Take advantage of the gorgeous weather this May and June and check out these fun (and delicious!) pre-summer festivals in Loudoun County! 
PURCELLVILLE MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 10AM – 7PM Fireman’s Field 250 South Nursery Avenue Purcellville, VA 20132 Admission: Free with local foods, wines and beer for sale. The Purcellville Music & Arts Festival is a family friendly event offering three outdoor stages, featuring a wide range of entertainment. Experience the best Purcellville has to offer with local foods, wines and beer for sale. ANNUAL HOTTEST COOL JAZZ FESTIVAL 
SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2015 10AM – 6:30PM (both days) Chrysalis Vineyards 23876 Champe Ford Road Middleburg, VA 20117 Admission: $20.00 in Advance, $25.00 at the door Enjoy the 13th Annual Hottest Cool Jazz Festival at Chrysalis Vineyards, showcasing local musician and plenty of vendors to please the crowd. LOVETTSVILLE MAYFEST 
SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015 10AM – 6PM Town of Lovettsville 6 Pennsylvania Avenue Lovettsville, VA 20180 Admission: Free – open to the public Welcome in spring with your entire family at Lovettsville’s 4th annual MAYFEST! Bring the kids to our Fun Zone (moon bounce, dunk tank, face painting, pie eating contest, rock climbing, pony rides) while you enjoy live music, a glass of local wine and enjoy the majestic Loudon County countryside! STRAWBERRY JUBILEE AT GREAT COUNTRY FARMS SATURDAY – SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2015 TO MAY 24, 2015 SATURDAY – SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2015 TO MAY 31, 2015 9AM – 6PM (both days) 
Great Country Farms 18780 Foggy Bottom Rd Bluemont, VA 20135 Admission: $10/child, $12/adult Join the biggest u-pick strawberry festival in Northern Virginia! The Jubilee will be packed with live music, farm contests, u-pick strawberries, and great food. The infamous Pie Eating Contest and Tart Toss will keep you smiling. Bring your camera to have your photo taken with the Royal Strawberry Princess and blow magical bubbles. 
BRAMBLETON BREW FEST SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 1 – 6PM 42395 Ryan Road Brambleton, VA 20148 Admission: For pricing and ticket purchase, click here. Kids 12 and under are free. Kids are welcome to attend but it is an adult focused event. Welcome to the Inaugural Bram Brew Fest presented by Lost Rhino! If you are a true craft beer lover and a supporter of local breweries than the Bram Brew Fest is for you! Featuring almost 25 breweries that are within a drivable distance from Brambleton, so after you have your taste you can easily visit the brewery later! Food will be available for purchase. ANNUAL STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL AT OATLANDS
SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015 10AM – 4PM Oatlands Historic House and Gardens 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane Leesburg, VA 20175 Admission: $20 per family/$10 adults, children under age 3 are free Did you know that strawberries are a part of Oatlands’ history? Come celebrate the return of strawberries to Oatlands Plantation at the 1st Annual Strawberry Festival! Enjoy the Southern Winds band, lots of games, u-pick strawberries, hay rides, Pop Pop’s kettle corn and lemonade, Hill High BBQ, strawberry contests, beer and wine, and more! 17TH ANNUAL HARPER’S FERRY OUTDOOR FESTIVAL
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015, 6:30 – 11PM SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015, NOON – 11PM Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship 11661 Harpers Ferry Rd Purcellville, VA 20132 Admission: $15 Friday and $20 Saturday, $30 for both nights, includes the cost of camping! Come to the Harper’s Ferry Outdoor Festival! Browse through vendors’ displays and have a bite to eat from participating local restaurants. Dance the day and night away with many great bands. Get out your paddle or running shoes and participate in one of the many races. Enjoy lots of interactive activities for children. As always, camping is free with admission. BREAUX VINEYARDS ANNUAL CAJUN FESTIVAL & CRAWFISH BOIL SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2015 
11AM – 6PM Breaux Vineyards 36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane Purcellville, VA 20132 Admission: $16 Pre-sale, $20 at the gate (day of event), $12 For Cellar Club members Join your Cajun cousins at Breaux Vineyards for the 18th annual Cajun Festival and Crawfish Boil. Enjoy wine tastings, craft vendors, Cajun fare for sale, and more at this annual celebration of our Cajun heritage. There will be live music all day! Activities for the young (and young at heart!) include clowns, balloon art, and face painting. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!
Looking to buy or sell a home in Loudoun County? Give us a call!
The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.
remember sitting in my Real Estate class, thinking “I am learning a whole new language!” It was a bit overwhelming, even though I had the desire to understand each and every word, along with its definition. Not everyone understands Real Estate terms, especially if this is your first time working with a Realtor. Over the next couple of months, the JS Realty Team will work towards enlightening you and helping you learn our “Real Estate Language.”
