Tile floors, tall ceilings, lots of light. Corner unit in interior building away from traffic. Gated community and controlled access building. Community amenities include wonderful outdoor pool, exercise room, theater, clubhouse, grill area, walking paths, playground and more. WALK TO FUTURE MCLEAN SILVER LINE STOP!!!

More information here: 1580 Spring Gate Drive #4415, McLean VA 22102

The like-new condominium has highly desirable features like hardwood floors, 9’ ceilings, gourmet kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, large walk-in closets and a full size washer and dryer. Numerous windows let lots of  light in and you have you very own patio accessible from the living room.

Fortnightly Square was built in 2005 and has controlled access entry and garage parking. The unit comes with one reserved garage spot – additional parking is available in front of the building. The home is about 950 sq/ft, has a condo fee of $380 per month and is listed at $279,000.

More information here on 205 Meeting House Square #103, Herndon VA 20170.

• View Flier with floor plans and info

The home has 3,000+ sq/ft over three stories. There are 9′ ceilings and recessed lightning throughout the home.

The home is listed at $889,000 (FX8077261.) This home is currently pending sale.

Lower Level: The lower level is fully above ground with lots of windows and a full walkout to the backyard. There is a recreation room, a library/den, a full bath, extra storage and entry to the 2 car garage.

Main Level: The main level has an open floorplan with a fantastic kitchen with granite coutners, dark 42″ wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a breakfast area overlooking a lush backyard. There is also a great deck off the family room, gas fireplace, two bay windows, recessed lighting, tall ceilings etc etc.

Upper Level: The large master suite has two walk-in closets and a luxury bath with soaking tub, dual sinks and a separate shower. The laundry room has side by side washer/dryer and a laundry sink. There are three additional bedrooms and a shared hall bath with double sinks.

The Outside: The home has brick front and 6″ beaded vinyl siding. The yard has grass and well maintained custom landscaping.

The Community: Brittany Parc is a peaceful enclave minutes from the busy and happening Tyson’s Corner. It was built in 2001-2002 by Centex Homes on a wooded site near a popular shortcut called Idylwood Road (it is a popular way with locals to bypass the crowded Rt. 7 and the HOV restricted I-66 during rush hour.) If you are familiar with the area, it is located behind Idylwood Towers at the end of Pimmit Drive in Falls Church, Virginia.

The 42 homes are what some would call “city style” homes – tall and stately with brick fronts in a colonial style. Most homes back to either green space or common areas. The community is well maintained with an active Homeowner Association. To make sure the community appears well kept the homeowner dues include lawn care.

The community is perfect for a quiet evening walk. Well kept yards with landscaped and open front yards on three quiet culd-de-sacs. If you stroll though the community in May, you may happen upon ay community picnic and see a large group of friendly people at all ages and different origins.

At Brittany Parc everything is close. Within walking distance is the Tyson’s Station shopping center with Whole Foods, Starbucks, Trader Joes and a US Post Office. The Pimmit Library and a small park is just a few blocks up the road from the shopping as well. To eat, you have Zagat rated Idylwood Grill, Tara Thai, Ledo’s Pizza, Subway and a Jason’s Deli. The W&O trail is also minutes from the community. Tyson’s Corner Mall is up the road minutes away with world class shopping and dining.

Easy access is an added bonus. Within minutes you can access I-495, I-66, Rt. 50 and Rt. 29. The White House (don’t have time to go there much these days) and Dulles Airport are both just 15-20 minutes away if you are lucky. If you prefer to use mass transit, you can walk the 1.5 miles to the West Falls Church metro or take the 3T bus to the station in a matter of minutes.

There are parks in the area and also easy access to the W&OD Trail. Both the trail and Idylwood Park is located within walking distance (<1 mile.) Also, right across the street a new 7 acre park is in development at the Ruckstuhl property

• Great Living at Brittany Parc in Tysons Corner
• Ruckstuhl Park is Coming to Idyl Lane/Idylwood Road!
• Local Falls Church/Idylwood History For Sale

I wrote a story about pocket listings last year ( Does A Pocket Listing Line Your Pocket ) and why they are almost always a bad idea for sellers:

A typical seller will be put at a monetary disadvantage by not exposing the home to as many purchasers as possible from the start. By the law of supply and a demand, a pocket listing would on average sell for less than one that was available for all to see and make an offer on. In my view a general pocket listing policy by a real estate brokerage a-la “we only allow in-brokerage sales of our listings the first 7 days” is unethical. The problem is when it is the listing brokerage that pushes for the pocket listing for their own gain – a pocket listing initiated by a client (for whatever reason) I don’t really see any issue with. 

