<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
		xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd"
	xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
>

<channel>
	<title>RealCentralVA.com &#187; Sellers</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.realcentralva.com/category/sellers/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.realcentralva.com</link>
	<description>Tracking Charlottesville&#039;s Real Estate Market since 2005</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:24:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=</generator>
<xhtml:meta xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" name="robots" content="noindex" />
	<copyright>Copyright &#xA9; RealCentralVA.com 2010 </copyright>
	<managingEditor>jim@realcentralva.com (RealCentralVA.com)</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>jim@realcentralva.com (RealCentralVA.com)</webMaster>
	<ttl>1440</ttl>
	<image>
		<url>http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg</url>
		<title>RealCentralVA.com</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com</link>
		<width>144</width>
		<height>144</height>
	</image>
	<itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>
	<itunes:summary>Tracking Charlottesville&#039;s Real Estate Market since 2005</itunes:summary>
	<itunes:keywords></itunes:keywords>
	<itunes:category text="Society &#38; Culture" />
	<itunes:author>RealCentralVA.com</itunes:author>
	<itunes:owner>
		<itunes:name>RealCentralVA.com</itunes:name>
		<itunes:email>jim@realcentralva.com</itunes:email>
	</itunes:owner>
	<itunes:block>no</itunes:block>
	<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
	<itunes:image href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress_large.jpg" />
		<item>
		<title>How to Sell a House in 21 Days</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:50:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/?p=8868</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;">
  <a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-09_12-30-02_398.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-09_12-30-02_398-tm.jpg" width="480" height="642" alt="Sold by Jim Duncan" style="border:1px #000000 outset;" /></a>
</div>
<p>I started to write this post in early November, soon after my clients and I ratified the contract on their house and <a href="http://www.newsplex.com/news/headlines/I_Sold_My_House_Homeowners_Suggest_Tips_During_Tough_Economy_133120778.html" target="_blank">right about when the story was published on the Newsplex</a>. I almost didn't do the Newsplex story.* (see the end of this post for the rationale)</p>
<p><b>A few of my rules for real estate</b>:<br /></p>
<p>“Under Contract” ≠ “Sold”:</p>
<p>- “Under Contract” means: “we need to get through the loan application, loan commitment (including appraisal), home inspection and any other contingencies.</p>
<p><b>Most importantly - What did we do to get a contract on this house in three weeks? Put simply:</b></p>
<p>1: <b><font size="4">My clients worked <i>hard</i></font></b>. For a long time; we met last year and discussed strategies for getting their home ready to put on the market, the value of pricing the home right, what they needed to do and what I needed to do to prepare for the marketing of their home.</p>
<p>2: We priced it right; tracking the real estate market, the sold competition and most importantly, the active and under contract competition.</p>
<p>3: We worked the first offer we got. One of the real estate truisms is that the first offer is usually the best offer; you might not get another offer.</p>
<p>4: We got lucky with the buyer's agent; she's one of the best in the area and that was one of the factors we evaluated when evaluating the offer. I'm probably going to touch on this aspect in a later, separate post, but the quality and competence of the opposing real estate agent <i>matters</i>. If I can advise my clients that there is a reasonable expectation that the transaction will go relatively smoothly in part because the other agent agent is competent, that's a serious component we evaluate. (as a contrast, if I don't know or trust the other agent, that's a factor as well)</p>
<p>5: <b>My clients worked really, really hard</b> and <b><i>were realistic</i></b> about the market and their expectations. I can't emphasize this one enough. Selling a house is hard work - for the sellers and their representation. Being willing and able to work, be realistic and reasonable is invaluable.</p>
<p>6: Lastly - <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/18/its-about-price/" target="_blank" title="Price matters">price absolutely matters</a>, but it's <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2005/03/28/its-not-always-about-price/" target="_blank">not always the most important factor</a>. (as an aside, my feelings from the linked post regarding other agents' competencies have shifted quite dramatically as I have gained much more experience; when I wrote that I had been in the business just over three years; now I'm entering my 11th year)</p> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/">How to Sell a House in 21 Days</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: center;">
  <a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-09_12-30-02_398.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-09_12-30-02_398-tm.jpg" width="480" height="642" alt="Sold by Jim Duncan" style="border:1px #000000 outset;" /></a>
</div>
<p>I started to write this post in early November, soon after my clients and I ratified the contract on their house and <a href="http://www.newsplex.com/news/headlines/I_Sold_My_House_Homeowners_Suggest_Tips_During_Tough_Economy_133120778.html" target="_blank">right about when the story was published on the Newsplex</a>. I almost didn&#8217;t do the Newsplex story.* (see the end of this post for the rationale)</p>
