Remember when we were kids and played hide-and-seek with our neighborhood friends?  Everybody knew what the best places to hide were. But see, the problem was that everybody knew of them – so one got found quickly.

The way to win the game was to find your own special spot.  For me, a small cupboard was a great place because I fit perfectly in it. The rest of my friends wouldn’t even think of it because they were much taller than me.

Trust your instincts and find your own spot

Going through life making choices is just like choosing the perfect spot to hide for hide-and-seek. There might be great choices based on what others have found, but in the end, when you pay attention to your own personal needs and preferences, you may find the right choice – that may be the right choice just for you.

Some time ago, I met a family, the Carters, who had recently been relocated to the DC area due to Steven’s job at the Pentagon.

The Carters had a very important choice to make: choosing a new home

As usual, with every move to a new and exciting place, Ellie Carter dreaded the moving process. Continue Reading…

Spring is coming, and, like many homebuyers in the D.C. area, Dee and Henry are looking to purchase their first home.

Dee and Henry’s favorite Townhome had multiple offers

We’ve already been out looking for homes for a couple of weekends, and finally, they have found a cute town home that they really, really like, plus it’s in their ideal school boundary.

As we’re getting ready to make an offer, the listing agent informs us that there are a couple of other offers coming in as well, so it’s a multiple offer situation.

Dee and Henry really want to buy this home

The issue is that they are now in a competitive situation so they need to make their offer as strong as possible.

One way to make the offer better, of course, is to offer more money.  But that’s not always the best approach (although it never hurts…).

Sometimes, even when offering more money, another contract wins out because it represents less risk to the seller.

How to minimize risk to the seller (while making sure you’re protected) Continue Reading…