AJ & Jodee Heidmann

I'm a:	Real Estate Professional
Company:	Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Location:	Alexandria Arlington Fairfax
Phone:	(703) 474-1260

71 Answers
2 Best Answers
21 First Answers
28 Useful Answers

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About Me

Business Philosophy:

We believe that selecting an agent to assist with your real estate needs is an incredibly important, though often overlooked, step in the real estate process. You should feel comfortable dealing with and spending time with your agent, as the process generally takes longer than just a few years ago. If a personality/style clash impedes communication, both you and your agent will become very frustrated. Be honest with what you want in an agent and expect the same from the agent you select, as they will act in many roles such as a counselor, friend, and sounding board throughout the process. My wife and I concentrate on trying to understand what our clients really want and need before we start viewing homes or planning an open house, as the investment at the beginning of the process will pay off handsomely in the end with a successful, stress-free transaction.

Professional Profile:

Each year since entering real estate in 2005, we have attained the NVAR Multi-Million Dollar Sales Club and were Top Producers in 2007. The success that my wife Jodee (also a licensed agent) and I have attained is in direct proportion to the effort we put into every listing or home search. For a listing that is lingering a decade or two behind current tastes, we have contractors in multiple fields to assist in bringing it into the 21st century or they can work for buyers who are interested in a property that needs the same updating. This attention to detail has created a faithful following of owners that exceeded their sales expectations or buyers that are in love with their renovated "ugly duckling".

Designations:

CRS ~ Certified Residential Specialist
ABR ~ Accredited Buyer Representative
e-PRO
TRC ~ Transnational Referral Certificate

Communities Served:

Alexandria, Alexandria, City, Annandale, Arlington, Bailey's Crossroads, Ballston, Belle View, Beverly Hills, Central Springfield, Clarendon, Del Ray, Dunn Loring, East Falls Church, Fairfax, Fairlington, Falls Church, Franconia, Franconia, Historic District, Huntington, Kingstowne, Lake Barcroft, Landmark, McLean, Mount Vernon, North Springfied, Old Town, Pentagon City, Reston, Rosslyn, Seven Corners, Shirlington, Springfield, Vienna, West Falls Church, West Springfield

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AJ & Jodee H…'s Answers (71)

It is wise to sell a house empty or should the invesment be made to stage it. If so, in the northern VA area

Asked Sun Mar 30 2008, 19:37 by Lisa - 22153 - Home Selling - 4 answers

AJ & Jodee Heidmann answered:

Lisa,

We will disagree with Irina, it's PARTICULARLY important to stage in a buyers market when competition abounds! As Linda noted, most buyers can't visualize beyond what is actually in the home, so you need to help them see how the home lives. remember that an empty room/house looks smaller than one with furnishing, so From your question, it appears that you are thinking of a complete staging the home like a model home that builder might have. This is much more expensive and can actually work against you if buyers don't like the style of furnishing. What I would suggest is to lightly stage the more important rooms to give a sense of the size and functionality of the space, front entrance, kitchen, dining & living room, master bedroom and baths. As for the window treatments, I highly recommend that you move forward with some nice, but inexpensive rods, sheers & drapes to help finish off the house. Please remeber that in the Regional Contract in Northern Virginia the hardware for the window treatment convey with the home.

The recommendation to stage comes only after you have made sure that the walls are freshly painted, carpets cleaned, any smells removed and the entire home cleaned/scrubbed to within an inch of its life. It you don't do this first, the staging will appear as if your putting "lipstick on a pig" and won't be of value. We agree with Irina on the importance of taking care of the yard, as this is the first that any buyer will see and if they subconsciously get a negative impression before they even open the door, you will have tough sledding ahead of you. Seasonal color with kale & pansies should work along with fresh mulch, to help with that image.

You can check with some stagers for what their charge will be, if it includes furniture or if that is extra. What we do is we have an inventory of materials that we use in our listings at no additional charge.

Best of luck to you and please let us know what you decide and how it turns out! - Sat Nov 15 2008, 10:39

Can I call an agent that showed my house to see how it went?

Asked Mon Nov 10 2008, 12:03 by Drew - 23456 - Home Selling - 19 answers

AJ & Jodee Heidmann answered:

Drew,

I am in agreement with the majority of those who have already answered this one; you should leave it to your agent to contact any of the showing agents for feedback. As Bill mentioned, speak with your agent about any problems you are having with communication and then to the broker if it persists.

However, as an agent the does a lot of listings, I can tell you that it is often very hard to get feedback from agents who have shown one of my properties. It may take an email and multiple phone calls to get anything back from 50% of agents. From the buyer agents’ perspective, they may show 8-12 homes in a single day, so that they tend to blur together and they may not be willing to provide feedback to all listings.

Good luck with your sale! - Mon Nov 10 2008, 13:23

Why is thee only one picture of this house available?

Asked Tue Nov 4 2008, 12:47 by Andrew Mullis - Soperton - Home Buying - 4 answers

AJ & Jodee Heidmann answered:

The agent obviously doesn't understand the need for multiple photos to fully use the power of Internet marketing. Unfortunately, this is an all to common problem in our opinion. - Wed Nov 5 2008, 09:25

Am I locked into working with the selling agent if they show me a home?

Asked Wed Nov 5 2008, 08:46 by M Salerno - Norwood - Home Buying - 23 answers

AJ & Jodee Heidmann answered:

My understanding is that having an agent show a home does not commit you to use them, but I would be up front with them, so that they understand your intentions. The listing agent does have a responsibility to the seller to make the property available for potential buyers, so this would be part of that, as long as you disclose it. The listing agent could claim Procuring Cause, but that requires an unbroken chain of events that lead to the sale, and I don't believe simply showing the home meets that standard.

As a couple of people have already mentioned, maybe it would be best to find a buyers agent to help you with your purchase before you look at homes and then you avoid any potential issues all together.

Best of luck! - Wed Nov 5 2008, 09:21

I bought my townhouse in 2005 in Alexandria, VA for 445K with 5% down. We want a bigger house in

Asked Tue Aug 19 2008, 08:38 by Andrew - Alexandria - General Area - 2 answers

AJ & Jodee Heidmann answered:

Andrew,

In general, as long as you are moving up in the size of your home and staying in the same vicinity you should do well, so your thinking is on track in that respect. The disadvantage right now is for those that are downsizing, because in general they have taken a similar percentage hit to a larger value home.

Currently in Alexandria City, there are 31 single family homes in the $400K-$600K range, while including Fairfax County with an Alexandria postal address adds another 179 possiblities. There are options out there for your growing family to explore.

Best of luck! If you have any more questions please feel free to drop us a line,

AJ Heidmann, ABR, CRS, e-PRO
Cell 703-474-1260 Fax 703-518-8314 Toll Free 877-727-3631
AHeidmann@CBMove.com
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Old Town Alexandria - Tue Aug 19 2008, 10:27

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