<p>The single greatest takeaway from this story: If you are thinking about putting your house on the market in the Charlottesville area in the next several weeks, start now.</p>
<p><b>A few of my rules for real estate</b>:</p>
<p>“Under Contract” ≠ “Sold”:</p>
<p>- “Under Contract” means: “we need to get through the loan application, loan commitment (including appraisal), home inspection and any other contingencies.</p>
<p><b>Most importantly &#8211; What did we do to get a contract on this house in three weeks? Simple:</b></p>
<p>1: <b><font size="4">My clients worked <i>hard</i></font></b>. For a long time; we met last year and discussed strategies for getting their home ready to put on the market, the value of pricing the home right, what they needed to do and what I needed to do to prepare for the marketing of their home.</p>
<p>2: We priced it right; tracking the real estate market, the sold competition and most importantly, the active and under contract competition.</p>
<p>3: We worked the first offer we got. One of the real estate truisms is that the first offer is usually the best offer; you might not get another offer.</p>
<p>4: We got lucky with the buyer&#8217;s agent; she&#8217;s one of the best in the area and that was one of the factors we evaluated when evaluating the offer. I&#8217;m probably going to touch on this aspect in a later, separate post, but the quality and competence of the opposing real estate agent <i>matters</i>. If I can advise my clients that there is a reasonable expectation that the transaction will go relatively smoothly in part because the other agent agent is competent, that&#8217;s a serious component we evaluate. (as a contrast, if I don&#8217;t know or trust the other agent, that&#8217;s a factor as well)</p>
<p>5: <b>My clients worked really, really hard</b> and <b><i>were realistic</i></b> about the market and their expectations. I can&#8217;t emphasize this one enough. Selling a house is hard work &#8211; for the sellers and their representation. Being willing and able to work, be realistic and reasonable is invaluable.</p>
<p>6: Lastly &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/18/its-about-price/" target="_blank" title="Price matters">price absolutely matters</a>, but it&#8217;s <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2005/03/28/its-not-always-about-price/" target="_blank">not always the most important factor</a>. (as an aside, my feelings from the linked post regarding other agents&#8217; competencies have shifted quite dramatically as I have gained much more experience; when I wrote that I had been in the business just over three years; now I&#8217;m entering my 11th year)</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/">How to Sell a House in 21 Days</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2012/01/09/how-to-sell-a-house-in-21-days/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>When Do Homes Come on the Market in Charlottesville? March and April</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:30:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/?p=8818</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><br />
<a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/201112240822.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/201112240822-tm.jpg" width="500" height="256" alt="When do homes come on the market in Charlottesville?" style="border:1px #000000 groove;" /></a></p> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/">When Do Homes Come on the Market in Charlottesville? March and April</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.realcrozetva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/201112240821.jpg"><img src="http://www.realcrozetva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/201112240821-tm.jpg" width="500" height="256" alt="When do Homes come on the Market in Charlottesville?" style="border:1px #000000 ridge;" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/01/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville/" title="When Do Homes Come on the Market in Charlottesville?  ">Original Story from January 2011</a>.</p>
<p>I wrote this story in January of this year, but think it&#8217;s as relevant now as it was then for those who are wondering, &#8220;when should I start thinking about putting my house on the market&#8221; or &#8220;when should <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/contact-me/" title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor">I contact a Realtor</a> to start my home search in earnest?&#8221; (if this is the question, I hope you&#8217;re already <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/" title="Search all the homes for sale in Charlottesville">searching all the homes on the market via my search tool</a>).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/" title="Thinking about Buying or Selling in the Spring?  ">In other words, if you&#8217;re thinking about buying or selling, start now</a>.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/">When Do Homes Come on the Market in Charlottesville? March and April</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville-march-and-april/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Thinking about Buying or Selling in the Spring?</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:38:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re thinking about buying a home or selling a home in the Charlottesville area in the spring, these are three stories of interest:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/01/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville/" target="_blank" title="preparing to buy a home in Crozet">When do homes come on the market in Charlottesville?</a> Short answer: Spring. Longer answer: look at the data.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/" title="Preparing to sell a home in Charlottesville">Preparing to Sell a House in Charlottesville</a> &#8211; Step one: start the process now. (get the right representation)</p>