Are there times when I sell unlisted properties myself? Sure. Typically I will be representing a purchaser and I find a property not listed for sale yet and make an offer on behalf of the purchaser I represent. When I represent a purchaser my goal is to find them the best property at the best price – as long as I am honest in my dealings I have no problem with a seller getting less than they would on the open market.

Pocket listings in the “normal” price ranges in our area are not that common. There are other avenues to find unlisted homes for sale though.

If you are looking to buy or sell and want the best possible price, please contact us!

Preparing for a photo shoot is somewhat similar to staging your home for showings and open houses. However, for the pictures we will generally move around items and keep more things out of sight than you would for regular showings. For example, a trashcan will be removed for a photograph but it is not expected to be removed from sight for a showing.

Below is a Top 9 list of items you should consider completing before we come to take pictures of your home. Great shots will bring in more potential purchasers and will get you a better price! When you list with us, you will receive the full list of 50 items that should be done to make your home  fantastic.

Top 9 Things To Do Before Photographing Your Home

1. Clean and dust everywhere – with high resolution images even small specs may show up. Some we can remove in post processing.
2. Clean all windows inside and out – also clean blinds, screens and window sills.
3. Remove all clutter and unnecessary items.
4. Make sure all light bulbs are working and that the bulbs in a specific light fixture are the same type and wattage.
5. The amount of furniture should be reduced as much as possible while still showing the purpose of a room.
6. Hide away all pet dishes, boxes and dog crates.
7. If you have moving boxes store them in the garage or in a closet. Or, stack them on a non-window wall that we can photograph around.
8. If you have expensive art, nude art (more common that you may think), potentially offensive or heavily religious items you may want to take those down and put them in storage. If you want to make a statement by leaving them out feel free to do so but you may offend that one purchaser that would otherwise have made that perfect offer you are still waiting for…
9. If you have taxidermy or guns displayed we recommend you remove them from any visible spot. See #8.

We just listed a great top floor 2 bedroom condominium at Woodburn Village. It has been updated with new carpet and paint as well as bathroom (in process.)

Woodburn Village is a garden community with about 600 condominium units spread out around common areas with trees, play areas, picnic areas with grills, tennis & basketball courts and a swimming pool.

Woodburn Village is located about where Gallows Road intersects with I-495, behind Fairfax Hospital.

The home is listed for rent for $1,425/month. The rent includes utilities and there is extra storage available in the basement of the building.

This unit has been rented.

The home is located at 4522 Evansdale Road in Woodbridge VA (22193.) It is close to shopping at Potomac Mills and allows for easy commute via VRE, Park-and-ride and I-95.

4522 Evansdale Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22193 (MLS # PW8049188)

View Virtual Tour

Renovated 3br/1.5ba with granite counters, stainless steel appliances, tile floors, gourmet cooking range. Two levels with walkout lower level to rear pation overlooking large treed lot with shed. Ample parking on driveway and street in front of home. Central A/C for upstairs. Potential for another room with window in basement. Sold As-Is.

Property Type(s): Residential for Sale, Detached for Sale

Last Updated	5/23/2013	Tract	Dale City
Year Built	1970	Community	n/a
Garage Spaces	n/a	County	Prince William
Total Parking	n/a	Walk Score ®	15

Schools

Additional Details

Features

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

(view all details for MLS #PW8049188)

Apart from the sales, lots of things are happening in the area with the Silver Line metro nearing completion and Capital One gaining approval for their plans at the neighboring site.

To see what is currently for sale at the Gates of McLean, look here.  

In response, administration officials say “they are working to get banks to lend to a wider range of borrowers by taking advantage of taxpayer-backed programs — including those offered by the Federal Housing Administration — that insure home loans against default.

Housing officials are urging the Justice Department to provide assurances to banks, which have become increasingly cautious, that they will not face legal or financial recriminations if they make loans to riskier borrowers who meet government standards but later default.”

Here is my suggestion – how about people prove they are responsible and can be trusted with the banks money by paying their current bills first? That is what credit scores are based on and it is a pretty good predictor of future behavior. Homebuyers can then qualify for loans without the government(and in the end the taxpayer) pressuring the banks (again), distort the market(again),  and having to be guarantors and pay for the losses (again.)

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-administration-pushes-banks-to-make-home-loans-to-people-with-weaker-credit/2013/04/02/a8b4370c-9aef-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html

The community is gated and has well kept grounds.  The Gates of McLean consists of multiple buildings of two styles: mid-rise and garden. The mid-rise style has controlled building access, heated hallways and underground parking available (does not come with all units.) The garden-style has open hallways and there is surface parking only. There are numerous 1, 2 and 3 bedroom models available. All the units have an open floor plan with open kitchens and they typically come with a full-size washer and dryer.

Please check out our video for the property:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2EVrIC_060[/youtube]

This home has been sold.