Happy Chinese New Year!!
Hi, this is Diana. I just made an authentic Chinese dates cake with sticky rice power. It is very hard to make it. I learned from my Grandmother. Does it look delicious? I wish you all could taste it. My mother said ”you are the only one in your generation can make it”. Does anyone want my recipe?
Here is my e-mail address: yeahteam@comcast.net.

Kung Pao Chicken  8 pieces of Chicken Thighs3-4 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper spice2-3 teaspoon Cornstarch ¼-1/2 teaspoon of fresh ginger root or ginger powder3-4 Tablespoon Soy Sauce3 stalks of spring onions2 clove of Garlic1-2 teaspoon of white winePinch of salt  Wash and dry all Chicken thighs.   Debone them and cut them into cubes.   Put them in a large bowl.   Add soy Sauce, salt, cornstarch, ginger and wine.   Marinate about ½ hour to 1 hour on the kitchen counter.   Wash and dry the spring onion.   Cut it up into pieces. Cut garlic in half.Heat vegetable oil in a 3-inches sauce pan about 2 mins.   Put spring onion pieces, red pepper spice and garlic in the sauce pan and let it fry 2 mins.   Put chicken pieces into the pan.   Cook it about 4-5 mins.   Cut heat until all chicken pieces are cooked.Garnish with steamed Broccoli or stir fry in with any kind of vegetable as you wish.   Add peanuts as an option.  I wish you can smell this dish and taste the tenderness of these chicken pieces.Suggestions:1.          Buy the debone chicken thighs from supermarket.2.          Substitute red pepper with red pepper paste sauce from local oriental grocery store.   It may bring more œhot spice in the dish (if you like hot and spicy).

3.         Try to use different garnish vegetables or without vegetables.  

For more techniques of cooking this dish call Diana @703-626-8658

Enjoy Chinese Cooking.

WHY HOME OWNERSHIP MATTERS TO PEOPLE¦ Home owners are happier and healthier and enjoy a greater feeling of control over their lives. Owning a home is one of the best ways to build long-term wealth. Historically, a homeowner™s net worth has ranged from 31 to 46 times that of a renter. Home owners are free to redecorate, renovate, and modify their homes as they wish.Most home owners enjoy stable housing costs”a fixed-rate mortgage payment might not change for 15 to 30 years while rent typically increases 3 % a year. Home owners can typically deduct mortgage interest and property taxes on their federal individual income tax return.

Today, we open the door to the newest Residential Real Estate Brokerage office in Woodbridge.   Our new office is located on Prince William Parkway.   The office is just minutes away from Lake Ridge, Dale City and Woodbridge.   We offer the state of art technology and equipment along with our 400+ Marketing websites to better serve our Clients.  

Stop by and see the Premier office.   We will be happy to give you a grand tour!!

This time the DoD HAP transaction was an in-house team effort to complete the entire sale.

A Military Seller had purchased a new home in his new PCS destination, and wanted to sell the existing property here in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Seller applied for the DoD HAP program, and once he was approved, then listed the property For Sale.  After extensive marketing a Buyer was found. The sales contract met the Seller™s terms, and was ratified by the Seller subject to the DoD HAP third party final approval.  The sales contract was submitted to the Seller™s DoD HAP Realty Specialist.  Due to the DoD HAP office backlog on numerous new cases it took about six weeks for DoD HAP office to issue the sales contract approval.  Early in the year before the backlog, the DoD HAP office contract approval was taking about two weeks.

With the DoD HAP œseal of approval on the sales contract the Buyer was able to apply for the new loan and the transaction was quickly processed by the Mortgage Lender for the Buyer™s loan. The property home inspection was ordered, everything found to satisfactory to the Buyer and the paperwork completed to remove the Home Inspection Contingency.  Next was the VA Property Appraisal, and that was quickly completed in less than two weeks.   The Mortgage Lender was on top of the situation with their quick service. The HOA disclosure documents were ordered by the Seller and arrived in about two weeks, and they were review and accepted by the Buyer. The property Termite Inspection was ordered and it was returned indicating the property was free and clear of termites.  Everything was ready to close on the Buyer™s side. We just need the closing department to go forward.

In the mean time DoD HAP was still experiencing a major back log along with the Tax Credit June 30th closings which did not ease the situation much.  Finally after several contacts by the Seller to DoD HAP,  the case started to move again toward closing.   Suddenly our DoD HAP representative was reassigned, and our case came to a halt in processing.  If you ever deal with Doug Walker -œtell him œThank You for all his commitment to service above and beyond the call of duty. He is one outstanding person at DoD HAP – I just can™t enough good things about him. With this new person now handling our case – we were back on track to close.   Sorry to report that we were not able to make the original closing date for the Seller and Buyer, but thanks to Doug we were finally able to close as fast as possible in August. * Everyone at the DoD HAP office and DSS (Diversified Settlement Services, Inc.) the closing office were wonderful to work with through the entire transaction, and they all are greatly appreciated for their dedication to the Armed Services personnel.

