of the day are when I am standing under the steaming hot streams of water spewing from my shower head. That rushed shower in the morning while I am most assuredly running late for work, and the extended shower I take in the evenings upon returning from the gym are close to the two greatest moments of my day everyday. Since I love to shower, and I realize the financial investment I make every time I turn that hot water knob just a little farther, I have found certain ways to save as much green as possible so that I can afford to continue to shower in the way that I have grown accustom.

1) Set your water heater's temperature to 120 degrees. Seriously, if it's going to scald your skin clean off, you probably don't want it hitting you. You might want to check the manufacturer's recommendation for your dishwasher, but 120 is a pretty safe bet.

2) Install a water heater blanket. I read on the EERE website HERE that it can reduce stand by heat losses by 25-45%. That equates to 4-9% on heating costs. Who doesn't want to save 4-9%?

3) When you are brushing your teeth, or using just a small amount of water, be sure that the faucet nozzle is turned toward cold. Turning it toward hot uses energy to heat the water even though there is a good chance it won't reach the faucet.

4) Repair leaky faucets IMMEDIATELY!!!! I recently found out that a leak of one drop per second wastes more than a staggering 250 GALLONS of water per MONTH. What do you think that does for your water and energy bills? Not to mention the hours of lost sleep from hearing the annoying drip all night long.

5) I will give you advise that I will never take, but many people do this. Install low-flow washers or flow restrictors in faucets or showers. We've all seen the Seinfeld episode where the building installed low flow shower heads in all the apartments and Kramer went out and bought a black market high flow shower head that was used to wash elephants...that would be me, I can't stand the low flow shower, but if it floats your boat, do it, it will save you money and energy.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle, because knowledge is power. Armed with the knowledge of how to save energy and money I release you to the world ready to solve others energy conservation needs.

If you need to talk to the genius that writes these thought provoking, entertaining, educational articles, feel free to email me at MrWright79@KW.com. Or, you can IM the Genius That Is Yours Truly on AIM at KWR Matt. If you are feeling randy and want to hear the voice of knowledge call me between the hours of 0900 and 1900 EST. I can't wait to hear from you and remember, the market may go up and down, but I will always stay unfaltering for you.

New Web Address

2007-09-24T13:39:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Wright Miller Company is proud to announce that they have acquired the domain name, TourYourNextHome.com. Here you can search all of the fabulous properties that we at have listed. How great is that? I know, you can barely contain your excitement on this issue, but there is still more. "How can you give me more than that?" you ask? It's because we love each and everyone of you and want to make your real estate needs easily accessible in one easy to find place. To throw in a few other little bits of Real Estate goodness for you, from TourYourNextHome.com you can also do a full search of all active listings in the MLS. I know what you are thinking now too, because I have the ESPN, and you are thinking that this can't get any better, but yes it can!!! I have taken the time to make our MLS search even easier than before and you have the choice of searching by city, zip code, MLS number, or you can select a map and then check out the listings in that area in either road, aerial, or hybrid view. How great can we be?

I don't want to cause a world wide panic with all the nifty stuff we have on our sites but if you click HERE you can get a FREE and easily understood Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). We hope you appreciate all the wonderful things that we do for you.

Remember if you have any questions you can email me at MrWright79@Kw.com or if you are feeling randy you can IM me on AIM at KWR Matt, or if it's between the hours of 0900 and 1900 EST, you can call 703-393-1336 and speak to either myself or someone else on my team. Remember, we are here for you. I hope you all have a great night, and a better tomorrow.

Music in the workplace

2007-09-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

Ah, the joyous days at work. Sitting in an office with other members of your team or company. Everyone hunched over their keyboards typing feverishly, sending emails, filling out there Outlook, posting the best real estate blog known to mankind, or for the vast majority of workers out there, playing on myspace/facebook/bebo/setting up their fantasy team for this weekend.Which in all honesty I do all of the above also, but the monotonous sounds of the clickity-clack on the keyboard gets to be a little old after the first twenty minutes or so. I will occasionally put my iPod on and drift away into a separate world where it's just the music and me, then other times I will put on music for the entire office to enjoy. Music is the greatest stress reliever, and the great unifier. It's real hard to be in a bad mood while you're listening to "Walking on Sunshine".It took me a few years to figure out exactly what the other members of my team considered to be appropriate, or tolerable. The Clash was not on that list.

I found that the classic rock genre can almost always be pulled off. Billy Joel, Elton John, The Beatles, all are accepted by the members of the office. Bob Dylan on the other hand is only enjoyed by half of the members of the team. One half thinking he is a genius and a poet, while the other half thinks his voice is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, or a fork scraping against a dinner plate. The lesser known bands from that same era like the 13th Floor Elevators, not accepted by the team at all, no matter how good I think they are.

I am not a country guy, but I could probably get away with almost any country song that's out there. In my opinion, if I can play Tequilla Makes Her Clothes Fall Off I should be able to play just about anything. Unfortunately, as much as I like to think I'm in charge, I'm not and I must bow to the powers that be. I have found a few country/bluegrass bands I like a lot, that no one on my team has ever asked me to turn off. They are Roger Creager, and Paul Sanchez. If you click on the names you will get to visit their Myspace pages to hear their music.

A recent office favorite has been Michael Buble. I've been so kind to actually include a video of his amazing song, "Home" below. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it.

Another office favorite is Nora Jones, and because I am the unbelievable guy that I am, I've included her video for "Thinking About You." Don't all thank me at once. What other Real Estate Blog gives you music videos?