An Earnest Money Deposit is an important part of the home buying process. It is an amount of money that you will deposit (in escrow) that tells the Seller you are committed to the purchase of the home. It’s important to know that this earnest money deposit is not an extra cost of buying a home. It will be credited towards the down payment at closing, and in case it exceeds your mortgage down payment, and settlement cost, you will receive the balance at closing.
whether or not there are multiple offers on the property. If you feel that you are not in competition, you can expect to pay around 1-2% of the sales price in most markets. For example: a $300,000.00 sales price x 1% = $3,000.00 EMD. If you are in competition with other offers, you may want to offer more, as this will tell the Seller you are more serious about their home and could help you win the offer. This is where a good Realtor can really help you structure the correct offer with the right amount of EMD.
In most cases you will write the check to your Realtors, Real Estate Brokerage Company or the company that will be assisting you in the settlement (Title Company). Never write the check to the Seller or the Realtor directly. The money is usually due very shortly after the contract is fully accepted by all parties (ratified) and will be placed in an escrow account. Shortly before you go to settlement, it will be released so it can be applied towards your settlement cost and down payment on the day you purchase the home. In the event the amount you put down exceeds the amount needed for these cost, you will get a check refunding you the balance. As you can see, this is your money, and it is treated as such. It is only applied to your cost.
home and really want to buy it.” In most cases the money remains yours and is applied to your cost in regards to the purchase. It can also be a great way to leverage your offer in the event you find yourself in competition with another Buyer. A great Realtor can guide you in the offer process and help you structure a deal that is more than just about a sales price.
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selling or buying is a hefty task for you to take on. On average, most people only buy or sell real estate a couple of times in their entire lives. Now that you are ready, hiring the right Realtor should be at the top of the list. Yes, most of us have a family member or a friend that “might” be able to help, but let’s be real – unless you know they are fully committed to the job as a full time agent and are the best at what they do, you may want to rethink who you are choosing and why.
great Realtor can not only bring professional insight on the home selling or buying process, but they will also coordinate and manage all the professionals during the process. You deserve a high level of service and below are some key questions you should consider asking a Realtor prior to engaging their services.
media have really changed how Real Estate is done. While they all provide a level of efficiency to the process, the pace at which things get done has increased tremendously. Your Realtor should be able to accommodate your style of communication. If you are someone who likes to email, then a phone call or text may not be the best way to communicate with you. If you can’t answer the phone during the day due to work, then you really need someone that is willing to email or text you instead of calling. If you are out of the area and can’t see a house, a video tour of the home can help a lot too! Realtors have all sorts of services available to them, including electronic signature services. This not only saves you paper and ink, but time – there’s no need to print, sign, scan and email anymore. Understanding what tools and resources your Realtor has available to them can save you a lot time. Be sure to ask and make sure you are working with someone who can accommodate your preferred level of communication.
front counts. Buyers usually don’t pay commission directly, but sellers often do and the costs can vary from agent to agent. If you are selling a home, it will be important to understand and know what you are getting for the fee. An agent may charge less than another, but that does not mean they all provide the same services and resources. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Also ask for a breakdown of estimated closing costs, as they are different from state to state, and can also differ depending on if you are buying or selling. Understanding this upfront, can save you from “unforeseen surprises” later in the transaction.
the seller in the transaction? While it’s usually legal to represent both parties in a transaction (with proper disclosures), it’s important to understand where your Realtors obligations lie. Have your Realtor explain their agency relationship to you and describe the rights of each party. At the end of the day, we all want the highest level of service and someone to represent our best interest. Make sure your expectations can be met.
surrounding yourself with professionals that will meet your needs will be key. A Realtor providing a high level of service will have surrounded themselves with other professionals in the field alike, whom they will be referring along the way. You may only buy or sell a home 2-3 times in your life – why not ask for the best?
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A pre-approval is a commitment by a lender to make a mortgage loan to a specified borrower, prior to the identification of a specific property. The pre-approval process starts with an interview and completion of a loan application, and ends with the lender issuing a pre-approval letter demonstrating that the applicant is a suitable buyer. The lender will typically require at minimum 2 years of W2 statements, 2 years of federal tax returns, 2 month’s of asset account statements, and a satisfactory credit report.
At this step the lender issues a written agreement guaranteeing the borrower a specified interest rate, provided the loan closes within a set period of time. To lock a rate the applicant must have a ratified contract and an established settlement date.
This is when the lender offers the official Good Faith Estimate, Truth in Lending Form and loan disclosures. These documents need to be presented to the applicant within 3 days of lock and will need to be signed and returned to the lender. It is also common for the lender to request additional supporting documentation at this point.
An appraisal is a written analysis of the estimated value of a property prepared by a qualified appraiser. This process is performed to make sure that the property is of fair market value and supports the agreed upon purchase price.
During the processing step the Loan Officer and his/her staff will gather and analyze all of the information to ensure that the applicant’s loan will meet the specific program guidelines. The Underwriter will then complete the final review of documents to verify that all appropriate disclosures and documentation is completed to support the issuance of final loan approval. It is common for the Underwriter to request additional explanations or documentation during this process.
The closing is a meeting in which the sale of a property is finalized with the buyer signing the mortgage documents and paying closing costs. Also called “settlement.” This is where the applicant receives their keys to their brand new home!