Do you want a smaller home with less yard where you can come home from work and walk down to the beach, or are you a stay at home with a larger yard for you and your family to enjoy. Of coarse there are those who can afford both, but even then it becomes a question of what you want to spend your hard earned income on.

Hampton Roads local real estate tends to go up in price as you get closer to the sand and water. And then yet another upcoming choice is a walk to everything location like Virginia Beach’s Town Center.

All of our Hampton Roads cities and neighborhoods offer a variety of options to consider before purchasing a home.

Think about where you work, where you play, where your extended family lives, and where you can afford to live.

Then pick from thousands of homes for sale for your family. Williamsburg, Newport News, Smithfield, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk.

Hampton Roads offers many different real estate options for every lifestyle.

Note: If you are First Time Buyers thinking about purchasing real estate call and ask about available programs lenders may have that may come and go and have varying criteria’s. One of my recent client’s qualified as a First Time Buyer because even though he owned before he was without a home for three years meeting the guideline as a First Time Home Buyer.

Walk to the beach

Online Target Marketing of Local Homes for Sale ………..

In today’s market if your home for sale is not visible online your chances of getting a good offer is greatly reduced. List your home with William E Wood  today and get your home sold. we all know there are hundreds of real estate agents out there anxious to List your home for sale, many of them are top notch agents and you are stuck with the task of sorting them out. Not so much fun you have your part time agent at your office who you are afraid might get their feelings hurt. Worse than that you might have an Aunt or Uncle in the business.

How do you make the right choices in selecting a Realtor that will be marketing your Real Estate?

The most important thing to remember  is that selling your home is not a social event, It is a Large Business Transaction involving your hard earned money.

Don’t worry about hurting feelings in this decision and choose a professional with the marketing skills to get your home sold at a fair price. A good place to start your research is to ask your friends and family for a few they might recommend. Once you have a few to choose from narrow it down by speaking with them. See if they answer the phone this is extremely important as you would not want a request to show your property to go unanswered. Communications is important make sure you are at ease speaking with the Realtor’s you are choosing between.

Now that you have a few Realtor’s to choose from check their skills at Online Target Marketing.

This is the easy part just ask Uncle Google Put each of your choices names in to a search engine and see if they have the skills to market themselves. If you can not easily see that they are a full time Realtor by putting their name in Google, Good luck with finding their listings of homes for sale.

If you are thinking about Listing your home for sale anywhere in the Hampton Roads, Suffolk, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach or other outlying areas,  please contact us for a free no obligation consultation. Sell your home with the power of William E Wood and Online Target Marketing.

real estate listings sell!

By using power of the internet, Don’s web tools help to sell local

Hampton Roads real estate listings faster. The mapping local home search allows people to easily navigate through homes for sale including your home listing. Home buyers use the homes for sale property wizard to sign up for automatic emails about homes fitting their search criteria. When your home hits the MLS system, it is emailed to thousands of potential home buyer’s and Realtors. Your home will also be added to the  Sell Your Home Featured Page section of this website for even more exposure. If you are ready to buy or sell your home, contact Don today for a local real estate agent you can count on.

When a home is listed here on this website it will be included in specific Online Target Marketing.

Today just about everyone makes use of search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo whenever

They start shopping  weather it be for a place to go for dinner, by a car and yes buy or sell a home.

If for instance you were looking to buy a car you would  Google things like Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Volvo etc.  Comparing the differences in price, quality, safety and gas mileage.

You might read up on places to eat, checking reviews and looking at the menu online.  I am sure at this point your saying been there done that. These are everyday activities done multiple times but now lets talk about real estate because it is the largest investment most people make. There are many choices to be considered like Neighborhood, Price Range, Square feet, number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Is a pool a good idea or a liability. Midtown location or Oceanfront Luxury Home. Finding a home that fits your budget or even understanding what the neighborhood walk score is.

REAL ESTATE SHOPPING HAMPTON ROADS

Home Buyers

People buying a home need representation an agents job is to walk them through the process of getting qualified with a lender   so they know what price range to be looking in. Listening to the wants and needs of the buyer to properly help them find a suitable home. an example might be knowing that if a buyer wants or needs to be in a home in 30 to 45 days they should not be looking at short sales that normally take 90+ days and often sell for more then the list price, as the agent and seller may agree to let it go for one price putting it under contract only for the buyer to find out months later that the bank wants 30K more then the buyer qualifies for. This is upsetting to a buyer and often happens when a buyer walks into an open house and only works with a selling agent.