<p>3 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/14/prepping-to-buy-a-house-in-charlottesville/" target="_blank" title="Buying a house in Charlottesville in 2012">Preparing to buy a home in Charlottesville</a> &#8211; Step one: ask questions. Step two. Get representation.</p>
<p>There is sooo much more to write, (I&#8217;m approaching the 7 year anniversary of this little blog) but &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/">Thinking about Buying or Selling in the Spring?</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re thinking about buying a home or selling a home in the Charlottesville area in the spring, these are three stories of interest:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/01/24/when-do-homes-come-on-the-market-in-charlottesville/" target="_blank" title="preparing to buy a home in Crozet">When do homes come on the market in Charlottesville?</a> Short answer: Spring. Longer answer: look at the data.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/" title="Preparing to sell a home in Charlottesville">Preparing to Sell a House in Charlottesville</a> &#8211; Step one: start the process now. (get the right representation)</p>
<p>3 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/14/prepping-to-buy-a-house-in-charlottesville/" target="_blank" title="Buying a house in Charlottesville in 2012">Preparing to buy a home in Charlottesville</a> &#8211; Step one: ask questions. Step two. Get representation.</p>
<p>There is sooo much more to write, (I&#8217;m approaching the 7 year anniversary of this little blog) but I picked these three because they offer good starting points.</p>
<p><span id="more-8718"></span>
<p><i>* <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/what-is-this-blog/" title="Jim Duncan - Charlottesville real estate broker">I&#8217;m a real estate agent</a>. <img src='http://realcentralva.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </i></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/">Thinking about Buying or Selling in the Spring?</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/12/12/thinking-about-buying-or-selling-in-the-spring/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>FHA and Condos in Charlottesville &#8211; Are they Eligible?</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:45:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buyers.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Real Estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.presidentialmortgagegroup.com/index.cfm/people/display/peopleID/2efb96f229843b3c012984ea9f2f002c" target="_blank"><i>Guest post from Matt Hodges with Presidential Mortgage</i></a>*:</p>
<p>Condominiums are a challenge to finance through FHA.  Condominiums had a brief period when lenders overlooked eligibility and approved every loan, as long as the borrower was qualified – that period ended some four years ago.  
</p>
<p>Today, condominiums are one of the most difficult forms of residential real estate to finance, perhaps with manufactured housing more difficult. Using <a href="https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condo1.cfm" target="_blank" title="Charlottesville Condos and FHA">a search of “Charlottesville” condominiums in the FHA search tool</a>, 19 condominium complexes appear. Hey, good news, right? <i>Not so quick</i>. Eight of those complexes have expired and four more will &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/">FHA and Condos in Charlottesville &#8211; Are they Eligible?</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.presidentialmortgagegroup.com/index.cfm/people/display/peopleID/2efb96f229843b3c012984ea9f2f002c" target="_blank"><i>Guest post from Matt Hodges with Presidential Mortgage</i></a>*:</p>
<p>Condominiums are a challenge to finance through FHA.  Condominiums had a brief period when lenders overlooked eligibility and approved every loan, as long as the borrower was qualified – that period ended some four years ago.  
</p>
<p>Today, condominiums are one of the most difficult forms of residential real estate to finance, perhaps with manufactured housing more difficult. Using <a href="https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condo1.cfm" target="_blank" title="Charlottesville Condos and FHA">a search of “Charlottesville” condominiums in the FHA search tool</a>, 19 condominium complexes appear. Hey, good news, right? <i>Not so quick</i>. Eight of those complexes have expired and four more will expire in the next three weeks. So, the list of available condominiums is shrinking and lenders are not taking advantage of the <a href="https://entp.hud.gov/sfohlp/f17cndprhlpp.cfm" target="_blank">DELRAP process</a> to approve condominiums – only one of the approved list was certified by a lender.</p>
<p>What makes a project approvable? In addition to the expected – insurance, acceptable budgets, contingencies &#8211; commercial space can not exceed 25%. The City of Charlottesville is big on pushing mixed use residential. Realize that this makes a condo MORE difficult to finance. At least 50% of the units must be owner-occupied and 10% of the units can not be controlled by one company or individual. No more than 15% of all of the units can be delinquent on their condominium association fees. Other requirements exist as well, but those are the biggies.</p>
<p>This pool of eligible condo complexes is shrinking. What is a buyer to do? There is very little that an FHA buyer can do, other than check with his or her loan officer to make sure that the unit that they are seeking to purchase qualifies. Townhouses do not fall in this category, so that’s an alternative. If a buyer has access to a larger down payment, conventional lending opens up possibilities of non-approved complexes, assuming that the complex generally has 70% or greater owner-occupancy.</p>