At the time that I'm writing this, all my team members have left the office for the weekend, so I am blasting Ben Lee while getting ready to go home. With a fun filled weekend ahead of me, and a busy week planned for semana proxima, things are moving along, going forward, progressing. It's the days when the stress is building up, and you just get tired of listening to the voices of the other people in the office that you need to take some time, put on some head phones and get lost in whatever music makes you feel alive, feel better, feel like you can breathe again.

Now you know about some music you can enjoy while working that the whole office can enjoy. Everyone have a great weekend, and as always you can email me at MrWright79@kw.com, IM me on AIM at KWRMatt, or you can call me between 0900-1700 EST at 703-393-1336. Hey, what else can I say except...that's the way it is. I'll see you next week.

Greatness

2007-09-06T09:22:00.000-04:00

I was talking with my team leader not too long ago after I sent him the link to the video I've embedded below, and we started to have a discussion about what would be considered great in 40 years.

I've been thinking a lot about that conversation over the past few weeks, and I started to wonder what was considered great 40 years ago, and what will be considered great in another 40 years.

In the 1960's do you know what it meant to have a million dollars? You were set for life. Today what is a million dollars? It's no where near enough to retire on. What's a million dollars going to be in 40 years? Almost nothing. It might be a mortgage payment. There's no way to know right now.

In 1969 the United States became the first nation to land on the moon. Who actually remembers the last time we landed on the moon? In fact, how many of us would even remember the last NASA launch if the astronauts hadn't shown up intoxicated? What will it take to actually grasp the attention of the nation in forty years? What will instill us with a sense of pride and patriotism again? Mars? Lunar colonization? As a Realtor®, I would love to be the first to sell you a home on the moon, but will it be considered great?

In 1961 the home run race captured the attention of a nation. Marris hit an astounding 61 home runs that year. In 1998 the same scenario, only McGuire hit 70. In 1960 the Yankees hit 196 home runs as a team, in 1997 the Mariners hit 264. What will be considered amazing and great in 40 years? 300? 320? Will our expectations be so high that 350 will barely make us stand up and take notice of the situation?

My dad has hundreds of albums from the 1960's. Albums that are years old. The only album I ever owned and listened too was The Chipmunks Christmas Album. In the 1960's albums were amazing. Since then we have cycled through 8-tracks, cassettes, c.d.s, and now MP3s. The same with video. In the 60's there wasn't a cheap, easy accessible way to watch movies at home. Since I've been gracing this world with my presence I have owned a Beta player, a VCR, a DVD player, and have downloaded movies straight to my TV. Even in all my genius and knowledge, I can't even begin to fathom what new way of media there will be to listen to music or watch movies.

In the 1960's it was the standard that we could call our pal across town by phone and get together in a short amount of time, we could also call across the country and talk to someone 3000 miles away instantly. We could write a letter and have it get there in about a week. Now if I want to talk to one of my Keller Williams Family in California, I have massive choices to make. Do I call and what if they are in a meeting? Should I email them? What if there email doesn't go to there blackberry? I could text them, but they might not be IN. I'm sure the point has been made. In forty years how many ways of instant communication will we have?

Watch this video and let me know what you think. I'd like to thank the fine people at Glumbert.com for allowing me to embed it on my site here.

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

Now you know what I think about during the days, and knowing is half the battle. What will be great in 40 years? Any opinions? Let me know.

As always email me with all of your real estate needs at MrWright79@KW.com. Feel free to IM me at KWRMatt on AIM, pick up the phone and dial 703-393-1336 between the hours of 0900 and 1900 EST. Who knows, in forty years maybe you will just have to think the name KWR Matt and I'll be there to answer your real estate needs. Until next time ladies and gentlemen, stay classy Northern Virginia.

The joys of exercise

2007-09-05T13:28:00.000-04:00

For all of you who know me know that I love to work out. It is quite possibly my favorite time of the day. The best days are when I wake up early to go swimming, then get a a good work out in during the afternoon. I love the endorphin rush you get while running a 5K or, swimming a 1500, or even if you're just doing some light weight work and abs. I never feel better than I do at those moments.

Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle not too long ago, so I can't run, and my gym is closed, so I can't go and do weights or swim. In the meantime I am stuck doing simple exercises at home that don't put too much strain on my ankle, but still give me that same "I've accomplished something" feeling.

For all of you who are out there in my predicament, or one similar, here are a few exercises you can do while sitting at home watching a ball game, movie, or television show that will help tone you up, or help keep you toned while you are incapacitated.

The Reverse Crunch-this exercise is fairly easy. You lie face up with your hands either on the floor by your butt, or behind your head. Lift your legs so that your body is now in an 'L' shape. Contract your abs so that your legs go into the air, then lower and repeat for 10 to 15 reps. This is a small movement. You are not looking to be able to lift your legs as high as you can, only to lift them where the ab muscles contract and expand.

The Push-up-I hope that everyone out there has at least seen someone do a push up and knows the basic instruction on performing one. For the more advanced push-upper, there is the wide arm push-up, in which you hold your arms out wider than your shoulders while pushing. Then there is the close hand or "diamond" push-up in which the pusher puts his/her hands as close together as he/she can toward the center of the body and pushes. All are good exercises that will help keep your chest, deltoids, lower back, and triceps in good toned shape.

The Plank-this is one of my favorite exercises. It is a great way to build endurance in your abs, back, and core muscles. Lie stomach down, with your feet together. Lift yourself up by the elbows and hold for a minute. The key to this exercise is to keep your body straight. Many mistakes people will make while performing this exercise is bending the body in either the "^" position with the butt in the air, or the "v" position with the butt slumping downward. Remember, stay straight.

The Leg Lift-For the leg lift, you begin in the same position as the reverse crunch and all you do is lift your legs up to the 90 degree point, then drop them down, to almost the ground then repeat.

