Just a Chatty Little Newsletter to Stay in Touch!

November 19, 2021 | Issue 4, Volume 1

Isn't it Ironic?

There are holes in my ceilings. And my windows need to be cleaned. And neither of those things are going to change before clients, friends, and family arrive on Sunday for the pie giveaway. Most will arrive fully aware that I have been undergoing a renovation and whom I suspect...will be expecting perfection. After all, they have seen our listings and know we don't consider them market ready until they are painted, staged, and just as close to perfect as we can get.

It's not that I'm not trying for party perfection here though. I am setting my alarm clock for 5:00 AM so I can make time in my fairly full schedule to clean, shop, even redecorate a couple of spaces. And oh, by the way, we just got back from a camping trip and there are mountains of laundry to be done in my basement. But there's just too much cleaning, shopping, and laundry to do; it won't all get done.

And so this is not my effort to preemptively adjust your expectations or to make excuses for things not completed in my house. Rather, as I'm working on preparing for you, my guests, I am filled with empathy for all of our clients who've prefaced our initial visits with the "please excuse our mess" conversation. And those who have hesitated to open a door to a particularly cluttered room while struggling with embarrassment and shame. Always, I repeat to them over and over, "please, please don't apologize". Because I understand. Work, kids, spouses, homework, pets, commuting, more work, and the resulting exhaustion--it all just means something has got to give! And don't we all just need to relax a bit in our homes? Drop the mail on the counter, kick off our shoes, turn on the tv and pet the dog on the couch? Yes. Yes we do. Because that is home.

So no excuses or apologies from me and please none from you when I visit your homes. I'm looking forward to welcoming many of you to my imperfect home on Sunday! Oh, and please stay the heck out of my basement. ~Cathy

And this little piggy stayed home...

Hop Toad Cocktail

1 1/2 parts dark rum
1 part apricot liqueur
1/2 part lime juice
2 dashes aromatic bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This simple drink was one of our favorites. Curious about that sweet little pig head? More here!

No Way

I'll get right to the point. This Kings Park West King just sold for $958,000. I know what you're thinking--no way, right?

I had driven past this house hundreds of time but had never recognized that it was expanded by more than 1000 square feet--you really can't tell from the front! But when I walked in and saw the interior, all I could think was "no way"! We decided to list the house at $889,500 and again a small part of me thought "no way". Seven offers, contingencies waived, contract price escalations to $958,000 and all I can say is "WAY"! See the full listing here.

We Aren't! We are Excited!

Thanksgiving Pie Giveaway

Sunday, November 21, 5-7

10019 Latimer Court

If you reserved a pie, pick up is at Cathy's house on the 21st. Drive up and grab your pie, and socialize a bit around the fire pits. Safe and fun!

Open House

Sunday, December 4, 1-4

605 Manor Drive NE, Vienna, VA 22180

Come see this cool renovation in Vienna!

Maybe Your Kid Could Sleep in the Laundry Room?

Q: Hi Cathy! We are thinking about putting an addition on our Duke, but we are military and it's possible we would have to leave, so everyone in the neighborhood keeps telling me to message you to make sure it would make sense financially for resale :). We are at 53** Richardson for reference (I think you redid it back in 2017/2018). We actually would like to be here forever but in case we aren't able to, we wanted to make sure that spending 100-150k on an addition makes sense. (We have three kids and we need more bedrooms)! ~Amanda

A: Hi Amanda! THAT Duke is such a great house! And it has a uniquely sought-after location in the neighborhood. Overall, based on your location near the lake, recent sales of expanded homes, and what I anticipate the future of the local real estate marking looking like, I would say YES, expand that house to meet your needs! As you can see in the "Say Whaaat?!" section of this newsletter, the neighborhood can now support larger, tasteful additions.

Since it seems, however, that there is the possibility that you may leave here permanently in two years, I would actually consider instead making investments within the original footprint of the house to meet your family's needs. Not only is an addition likely to really challenge that budget, a realistic timeline for an addition may mean that your new space is finished just as you get orders to move--how frustrating would that be!?!

I think there are a couple of ways to add more bedrooms to your home. I've included a few pictures above with some of the ideas we talked about, primarily carving out and rearranging space in the basement to create more bedrooms. Since it can be tricky to really get a feel for the spaces from the pictures, each picture also links to its video.

Thanks for writing and thanks for chatting on the phone so I could get a bit more information. High-end updates are providing local sellers with huge returns right now and this is a trend which will continue. Good luck with your renovation and please let us know what you end up doing and how you like your contractor!!! ~Cathy

Need some help?

Email me your questions:

cathy.deloach@longandfoster.com

Fluff Ball Alert!

"Everyone thinks they have the best dog,

and none of them are wrong." ~Unknown

"Happy Jack has joined his sister Lola, a former puppy mill momma, to show her how to be a dog. They are already besties, and Lola is living her best life!!!" ~Sharla

These are some lucky dogs! They have had the good fortune to find their home with a very special lady, Sharla Bailey, who also happens to be a former KPW King owner AND first Mary & Cathy Team client ever!