Are you running out of time? Shipping deadlines have passed, but you still need something amazing? If you're in the Richmond area, these are a few gifts and places I'd recommend! Food gifts Looking for something for the host/hostess, or just a little something for that hard to buy for recipient? Food is always a great answer! Here are some of my local favorites: Copper Fox Distillery- With locations in both Sperryville and Williamsburg, Copper Fox makes some great, American Single Malt whiskies (and so many other spirits). I'm not a big drinker, but it is delicious, and if you take a trip, you can get a behind the scenes tour, which is pretty fantastic on its own. Stock up for gift giving all season, or for your own bar. Are you on the list? Every year, a lot of my clients get a gift of croissant cinnamon rolls from me, from one of my favorites, Up All Night Bakery. They're always a huge hit, and it's a great alternative to the flood of cookies that often come with the holidays. A little treat for breakfast is always a welcome gift. (And everything they make is fantastic!) Looking to put together an amazing basket or box of RVA goodies? My favorite spot to run in and grab some goodies is Yellow Umbrella. Either location- Patterson Avenue or Libbie Mill- has all sorts of great grab and go party foods, chips, salsa, crackers, local snacks, and of course, everything you need for dinner or charcuterie. A great host gift? A loaf of fresh sourdough and a block of my favorite Isigny Ste Mere Butter with sea salt crystals. For just about anyone on your list, pop into Shop Made in Virginia in Scott's Addition and pick up anything from fabulous art, handmade jewelry, textiles, locally made craft kits and gifts for kids, and all sorts of Virginia made foods. Seriously, you could totally check off everyone on your list here. Another spot where it's easy to find something for just about anyone on your list is The Shops at 5807. With a multitude of shops under one roof, you can't go wrong. Maybe some fun readers for Mom from Frillseekers, a great shirt for Dad from Cronies, something useful and fun for the wine lover at All About the Beverage, and of course, a stop through RVYAY Toys for the kiddos. (There are plenty of things for the hard to buy for teens, etc, with great jewelry, fun stationery, and so much more!) It really is possible to avoid the mall (and Amazon!) and get everyone on your list something local! Happy Happy Holidays to you and yours! See you in 2025!  

Things to Do in RVA this November Sips and Style Holiday Event Where: LaDiff (1011 Commerce Rd) When: November 6th @ 6-7:30pm Hosted by: LaDiff and Virago Spirits What: Learn how to prepare your home for the holidays and enjoy tastings of festive cocktails and mocktails. Diwali Celebration at the VMFA When: November 10th @ 6-10pm Where: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts What: An evening of traditional music, dance, and culinary delights. Richmond Marathon When: November 16th Gardenfest of Lights When: November 18th - January 5th Member Preview Weekend: November 15th - 17th Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens RVA Turkey Trot 5k When: November 28th Where: Dogwood Dell Amphitheater Cirque Dreams Holidaze When: November 29th and 30th Where: The Altria Theater Christmas at the Inn Arts and Craft Show When: November 29th - December 3rd Where: Virginia Cliffe Inn (2900 Mountain Rd) What: A showcase of local crafters' handmade items, festive decor, and seasonal treats.

Let's discuss my top 10 questions to ask a potential listing agent when choosing someone to list your home. What is their experience and/or familiarity with the area where your home is located? What is their listing experience? What is their level of understanding of the forms and legalities? Are they personable? What is their marketing strategy? How well can they negotiate? How will they handle everything from contract to closing? What do you as the seller need to do? How do they communicate? Do they "play well" with others (agents, buyers, etc.)? Have questions? Ready to talk real estate? Send me a message via Instagram at CindyBennettRealEstate or here on my website.