The Flutter Kick-I did many of these growing up in different swim practices, and at camps that I attended. Simply lie on your back, lift your legs six inches off the ground and then kick them . Don't use too big of a kick, only about 12 to 18 inches worth of movement for each foot.

The Scissor Kick-For this you start out at the same position as the flutter kick, but instead of kicking, you spread your legs outward, then bring them back together.

Now you know some simple, basic exercises that will help you get in shape, or stay in shape when you can't make it to your normal work out. Enjoy, and I'll see you all at the gym soon enough.

Remember, if you need any help with Real Estate, which would explain why you are at my site in the first place, you can email me at MrWright79@KW.com, or you can IM me on AIM at KWRMatt. If you feel the need to hear my non Barry White sounding voice, please feel free to call me between 0900 and 1900 EST at 703-393-1336. I look forward to talking with each and every one of you, and in the immortal words of Porky Pig, "abed abed abed abed...that's all folks!!!"

Quick bit about sports

2007-08-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

Here we are in what I like to affectionately call, "the most exciting time of the year." It's a sports lovers dream come true every year at this time. We're in the middle of exciting pennant races, fantasy football drafts, college football is starting soon, and if you're a fan of the Friday night lights, I think they start this Friday.

For all of you who know me, you know that I am a massive baseball fan, and have been quoted saying, "No other sport starts until baseball is over." And this year especially it looks as though the fall classic is going to go down into the history books. Can anyone out there say Red Sox vs. Cubs in the World Series? The Yankees are making a historic run for a spot in the playoffs but the Mariners are fighting them off even with the toughest schedule left. The Phllies are creeping up on the Mets, the defending champion Cardinals are doing there best to get back in the playoffs again this year, which was all they needed last year, and the NL West is as good a race as it has ever been. My heart is all a flutter just thinking about the next few weeks.

Then there's football, with the Colts attempting to defend there title with a completely different looking team. Last years surprise Saints look good, but they have that Chicago defense to worry about. The Patriots put together a great wide receiving crew, but will Asante Samuels come back to play or will they be missing a very key part of their defense when the first game comes around? Who is the best team in the NFC? People around here say the Redskins are going all the way, but they have one of the toughest devisions out there, and depending on where you are from decides how much faith you have in Tony Romo. I know they are all counting on McNabb to get injured again, successfully destroying the city of Philadelphia's chances of ever getting another championship.

Then in college football, you have Florida looking to repeat, but Ohio St is upset about the dual hit they took and are looking for revenge. Then again, Pete Carrol and USC decided to take the year off last year, which is why they lost to UCLA, and their team this year has been called "the best team in college football history." Steve Spurrier has been turning South Carolina's program into a respectable one, and where will Notre Dame end up without there boy Brady Quinn at the helm?

I could go on forever on these subjects. I love this time of the year. Now you know what I'm looking forward to. What about you? Who are you betting on this year? What team is going to win it all?

Let me know your opinions. Feel free to email me MrWright79@kw.com, or IM me on AIM at KWRMATT. As always give me a call in between 0900 and 1900 EST at 703-393-1336. Have a great day, I have a Sox/Yankees game to watch.

Saving energy, money, and the planet.

2007-08-28T15:10:00.000-04:00

A recent hot button issue in today's media is whether or not you are "green" enough. No matter your opinion on the subject of Global Warming and Climate Change we are all probably in the same boat when it comes to reducing energy usage in your home. Whether your motives are to save the environment or to just get a lower energy bill every month, here are a few tips that I have put together for you.

1. We all have seen the energy friendly light bulbs. Depending on what type of lamp you are filling there are different types of bulbs that you can use. Many suggestions can be found at NBC's Website or you can just click HERE for a list of different lighting suggestions.

2. I had this car when I was in my teens and never got the oil changed. We can all guess what happened to that car after I drove it across the country and back. Changing the oil in your car is a mandatory task to assure that your cars performance stays in prime condition while you own the car. The same could be said about changing your air filters in your house. There have been many times that I've been in houses where the air filters were rarely or never changed and the house was just in disrepair. Make sure you change your filters once a month. One of the home inspectors I use regularly recommends the 3M Filtrete filters. You can find more information about them HERE.

3. Just last night as I was defrosting some salmon for my dinner a friend came over and berated me for defrosting it under running water instead of using the microwave on the defrost setting. I assured him that I was only following the directions on the salmon bag, and reassured him that I do shut off the water while I brush my teeth in the morning, which cuts down on your gas or electric bill, water bill, and also helps the environment.

4. Many people will use large blackout curtains to keep the sun out of there house during the hottest point of the day, while the sun is beating through the windows. This does help keep the heat out but it is not the most energy efficient way to accomplish your goal. If you were to get your windows professionally tinted, you would achieve basically the same goal. A good window film like a Huper Optik nanoceramic film will keep the heat out in the summer and trap the heat in during the winter. You also don't lose the view from that window like you do when you use blackout curtains. If you would like more information visit the Huper Optik site HERE or call 215-205-3455 to speak with an official dealer.

5. There are many different little fixes you can do to ensure that your house continues to conserve energy. Make sure that the weather stripping around your doors and windows is in good condition. Be sure to turn off lights in rooms that you aren't in. Don't stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open. Also, if you are running your air conditioner, turn it up a couple of degrees. Can you really tell the difference between 70 and 72 degrees? And the opposite when running your heat. The difference between 68 and 70 is minimal. Remember each degree decrease in the winter saves about 3% in heating costs, and each degree increase in the summer saves about 5% in cooling costs.

Now you know a few ways to save some money, conserve some energy, and maybe, just maybe help out the planet a little.

