What To Watch Out For in New Home Construction Projects
What to Watch Out for in a New Home Construction Project Once the excitement and cozy feelings wear off, a new home construction project points-up several concerns that you need to pay attention to. This is in-no-way an effort to denigrate builders en masse. However, even builders themselves (i.e., their own profitability) suffer from […]
City of Alexandria, VA Announces Housing 2040 Master Plan Kick-off (Fall 2024)
Reposting of recent announcement (8/26/2024) for first time home buyers in Alexandria, VA The City of Alexandria is pleased to announce the two-part kick off of the Housing 2040 Master Plan (Housing 2040) process. The 2013 Housing Master Plan (HMP) established principles, goals, and strategies to address Alexandria’s housing needs through 2025. Now, with the […]
Buyers: Your special weapons are a contingent offer and a thorough inspection
Caveat Emptor. What do we mean buy this? Ask any Realtor or real estate attorney and they will tell you, Virginia is a “buyer beware” state. Stated in legal terminology, “Caveat emptor”, or in Latin, qui ignorare non debuit quod jus alienum emit: “Let a purchaser, who ought not be ignorant of the amount and […]
Tips for Hiring Home Contractors (Part 2)
Fresh from the county of Fairfax, Land and Development Services (LDS) class entitled “Permits 101”. I was glad to sit in on this because the only thing worse than an unexpected home improvement project (costing thousands to fix) is when you hire a contractor and … he does not even come close to meeting your […]
How energy efficient is your home or the home you’re considering?
Wouldn’t it be helpful to know if the home you are considering is an energy black hole (EBH)? Or perhaps, is it a hermetically sealed and optimized energy haven? Or something closer to the middle? Let’s be honest, after the principle, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI), energy and maintenance are the second and third most […]
Which Homes To Avoid
Are there homes that you need to avoid? Well… let’s put it this way… there are homes that you need to take extra care with, if you intend to go through with a purchase. I am referring to homes that have certain deficiencies that have an undetermined cost to fix. In many cases, major challenges […]
Fairfax County, VA Demographics Report through 2023
Fairfax County, VA is a growing, affluent and vibrant community. For the data geeks in the crowd, here are the latest statistics on many important issues as they related to the County. The 2023 Demographics Report shares data on population, household and housing unit estimates. The county’s housing inventory increased by 1.4%, population by 1.1%, median […]
Aging In Place? Hire North Star Home Inspections to Prepare
Elder care and helping your loved ones age in place… An Inspector’s Perspective Context is Everything One of the primary points of guidance for home inspectors specifically, is … “stay in your lane”. This means, do not make assertions, recommendations or estimates that do not reflect your area of expertise. In our litigious society, […]
What To Look For When Hiring a Contractor (Part 1)
North Star Home Inspections loves well-run home projects. The key is often hiring a competent professional! This is a re-publishing of an excerpt from Aug. 2024 edition of Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine (which I love) as a general reader on money management and wealth building. The full article is all about home projects that pay […]