Suggestions to any Military Seller looking at the DOD HAP (1.) Get your paperwork for the DoD HAP application in ASAP.   (2) Be prepared to follow up, e-mails and telephone calls to DoD HAP. (3) Locate your original Property Survey & scan a copy for e-mailing to DoD HAP. (4) Be very prompt on anything that DoD HAP needs mailed or e-mail back in on the case file. (5) Be Patience and be ready to œHurry up and Wait as most requests are urgent by DoD HAP.

Remember to always œthank the people for all their hard work and efforts to get you to closing, and please don™t forget about your REALTOR for all the work they put into making this transaction a success too.

April’s is recognized as Fair Housing Month celebrating the passing of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Numerous activities in April each year are designed to promote Fair Housing and to showcase the rights of the Federal Fair Housing Act that state it is illegal to discriminate in housing based on families with children, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or sex.HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate over 10k housing discrimination complaints annually. People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 (voice), 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information can be found at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

As Realtors we provide œEqual Professional Service to all of our prospective clients, and customers without regard to the race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or familial status. We empower ourselves everyday to educate and promote Home-ownership to œall the people. www.pwar.com  

One day will come where everyone, no matter who, what, where, how or one™s economic situation will enjoy œthe equal pride of home-ownership, it™s like a human right!  

My Toyota recall service experience today was prompt and smooth.   Anyone out there who has not had the opportunity to get the recall should do it now.

My Toyota dealership in Woodbridge, Virginia  was great to work with on getting my service appointment and the car service done on time within my schedule.  Also, my Service Manager – Tim Shanahan is the “best” as he has been talking wonderful care of our family cars over these many years, and we are now on our fourth Toyota generation of autos.

My 2007 Toyota Avalon now has all the œrecall work completed.   Note my Toyota has never had a bit of problem once, and this is my second generation Toyota Avalon.   The accelerator pedal reinforcement bar was taken care of along with the reflash of the sound deadening floor surface modification material,   and the driver™s carpet mat inspection (it was cleaned too).   The final Toyota task was the reprogramming of the car’s computer to include the new backup of œauto braking system routine.

Thank You to all the Associates of Toyota who  sincerely care and work hard every day to keep us — the Toyota Owners —  ”Happy”.  

Just recently closed on a listing property in Triangle, VA nearby Quantico USMC using the DoD HAP program.

The  Seller had PSC orders out of the region and wanted to sell the  house.   It was a beautiful house  constructed in 2005 with  over 5,500 sq-ft of living space.  The market needless to say had changed a bit since 2005 with the property market values in the neighborhood declining –  leaving most Homeowners in an upside down $ position on thier property values.

The DoD HAP was a perfect opportunity to allow this Military Seller to move on with selling the home. The Seller’s property was worth less today than what he had paid for it new back in 2005.   The recent Tax rule changes passed would also helped the Seller to avoid having a tax penalty on the gain from the sale of the property in 2010.    

The Homeowner  applied for the program,   and he was accepted into the  DoD HAP program.   Then the Real Estate marketing for a sales contract started.   Upon a sales offer obtained,  the sale offer/details were quickly forwarded to the DoD HAP office in Savannah, Georgia for review.  I have to tell you, the folks in DoD HAP office were wonderful to work with, they promptly review, evaluated the  sales price, and all the contract terms, and got back within a week with good news that we had an acceptable sales contract.  A request for Buyers’ closing cost was also included in  the package.

After further paperwork,  the property sale  transaction meet the eligibility requirements for the Acquisition Section  with the  DoD HAP.   We were informed by Diversified Settlement Services, Inc. that they had been retained by the United States of America (US Army Corps of Engineers) to represent the government for the transaction for the DoD HAP closing.   Again these closing professionals were wonderful to work with, and they kept everything running smoothly to the  settlement.   While our transaction was a two-step program with the Seller 1st selling the property to USA, and then USA selling the property to the Buyer at the final closing, the entire process ran very timely without any problems.

Also, just as a  note that the time invloved from start to finish took about 5 months.

If you are thinking of using the DoD HAP program, and you might wish to visit the website at   http://hap.usace.army.mil .   Also, please don’t forget to talk to your Real Estate Professional who will help  you to get the transaction moving and finally closed.

The final result in making this Real Estate transaction a “success” –  was a very Happy Seller and a very Happy Buyer.  

Now is still the best time to consider homeownership. Many people have put off buying a home due to the snow storm of the century. Well folks the residential roads are clearing, and you can finally see the roofs of the homes once more. The sun is shinning again  and now really  is the time to make that all important home  investment.

Time is short on the TAX credit with it due to end of April… yes, that’s just  around the corner. This may be the last opportunity for you to allow Uncle Sam to “reward you”  for buying a home. Your homeownership is an investment into your future, and you must also look at homeownership  as a stepping stone toward a greater house down the road. If you can’t afford that “big house” now, then look a townhouse or a started house  - but start now! President Lincoln started out in  a little log cabin and moved up to the greatest house of all.   Time is short. The Time is “now” to get serious about your future.

Spring time is always considered the time of renewal, a time to start fresh, now is your time to move on.

Call  (703) 626-8658 Diana and Ray now to help you make the “American Dream” of homeownership today!

Ray and Diana Courchene of the Dale City, Virginia,  Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage  have earned the National Association of Realtors (NAR) certification of Short  Sale and Forclosure  Resource (SFR) in January 2010.