Comments or questions can be directed to me at MrWright79@KW.com, or you can IM me on AIM at KWRMatt, or you can call me between 0900 and 1900 EST at 703-393-1336. I look forward to the future because I will be meeting more of you each day, and in life you can never know enough people. Have a great day, and in case I don't see you, good afternoon good evening and good night.

Step 6 of overcoming the Mid-20's crisis: Contract to close.

2007-08-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

So here we are. We have found the house you want to buy, we have put in an offer on it, and because of my expert negotiating skills, we have received the best deal possible. You're happy, the sellers are happy, the other agent is happy, and I am just warming up. Where as it may seem like we're in the clear, we are not. Do you remember all those little contingencies we talked about while writing the contract? Good. Now we have to go through the process of removing each one of them.

First, being the fact that we are in the Northern Virginia area, odds are that we will end up living in either a condo or an area with a home owners association. What does this mean to you? Get ready for the most boring reading of your life. The sellers will provide you with a book that will remind you of War & Peace when you look at it, but reads like a user manual for...well, anything, because, come on, who reads those things? It's one of the most god awful boring things that you will ever read. I hate to tell you this, but I have to, you need to read this booklet. If you're having trouble sleeping, I recommend checking this sleep aid out, it might be better than Unisom. The reason you have to read this 400 page snoozer is because you only have three days to decide whether or not you want to buy your house based on the information in this book. Now, I have never seen a deal fall apart from this, but for your protection, you should read. And if by chance you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to paint your front door purple with green polka dots, there will probably be some rule in there stating that you are not allowed to do that, and if so we probably want to find somewhere else for you to live.

Now that you've gotten that joyous event out of the way, we have the Home Inspection to look forward too. This is actually a fun event in which an inspector, who is working for you, will rip your soon to new home to shreds by finding every little thing wrong with the house. Then you get to pay him for it. Good times, right? The inspector will give you a booklet of all the things that need to be repaired on the house and from this booklet we will pick the major items that need to be repaired and tell the other side that we would really, really appreciate it if they would pay for it. Then they will look at our list and say, "Ok, we will fix the hole in the roof, we will fix the leak in the faucet, but the shelving in the closet you will have to level off yourself!!!" Which is all we wanted them to do anyway. So, to this I will pump my fist in victory, a la Kirk Gibson, because that is what I do when I win one for my friends and clients, because remember, you are all friends first, clients second. (Did I over do the cheese on that? I'm thinking I just found my slogan.)

These are the two biggest contingencies that we will have to deal with. There are a few more that we may have issues with, like rent backs, if the owners need to live there for a few days after settlement. Or, they may have to find their Home Of Choice. This means that they have to go out and do all the same things that you just did. Usually, they can get it all done by the settlement date that you and I have so cunningly chosen so that you have time to move all your stuff out of that rental you've been living in with plenty of time. It's hard to predict what other contingencies might come up, but as they do I'll be ducking, diving, dodging to make sure that things continue to progress and that none of the bullets that come from the contract to close gun come close to killing our deal. Occasionally bad things happen, but that's when we forge on, fighting through the blisteringly cold gales of wind that cause us to start over. But we will persevere, and we will find a way to get you into that house of your dreams, or we will find you a better one.

Then comes the day we've been waiting for. Settlement day. You have woken early, showered, had your hearty breakfast and a few cups of coffee, and now you are WIRED. The excitement is just spilling out from your pores. You and I meet at the house for your FINAL WALK THROUGH. This is where we walk through the house to make sure that everything in the house is in the same condition as it was the day we wrote the contract. We also want to make sure that they did everything that was on the Home Inspection addendum, and that there were no burns/stains/holes in the carpet or on the walls that were being covered by furniture. After we walk through the house and you've now decided where all your furniture will go, we will scurry across town to the settlement company and we will sit with the sellers and there agent and a lawyer or two around a HUGE usually wooden table and begin to sign. If it's been a while since you've used your hand for writing get ready for the cramps. You will hate your signature by the end of this day. After all the papers are signed, all the "t's" are crossed and lower case "j's" have been dotted, we will hand you the keys and you will be the proud new owner of your home. Nothing left now but the handshakes and the moving.

Now you know about that wonderful time between contract and settlement, and knowing is half the battle. Remember knowledge is power, and I have armed you with the power to get through the home buying process with very little problems.

As always look over the rest of my site here, and please let me know what you think. You can IM me on AIM at KWRMATT or you can email me at MrWright79@KW.com. Or if you want to hear the sultry voice of genius you can call me at 703-393-1336 between the hours of 0900 and 1900 EST.

The void in the real estate universe

2007-08-21T16:40:00.001-04:00

So, I must apologize to all of my readers for leaving this void lying there in the real estate universe. The emptiness that is just festering in the minds and souls of my fans and subscribers is my own doing. I have not been doing my job of informing you of the world of real estate because I was off getting some training that will in the end help me serve you better. I do admit that I should have informed all of you out there at the online gateway to the center of the real estate universe (a.k.a. my blogsite) that I would be at Mega Camp 2007. But alas, I did not.

Fret not though, my fans and friends, because I have something for each and every one of you. The Wright Miller Company have just gotten in their shipment of Redskins football magnets. Yes, I know what you are thinking, you are thinking, "Matt, every agent under the DC metropolitan area sends those out. Why don't you and your team differentiate yourselves somehow instead of being just like EVERYONE ELSE!!!"

Not to worry, your thoughts have come in on my brain channel, 79.9 WESP, loud and clear. Not only do my peace offering for not letting you know of my absence show the Redskins' Schedule you will also have the schedule of the University of Virginia Cavaliers. If you aren't a WAHOO, still no worries, because I have also included Virginia Techs' Schedule. And on the back, in our effort to conserve precious resources, we have included at no extra charge the Monday night Football Schedule!!! Are we givers or what?

