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Save TONS of Money on Replacement Vinyl Windows

I recently needed to replace all the windows in my 1950’s home in Alexandria, VA.  I decided I would explore every option to experience what consumers are up against when making this expensive and common upgrade. The results shocked me.

Conclusion: You could accidentally spend triple the amount on similar windows! This clip will explain:

 

I needed 30 windows, a number that surprised me. I did some searches and put together a list of 10 suppliers of windows in different categories.

  1. The media driven company.  In my case it was Thompson Creek.  For years I had heard this name through radio advertisements across multiple stations as well as radio personalities endorsing this company.  They made claims such as “windows built specifically for our local climate”. And so I took the bait and called.Answering the phone for the company was a representative that took my name and address but then proceeding into a long line of questioning.  “What window issues are you trying to solve”? What a weird question.  Umm, they are 60 years old…  “Who owns the house”?  “Will all the owners be present when the salesman arrives”?

    The day arrives, the salesman showed up with his mini window display and breaks out into a full on […]

By |October 2nd, 2015|Homeowner|
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Avoiding Asphalt Driveway Scams

The driveway game is ripe with scammers.  I’ve heard many stories and have a few of my own.

Here is my biggest piece of advice. Measure your driveway, take the length and width and multiply them together to give you the square footage.  Now, expect to pay $2.00 – $2.50 per square foot for a new asphalt driveway.  Anything outside of this range is reason for suspicion.

Besides price, here are a few red flags:

  1. “We are working down the street and we’ll give you a discount cause our equipment is already here” or “we have extra material so we can give you a big discount”.
  2. Make the check payable to an individual and not a company.
  3. Ask how long they have been in business, and verify it!  You can go to the Virginia Corporate Commission and do an entity search.

wpid-20150811_170741.jpgThe most important part of the paving process has nothing to do with the surface you drive on, its what’s underneath that counts!  The sub surface must be prepared properly to prevent settlement.  If the ground underneath your new black top sinks, the asphalt sinks with it and causes cracking which turns your driveway […]

By |September 4th, 2015|Renovations|
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A Real Estate Camera Pro vs Your Average Joe

After posting on the 12 Local Real Estate Photos That Stink I thought it only appropriate to  illustrate the benefits of using not only a high quality camera but the  tools a pro photographer uses to breath life into their photos.

I used 3 cameras to shoot a commercial bathroom.  No zoom, standing in the exact same spot.

Cell phone camera. Samsung S4 Smartphone. A very good quality camera for being so tiny and on most of us 24/7. However, this is the worst camera you could possibly use for real estate.  The images capture are very clear but have little depth and only display a fraction of the space being captured.  Notice that half of the mirror cannot be seen. The user can only see the “stuff’ and not the actual space.

CameraA

 

Point and shoot.  Samsung WB700 ($299) This camera is of good quality and known for a wider angle.   Just look at how much more you can see vs. the cell phone camera.  While better it still is lacking.  This is probably the more common type of camera that agents use.

By |August 28th, 2014|Sellers|
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