The Licata Group will be hosting a Community Shred Day on Saturday, April 22nd, from 11 AM – 2PM! Just in time for the end of tax season, so salsa on over and safely and securely shred your documents! The Shred trucks will be located within the Food Lion parking lot across from the Lake of the Woods front gate, near our office at 36111 Goodwin Drive (between AT&T and CVS). Donations are encouraged but not required, and all proceeds will benefit Lake of the Woods Fire and Rescue. We love being a resource to our community, so come and shred to your heart’s content! Can you make it? Let us know here!
Bring your appetite, too! The fabulous Taco Tuesday Food Truck will be there selling a delicious variety of Mexican fare and Kona Ice will be there selling shaved ice with 20% of proceeds going to LOW Fire and Rescue. Let’s support our community!
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Orange, Locust Grove, Culpeper, Northern Virginia, or even Maryland or DC, we are your Real Estate team committed to finding the perfect home for you! Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by homeowners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar, and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, one of our area expert advisors will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available properties, please visit our website licatagroup.com
Join us every Tuesday at 11 AM EST on our Facebook page for Licata Live,
where you can ask questions to different members of our team every week!
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Orange, Locust Grove, Northern Virginia, or even Maryland or DC, we are your Real Estate team committed to finding the perfect home for you! Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by homeowners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar, and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, one of our area expert advisors will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available properties, please visit our website licatagroup.com
If you’re looking to shred some old papers or documents, now you can do so at our office! We are proud to announce that we have an on-site secure shredding service that we’re providing to our clients for FREE!! All you have to do is come to our office at 36111 Goodwin Drive (between CVS and AT&T across from the LOW front gate) during our office hours, Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM, and ask to speak to one of our team members. You will be guided to the locked box that is only accessible by Iron Mountain, the shredding service. You’ll place your documents in the locked box and when full, Iron Mountain retrieves the contents and provides us with a certificate when contents have been shredded. We love being a resource to our community, so come to our office and shred to your hearts content!
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Orange, Locust Grove, Culpeper, Northern Virginia or even Maryland or DC, we are your Real Estate team committed to finding the perfect home for you! Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by homeowners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar, and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, one of our area expert advisors will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available properties, please visit our website licatagroup.com
Caring and Helping, Bespoke Solutions, equals Happy Satisfied Clients in Real Estate.
David’s life journey started in Scotland and has taken him and his family to Canada and four states in the USA. During his extensive career in global relocation, he built businesses with service teams and worked with fortune 50 clients as well as government entities. The World Bank, US Dept. of State and the DOD all entrusted re-locations to David and his team’s care. As a “penny pinching” Scotsman, he values the importance of delivering great results within reasonable budgets. Currently living in Leesburg, VA David is helping to expand the Licata Group’s success in Loudoun county and surrounding areas in Northern Virginia.
David and his wife Alison are proud grandparents, and are blessed to have their son, daughter in law and two grand-babies nearby in Ashburn, VA. Rescue dogs Teddy and Chloe are also part of the family as well as real football (soccer!), formula one, wineries, and cooking are all loves in David’s life. Oh and fair WARNING “Don’t let him near a karaoke microphone”!!
David’s Certifications: Certified Relocation Professional (CRP), Global Mobility Specialist (GMS) in membership with the WERC (Worldwide Employee Relocation Council) and SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management).
Buying a new home and moving for retirement is something that is pretty common in the United States. It also seems that it is something that almost everybody is doing nowadays. However, this process is something that will take some time and consideration. Buying a home, moving and starting over is exciting. However, it is also a task that you should take seriously. Think about your life now, and how it will change once you retire. What are the pros and cons of relocating? And starting fresh? Yes, starting fresh is possible even at the golden age. You’ve probably never had more money and time at your disposal. Now, you can finally enjoy life to the fullest. And you deserve it. Let us guide you through buying a home in Virginia after retirement process, and help you handle it the best way possible. You don’t only need it, you really do deserve it.
Reasons for buying a new home after retirement
We all have different reasons, however, we all have the main
goal in common – we want to make our lives better, every aspect of it. And that
is the main reason behind every home buying process. In Virginia, Japan or
anywhere else in the world. We just want what’s best for ourselves and our
loved ones. Retiring and enjoying your mature age comes with many benefits, and
one of them – you will have much more time on your hands. Time to take charge
of your life. And that sometimes means changing your surroundings and starting
over.
Your family home might have served you for many years, but
it’s probably not the right fit for you anymore. It might feel like an empty
nest, or it might be too big now when the kids have moved out. Maybe you want
to be closer to your grandchildren. We all have our reasons, however, investing
in real estate comes with a great deal of work that needs to be done. Our
number one advice for you would be to really think through your reasons. Make
sure that they are good and reasonable ones.