Things to Do in RVA this October October 5: Junior League's Touch a Truck Where: Richmond Raceway When: 10 am to 3 pm October 8th & 9th: Armenian Food Festival Where: 834 Pepper Ave, Richmond, VA 23226 When: 11 am to 8 pm October 13th: Party on the Avenues Where: Libbie Ave between Patterson to Guthrie When: 12 - 6 pm October 27th: Lewis Ginter Harvestfest Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens When: 10 am - 3 pm For more events this fall check out my fall guide HERE.

Things to Do in RVA this September September 6-8: Richmond Brunch Weekend 2024 Friday: Kickoff Block Party Final Gravity | 5:30 - 9 p.m. Saturday & Sunday: Have brunch at one (or more) of the 30+ partner restaurants September 14: Richmond Makers Market Where: Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen When: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. September 15: End-of-Summer Market Where: Agecroft Hall When: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. September 20-21: Fall Plant Sale Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden When: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. September 21: Run Richmond 16.19 Where: Brown's Island When: 8 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. September 21-22: Bier Garden Where: Maymont Gardens When: Friday: 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. Saturday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. September 27-29: Richmond Folk Festival Where: Brown's Island When: 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Everyone wants your home. At least that's what Google would have you believe. If you're thinking about selling your house, and you go on the good old Google and type in "home selling" or anything that sounds remotely like that, you're going to get a whole page of different companies. In most cases, it's not going to be great agents that could help you sell your home or a "how-to" guide. For the most part, you will get a page or two of companies that want to purchase your home for "market value" and so easy with no realtor. So a lot of these companies will tell you to just enter your address and they will make it so easy for you. You don't even have to clean. We'll come in and buy your house for market value. We'll close quickly, and then you know, you can move on with your life. For a lot of people, in a lot of financial situations, that can sound so appealing, but there are, with a lot of these companies, so many hidden fees. So if you're looking at doing that, make sure that you ask your questions. I would also encourage you to call a realtor that you trust that can look at all of that documentation and tell you if it is truly market value, or if you could, with just a little bit of effort, make a good amount of money more than those people will pay you, because in most cases, they're going to pay you less than market value. They're going to do very minimal repairs or painting, things like that and then they're going to put it back on the market for considerably more than they're going to pay you for your house. So while I don't have any problem with people making money, and sometimes, you know, you just need to get out and move on, I get it, but make sure that you understand the market and understand exactly what their fees are, because a lot of these companies do charge a good amount of fees, and in many cases, they're gonna get a home inspection and ask you to pay for repairs before you close. These things often show up when you are too far into the transaction to back out. So proceed with caution, when you're looking at a lot of these companies that come up when you're thinking about selling your home because nobody is giving you a free lunch, and if they're going to come in and make the deal super easy, they're going to get something from you in return. The next thing you'll see on Google are going to be lots of companies telling you that they can connect you to a great agent in your area. Keep in mind that in most of those cases, they are then going to get your information and sell it to an agent. In many cases, that agent will have to pay them 30%/40%/50% of the commission that they earn. I will also say in those cases, the vetting process is not always great. Sometimes it is not the best agent in your area. It's the agent who answered the text message saying we've got buyer leads or seller leads in your area."Do you want them? You just have to pay us a referral fee." Sometimes great agents respond to those, and often not great agents respond to them. So make sure that you're doing your due diligence, and don't just click on the first link that comes up on Google, because I can guarantee you it is not going to be the best thing for you. Do your homework. Give me a call. I'm always happy to read through information. Give you a little bit of advice if you're trying to figure out the best route to go. And I'll be honest, if somebody is going to give you a great deal on your house and you don't have to do anything for it, I'm going to tell you to take it. But in most cases, there's something else lurking behind there. So just, not only buyer beware, seller beware.

