Cheers for VW Jobs but Not for a Buy-Now-Sell-Later Strategy

Some readers criticized Erin Fuller and Michael Leurdijk's decision to buy before selling. (By Michael Wilkinson For The Washington Post)

Columns about Metropolitan Grapevine and its we-pay-your-mortgage Metro Dream Homes program generated a flood of e-mail and phone calls, and I plan to revisit that topic soon. Readers also had plenty to say about other subjects. Last week's column, welcoming our new neighbors, Volkswagen of America, to Northern Virginia, drew some heat. Nicole Mayer of Alexandria wrote: "Wow. Could you do less to hide your contempt for Northern Virginia and Volkswagen? This company is bringing jobs and revenue to our area and may increase both in the future, not a bad thing, although reading your piece one might think it was.

"I like it here. Traffic here is no worse than coming down Interstate 270, or Route 50, or Interstate 295, or, for that matter, than many other metropolitan areas that have not kept transportation issues at pace with job, economic and population growth. If you hate it so much in this area, move and get a new job."

Mark Morris of Potomac wrote: "It's a good thing you deal with real estate and not economic development. Your article wasted two minutes of my Sunday and essentially had no point. VW apparently looked at hundreds of cities before making their choice. Every major metropolitan area has traffic woes. Our home prices are a small premium to live in a place this great. Between the parks, the museums, the mountains, the golf, the bike trails, the universities and the Potomac River, there is something for everyone. You should travel sometime and take your sarcasm with you."

Karen Brewer of Germantown liked the column and wanted to add her own bit of advice for those moving from Michigan. "There is one major item you overlooked, and hailing from Ohio, I feel qualified to bring this to your attention. Though the rain does wreak havoc on one's commute, the snow is much worse. Traveling on the snowy roads in the Northern states is a completely different experience. And for those bringing school-age children, parents may be shocked to learn that schools are typically canceled when there is two inches of snow."

I wrote the Volkswagen column because I found irresistible the irony that a major auto manufacturer was bringing its headquarters to an area that has some of the worst traffic in the nation. Perhaps as a corporate citizen of Virginia, Volkswagen will help shape policies that alleviate the ever-worsening rush hours (which now seem to happen even on the weekend) that threaten the prosperity and quality of life in this area. I hope Volkswagen employees, once they adjust to the expense and driving hassle of living here, fall in love with their new home. And, who knows? Maybe we'll all get bigger cup holders out of the deal.

In August, I wrote about an Arlington couple, Erin Fuller and Michael Leurdijk, who put their Lyon Park cottage up for sale just when Wall Street was doing its best imitation of a Six Flags roller coaster. A few readers criticized the couple's decision to buy a new home before selling their old one. (The nameless posters online were also rough on me for saying the market in close-in suburbs is looking healthier these days, but, hey, that's their hobby. Everybody needs one.)

Lisa Greaves wrote: "I was really surprised to read your upbeat view of what the Fuller-Leurdijks were doing. Actually, I was incredulous. They put their house on the market after they already bought a new one? What were they thinking? They know how bad the market is right now and did it anyway?"

Actually, Fuller and Leurdijk have since told me they remain quite comfortable with their decision. With a toddler and a baby on the way, they felt life would be much easier if they weren't living in the house while they tried to keep it up for showings. And Leurdijk noted that buying the new house without a contingency tying it to the sale of their old one enabled them to bargain harder on other aspects of the deal, notably the price. And renting their old house remains a viable backup plan if the sale doesn't go as they hope. As of late last week, the house remained on the market at the same price.

In a follow-up note, Greaves took it a little easier on the couple. She noted that last year she herself bought a house before selling it. "It was worth what it cost me for the reduced stress of being able to move into the new place and not try to sell a house in which I was living." Oh, I love a happy ending.

Richard Bellin of the District wrote in to call for more precision on language. "One of my pet peeves, a button-pusher of the first magnitude, is the universal 'get a mortgage,' " Bellin said. "You have written it in your article today. Although everybody uses this language, it is wrong. You don't 'get' a mortgage, you 'give' or more properly 'place' a lien on your property in return for which you 'get' a loan."

The lesson doesn't stop there. "Although we call it a mortgage, it is a deed of trust," Bellin wrote. "I am sure you know all this, but I suspect many home buyers do not. While the misuse of the terminology may not be serious, the pervasive lack of knowledge behind it is very serious. Using correct terminology might help."

Bill Klett of Fairfax Station brought up a drawback to screened porches: dust. "Would have to disagree on the value of having a screened porch," Klett wrote. "My wife and I built one, attached to our open deck, years ago. We would never build a screened-in porch again unless we had a maid and a handyman to keep it clean. My neighbors have the same problem with the dirt and pollen that blows in and collects on everything. Our preference is a porch that has removable windows of some sort that would convert to a screened porch when needed."

I just hope he doesn't tell the Volkswagen folks what pollen is like in this area.

A surprising number of people wrote in about title insurance. Among them was R. Robert Rushe, who works for Key Title in Reston. "You state that 'coverage endures as long as you own it,' " Rushe wrote. "It is my understanding that the policy coverage continues even after you sell the house. We advise our customers never to throw the policy away should a claim arise after the house is sold."

Thanks for the tip, Mr. Rushe.

E-mail Elizabeth Razzi atrazzie@washpost.com.