Gathering the money
Yes, we need to mention and talk about this aspect when
having a conversation about buying a home in Virginia after retirement. Your
budget. It is real estate, and such investments don’t come cheap. That is why
you need to really consider your budget, as well as your wants and needs. What
are you looking for? And can you afford it? These two things can also be very
different, so make sure you know your budget as well as your limits.
Calculate your budget. Look into your savings. Talk to your
loaning manager and ask for some advice. Try to get all the information and
advice that you can use to your advantage along the way. And also – don’t
depend, but rely on professional assistance. Having someone who knows the real
estate business to its core on your team is of crucial importance. Why? You
will want to get the most value for your money’s worth. We all do.
Yes, you will want to hire a professional
As we have mentioned before, having a seasoned professional
when buying a home in Virginia after retirement is your best option. It will
save you some precious time, energy and even money. Hiring realtors or real
estate agents sounds more expensive than it is. And their service, on the other
hand, is much needed. Even though you might be buying your 10th
house this time around, if you are not a real estate professional yourself, you
will need some help for sure.
This market changes, without us even noticing. And in order
to get as much value for your money, you will definitely need some advice and
someone who can lead this whole process. Especially if you are coming from
another state. Relocating from one place to another is stressful enough as it
is, and moving interstate, well – let’s just say, there will be many things to consider when moving to another state.
Let professionals assist you. It is the best thing you can do.
Decide what you’ll do with your current house
You will have to make this call, sooner or later. And even
though leaving our old lives behind sounds fun and exciting, leaving all these
memories behind as well can be harder than you might have originally expected.
That is why you need to think about this move. And we mean – really think. Will
you leave your old house to your kids? Or are you going to sell it?
Whatever you choose to do, make sure you do it fast. Letting
time pass by won’t help you, and especially if you tend to get nostalgic. Allow
yourself to enjoy your new beginning, and say goodbye to your old life. Leaving
your old family house behind doesn’t mean you’ll leave all the people you love
(or the memories you share with them) behind. It is just a property. And the
sooner you start thinking this way, the sooner this process will become enjoyable.
And you really want things to go smoothly, trust us on this one.
Set up your criteria
Your new home in Virginia needs to be perfect. It needs to
meet your expectations and everything you have dreamt of all these years. Make
a list of things that are a must and a list of things that are a no-no. You
will have to make a compromise here and there, but there are still some things
that are and should stay deal breakers. You deserve the best. And now, you can
finally be picky.
Enjoy the process
Your real estate agent will lead the way, and all you have to do is to follow his or her lead. Of course, it is your house and you make all the calls, however, your real estate agent (or realtor) is there to do all the hard work. Buying a home in Virginia after retirement is something that you have waited for for so long. Make sure you enjoy it!
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Orange, Locust Grove, Norther Virginia or even Maryland or DC, we are your Real Estate team committed to finding the perfect home for you! Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by homeowners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar, and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, one of our area expert advisors will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available properties, please visit our website licatagroup.com
Selling your home can turn into a genuinely lengthy process
if you have no information on how to do it properly. Making a detailed plan and
having an experienced professional agent by your side can significantly
decrease the time your home spends on the market. If you are willing to make an
effort, invest your time and some financial means, it will be easier to gain
competitive advantage and make your property more appealing than others. Thus,
here are some tips on how to interest your prospective buyers and succeed in
selling your home faster.
Improving curb appeal is the starting point
The first impression matters greatly when buying a property. Interestingly, sellers very often tend to forget this fact, so they focus intently on the inside of their homes. However, if you aim at selling your home faster, improving curb appeal is the most reasonable starting point. Firstly, pay attention to your lawn. Keep it neatly mown at all times since you never know when the potential buyers can come by. Also, it is necessary to trim trees and bushes regularly and to maintain your garden well enough.
Figure 2 Improving curb appeal is the most reasonable starting point when aiming at selling your home faster. Alt.tag: A beautifully decorated home entrance that can help when aiming at selling your home faster.
Pay special attention to the entrance. If it is necessary to
add a fresh coat of paint, do not hesitate to do it. A new house number and a
matching mailbox can easily catch everybody’s eye. Ideally, repainting your
front door will maximize the positive effect on whoever comes to tour your
home. Remember, what you want to achieve is making prospective buyers believe
your home is the right choice for them.
Decluttering is critical for selling your home faster
Clutter at your home threatens to prolong the whole process
or even reduce the price considerably. Getting informed on some key decluttering
tips can help you create an intimate and yet neutral and cozy atmosphere
that will enable your prospective buyers to envision their life and family in
this place. Furthermore, do not forget depersonalization. If a neutral territory is what you want to
achieve it is inevitable to remove all your family photos, children’s artwork, souvenirs
from various travels and so on.
