For Arlington: we were REALLY impressed with John Eric. By far, the most thorough and tenacious realtor we've come across (there have been many!). Really sharp & responsive. He is based out of DC, but lives in Arlington and has a great feel for the market. And a ton of connections. If you need something, he will make it happen.

Jason Upp

http://www.movingupp.com/listings.asp

We were very happy with Fall Properties, as well.

for buying I would skip the realtor and go w/ I-Agent or Redfin if you know the area.

I'm really sick of the Redfin booster. You get what you pay for: Lousy service, pathetic knowledge.

Yes, particularly since OP said they don't have a lot of time to do things themselves.

Anonymous wrote:for buying I would skip the realtor and go w/ I-Agent or Redfin if you know the area.

I'm really sick of the Redfin booster. You get what you pay for: Lousy service, pathetic knowledge.

Claude Labbe - 703-868-7774. He is beyond patient and extremely client service focused. I've referred him to several friends after they have had less than positive experiences with other realtors and they have always been very impressed with Claude. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:For Falls Church, call Leslie Hutchison at Fall Properties. www.fallproperties.com

Stacy Hennessy with Fall Properties is also great. She knows FCC and the surrounding areas block by block.

For Falls Church, call Leslie Hutchison at Fall Properties. www.fallproperties.com

In Vienna, Lilian Jorgenson is tops. In McLean, Marianne Prendergast is delightful.

I'd use either if I wanted to work with someone who really knows what's on the market in Vienna and McLean, and about to go on the market. I wouldn't necessarily use either to sell a townhouse in Arlington.

for buying I would skip the realtor and go w/ I-Agent or Redfin if you know the area.

Betsy Twigg in Arlington is great.

I would pick a realtor who is less likely to have a listing in the area you want to buy (so if you had to choose, one who is best at selling in the area you are in now), so that you don't have the dreaded dual-agency problem (you become interested in a property that they are selling). It limits the ability of the agent to properly negotiate on your behalf.

this happened to us, and now I wish I'd picked an agent from Chantilly or something to buy my house in Falls Church, because I found it on the internet myself. It stunk because my agent couldn't help my negotiate because she was also the seller's agent.

Renee Fisher! McEnearney
www.reneefishersells.com

She has been working in this area for maybe 30 years, knows it like the back of her hand, is excellent, patient, persistent and truly fun to work with.

I can recommend my realtor, Erin Donahue of Brock Realty. 703-966-6367. She grew up in Fairfax, lives in Arlington and knows the area very well. (also has a father in the construction/development biz, so has a lot of good contacts.) She helped me sell my Fairfax townhome and find a great SFH in Arlington. (that said, I chose to do all the open houses on my own and all the non-open houses with her, so that I maximized the time I had with her.) note: the inspector she recommends is awesome - very thorough and responsive.

I very highly recommend John Randolph with Long and Foster. JOHN.RANDOLPH@longandfoster.com

He helped me buy my townhouse 8 years ago, and then recently helped me sell it...because marriage and three kids later we were bursting the seams, and helped us buy a terrific single family home. We've been very happy with him as a realtor.

My husband and I are looking both for a realtor to sell our townHome in Courthouse, and a realtor to help with a sfh search in Arlington, Falls Church, McLean and Vienna. Important factors for our search are Neighborhood and school system so we are really looking for a realtor who knows the area very well and is proactive with the search as we don't have much time on our own. Thanks in advance!