Home Sellers

People who have previously purchased a home at least have some knowledge of the process, However there is still a lot to know and selling a home is much different then buying one. Without the use of the 3rd party (your Realtor) It becomes difficult to find the buyer and even more difficult to do self negotiations. A good Realtor has the tools necessary to research proper pricing for your home, In addition the Online Target Marketing Skills need to find you a qualified buyer.

How to choose a Realtor

This is a process that is easy if you think about how you choose everything else. At the beginning of this article we talked about what you would do if you were looking for a car or a place to eat. Well so the same when choosing a Realtor put their name in Google or any other search engine. Choose an agent who has a strong online presence, Reason being is if an agent does not have a grip of Online Marketing he or she will not show well in a search. Someone who does not have the time or skills to market themselves is someone I would not choose to represent me.

By Don Maclary

]]> http://chooseahomenow.com/selecting-a-realtor/feed 0 http://chooseahomenow.com/local-hampton-roads-realtor http://chooseahomenow.com/local-hampton-roads-realtor#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:46:29 +0000 Don Maclary http://chooseahomenow.com/?p=1033

Many people today are searching for homes on the internet, It is a fun and private way to see

what is on the market today. However the need for a Local  Realtor is far greater today then ever before. The public versions of the MLS Listings are not able to provide all the information needed to gain a true sense of home values.

A Realtor can see information a consumer is not able to see on the public side. The ChooseaHomeNow site is one of the best for the Hampton Roads area, A place where investors are grabbing the inventory.  It picks up on short sale and foreclosure text and indicates with a yellow banner the possibility of the property not being a clean deal.

Consumers see prices of run down foreclosure and short sale properties, and come to a conclusion that all properties of similar types can be purchased for that. Short sales and foreclosures sit for a long time without going pending in the system, Creating the illusion of generally lower prices.

What this means it that sitting down with a Realtor could save you a lot of time with your home search. With interest rates starting to inch up the do it yourself plan could end up costing home buyers a lot of time and thousands of dollars.

So contact a Realtor today and find your dream home.

Home Listings in the Hampton Roads area are very much in demand.

Thinking about selling?  Schedule a free no obligation consultation Today.

By Don Maclary

William E Wood Associate

Local Chesapeake Virginia is located along the Intracoastal Waterway in Coastal Virginia.

Enjoy the outside by exploring over twenty two miles of salt waterways. The Dismal Swamp is an amazing canal with tons of wildlife including rare bird species. Boating and camping are prevalent with scenic trails in the Northwest River Park and the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

The city offers many  family-friendly events and festivals throughout the year and your dining experience will range from southern to exotic. Check out Chesapeake today and search for your dream home.

Chesapeake Virginia, a local treasure!

How walkable is your neighborhood

Walkability | Walk Score

Most of us get so wrapped up in the idea of the features we want our homes to have, that we seldom stop and think about the walkability of a property and how much easier that would make our lives. When a property has a high walk score it means that it’s close enough for you walk easily to a variety of local places which generally include the local post office, schools, stores, and even the library. These types of homes encourage you to become physically fit. Since you and your neighbors are all going to encounter one another as you walk your kids to school and come home from getting groceries, they’re usually very friendly neighborhoods and everyone is on a first name basis locally.

If you have kids, you already know that you want to bring them up in a good school district and an area that has a good reputation, but you might not have considered the other things they will want. For example, during the summer they’re going to want to live in an area where they will be able to play with their friends. If they can walk to things like a community swimming pool, bike to their friend’s house, and even walk to school, your life will be easier. Not only will you not have to drop everything to drive them the places they want to go, but you also won’t have to hear them whine and complain about being bored when you don’t have time to take them. Living in an area where your kids can walk or ride bike to their destinations means they’ll be more independent and become self-sufficient, something that will help them once they become adults.

When you’re looking at a local house in the Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk or Virginia Beach area, one of the advantages of sticking to homes that are in an area with a high walkability will be the lack of noise. On nice days nearly all of your neighbors will take advantage of their location to walk to the bank, post office and grocery stores. Not only does this walking make it a health community, but on the nice days, you won’t have to listen to the sound of engines and breathe in exhaust fumes all day.

Homes with a high walkability score will be safer for your pets. Since everyone will walk to the places that they need to get to, you won’t have to worry as much about your pets getting lost, running across the street, and getting struck by a car. The lack of noise usually means your pets will be more relaxed then if you lived in an area with lots of vehicular traffic.

Choosing a home with a high walkability score, particularly one that’s within walking distance of your workplace means you’ll never panic when your car won’t start. You’re also going to find that being able to walk everywhere lowers your expenses. You won’t spend as much on car repairs or fuel, and there’s even a good chance you can get a lower insurance rating.