Since it is essential
for potential buyers to move freely around your home, getting rid of bulky
furniture pieces is a must. Ideally, you can look for
an affordable unit to store your belongings and these furniture items
safely. Then, you can rearrange the rest of your furniture and maximize the
space. This will be highly appreciated and valued.
Make your home shine
You need to raise your cleanliness standards to the highest level until selling your home comes to its end. Paying special attention to all hidden areas is of utmost importance because your home needs to bear the scrutiny of various potential buyers. While it may be exhausting and quite challenging to keep your home in pristine shape for long, it is needed given the circumstances. Otherwise, you risk making one of the biggest mistakes when selling a home.
Figure 3 Make your home shine and prospective buyers will love it. Alt.tag: Cleaning brushes in various colors.
Natural light is a great benefit
Natural light is everybody’s favorite. It brings freshness,
calmness, and warmth to your space, so it has to be ample in order to attract
attention. Try your best to make your home as naturally lit as possible. Should
you find any problems with meeting this requirement, placing decorative lamps
around your home might help.
Selling your home faster requires making it available to prospective buyers
It is vital to make your home available to potential buyers.
Unfortunately, this most often means allowing them to tour your home whenever
it fits their schedule, even at weekends. This is a slight inconvenience you
will have to bear if you expect to succeed in selling your home faster. Buyers
themselves also feel nervous about finding the property that meets their criteria
once they realize that buying
real estate is a good investment.
Be realistic about the price
Making a decision about the price when selling your home is
a crucial task in the process. With the help of the internet, both sellers and
buyers can obtain information on the subject quite easily. Hence, it is
essential to be utterly realistic when setting the price. Defining the price
either too high or too low is very risky. Should you have any doubts,
consulting professionals is advisable.
If you, however, decide to set the price yourself, there is another step you need to define. Having a timetable for lowering the price can prevent your home from being on the market for too long. Instead, a reduced price after some time may incentivize those buyers who were having second thoughts. Eventually, selling your home faster becomes achievable.
Figure 4 Be realistic when setting the price for your home. Alt.tag: Three different piles of coins and a small wooden model house.
Taking some photos can help in selling your home faster
A great majority of prospective buyers start their search
for a perfect home online. Most of them prefer seeing photos of the houses
listed in order to take them into consideration. Thus, making high-quality
photos of your home can be very beneficial. If they emphasize all the appealing
and distinctive features, they will easily attract buyers in a short period of
time. Make sure you photograph both the inside and outside of your property. If
you are willing to invest in hiring a professional photographer, you can expect
favorable results very soon.
Feel free to spread the word
Although collaboration with your real estate agent is
compulsory, you can also contribute to selling your home faster. Feel free to
spread the word. Talk to your neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Use the
advantages of social networks and share your listing on various social media.
Understandably, the more people you inform the bigger the chance to find the
buyer soon.
Time matters
Among other factors, the time you list your home for sale determines how long it will stay on the market as well. When aiming at selling your home faster, it is, generally, advisable to list it in spring or fall. Reasons underlying this suggestion are understandable. The weather in spring is pleasant and people are willing to tour houses more often. The school is coming to its end, so moving will not cause any problems to families with children either. On the other hand, in the fall, the weather is still warm. People have come from their vacations and now they are ready to search for the property that meets their strict criteria. The school is about to begin, so prospective buyers have time to make the final choice and conduct their relocation. Use your chance and make selling your home faster possible.
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Lake of the Woods VA or Waterfront property in Virginia we are your Real Estate Advisors for Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Locust Grove, Central Virginia, and Greater Virginia. Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by home owners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, Pat will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available Lake of the Woods properties, please visit our site.
Along with the excitement
that buying your first home brings comes the apprehension about the
decision. Millions of questions come to mind making your decision even harder
to make. The best tip that you can get is to get informed. But, do you
know what you have to get informed about? If you are thinking of buying your
first property ever, take a deep breath and start reading through the most
common mistakes first-time homebuyers make so that you can avoid making the
same ones.
Starting a House Hunt Without a Financial Plan
Since you are buying your first home, it is understandable that you are very excited about the idea and impatient to find the right one. However, that doesn’t mean that you should start your search completely unprepared. You should at least know what price range to look at. Since the real estate market is quite competitive and demand is almost always higher than supply you should come prepared. That means that you should be pre-approved for a loan before looking at listings. Then you will be more acquainted with your financial prospects and you will know what you can hope to find. By the way, there are so many facts you should know about mortgage before you apply, so do not rush it.