How much does it cost to sell a home anyway? The easiest answer to that, as in real estate often, is it depends. It depends on the house, the market, and a whole bunch of things. Below are some of the most common expenses (and their general associated cost) that you will see when you go to sell a home. Commission: This will be whatever has been negotiated in your listing agreement and/or purchase agreement. This is usually going to be your biggest chunk (aside from your mortgage payoff if you have one). Pre-Listing Expenses: Your Realtor® (hopefully me) will likely recommend you do a few things to get your home ready for market. This can be as simple as a new doormat or paint, but depending on your ability and willingness could be redoing floors or larger maintenance fixes. On average, you can usually expect to pay between $2k-5k. Attorney/Title Fees: Whether you are using a title company or attorney to handle your closing you will of course have to pay them. This is usually between $600-800. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. Property Taxes: These are going to be prorated, so if you have just paid, you're going to get some of that back for the time after you've closed. If you haven't paid, you can rest assured that they're going to be on that settlement statement to be paid at closing. Grantors Tax: In Virginia, you will also have to pay this tax at closing. It is generally about 1% of the sales price of the home. That will get split between the city, county, state, etc. as essentially a "transaction fee" to the different government municipalities. Mortgage Payoff (if applicable): Most people will have a mortgage payoff at closing. This will also include any additional mortgages, home equity loans, etc. that you may have taken out over the years. Additional Fees: Your last fees are going to be those courier fees and wire transfer fees for those payoffs. Your lender and closing company are going to make sure that that payoff is up to the minute and to do that, they're going to put a rush fee on there. Generally, that will be between $200-300. All in all, when you go to sell your home, the largest chunk of money that you're going to spend is usually going to be in commissions and/or repair costs. Everything else is going to be, in most cases, between $1k-2k tops. So if you're thinking about selling and you want to know what your numbers shake out like, give me a call or send me a message. I'd love to talk to you and help you see if selling now or selling later makes more financial sense to you and to see where the numbers fall, so you have a good, accurate depiction of what the end of the day is going to look like and what you'll walk away with.

Are you nose blind to those smells in your home? You may not want to put your house on the market until those smells have dissipated. Let's talk about how that may affect the sale of your home and what you can do to fix it. Have questions? Ready to talk real estate? Send me a message via Instagram at CindyBennettRealEstate or via my website www.cindybennett.net.

With the NAR Settlement and changes to the real estate industry, you may be wondering if you can just sell your house yourself. Why do you even need a Realtor®? Technically, you don't, but before you make any decisions you may want to think about why it may not be the best idea.

How do you sell a house if you still have a mortgage on it? A lot of people have this question and it's understandable because most people have a mortgage on their home. The good news is you don't have to have completely paid off your home to sell it. So here's how it works. When you go to sell your home, you have to continue paying your mortgage. Once you accept a contract on your home and you get closer to closing, what are the things that your closing agent, whether it's a title company or an attorney's office is going to do is make sure that they have a payoff for the date of closing. So let's say, for example, you're going to close on July 10. They're going to get the payoff of your mortgage effective July 10. When the buyer brings their money to closing, however, they do it, that money gets paid off to your mortgage company, so you are now free and clear. What's left is what you get, but also what goes to pay your transfer taxes, et cetera, et cetera. Long story short, your mortgage gets paid off by your settlement agent effective the date of the closing. Now, one of the things you may not even think about until you're going through that whole process is the escrow account you set up when you first bought your house. From that escrow account, your taxes on your home, and homeowner's insurance get paid. So usually they have a buffer in that escrow account so that you don't have to get an updated mortgage payment every time the tax rate goes up, or your insurance goes up.  The buffer amount depends on your escrow account, your individual circumstances, and how much is left in that. The leftover amount gets mailed back to you from your mortgage company and it usually takes about six weeks. Sometimes you need to check with them because as you probably know, nobody likes to give up money very easily. So make sure that you're looking for that check once you've moved and that they have your updated address so that it doesn't go to your old address. So if you're thinking of selling, you want to sell your home and you're wondering if you can even do that because you still owe money on it, yes, you can. Give me a call. Let's talk about it. Look at that whole scenario and figure out what you need to get your home sold. Give me a call, send me a message, and let's get talking.