<p>What’s a seller to do? I’ve had this discussion with a condominium owner on the condo board of his complex. The most important piece of advice to him was to make sure the complex paid attention to their rules regarding percentage of owner-occupied, in order to maintain their approvable nature. &nbsp;&nbsp;Do not let one unit owner break the rules and thus, put everyone at jeopardy of future sales and more importantly, the value of those units.</p>
<p>A word of warning – even if the complex appears on the approved FHA list, it may still be denied, because a change of any number of items, but most specifically the 50% owner-occupancy. That condo list is only a guide, not gospel. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p><span id="more-8637"></span><br />
<hr />
<p>Thanks, Matt.</p>
<p>Now for my two cents:</p>
<p>FHA buyers and financing make up a significant portion of the buyers in the Charlottesville area. I don&#8217;t know how to find out exactly what percentage (I&#8217;ve called FHA and HUD in the past and they&#8217;ve been quite unhelpful).</p>
<p>First &#8211; there are some condo developments in the Charlottesville are that deed-restricted with respect to renter-occupied units, meaning that some units are non rentable. This cuts both ways; on one hand, this is good because it limits the percentage of tenant-occupied units. On the other hand, it limits the buying pool as a lot of people either want to buy a unit as an investment or want the option to rent.</p>
<p>Second &#8211; More than ever, doing due diligence is crucial in the buying and selling process. Really and truly, hiring professional help is a good idea.</p>
<p><b>For condo buyers</b>:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; Work with a good lender who knows to check a condo&#8217;s FHA eligibility. You&#8217;d be surprised how many don&#8217;t.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; Be aware of this early on.</p>
<p>3 &#8211; Be aware that condos come with risks that are outside your control &#8211; percentage of owner-occupancy, budget, other owners&#8217; paying their bills …</p>
<p>4 &#8211; Work with a good Realtor who knows what questions to ask and to whom to direct them. (I <a href="http://realcentralva.com/contact-me" title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor">am one of these, you know</a>)</p>
<p>5 &#8211; Be aware of the questions Matt raised and more &#8211; as they <i>will</i> affect your resale value.</p>
<p><b>For condo Owners/Sellers</b>:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; Make sure your condo has FHA eligibility.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; If it doesn&#8217;t do what it takes to get it.</p>
<p>3 &#8211; Be aware that if your condo doesn&#8217;t have FHA eligibility, you&#8217;re likely to have fewer qualified buyers to market to. Fewer buyers typically means less marketability which typically means lower values.</p>
<p>4 &#8211; Seek professional guidance and advice early on in the process. I&#8217;m working with quite a few potential sellers now who are planning to put their houses on the market in the spring.</p>
<p><i>* Disclosure: I have recommended Matt to my clients for nearly 10 years and have found him to be one of the most competent and knowledgable lenders in Charlottesville.</i></p>
<p><i><a href="http://varbuzz.com/2011-11/fha-buyers-blocked-from-many-condos/" target="_blank">** Thanks to VAR Buzz for posting the story that generated my asking Matt for his input.</a></i></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/">FHA and Condos in Charlottesville &#8211; Are they Eligible?</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/11/23/fha-and-condos-in-charlottesville-are-they-eligible/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Should Sellers be More Patient?</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:38:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/video/are-home-sellers-selling-too-fast/C8644FFB-3ECB-477B-B1D4-E2D7B3694FB5.html" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal asks</a>:</p>
<p>Should people really be cutting their prices to sell their houses?</p>
<p>Answer: Yes.</p> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/">Should Sellers be More Patient?</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/video/are-home-sellers-selling-too-fast/C8644FFB-3ECB-477B-B1D4-E2D7B3694FB5.html" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal asks</a>:</p>
<p>Should people really be cutting their prices to sell their houses?</p>
<p>Answer: <strong><em>Yes</em></strong>. <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2010/08/26/proof-that-price-matters/" target="_blank">Price matters</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;… Your home may truly be worth more than what that distressed home down the street is, but that distressed home is essentially killing the situation for you … &#8221;</p>
<p>What your home &#8220;may be worth&#8221; is irrelevant when buyers can be patient and the market is still declining</p>
<p><strong>Think about it &#8211; <em>Right now</em> (24 October 2011, 10:30 am) in the Charlottesville MSA: </strong></p>
<p>- There are 426 properties under contract in the Charlottesville MSA and MLS.<br />
- <strong>81</strong> are marked as either &#8220;lender owned&#8221; or &#8220;short sale&#8221;<br />
- <strong>193</strong> &#8211; <strong><em>45%</em></strong> &#8211; have Continuous Days on Market (CDOM) of less than 30 days.<br />
- <strong>94</strong> have CDOM of more than 180 days</p>
<p><strong><strong>Wouldn&#8217;t you rather be one of the 193 than one of the 94?</strong></strong></p>
<hr />
* &#8211; I was curious, so I re-ran the numbers on Tuesday, 25 October at 7am and the numbers changed just a little bit:</p>
<p>- 423 under contract. 83 are marked as distressed. 25 of those 83 &#8211; 30% &#8211; had CDOM of less than 30 days. (15 are short sales, 10 are REO/foreclosures)<br />
- The quick-contract foreclosures range from $17k to $275k<br />
