Here's our BIG Announcement for the day!!!

*CONGRATULATIONS* to our Nike+ Fuelband Giveaway Winner....

~ Raymond Delpesche!!! ~

Thank you to everyone who participated and signed up! We will be having more giveaways soon, so stay tuned!

We are so thrilled that our very own "Loudoun Woman" is on the cover of the May | June issue of Loudoun Woman Magazine! Check out our article about Loudoun County Gold and how we can help you find yours. Pick up your copy today!

While having her morning tea, CC discovered this great article by the Washington Post about creating a "Cohesive Basement." We thought this article was so relevant due to the fact that our sellers are always asking how to add value to a blank space without breaking the bank. The author, Margaret Ely does a great job explaining how to easily implement this look and exactly what stores to buy from.

Get more details and the full article below:

The Washington Post: Home & Garden - Creating a Cohesive Basement 

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With the real estate market bubble burst in 2007, first-time homebuyers have enjoyed comparatively lowered housing prices in the DC metropolitan area.

If you have ever been unsure about when to buy a home or weary about doing so because of the consequences to homeowners after 2007, now is the time to buy!

Okay, but why now exactly? Well, prices have relatively stabilized over the course of the past 3 years. The average price per square foot of a home in the area has been consistently hovering around $200. This makes the current listing price for homes in the area about $580,000.

So is that a normal price that I can expect to pay? Not all the time. The average sales price is currently around $360,000. Keep in mind these numbers are averages of

Did you know that residential buildings account for about 22% of the energy use in the Unites States? It’s your job to help play a role when deciding to go green.

It’s not as difficult as you may be thinking. Aside from installing solar panels or tankless hot water heaters, there are very simple ways to reduce your energy bill while protecting the environment at the same time.

Before you even start to retrofit your home, you can test to see if in fact you are spending too much money on your energy bill.

Shut your windows and doors. Do you still feel a draft? Are your utility bills overly expensive? Can you physically identify inefficient systems in your house? (air conditioning unit not cooling enough, thermostat glitches, leaking pipes,

New restaurants, grocery stores, specialty shops, and bars are opening all the time in Ashburn.

Recently, a new shopping center—featuring a Harris Teeter as its anchor business—was built off of Belmont Ridge Road (situated on the western boundary of Ashburn).

This Creek view Shopping Center also includes a pet store, Chinese restaurant, cleaners, Sunoco gas station, Walgreens, ice cream shop, barbershop, dance studio, spa, and a Mexican restaurant named El Sol Azteca—which just opened in June. Within this shopping plaza, there are also many other shops to open in the near future.

This is just one of many plazas that continue to open to the convenience of Ashburn’s residents. If there isn’t a complete new shopping center opening, it’s

If you want to go green, save money on utilities, and are looking for a new home, start off right by choosing the most suitable house!

            You will need to have an opportune site selection in order to save money on your energy bill, so pick it with good ideas in mind.

What is the solar orientation of the house? You should choose a home that faces to the south. This will allow for the heat from the winter sun (which has a course closer to the southern horizon) to be captured by the windows and front walls.

As the sun goes directly overtop of the house in the summer, the heat will have a harder time penetrating the house through the windows and walls on either the front or rear. This is because the house will face perpendicular

Why move to Ashburn or the surrounding area? Because it’s about 30 miles from Washington, D.C.? Because the Loudoun County Public School system is rated one of the best in the nation?

These are all great reasons to settle down in this ever-growing community. Although they all may be true and really good reasons to live here, there’s also the lifestyle that comes with living in Ashburn and the surrounding area.

Every year numerous restaurants, grocery stores, drug stores, and shopping centers open up. The Ashburn area sports many shopping centers with multiple different grocery stores so you don’t have to drive, walk, or bike more than a few minutes from your home! The main shopping centers—along with their staple businesses—of Ashburn

There are many diverse ways to retrofit your home and become greener. These examples are some of the more dramatic and effective installations that will use less energy and reduce your utility bills—thus helping to save our fragile environment.

LED lighting and compact fluorescents

-       Fluorescents use up to 75% less energy

-       LED lighting uses up to 85% less energy

-       Last 10 times longer

-       Reduce CO2 emissions into the environment

Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, caulks, and adhesives

-       Creates a better interior air quality

-       Low odor

-       Reduces or eliminates exposure to carcinogens

Solar panels/photo voltaic panels