Local blogging - it’s a start.
The DP has an interesting article this morning about the growing local blogging community (side note, I too want to be a blogist), which has been brought into focus, in my opinion, by Waldo. Cvilleblogs is a simple idea, and brilliant in its simplicity and function.
Blogging builds community relations. Rick Sincere notes that
… blogs have their greatest impact at the local level in bringing people together in the 21st century version of talking over the back fence, around the general store’s wood stove, or at the barber shop.
I would love to have the time to go to Staples; blogging serves as my local connection in a lot of ways. I take away a lot more than I contribute. I was quoted and hope that I sounded less the fool than I think I sound. Reading your quotes in print is akin to listening to your voice on tape for the first time - it’s weird and you think you sound funny. For the record, here is the post to which I was referring:
“Finding a real estate agent is kind of like dating. You have a small window to make an impression and then you’re with that person for a long time.”
My blog serves as an introduction (my hope and goal is that of a positive one) to potential clients and frequently to fellow bloggers. The initial, purely selfish goal of garnering new business remains; the attempt to educate and inform has grown and taken its place as an equal purpose. I have “met” several people through this medium whom I never would have met before, read focused opinions that have helped shape my own thoughts and opinions.
One thing that is interesting to me is that if a concert or store is crowded we count it as a great success and we build more stores and scehdule (sic) more concerts. But if a road is crowded we count it as a failure and say “See, this doesn’t work, let’s not do it any more.”
Blogging is like anything else that is successful. Blogging has seen an awful lot of growth this year. 2006 will see more growth in podcasting and the search for green homes. Writing can be frustrating at times, extraordinarily fulfilling, time consuming and hopefully financially rewarding. I strive to do it candidly, transparently and from the heart at all times.
My evolving goals are as follows, and I reserve the right to constantly reevaluate -
- Stay local (for now). “”I focus as much as possible on local issues. It’s where I live and where I can have an impact.”" I am passionate about real estate and the Charlottesville/Central VA region.
- Those who like what they read will contact me if they are considering buying or selling real estate; if they don’t that’s ok, too.
- Urge readers to get involved in local politics and take ownership of the “system.” Not doing so is negligent.
As Mr. Sincere says,
We’re in early days, folks. We have a lot to learn and a lot to try that hasn’t even been imagined yet.
2006 will be intriguing. I love what I do and I hope it shows.
Update: to emphasize the local nature of my blog, I looked at the stats provided by StatCounter. With the caveat that this is for the last 100 page loads (hey, it’s free!) - 45% are from Virginia and 27% are from Charlottesville.
Technorati Tags: charlottesville, real estate
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Neighborhood Model - revisited?
This is potentially big news … and a bit exciting. Courtesy of WINA.
Citizen advocacy groups and some Albemarle Supervisors believe the new year will bring a renewed focus on the county’s Neighborhood Model. There are vocal critics of Albemarle’s approach to suburban sprawl who says it’s time the model got tweaked. … Loach is citing the county’s own surveys, which show dwindling support for the current approach.
I am curious to know which citizen advocacy groups they are referring to. In light of the BoS meeting earlier this month where two of the Supervisors expressed real reservations about the Neighborhood Model’s direction, I look forward to seeing how this shakes out. 2006 should be a big year.
Technorati Tags: albemarle, growth
Not used to NoVa traffic, are you?
In a recent post regarding the dearth of senior housing in our region, I noted a new development coming to Greene County.
One might think (as I did) that it would be a beneficial idea for this developer to provide some form of transportation for the future residents into Charlottesville. This development is being marketed as “Four Seasons Charlottesville” despite its location in Ruckersville.
I asked this question of the developer’s representative yesterday. What follows is a telling example of the direction our region is moving.
Me: Are you going to be providing any sort of transportation into Charlottesville?
She: No, that will be up to the homeowner’s association to decide; they can do anything they want.
Me: I ask because the traffic is pretty bad.
She: Well, it’s right off of 29; it’s a short drive into Charlottesville.
Me: Have you driven 29 lately? It takes a client of mine an hour sometimes to get to his home in Ruckersville from Cville.
She: Oh. You’re actually in Charlottesville. You’re not used to NoVa. traffic. They won’t be driving at peak hours.
Me: Oh.
I am still digesting and formulating my thoughts.
Residential real estate is ultimately about quality of life. Location, location, location. I have been talking about transportation and planning a lot recently. Transportation and planning are tied directly into my and my clients’ quality of life. If the only method of transportation is the automobile and the trip that used to take 20 minutes now takes 60, whose responsibility is it to plan appropriately? Perhaps this evolution is acceptable? What do you think?
Technorati Tags: charlottesville, politics, real estate, transportation
An eye-opening opinion on transportation
Read the first response to this post at The Road To Ruin. If you can, read the whole thing.
… new heavy rail systems appear much less energy-efficient than new bus services, when the energy needed to build roadways and track, the energy needed to manufacture and maintain vehicles, the energy used to heat and light stations, the energy required to drive to stations, and the directness of alternative modes of travel are taken into consideration. …
The situation is even worse if high speed rail is considered because of the high quality dedicated track and grade separation that is required. Yet in spite of these obvious facts we still see pressure to increase rail service even when it would result in an overall system degradation of service.