- The quick-contract short sales range from $67k to $449k<br />
- The quick-contract standard sales range from $85k to $1.59 million.</p>
<hr /><span id="more-8498"></span><object id="wsj_fp" width="512" height="363"><param name="movie" value="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/VideoPlayerMain.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars" value="videoGUID={C8644FFB-3ECB-477B-B1D4-E2D7B3694FB5}&#038;playerid=1000&#038;plyMediaEnabled=1&#038;configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&#038;autoStart=false" base="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/"name="flashPlayer"></param><embed src="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/VideoPlayerMain.swf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashVars="videoGUID={C8644FFB-3ECB-477B-B1D4-E2D7B3694FB5}&#038;playerid=1000&#038;plyMediaEnabled=1&#038;configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&#038;autoStart=false" base="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/" name="flashPlayer" width="512" height="363" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></p>
<p>If you&#8217;re putting your home on the market, don&#8217;t you want to be able to <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/steinarknutsen/status/128209206435254272" target="_blank">say this</a>?</p>
<p><a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Steinar-Knutsen-steinarknutsen-on-Twitter-1.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Steinar-Knutsen-steinarknutsen-on-Twitter-1-tm.jpg" width="480" height="155" alt="Steinar Knutsen (steinarknutsen) on Twitter-1.jpg" style="border:1px #000000 double;" /></a></p>
<p>(my clients <a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/599284" target="_blank">made their home look brand new</a>, prepped everything perfectly and priced it right.)
<p><em>And lastly, did you know you <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/04/04/5-steps-to-searching-for-price-reductions-on-homes-in-the-charlottesville/" target="_blank">can search for homes for sale in Charlottesville by price reductions?</a> Make your own searches, save &#8216;em, have them emailed to you &#8230; </em></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/">Should Sellers be More Patient?</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/24/should-sellers-be-more-patient/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>5 Things to Do NOW If You&#8217;re Putting your House on the Market in the Spring</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:39:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/16/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>1 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2010/10/29/charlottesville-sellers-and-homeowners-take-pictures-of-your-house-now/" target="_blank">Take pictures now</a>.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; Start conserving energy and water. &#8220;How much does it cost to operate this home&#8221;? is one of the most common questions buyers are asking now.</p>
<p>3 &#8211; Do those things <strong><em>now</em></strong> that you&#8217;ve been meaning to do since you moved in. You know: caulking around the windows, replacing that screen, putting that threshold back … you know the list.</p>
<p>4 &#8211; Start going to open houses. Look at comparable homes. Ask a <a title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor" href="http://realcentralva.com/contact-me">good Realtor for advice</a>. You might think this home is a comp, but really, it&#8217;s not because of all &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/">5 Things to Do NOW If You&#8217;re Putting your House on the Market in the Spring</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>1 &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2010/10/29/charlottesville-sellers-and-homeowners-take-pictures-of-your-house-now/" target="_blank">Take pictures now</a>.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; Start conserving energy and water. &#8220;How much does it cost to operate this home&#8221;? is one of the most common questions buyers are asking now.</p>
<p>3 &#8211; Do those things <strong><em>now</em></strong> that you&#8217;ve been meaning to do since you moved in. You know: caulking around the windows, replacing that screen, putting that threshold back … you know the list.</p>
<p>4 &#8211; Start going to open houses. Look at comparable homes. Ask a <a title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor" href="http://realcentralva.com/contact-me">good Realtor for advice</a>. You might think this home is a comp, but really, it&#8217;s not because of all the new construction ongoing (or planned for the next 18 months)</p>
<p>5 &#8211; <a title="Charlottesville MSA Housing Inventory - Active Listings, New Contracts, Sold Activity" href="http://www.realcentralva.com/charlottesville-msa-housing-inventory-activity/" target="_blank">Contracts are up, new listings are down and sold homes are way down</a>. Start doing your market research now. <a title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor" href="http://realcentralva.com/contact-me">Ask questions</a>.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/">5 Things to Do NOW If You&#8217;re Putting your House on the Market in the Spring</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/10/01/if-youre-putting-your-house-on-the-market-in-the-spring/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Waiting (to Sell your Home) Is the Hardest Part</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/26/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<iframe width="300" height="203" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ItLzdZV004s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think of this song whenever I talk to sellers who are frustrated by their homes not selling.

Put simply:

Sometimes the buyer for your house is not in the market right now. 