I know what you are all thinking, "Could this get any better?" And to you I say, "YEA, IT CAN!!" because for all my Manassas readers, I will send you the calender that has the schedule of the 2006 Virginia State Champions, my alma mater, the Eagles, and I don't mean Don Henley and his friends, I'm talking about Osbourn High School.

All you have to do is email me at mrwright79@kw.com and leave me your name, address, and phone number and I will send you this fancy limited edition magnet. Perfect for holding your best artwork on mom and dad's fridge, or for those pizza coupons that we use as currency in our lives right now.

Now you know you can get a FREE GIFT just by emailing me, and knowing is STILL half the battle. Part six is coming soon for all those who are curious by the way.

As always, feel free to contact me by email, or you can IM me at KWR MATT on AIM, or if you wish to hear my voice in person you may call me at 703-393-1336 between the hours of 0900 and 1900 EST. Make sure you look over the rest of The Wright Miller Company's website, and I will be writing again soon. Have a pleasant day and an even better tomorrow.

Step 5 of Overcoming The Mid-20's Crisis: Writing the Contract

2007-08-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

So you have just walked out of that 8.5 to a 9 and you've decided to put in an offer. What do you do next?

Depending on what state you are in depends on what happens next, because in some states only lawyers can write contracts, unlike in the center of the real estate universe (a.k.a. my immediate surroundings) where I can actually sit down and write a contract with you, without the help of a lawyer. So for all of you who are not in direct contact with the central point of everything good that happens in real estate, please contact me with your questions and I can refer you to another agent who, while not as personable as I am, is just as versed in the subject at hand. Feel free to keep reading for entertainment purposes though.

You've handed me the contract that I had supplied to you during our buyer consultation a few weeks prior, letting me know that you are ready. You have done it, you have found the home that is the closest to perfection that you will find right now. I can feel the excitement permeating from your body. I know that we have a match. Depending on whether or not the house is vacant, we may sit at the kitchen counter and write the offer there, or we may move to a separate location, i.e.; Caribou Coffee, Starbucks, Lazy Bean, etc., etc., etc.

If you have followed my sage-like advice during our buyer consultation and actually read the contract before this moment than we can breeze through the contract writing process, and get this offer faxed off in just a few shakes of a Polaroid picture. We'll assume that my words were spoken, but failed to register for the sake of this article.

So there we are sipping on our piping hot half-caf, caramel macchiatos with half skim, half regular, one with foam, and mine of course without, with just the right amount of chocolate shavings for flavor and I pull out a gigantic stack of papers that appears like you are going to have to sign away your first born child. Not to worry, neither I, nor the sellers want your first born.

I begin scribbling ferociously on the pages and in just a few moments the contract is filled out. I would love for you to sign blindly and trust me, but I know it won't happen. I turn it around and I begin to go through each page with you. First and foremost, I will explain to you how I and Keller Williams Realty will be representing you, and whether we are in a Dual, Designated, or Standard Brokerage Relationship If it is a standard brokerage relationship I will inform you of who will be representing the sellers, and what we can expect through the transaction.

Then comes the fun part, we talk about how much you want to spend. We'll discuss down payments, and first and second trusts, and different loans, which you are already well informed on because you got that letter with you saying that you've been approved. After a little discussion we'll come up a number that will get you the best deal possible, while letting the sellers know that you mean business. Remember, the first offer is very rarely accepted, there will probably be a counter.

Then we will discuss the Earnest Money Deposit, which is the Deposit that you have to put down to show the sellers that you are serious about purchasing there home. I recommend 1% of the sales price to let them know that we are serious about our offer. It is a check that will be cashed the moment the contract is ratified (everyone agrees and initials everything), and will go toward your closing costs, down payment, whatever.

The joy of being in the wonderful Commonwealth of Virginia, as I am, (and for all of you considering a move to "America's Most Livable Community" please call me, I'd love to show you your next home) is that you as the purchaser gets to pick your settlement agent, settlement date, and time. If you have a settlement office in mind that you would like to use, we can use them, or if you don't know of any, I have relationships with a few of them that I would love to refer to you.

We will then review the different items that will be included with your new home; microwave, ceiling fans, washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc., etc. It's all basic stuff that since you've been through the house you've already seen and know is there.

Then comes the Seller Subsidy paragraph, where we ask the Mr and Mrs Bob Seller to give us some money toward our closing costs. It's a BEE-EEE-A- Utiful paragraph in a Buyer's Market, and one I will skip over most of the time in a Seller's Market.

The Appraisal is the next item on our list, which we've been over, but since you didn't read the contract like I so kindly asked you to do, I'm willing to bet that you forgot about what we said about the appraisal and how it protects you, the buyer, from spending too much on your home.

The rest of the VA contract I will breeze through with you. I'll touch on the Purchaser's Representations which means you'll be living at the property. Yes, you have to tell me and your lender this piece of information. It's important to the validity of the contract, and we don't want to be invalids. We'll go over different things that you can do to Default, or lose the house and the earnest money deposit that you have already handed to me. Basically, my advice on this is, "After you sign this contract, Do Not Buy Anything Bigger Than A Toaster until after the settlement"

That's when I will tell you all the different ways that the contract could fall through on a page known as the Contingencies/Clauses Addendum. I will recommend the Home Inspection for every client from here until the end of my career. This protects you from buying a dump that appears to be a castle. The home inspector is your sober buddy who is saying, "Hey, are you sure you want to take that home with you?" while you're a little intoxicated. This is the person that you will thank in the morning for stopping that questionable hook-up.