Finding good homes for sale oceanfront to Suffolk

Chesapeake | Norfolk | Suffolk | Portsmouth | Virginia Beach

If you’re like most people, you probably think that you have a pretty diversified financial portfolio already. It’s likely that you have some CD’s at a bank, have invested in some stocks that you like, probably have a 401K plan, as well as some savings bonds. While these are all good investments, there’s something else you should consider. Now is a really good time to add an investment property to your portfolio whether it be here in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake or beyond our local area. It might be your favorite investment.

The great thing about investing in property is that, as long as you keep up on your mortgage payments, you don’t have to worry about losing your investment the way you do when you buy stocks. No matter what happens, no matter how bad the economy gets, you’ll still own your property.
Another great thing about buying real estate in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake or Portsmouth is that it’s a tangible use of your money. It’s difficult to get excited about stock and CD’s because you don’t actually see them. But a property you do. Not only do you have something you can see, it’s something you’ll be able to enjoy. You’ll be able to go to Virginia Beach or Norfolk and enjoy the sun and the sea whenever you like. Since you already own a home there you won’t have to worry about the expense or hassle of getting a hotel room or crashing with friends.

You could choose to hang onto the property in Virginia Beach, to use it as place of your to crash when you visit the east coast, and sell it at a profit when the housing market starts to get better, or you could start using the property to earn money right now. It doesn’t take much to turn a good piece of property, especially one with a high walkability score into a great rental property. As long as you’re careful about who you rent to, you’ll be able to count on a monthly rent check. This works best when you find someone who will pay on time and who will also be willing to do basic repairs and upkeep in exchange for a slight deduction in rent. The Virginia Beach/Norfolk area has really started to grow and lots of people are looking for a good place to rent.
If you want to be able to get some personal use out of your investment property, but also want to start earning some money right now, you should look into using it as a vacation property. There’s always something going on in the area and lots of people, especially if they’re traveling in a group of friends or with family prefer staying in a house over a hotel. When you do this you will have to enlist a property management company to help you with general up keep.

When you decide to use your home as a vacation rental, you’ll want to choose a place that provides easy access to regular concert/festival venues or is close to the beach.

by listing with us. Homes sell faster with the proper marketing.

Examples of how Online Target Marketing  works.

Search for your dream home

Say you had a nice home in Chesapeake with an in-ground pool.

That home would need to target Local people with interests such as swimming, surfing and children. The same would apply if you had a home walkable to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

If you were trying to sell a 5 or 10 acre piece of property in Hampton Roads you would target market to people with interests in Horses, Farming, Camping, etc.

Contact Us today and ask about making your home a feature listing with Online Target Marketing.

Support Local Lenders

Communication is the reason home buyers are gravitating to Local Lenders today. The guidelines for getting a home loan, Have become very strict in today’s Real Estate Market hence national news coverage typically leads consumers to the thought of, Oh No I’ll never qualify.

I am here to tell you that those who do not try to qualify will not! National lenders often time have a loan agent in one city, a processor in another city and an underwriter in yet another. Phones and fax machines are great but as kids we all did the telephone game and saw each time the message transferred to the next person the message was slightly different.

Many times I have introduced clients who were frustrated with national lenders to one of the local lenders, Creating a happy camper, Well actually they did not have to camp anymore.

They became happy homeowners!

With today’s prices and rates you to should become a happy homeowner…………………………… A few examples: Nick Russo, Towne Mortgage Has gone above and beyond helping clients fix glitches in there credit. working closely with local underwriters, explaining issues in person just down the hall.Working diligently, sometimes long hours to get clients to closing on time. Robert Ashburner, Monarch Mortgage Robert teaches a free first time home buyer’s class helping new buyer’s understand the home buying process.Many times this helps them qualify for a lower rate and few have been able to buy with no money down programs.He as well works hard not to have any closing delays, national lenders often go home Friday at 3PM and are unreachable till Mondaythis will easily cause a closing delay.Bobby however was on vacation in the Caribbean when a client did all the wrong things for a smooth closingin respect to moving money issues. I sent him an email and within hours he put down his relaxing cocktail on the beach, got in contact with underwriting and we closed on time. Jennifer Franklin, Prosperity Mortgage For our loyal Wells Fargo clients who want local service.Prosperity does Wells Fargo loans locally and I should mention that one of my clients who buys investment property uses her and in 21 days she went from ratified contractto the closing table. Liliana Yee Peoples Home Equity, Inc. Mentioned earlier, the new tougher guidelines can be a challenge  and by adding Liliana in the mix if you live anywhere in Hampton Roads I would have to say you are in good hand with any of the above Lenders.

All of the above Lender’s service All of Hampton Roads.

 Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown, Portsmouth and Smithfield.

By Don Maclary