As a seller, you and your real estate agent:

- could be doing everything right. <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/">Waiting (to Sell your Home) Is the Hardest Part</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ItLzdZV004s" frameborder="0" width="300" height="203"></iframe></p>
<p>I think of this song whenever I talk to sellers who are frustrated by their homes not selling.</p>
<p>Put simply:</p>
<p>Sometimes the buyer for your house is not in the market right now.</p>
<p>As a seller, you and your real estate agent:</p>
<p>- could be doing everything right.<span id="more-8345"></span>- the <a title="Charlottesville Real Estate photography matters" href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2007/05/09/why-real-estate-photography-matters/">photos look great</a>.<br />
- the marketing is great.<br />
- the ad copy is descriptive and evocative.<br />
- Your house is <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2010/09/21/listing-data-distribution-gets/" target="_blank">being syndicated everywhere</a> &#8211; Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, etc.<br />
- the house&#8217;s <a title="Location, Location, Location" href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2008/02/19/location-location-location-2/" target="_blank">location</a> is not offensive (and perhaps even good)<br />
- the <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2010/08/26/proof-that-price-matters/" target="_blank">price</a> could be right (but really, right now, I&#8217;d argue that no one knows what a fair value is)</p>
<p>As my former broker used to say, &#8220;there&#8217;s a dog for every doghouse.&#8221; Sometimes, that dog&#8217;s not house hunting.</p>
<p><a title="Contact Jim Duncan, Charlottesville Realtor" href="http://realcentralva.com/contact-me">Questions? Ask me</a>.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/">Waiting (to Sell your Home) Is the Hardest Part</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/27/waiting-to-sell-your-home-is-the-hardest-part/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>If you Want to Sell your House (In Charlottesville) &#8211; Do it Now</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:16:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://kcmblog.com/2011/09/06/5-great-reasons-t-sell-your-house-today-2/" target="_blank">You may be well advised to try to sell it now</a>. The <a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/09/olick-huge-surge-in-bank-of-america.html" target="_blank">surge</a> is <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/44533588" target="_blank">coming</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to the above, <a href="http://kcmblog.com/2011/09/06/5-great-reasons-t-sell-your-house-today-2/" target="_blank">these are five excellent reasons to sell your house now</a> … five reasons that I have been telling my clients since well before I read the article. #5 may be the best reason: You Get to Move On with Your Life.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

</p><p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/">If you Want to Sell your House (In Charlottesville) &#8211; Do it Now</a>&#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/">If you Want to Sell your House (In Charlottesville) &#8211; Do it Now</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://kcmblog.com/2011/09/06/5-great-reasons-t-sell-your-house-today-2/" target="_blank">You may be well advised to try to sell it now</a>. The <a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/09/olick-huge-surge-in-bank-of-america.html" target="_blank">surge</a> is <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/44533588" target="_blank">coming</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to the above, <a href="http://kcmblog.com/2011/09/06/5-great-reasons-t-sell-your-house-today-2/" target="_blank">these are five excellent reasons to sell your house now</a> … five reasons that I have been telling my clients since well before I read the article. #5 may be the best reason: You Get to Move On with Your Life.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/">If you Want to Sell your House (In Charlottesville) &#8211; Do it Now</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/09/15/if-you-want-to-sell-your-house-in-charlottesville-do-it-now/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Note from the Trenches (of a seller in Charlottesville)</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:05:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle real estate market]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If memory serves …</p>
<p>I was marketing a house in Albemarle County. We received an offer which my clients accepted, but it was contingent on the sale of that buyer's house. Another offer came in, and my sellers "kicked out" the first contract to accept the second contract.</p>
<blockquote>
  <p>We bought a house from some of your clients about 5 years ago, the (<em>removed</em>), at (removed)., Charlottesville, 22902. We have loved the house, but have had to move this summer for work, so it is currently on the market, with no luck as of yet. We did remember that there was a kickout clause on the house when we made our offer.</p>

  <p>We were wondering if you would contact the potential buyers with the clause or their agent on the off chance that they might still be interested. The market is not great currently so the price of the house is much lower than they offered way back then, so if they were interested it would be a better deal for them now. Obviously, if they do not have an agent you could be their agent, but if they do, and actually purchase the house, we could figure out some sort of finders fee for you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I can't advertise their house as it's not my listing, but if you're interested in a nice house under $250k in eastern Albemarle on a couple acres, I know a good one.</p> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/">Note from the Trenches (of a seller in Charlottesville)</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If memory serves …</p>
<p>I was marketing a house in Albemarle County. We received an offer which my clients accepted, but it was contingent on the sale of that buyer&#8217;s house. Another offer came in, and my sellers &#8220;kicked out&#8221;* the first contract to accept the second contract. Fast forward to 2011 …</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We bought a house from some of your clients about 5 years ago, the (<em>removed</em>), at (removed)., Charlottesville, 22902. We have loved the house, but have had to move this summer for work, so it is currently on the market, with no luck as of yet. We did remember that there was a kickout clause on the house when we made our offer.</p>