First-time homebuyers should be prepared before house hunting, Alt. tag: A model of a house made of words FOR SALE
Sticking to One Mortgage Lender Only
A mortgage is also a product
that you buy and can find at different prices with different sellers. Do
not make a mistake by not comparing the quotes before committing. Choose at
least three lenders and compare the estimates that you get. Remember, you are
looking for a good deal as well as the lowest rates you can get. You cannot
find those if you only consult one bank or lender. The same goes for finding skillful movers who can relocate your home – you need to make a list and then choose one company that
suits you best.
Not Paying Attention to Your Credit Reports
Your credit reports are extremely important to a bank or lender that you are considering taking a mortgage from. They will analyze every single detail of it, so you need to make sure that they like what they see. A credit report that contains errors may result in higher interest rates for you, so it is in your best interest to keep it as accurate as possible. The good news is that you can get a free credit report from any of the main credit bureaus at the end of a year so that you can correct any errors that you come across. The lenders need this report at pre-approval and before final loan approval. In the meantime, you shouldn’t be opening new credit cards and you should do your best to pay your bills on time every month.
Credit reports are extremely important to lenders, Alt. tag: Credit report of a first-time homebuyer
Thinking That You have to Make a 20% Down Payment
When you start calculating how much
money you need for your down payment, you will probably ask yourself whether buying real estate is a good investment
at all. Twenty percent of your future
property’s worth is a lot of money to prepare before you even start
searching for a home. Luckily, there are some loan programs that allow
you to make a down payment as low as 3.5% or even 0%. It goes without saying
that a bigger down payment means that you can get a smaller mortgage, so you
will have more money left in your budget every month.
On the other hand, while you are
saving money for your 20% down, the property prices continue to grow along with
the mortgage. So, the decision is all yours and you need to make sure that you
set a monthly payment that you can actually provide. And, do not forget that
you are obliged to pay the mortgage insurance in case your down payment
is less than 20%.
Not Considering Special Programs for First-Time Homebuyers
There are some special programs for
first-time homebuyers that offer low down payment loans. You should inform
yourself whether such programs exist in your state and learn about the
following:
FHA loans –
the down payment can be as low as 3.5%. Besides this obvious
rebate, the Federal Housing Administration is not so strict about
credit reports. But, once you commit to this loan, you will have to pay
for mortgage insurance as long as you have the mortgage to pay, which
means even after your equity is more than 20%.
USDA loans
– if you are planning to buy a property in a rural area, the chances are
that you qualify for zero percent down and 100% financing – a
program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If you opt for this
program, you will have to pay the guarantee fee instead of mortgage
insurance.
VA loans
– mortgages offered by the US Department of Veterans Affairs to
people who have served in the military. These loans allow veterans to put
a down payment of zero percent and get 100% financing. A funding
fee has to be paid instead of mortgage insurance.
Falling in Love With the Property and Failing to See its Faults
This can be a huge mistake. It often
happens that we like the house, but it turns out that its neighborhood is not a
place where we would like to raise our children. You should always visit the place
at least two or three times, at different times of day and week, before you
make a decision to buy. If you notice that there is something the seller is
trying to hide, that should be a red flag to look for.
First-time homebuyers are usually impatient to move in, Alt. tag: House door with keys
Wasting All Your Savings On Your First Property
This is one of the common mistakes
first-time homebuyers often make. They do this to add to the sum for a down
payment and lower the monthly payment rate. However, you still need to have
an emergency fund (three to six months of living expenses) because there
are so many things that can go wrong when you buy a property. It is better to
pay for mortgage insurance and still have your emergency fund untouched, just
in case.
Not Knowing About the Hidden Costs of Ownership
There are many costs of ownership that first-time homebuyers do not know about. Property taxes, insurance (mortgage, hazard, and homeowners), repairs, maintenance, and utilities are just a few of them.
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Lake of the Woods VA or Waterfront property in Virginia we are your Real Estate Advisors for Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Locust Grove, Central Virginia, and Greater Virginia. Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my home worth?” is the #1 question asked by home owners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, Pat will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available Lake of the Woods properties, please visit our site.
In Lake of the Woods for March, 2019 the statistics are as follows: A total of 10 homes were sold, all of them were standard sales. Two homes sold between $175-250K, six sold between $250-350K, and one sold for over $350,000. Additionally, one lot was sold for $32,000.
Whether you’re looking for homes for sale in Lake of the Woods VA or Waterfront property in Virginia we are your Real Estate Advisors for Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Locust Grove, Central Virginia, and Greater Virginia. Thinking of selling? In any market condition, “what is my homeworth?” is the #1 question asked by home owners. If you wish to sell your home, it needs to be sold for top dollar and in a timely manner. Pricing your home accurately, Pat will partner with you to make the selling process so much easier. Get started today by calling us at (540) 388-2541 or contact Pat Licata.
To see available Lake of the Woods properties, please visit our site.