After that, we'll fly through the rest, a page here on your rights and obligations that if you read you will realize I've already said everything in it, some of it twice. A page there on how to look up Sexual Offenders in your area, or you can have some fun during the slow days at your office and click here. Another signature here, an initial here, a handshake with me, a quick slurp from your half-caf, caramel macchiato, with half skim, half regular, with foam, and just the right amount of chocolate shavings for flavor, and you are done.

You now have an offer that is on the table for negotiation, and now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

As always, you have the right to contact me by phone between 0900 and 1900 EST at 703-393-1336, on AIM at KWRMatt, or leave me an email at mrwright79@kw.com. If you happen to see me out and about feel free to say hi. I'm the guy that looks like that anime character to the right.

I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. Keep on rocking, and we'll get you in that home soon enough.

Step 4 of Overcoming the Mid-20's Crisis: Looking For Your Right Home

2007-08-02T13:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm sure that as a twenty something out there living in the world, you have realized certain things. Life isn't what you've expected, you rarely get what you want; having to take care of yourself instead of living off of mommy and daddy is a joy and an annoyance at the same time. All in all, life isn't perfect. If it were perfect, right now I would be a duel career having family man. I would be the starting center fielder and lead-off batter for the Red Sox, and an Oscar-winning screen writer married to Jessica Alba. Somewhere along the way my plans changed. I found out that I was not a fan of getting hit by 92-mile-per-hour fastballs, and I didn't know how to hit a curveball (besides swinging wildly and hoping that I made contact). Also, when you're living in a small suburb of Washington D.C., it's a little difficult to sell a screenplay to studios in L.A. without an agent. So our at-one-time-certain plans change and morph, and the next thing you know, you're working a job that you never saw yourself working (Honestly, who as a child dreamed of being a syndicated real estate blogger and agent?), living in a place much less glamorous than you pictured, and making probably a whole lot less than you probably wanted.

Ladies and Gentlemen, guess what, you're perfect house isn't out there either. We've all listened to Dane Cook do his bit about Dream Houses, and how we should, "Dream it you [darned] dreamers." Unfortunately unless you have a bank account the size of Dane Cook's you will never have pictures on the walls with the eyes cut out so you can go into your secret passage ways and watch and listen to your guests at parties. The harsh reality of it is that you have this great house/townhouse/condo imagined in your head that doesn't exist, and, just like in real life suddenly you're not the starting center fielder for the Sox. You make one adjustment here and one compromise there, and suddenly you are a real estate blogger and agent wondering how you didn't get to the places you always envisioned, while still extremely happy with your place in life.

Jim Collins once said, "Good is the enemy of great." I agree with that statement in most cases. When it comes to my job, I want to do great, not just good. When it comes to the posts I put up online, I want them to be clear, honest, informative, and entertaining. (I know, I might be missing out so far on that last one here.) I don't want to just give you the same recycled tripe that you can read anywhere else. I want you to have a reason to IM me on AIM at KWRMATT. I want you to ask me questions, to pick my brain. "The morning you wake up, look in the mirror, and are happy with your [self] is the moment you lose the war," Dr. Perry Cox, from "Scrubs" (ep. 21, "My Sacrificial Clam") I live my life by these mantras; it's how I work; it's how I write; and, if you're one of my close friends, you know it's how I work out.

In housing though, you'll never find a perfect "10." I am about to make a reference the majority of my readers won't get, but for the rest of you, no house is a Bo Derek. If you and I have sat down together, and we've figured out everything that you're looking for in a house/condo/townhouse, and I've given you a list of all the listings on the market that meet your specific criteria, and you've driven the neighborhoods to figure out if you want to live there or somewhere closer to shopping, school, whatever, and you've narrowed down the list I've given you to about 7 or 8...in those 7 or 8, there will be one house that is going to be somewhere between an "8" or a "9" on a scale of 1 to 10. The moment we see that house, it is time to jump. In the Millionaire Real Estate Investor (a book everyone should read) by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan, they say to be ready to pull the trigger the moment you find the right deal for you. I know, you're reading this, scoffing, saying to your non-living computer screen, "I don't want to be a real estate investor." To that I say, "fine, don't be one," but I am saying that it will be easier for you if the moment you see the house, that is almost perfect, you buy it. It saves you heartbreak and more of the same settling and adjusting to what you really want. And you won't have to go from your perceived Xanadu to living in a van down by the river.

As an added little bonus to today's entry, I am going to leave you with a piece of advice that was given to me years ago, and that I have been passing along to clients and friends ever since. Most of my readers are young, and are getting promoted and moving forward in life, and to all of you out there I say, "Buy the most expensive house you can afford, make that monthly mortgage payment hurt, because in two years when you've gone through two jobs, five promotions, and a dozen or so pay raises, that payment will seem like nothing to you, and you will have this huge great house that is yours."

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. And I feel as though this episode was not quite as light hearted as my previous ones, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway.

And please get in touch with me if you have any questions. My number is 703-393-1336, if you are calling between the hours of 9 and 7pm EST. I am available online at KWRMatt on AIM, or you can email me at mrwright79@kw.com. I bid you all adieu and in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

Step 3 of Overcoming the Mid-20's Crisis: Sitting down with Matt and talking about what you are looking for and when you want it done.

2007-07-25T13:42:00.001-04:00

Here we are. You and me, sitting down, face to face. You have this smug look on your face because you asked around, talked to some friends and family members about what to ask, then, to get some much deserved bonus points, you read the first two installments of "Now You Know" and you feel as though you know everything that you need to know about the home buying process. If only you had read Step 3 of Overcoming the Mid-20's Crisis before you came in, but that's okay, because I'm going to explain it all to you while we sit there in my unusually posh office for a real estate agent, just as I will explain it to you in this installment of "Now You Know."