<p>We were wondering if you would contact the potential buyers with the clause or their agent on the off chance that they might still be interested. The market is not great currently so the price of the house is much lower than they offered way back then, so if they were interested it would be a better deal for them now. Obviously, if they do not have an agent you could be their agent, but if they do, and actually purchase the house, we could figure out some sort of finders fee for you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I can&#8217;t advertise their house as it&#8217;s not my listing, but if you&#8217;re interested in a nice house under $250k in eastern Albemarle on a couple acres, I know a good one.</p>
<p><span id="more-8110"></span><br />
<hr />
<p><b><i><br /></i></b></p>
<p><b><i>What&#8217;s a Kick out Clause?</i></b></p>
<p>It&#8217;s a clause that is used when a seller receives an offer that is contingent on something, typically something other than financing or a home inspection, such as a home sale contingency. The seller accepts the offer, but reserves the right to kick out the first offer should they receive a better, non-contingent offer. Should the seller receive another offer he wants to accept, he grants the first purchaser a certain timeframe to remove all of their contingencies or terminate the contract.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a useful clause in this or any market.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/">Note from the Trenches (of a seller in Charlottesville)</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/12/note-from-the-trenches-of-a-seller-in-charlottesville/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Contingent Offers &#8211; Better than Nothing. And Maybe All You&#8217;ll Get</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:06:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>A simple tweet from a client sums up what sellers need to know.</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;A house we liked wouldn&#8217;t accept contingency. We moved on, found better house, moved in today. They&#8217;re still on market. Dropped price again.&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>Sellers: If you get an offer, <a href="http://youtu.be/HCTJeT2i9QU?t=1m55s" target="_blank" title="Everyone needs someone to Love - Blues Brothers">replace the word &#8220;someone&#8221; and replace it with &#8220;offer.</a>&#8220;<span id="more-8099"></span><iframe width="499" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pKJGUUY-NTo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

</p><p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/">Contingent Offers &#8211; Better than Nothing. And Maybe All You&#8217;ll Get</a>&#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/">Contingent Offers &#8211; Better than Nothing. And Maybe All You&#8217;ll Get</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A simple tweet from a client sums up what sellers need to know.</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;A house we liked wouldn&#8217;t accept contingency. We moved on, found better house, moved in today. They&#8217;re still on market. Dropped price again.&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>Sellers: If you get an offer, <a href="http://youtu.be/HCTJeT2i9QU?t=1m55s" target="_blank" title="Everyone needs someone to Love - Blues Brothers">replace the word &#8220;someone&#8221; and replace it with &#8220;offer.</a>&#8220;<span id="more-8099"></span><iframe width="499" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pKJGUUY-NTo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/">Contingent Offers &#8211; Better than Nothing. And Maybe All You&#8217;ll Get</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/08/08/contingent-offers-better-than-nothing-and-maybe-all-youll-get/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Protecting Clients &#8211; Good Realtors are Buffers</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 10:34:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/03/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3__a5-FRy_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/">Protecting Clients &#8211; Good Realtors are Buffers</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3__a5-FRy_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/">Protecting Clients &#8211; Good Realtors are Buffers</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2011/05/05/protecting-clients-good-realtors-are-buffers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Prepping to Sell a House in Charlottesville</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:38:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[albemarle real estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charlalbemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate agent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Realtors]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It's Winter, the first week of December here in Charlottesville and I'm starting to get the e-mails and the queries from people who are thinking about putting their houses on the market in Spring.   Now, in my mind, the Spring real estate market really starts now and ramps up late January, early February and March is high time in the Charlottesville area  match day  when the medical residents find out where they're going to be.&#160;&#160;It is a huge component of our market.      Now is the time to start thinking about it.&#160;&#160;    - Start looking at what your mortgage payoff may be.    - Start looking at the projects that you've meant to do for the last few years that if you're going to be selling your house in the Spring really need to be done.&#160;&#160;    - Houses need to be in the closest state of perfection as possible in this market because it's going to become super competitive come Spring.&#160;&#160;    So if you're thinking about putting your house on the market in the Spring, start looking at how realtors are marketing homes. ...  But really it's a time when you need good, sound, professional advice to help you develop a pricing strategy and a project strategy of things that will bring you the best return on your investment if you're getting your house ready for the market. <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/">Prepping to Sell a House in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object width="500" height="360" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zDbcO5DWLik&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00&amp;hd=1&amp;border=1" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="500" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zDbcO5DWLik&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00&amp;hd=1&amp;border=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object></p>
