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3 Ways a Buyer Agent can save you from losing money

October 19 by Marina Brito

A good buyer agent can protect you from losing money

Last year, Sam and Pam were in the market for buying a house up to $500,000. They were ecstatic to have found a detached home listed at $475,000.

Since they found the home themselves, they figured that they didn’t need a Buyer Agent and could make an offer directly to the Listing Agent (who represented the seller) for $450,000.

At $450,000, they thought it would be a good deal to buy the house for 5% off what they considered to be market price for it.

But, could they have gotten a better deal if they had hired a Buyer Agent? Let’s find out… Continue Reading…

Why is Oakton, VA #36 in the Top 100 Places to Live?

September 17 by Marina Brito

Oakton, VA is # 36

Money magazine recently published an article called “Best Places to Live: Money’s list of America’s best small towns.” In it, Oakton, Virginia ranked # 36 of the Top 100.

It’s interesting that Money chose to catalog Oakton as a “small town”. Sure, it’s a nice, mostly residential area with a farm and equestrian history which gives it a character of its own, but in reality, Oakton,VA is not exactly a town.

Google’s definition of a town is: “An urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government”. Based on this definition, what Oakton lacks to be a town is a local government.

If Oakton isn’t a town, then what is it? Continue Reading…

How to rank Fairfax County Schools

September 15 by Marina Brito

Most people when they are buying a car, they review safety ratings, fuel consumption, reliability, and of course, the price.
Once they have all the data, they rank the results in order to help them make the right decision.

Most of us go through this ranking exercise not only when buying a car, but with most things that require a long-term commitment

When there is a long term commitment, we tend to analyze the situation and weigh-in our options carefully. It seems that we are always ranking features to come up with the best solution for our needs.

Looking for the right school for our children is no exception

We pour over scores, special programs, and any other feature that can help us make the right decision.

But, why do we search for the right schools in the first place? Continue Reading…

How does Fairfax County Public Schools compare with nearby districts?

September 14 by Marina Brito

“And the winner is…”

School Districts are complex and varied like movies

If you have ever witnessed a night at the Academy Awards, you’ll hear this phrase over and over. In order to make justice to all the different aspects of a movie, The Academy has created many categories for which movies get nominated as “the best”.

School Districts, like movies, are complex entities with strengths and weaknesses. Some are the best in some aspects, and others are better in others.

Is it true what they say about Fairfax County Schools?

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is reported to be one of the biggest and best school districts in the state of Virginia, and in the Country; let’s see how Fairfax County Public Schools compare with its neighboring school districts.

First, let’s find out which school districts are in the DC Metro area – Continue Reading…

Virginia is for Lovers & Tysons Corner is for Shoppers

September 14 by Marina Brito

When you are flying into the Washington D.C. area, either into Dulles Airport or to Reagan National Airport, you’ll see a beautiful carpet of trees covering most of the entire suburban area that is Northern Virginia. But wait! What’s that grouping of buildings towering over the trees?

Most likely what you are seeing is Tysons Corner

Over the past decade, Tysons Corner has grown to be the largest office building and shopping area in Northern Virginia. It is located near the intersection of four main roads: I-495, I-66, Route 123, and Route 7.