While sitting on my leather couch in the historic building where I conduct my daily dealings the literally dozens of questions that you have will be racing through your head and you may suddenly get terrified and begin to think to yourself, "What if I forget to ask something important? What if I accidentally mix up appraisal and the home inspection? Will I be just as embarrassed as the time I mixed up secular and non-secular while talking to that pastor? Will Matt laugh like Father O'Brien did?" Suddenly you are in your own head, and you're nervous and your palms are sweating and now you have crazy thoughts running through your head like, "I can't afford a house. what am I thinking? I didn't want to do this. I don't know what I'm doing; I should just run." Next thing you know, you're lying on the floor in the fetal position sucking your thumb. At this point I want you to take a deep breath, hold it, hold it, keep holding it, and now exhale slowly. Feel better? Good. Don't worry, the best agents will answer most of your questions before you even have a chance to ask any, and everyone in the world has felt the fear when buying a house, whether it's your first house or your fiftieth, there is always the fear.

To attempt to avoid being verbose I will just touch on the most important subjects that you will need to know before you walk in. You will need to know certain things, 1) How many bedrooms you want, 2) how many bathrooms, 3) where you would like to be located, 4) how long will you be staying in that first spot, 5) what are your long term investment goals, 6) ***when do you want to be moved in by? *** (the stars mean they are important, because this determines how much time you and I get to spend together and how quickly we have to move to find the right home for you)

You will want to listen for many things during the consultation including but not limited to an update on the market and whether it's a buyer's, seller's, or a stable market. You will want to know about closing costs, and whether we can ask the other side for them, or if we will have to come up with them on our own. Also, the fees we will have to pay no matter what, for example, the one thing I recommend that everyone gets on every house, is a Home Inspection, which typically, in my area, costs 1% of the cost of the house with a minimum of $300.00 (for a $450,000 home, it would cost $450.00 for our non-accountant friends), and the $295.00 Administration Fee, which I will attempt, as your agent, to get the other side to pay for, cutting down your costs, because I care about you. I will explain the appraisal, and how this is done to protect you, and answer the ever-so-popular question, "Will I have to pay for that, or will that be part of the closing costs." Then I will explain the best part of working with me...I work for you for free, because the seller pays my broker's commission. That's right, you get all my expertise, wisdom, guidance, and the safety and protection of my brokerage for the extremely low price of nothing* (it's like the kid you paid in elementary school to make sure you didn't get beat up, but for free).

Know that when you meet with an agent for a buyers meeting, you both have certain goals. My goal is to get you to sign a Buyer Brokerage Agreement which says that I am working for you and you are exclusively working with me. Your goal is to know that I will provide you with all the services that are not only listed in the Buyer Brokerage agreement, but also, all the other things that I promise you. Every agent has their own goals and expectations and every agent is different, just like every buyer is different and have their own expectations. You should be able to tell if you and the agent that you met with are a good fit after this first meeting. If it doesn't feel like a good fit, walk away, run actually right to my office where I will be happy to sit with you and assess your needs.

So, now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Remember, you can always look up my site at www.TheWrightMillerCompany.com, feel free to find me on Facebook, you can even instant message me on AIM at KWRMATT. If you have any questions feel free to contact me in any way you can, or if you're a phone person, you can call between 0900 and 1900 EST at 703-393-1336.

Oh, and a little personal side note, my little nephew was born last week, his name is Zolani Boyd Clites, and he is just adorable. For those of you who are wondering, Zolani means "peace." So, congratulate my sister if you see her, or leave her a comment here, and I'll pass it along to her.

*restrictions may apply, please come in for consultation of all rules and regulations for free service.

Step 2 of overcoming the Mid-20's crisis: Calling me to set up an appointment

2007-07-18T15:04:00.000-04:00

Right now I am desperately searching for music to listen to while I write the next segment. I need something inspirational and uplifting, yet still speaks to my ingrained emotional, somewhat depressed side that is part of the genetic makeup of those of us in Gen-Y. Who to listen to? Who to listen to? We all know how much easier it is to write when you're listening to a great song/album.

OK, so here we are, and let's begin.

Does anyone else find it strange that in "How to Save A Life" by The Fray they start it off saying, "Step one: you say we need to talk" but then they never give you a step two? I'm not going to do that to my readers. I will actually give you a step two. So, lift that next foot and put it out in front of you because we're off, heading down the intellectual highway that is held within the six inches I have between my ears.

Step two; Calling me, or whatever other, less talented, agent you have foolishly decided could do a better job than I can do, to set up that appointment.

The best thing about being in the position that you are now in (remember the Palmeiro, Ortiz thing I talked about last time) is that not only are you a high commodity to the sellers of your first/next home, but you are now the most desired type of client to every real estate agent in the known free world. You are ready to get out of your parents, or out of your lease. You are willing to set up the appointments and make the time necessary to look at houses and meet with an agent. And thanks to that letter you hold triumphantly in your hand you have proof that you are able to buy. You are what we call a Ready, Willing, and Able Buyer, (we're real estate agents, not poets, but to put that phrase into terms we will all easily understand, you are now the prom date we all wish we had our senior year) some agents might refer to you as a Type 'A' Buyer and I don't mean that whole Type "A" personality Alpha-male stuff we hear about about all the time. You being a Type 'A' buyer means we are on our knees thanking God that you have just called us. Take a moment to soak in the fact that you are not only wanted by approximately 2.5 Million real estate agents nationwide, you are downright desired and loved by us.

How do you pick your agent? That's easy, you pick up the phone, you call the number at the bottom of this blog and you get me. But if you want to shop around, and I understand if you do, you ask around. Talk to your friends, parents, preacher/pastor/rabbi/spiritual leader, and ask them who they have used (many times if you ask them who they know, they know a daughter of a friend who got her license and they don't know how good at the job she is but her mother is oh, so sweet, and they are just sure that her daughter will be the same way and work extra special hard for you). Only use an agent that you received actual references, make sure they have successfully completed a transaction, and it went by basically without a hitch.

