What’s cheaper, renting or buying a home in the Loudoun and Fairfax County area? This is a common question asked by many prospective homebuyers. The answer to the question really depends a lot on the buyers( or your) goals. Recently, Tulia rated the Washington DC area as a 12 on a sale of 1-35 as being cheaper to buy then to rent. Another similar report by Inman news recent reported that in 74% of cities nationwide buying is cheaper then renting. Washington DC area was one of the … [Read more...]
Where are all the Foreclosures!!!
April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
"The economy is in a free fall"; "people are losing their houses by the bushel"; "unemployment is at record highs etc, etc, etc". You would think with these types of headlines there would be foreclosed homes on every block! Right??? Not if you are looking for foreclosures in the Northern Virginia area more specifically in the Loudoun and Fairfax county areas. If you are lucky enough to find a foreclosed home don’t be surprised to see multiple offers all above asking price. So, if … [Read more...]
Top Real Estate Scams
January 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Having worked in the Real Estate business for almost 10 years I’ve had a chance to hear some really wacky Real Estate claims. Some of these claims are made by unscrupulous individuals who are not licensed Realtors or lenders(for good reason). Most of the scams target unsuspecting individuals on late night infomercials promising fast cash and a track to riches for only 3 payments of $45! Over the last 5 years with the tanking of the Real Estate market various scams have exploded on to the … [Read more...]
2010 End of Year Real Estate Trends
December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
GOOOOOD BYE 2010! And what A year it has been for Northern VA Real Estate! Rather then feed you a bunch of raw data and let you figure out what it all the means or worse yet just give you a bunch antidotal examples of where Real Estate was and is heading. I thought I would share 4 local Real Estate trends with the corresponding data that I “think” speaks to what happened in our local Real Estate market in 2010 and where I believe Real Estate will be in 2011. One quick item before you dive … [Read more...]
5 Things You Must Know Before You Get A Reverse Mortgage!
October 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In early 2000 I started hearing stories about this great loan program that allows you to borrow your homes equity without ever having to pay back the money you borrowed. Sounds too good to be true… yep it didn’t pass my smell test either. The program is called a Reverse Mortgage and lenders are lining up spokesmen by the dozen to sell it. Before you run out and start calling your a lender for one of these loans here are 5 things you should consider first: 1. Compound Interest: Have you … [Read more...]
Chuck Rifae Associate Broker PenFed Realty Group 571-207-6390 Entrepreneur, Real Estate Broker, Avid runner, and soccer dad! 
