real estate

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Is it normal for sellers to leave appliances behind for the next owner?

Answer: A friend of mine is moving in Southern California and mentioned having to move his refrigerator to the new house, which I found odd, but apparently, it’s common in California and other parts of the country. My theory is that one day somebody decided to take their coveted refrigerator with them and it created a chain reaction of everybody having to take their appliances with them after that!

Over the years, I’ve picked up on customs and contract terms that differ significantly here from other markets. I thought I’d come up with a list of standard customs and contract terms in Northern Virginia that often come as a surprise to buyers and homeowners who have transacted in other markets.

I’d love to hear from readers in the comments about other local practices that surprised you if you were used to real estate customs and contracts in another market.

• Appliances Convey: All of the appliances, including washer/dryer, have conveyed (transferred to the next owner) in every transaction I’ve been part of. Buyers and sellers have to agree during negotiations what appliances and other items do or do not convey.
• No Individual Attorneys: It’s rare for an attorney outside of the Title Company to be involved in a transaction. The same Title Company almost always works on behalf of both parties (without bias).
• (Lack of) Seller Disclosures: Virginia is one of the few “Buyer Beware” (Caveat Emptor) states in the country; which essentially means that sellers in Virginia do not have to disclose any property defects, but they can’t hide them or lie about them either. For homes built before 1978, there’s a one-page lead disclosure form for a seller to note if they’re aware of the existence of lead paint on the property. Most states, including D.C. and MD, have lengthy seller-disclosure forms.
• Dual Agency Allowed, Not Common: Dual Agency, as defined in Virginia, is when one agent represents the buyer and seller on the same transaction. While allowed, if both parties sign-off, it is pretty uncommon.
• No Response/Counter Deadline: The contract does not require either party to respond to an offer or counter within a certain period of time unless one party writes in their own deadline.
• Earnest Money Deposits/Escrows: It is customary for the deposit (EMD/Escrow) buyers make to secure the contract to be due within 3-5 days of ratification (terms accepted by both parties) and the deposit is usually 1-5% of the purchase price.
• Days: Contractual obligations are usually measured in days from ratification. A “day” in Northern Virginia contracts is any calendar day, no skipping weekends or holidays, and ends at 9 p.m.

What’s the takeaway here? Even if you have real estate experience in other markets or past experience in our local market, it’s always good to refresh yourself on local customs and contracts.

If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. #10C Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 390-9460.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: We have made a backyard pool a higher priority on our housing criteria, but finding very few homes for sale that have one. How difficult is it going to be to find a house with a pool already built?

Answer: A few years ago I wrote a column about whether or not having a pool helps or hurts when selling your home. The short version is that, historically, homes with pools take longer to sell and sell at a deeper discount from the original asking price than homes without pools.

It makes sense because most local buyers don’t value having an in-ground pool — they’re costly to maintain, parents of young children see them as a safety hazard, they often take up most/all of the backyard lawn space, and it’s useful less than half of the year.

However, things have changed this year with buyer and homeowner demand for backyard pools increasing. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers behind finding and selling homes with pools in Arlington and Fairfax County. The data below is based on sales of single-family detached (SFD) homes sold since 2015.

Data Highlights

• It is REALLY hard to find a home in Arlington with a pool. Only 1.4% of SFD sales in 5+ years have included a pool.
• The average price of a home with a pool in Arlington is artificially inflated by a $45M sale earlier this year. Without that sale, the average price of a home with a pool in Arlington drops to $1,352,000 and $1,423,000 in the 22207 zip code.
• 70% of homes sold with a pool are in 22207 and 22205.
• The highest percentage of homes sold with a pool in the area is in Great Falls, with just over ¼ of the sales including a pool.
• In Arlington, you’re most likely to find that pools take up most/all of the usable backyard space, but lot sizes in Fairfax County are big enough to accommodate a pool and a lawn.

Building Your Own Pool

Most people are shocked when they find out what it costs to build a gunite (concrete) in-ground pool around here, which usually runs $150k-$200k+ before additional patio and landscaping work.

I linked up with local Arlington landscape designer/expert Rob Groff, of Groff Landscape Design, to find out why it’s so much more expensive to build a pool here than elsewhere in the region/country and ask about a common strategy I’ve heard from homeowners to hire an out-of-town company to build a pool for less and pay for their travel/lodging during the project to save some money.

Q: Why is it so expensive to build a pool here?

A: It’s so much more expensive to build a pool here because permitting is more time consuming and expensive, materials and labor are more expensive, average lot size is smaller which oftentimes causes for problems, engineering, municipal related site preparation such as construction entrances, super silt fence, site restoration, drainage, etc are all a factor.

Q: Is it more cost effective for homeowners to hire an out-of-town pool company who builds pools for less money and pay for their travel/lodging?

A: A lot of pool companies don’t include all expenses up front and therefore there are a ton of surprise costs on the back-end of the pool project. I’ve seen this a lot especially from out of area pool companies. We actually setup a spreadsheet and accompany some of our clients in the vetting process. We had a local company at 205k for a pool that a Fredericksburg based company had at 145k. By the time the meeting was over and we corrected the Fredericksburg company to make sure they didn’t leave anything off, they were up at 215k.

Q: Are there more affordable options for in-ground pools that you recommend?

A: In Northern Virginia, a gunite (concrete) pool has been the standard for a long time. On average, we see these coming in at $150k-$200k in Northern Virginia (not including the pool patio and other surrounding elements like landscaping, lighting, etc). Fiberglass pools are growing in popularity and their base price is closer to $55k-$65k (River Pools and Spa). These fiberglass pools don’t feel the same to many homeowners as a true gunite pool, but they save enough money to make people consider them. There are a ton of good videos on their website that explains the differences between gunite and fiberglass, etc.

Thank you very much Rob! For anybody interested in excellent landscaping design consultation and work, I highly recommend Rob and his team at Groff Landscape Design. Pool design, layout and project management is part of their service package for those interested in building a pool. They even have a great financing program available to help spread the cost of what is often $100k+ landscaping projects.

If you’d like to discuss buying or selling strategies, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. #10C Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 390-9460.