How a conversation with me might go:

[ring]

Me: This is Matt.

Prom date buyer: Hi, Matt my name is Jessica Alba, I read your blog and I decided to call you and give you a quick interview over the phone.

KWR Matt: Hi Jessica, I'm a huge fan, and I would love to answer any questions you might have.

Susan Storm: Well, I guess I would like to know why I should use you.

The genius known as me: Well, Jessica, is it okay for me to call you Jessica? I am what is known in the real estate industry as a buyer's agent, which means that I don't deal with listings, I work specifically with and for you.

Dark Angel: That sounds great, but wouldn't you know the houses better if you worked with listings?

Yours Truly: Well you see, I work on a team so that each member of the team can focus on what talents they have. In my case I don't deal with listings, but I do spend a portion of my week 'previewing' properties so I have my finger on the pulse of what is going on in the real estate market in my area.

Honey: Well that makes since.

The now very star struck Matt: Well, Jess, if it would be okay with you I would like to set up an appointment so that I can better explain the process of purchasing your first home.

L'il Nancy Callahan: That would be great.

The very arrogant Matt: Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions just so that I could serve you better?

Dark Angel: Sure!

Swooning Matt: Would you be paying cash or would you be needing to obtain financing?

Susan Storm: Oh, I already spoke with a loan officer because your blog told me to, and they gave me a letter saying that I was approved for $X.00.

Dancing in his head Matt: Excellent, and have you signed anything with any other agents in the past year?

The only reason to watch Into the Blue: No, I wanted to talk to you first after I read your blog.

Almost passing out because she only wanted me: Well that's great, so would Wednesday at 3 or Thursday at 2 be better for you?

L'il Nancy Callahan: Wednesday at 3 would be great!!!

Slightly choked up: Then I will see you then at my office. You know where it is right?

Honey: I do, I will see you there.

[hang up, and pass out]

Now, I probably won't pass out for most of the people that call me, but you get the idea of what it might sound like and what to expect. Once you have the appointment there are things you need to know, and what to expect from the meeting. Those will happen next time when we go over Step 3 of Overcoming the Mid-20's Crisis: Sitting down with Matt and talking about what you are looking for and when you want it done.

As always, ladies and gentlemen, now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

I will talk with you all again soon, and remember if you have any questions please feel free to call me at 703.393.1336, and you can visit my team on the web at The Wright Miller Company's Website and be sure to leave me a comment here and I will be ever so great full. And bonus points goes to the person who can tell me who I finally ended up listening too.

Step One of overcoming the Mid-20's Crisis: Finding that right loan.

2007-07-12T14:42:00.000-04:00

So here we are in the midsts of what we all feared...growing up. Most of us have completed college, gone into the careers we've studied and toiled over for the four, five or six years of school, and yet we're still stuck in one of the two horrible circles of the post college inferno, either; 1) paying rent to some landlord, that while sweet and allows us to keep our pets even though the lease has the "No pet" clause, still doesn't care that all we are doing is the monetary equivalent of throwing our money out the window, or better yet, setting it on fire, or 2) which is far, far, worse, we're still living in the same room that we grew up in with our parents down the hall.

So, where do we go from there? We all know what the next step is, but the view from the bottom of the mountain can be somewhat daunting when it isn't presented to us in a clear and concise manner.

So, as The Fray said, "Step one, you say we need to talk," to a loan officer. This is imperative to the process and doing it first just makes the rest of the process much easier, and lowers the chance of heartbreak later on. When you talk with a loan officer, and you get a letter from the afore mentioned officer of lending you suddenly go from being some kid who wants to look at houses, to one of the highest commodities in the real estate league (Imagine going from being Raphael Palmeiro to David Ortiz). With the amount of loan programs that are out in the world now there is always a way to get yourself into a house without being in danger of ending up owing more money than you started out with. Any good agent will advise you whether or not your loan will work for you or if you will end up in the fetal position in the corner repeating over and over again how you hate your money pit of a house.

Your loan officer should be able to tell you all about the loan program the two of you came up with together. Ask every question that your over stimulated mind can come up with. Good questions to ask, 1) What rate am I getting? 2) Is that fixed or adjustable? 3) What are points? Do I want them? and how do I get them? 4) What is the origination fee if there is one? 5) Can you define Debt to Income Ratio? 6) How much can I get from the sellers toward my closing costs? 7) How long do you need to get me fully approved? 8) Will you attend settlement? 9) What is a negative-am loan? 10) What is PITI, and does your loan escrow for taxes and insurance? (Not that any of us need the extra special instruction here, but please, pl-ease, pl-ea-se, understand that the words in bold are important, and you need to know them)

After all those questions are answered, plus whatever questions you found while reading other blogs and websites and your loan officer is banging his or her head against the desk, you've done your job. Now you have the glorious letter that has taken you from being a Palmeiro to an Ortiz, and you can hold that letter triumphantly in the sky as you bellow to world that you have just taken the first step towards the American dream, of home ownership, of having something that you can finally call yours, not mom's and/or dad's, or your sibling's, or your friend's, but your little slice of this world that you can do with as you please. And to that I will say congratulations, and God speed in the next step of over coming the Mid-20's crisis.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

next: Step 2 of overcoming the Mid-20's crisis: Calling me (or whatever other Realtor you have foolishly decided could do a better job for you) to set up an appointment to begin the search that will help you find your first dream home.

Call me with any questions between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST at 703-393-1336 and I will be happy to help.
Be sure to visit my teams website at www.TheWrightMillerCompany.com