Northern Virginia Real Estate and Community News Blog

Found mine in the mail today, and looks like Fairfax County assessments are rising nicely this year!   Of course it depends on the neighborhood, because the county micro-analyzes values differently for Burke than it does for Mt Vernon, for example - their formula for adjusting value is actually quite complex.  Rising assessments reflec...

We were out today doing our routine semi-annual inspections and hitting homes we manage in the Springfield and Olde Towne Alexandria neighborhoods.  What a beautiful day it was to be out driving around Northern VA!  Can't wait until warmer weather and we can do this on our Key Home Management Harley!

We love our military landlords and tenants, and we often get requests from landlords to "find me a military tenant."  Our code of ethics requires us to present every qualified applicant to the owner for consideration.  Military families make excellent tenants, but in our area the risk of an early lease termination due to military transf...

George and I were talking yesterday about the extreme shortage of available homes to buy.  Inventory is at historical lows nationwide, and especially here in Northern Virginia.  We hear from agents almost every day asking us if we have clients ready to sell their homes.   If anyone is wondering if this is a good time to sell - well, d...

A really good and easy Chicken Soup recipe from George's mom...

Old Fashioned Chicken Soup   2 tablespoons olive oil1 Onion, chopped3 carrots, sliced                3 garlic cloves, chopped2 stalks celery, sliced     8 cups water2 chicken bullion cubes 1 chicken, quartered¼ cup chopped parsley 1 cup Orzo pastaSalt & Pepper  Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Cook onion...

Fairfax County Schools 2 Hour Delay Today!   Nice, a little snow....

Finally we're getting true winter temps around here!  Nora sent an email blast to all tenants yesterday to remind them to winterize their outdoor water spigots.  That means turn the inside valves OFF and the outside spigot handles all the way ON.  Of course, this doesn't apply to most condos!

Seems like every family I know has a case of the flu or a bad cold. This warm weather probably isn't helping either.  Go get your flu shot if you haven't already!

We have two active rental listings on the market this week — a nice split-level home with garage in Annandale for $2350, and a beautiful 2-level t/h in Alexandria off N. Dearing Street for $1950.  We're getting lots of calls on these — looks like it's going to be another busy year for rentals!