Huh. Maybe my desire for light rail really is pie-in-the-sky thinking after all. ACCT are onto something, but my question/desire remains however: How can we effectively/efficiently plan for inter-county/city/region transportation without using rail?
Update 12/16/05: I reposted this to the top of the “fold,” so to speak, because the comments are outstanding.
Technorati Tags: charlottesville, politics, transportation
Plagiarism and blogging
I came across this blog this morning that (I think accidentally) linked to one of my stories. I appears that he is copying and pasting my stories without attribution. Flattered? Upset? Robbed? Three of his eight stories are mine.
It took me a little while to get used to writing in the “blogosphere” but I try to follow MLA standards, or at least cite the source. Hopefully soon I will implement this sourcing plug-in; I just haven’t yet figured out how. This too is an interesting post on blogging ethics.
On a “micro” level, your blog represents you and everything you’re connected with, including librarianship. Great quote: “For most readers, you are the last stop between the reader and the truth.” From a utilitarian standpoint, being ethical is a strategic approach. Information has a long half-life. Being ethical is a form of self-preservation…”the blogosphere can be cruel. the biblioblogosphere can be crueler.”
Blogging ethics are pretty simple. If you use someone else’s material and research, by all means, cite it! Just because “everybody does it“:
A study conducted by Donald L. McCabe titled Faculty Responses to Academic Dishonesty: The Influence of Honor Codes found that 55% of faculty “would not be willing to devote any real effort to documenting suspected incidents of student cheating”.
Doesn’t make it right.
Update 12/27/05: In response to the email I sent, he has posted attribution to my real estate website rather than this blog and removed two of the other stories. That this was a case of ignorance rather than malice makes me feel a bit better, but still …
Update 1/7/05: Welcome RTers. Thanks for visiting.
Energy-effficient mortgages
A relatively unknown financing option called the “energy efficient mortgage” might help consumers keep their homes cozy as well as keep the bills down. And after the first of the year, Uncle Sam will even kick in incentives, in the form of tax credits, for home energy improvements, Bankrate.com tells us. Created by Fannie Mae, the EEM dates back to the Carter administration, though the program was updated in 2002. The tax credits are included in the 2005 energy bill. (Inman News first reported about the energy-efficient mortgage online in 2001; we announced that Countrywide offered such a mortgage.)With an energy efficient mortgage, Bankrate tells us, a home is inspected and scored by a certified energy rater for about $300. Then, the cost of improvements, such as a new furnace, more insulation or newer windows that would improve the score, is rolled into the loan. Even though mortgage payments are higher, lower utility bills result in a home that is cheaper to operate. Lower monthly bills also enable the homeowner to qualify for a larger mortgage.”
I am working on my Eco-Broker certification. This is the type of thing that will, hopefully, set me apart. Knowledge is good. Competitive knowledge that helps my business and my clients is better.
Buyers are also looking behind the walls. Phipps recently had one potential buyer show up for a walk-through with a compass. On the shopping list: a southern exposure. Buyers are also looking for more eco-friendly treatments, more environmentally smart building plans and more efficient use of energy — especially as the price of oil and gas escalate.
“The greening of our consciousness is something that I think you’re going to find a lot more conversations about,” Phipps says.
Hmmm.
Smart growth raises housing prices?
Our region ought to learn from other regions’ mistakes …
Thanks to the Washington Times:
Economists increasingly are concluding that the shortage of affordable housing in Washington and other major U.S. cities on the East and West coasts is a result more of man-made restrictions on development than high construction costs or other market forces.
“It simply takes too long and is too expensive to move through the development process,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia Securities, pointing at “smart growth, slow growth and no growth” movements in many of the same areas where the population and demand for housing are growing the fastest.
The referenced study by the National Bureau of Economic Research remarks:
The key underlying reason for rising house prices, though, is supply, according to economists Edward Glaeser, Joseph Gyourko, and Raven Saks. Since 1970, homebuilders have faced increasing difficulty in obtaining regulatory approval for the construction of new homes. Local residents — more educated, more affluent — have had a greater ability to block new projects should they be deemed harmful to their own interests, for example to the value of their homes. As a result, cities have changed from “urban growth machines to homeowners’ cooperatives,” the authors write in Why Have Housing Prices Gone Up? (NBER Working Paper No. 11129).
What is the County’s goal with regards to the Neighborhood Model? It might seem silly, but I think a simple “mission statement” or something to that effect would be a good guide for the Board of Supervisors, et. al. If the goal is to limit development and drive up the cost of housing, then it seems to be working. I will be watching the progress of “Fox Ridge” over the next several years. If implemented efficiently, the Neighborhood Model would probably be a good thing; unfortunately, it has not been.
Equally troubling is that the County continues to encourage growth around the City without planning or implementing any form of transit or infrastructure improvements. Shall we wait until all of the County’s roads look like 29 North or the Hydraulic Road/Emmet Street intersection?
Technorati Tags: affordable housing, albemarle, charlottesville, growth, politics
New theme
What do you think? There are several tweaks that I would need to make were I to keep this appearance, (poll, contact info, title location) but I just don’t know yet …
Update: The change was too much. This one is just simple enough for me. If you want to see what the other one looked like, I took a screenshot (see below).
Technorati Tags: charlottesville
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This work by Jim Duncan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. -