<p>Here are some <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2008/09/02/posts-with-enduring-interest-just-for-sellers/">stories for sellers to to read to prepare for the selling and marketing process.</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em>Transcription</em></strong>:</p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hey, Jim Duncan here with</span> <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">RealCentralVA.com</span></a> <span style="font-family: Helvetica;">and</span> <a href="http://www.nestrealtygroup.com"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">NestRealtyGroup.com</span></a> <span style="font-family: Helvetica;">.</span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It&#8217;s Winter, the first week of December here in Charlottesville and I&#8217;m starting to get the e-mails and the queries from people who are thinking about putting their houses on the market in Spring. Now, in my mind, the Spring real estate market really starts now and ramps up late January, early February and March is high time in the Charlottesville area <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2008/12/18/uva-match-day-2009-march-19/">match day</a> when the medical residents find out where they&#8217;re going to be.  It is a huge component of our market.</span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Now is the time to start thinking about it.  </span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Start looking at what your mortgage payoff may be.</span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Start looking at the projects that you&#8217;ve meant to do for the last few years that if you&#8217;re going to be selling your house in the Spring really need to be done.  </span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Houses need to be in the closest state of perfection as possible in this market because it&#8217;s going to become super competitive come Spring.  </span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So if you&#8217;re thinking about putting your house on the market in the Spring, start looking at how realtors are marketing homes. Start getting a short list of realtors you would want to interview in January and February before you put your house on the market. Start asking questions of your friends and family because really and truly marketing a home is becoming much more work. It&#8217;s more competitive and you have to have more information out there.  </span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So in short, the Spring market starts in January and February. If you&#8217;re thinking about putting your house on the market, start interviewing realtors, asking them questions, reading their blogs. I have one. I happen to be a realtory. But really it&#8217;s a time when you need good, sound, professional advice to help you develop a pricing strategy and a project strategy of things that will bring you the best return on your investment if you&#8217;re getting your house ready for the market. And that&#8217;s it.</span></p>
<p style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">If you have any questions, Jim Duncan, <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com">RealCentralVA.com</a></span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica;">(434)242-7140. Have a good day.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></p>
<p>Also &#8230; <em><strong><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/18/its-about-price/">Price Matters</a></strong></em>.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/">Prepping to Sell a House in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/12/09/prepping-to-sell-a-house-in-charlottesville/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Showing Homes in Charlottesville</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:45:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22901]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barboursville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ruckersville]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been showing a lot of houses lately. A <em>lot</em> of houses. (and writing an offer here and there as well). This past weekend was a &#8220;Chamber of Commerce&#8221; weekend &#8211; beautiful weather, not much traffic, lots of houses to see &#8230; These are a few of the observations from showing about twenty houses over the past few days &#8230;</p>
<p><strong>1</strong> &#8211; The dead, decaying rabbit in the basement probably didn&#8217;t help my clients&#8217; overall impression of the house.</p>
<p><strong>2</strong> &#8211; It&#8217;s far better to ride with me than try to caravan. Sudden turns (and the occasional U-turn) are easier &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/">Showing Homes in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been showing a lot of houses lately. A <em>lot</em> of houses. (and writing an offer here and there as well). This past weekend was a &#8220;Chamber of Commerce&#8221; weekend &#8211; beautiful weather, not much traffic, lots of houses to see &#8230; These are a few of the observations from showing about twenty houses over the past few days &#8230;</p>
<p><strong>1</strong> &#8211; The dead, decaying rabbit in the basement probably didn&#8217;t help my clients&#8217; overall impression of the house.</p>
<p><strong>2</strong> &#8211; It&#8217;s far better to ride with me than try to caravan. Sudden turns (and the occasional U-turn) are easier when there is just the one car.</p>
<p><strong>3</strong> &#8211; Vacant houses &#8211; consistently about one third of homes actively on the market in the <strong>Charlottesville MSA</strong> are <a href="http://franklymls.com/default.aspx?m=R&amp;h=ALL&amp;a=charlottesville&amp;s=100231">vacant</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tSq6aG-LEXyq1gV1CFbaUVA&amp;oid=2&amp;output=image" alt="" /></p>
<p><strong>4</strong> &#8211; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/">Stinky houses</a>. Floral sprays that are overwhelming from the moment we enter area a detractor, not an enhancer.</p>
<p><strong>5</strong> &#8211; Sellers &#8211; do this &#8211; Stand outside your house and pretend that you are the buyer. Stand on the front porch for a minute or two and look around &#8211; what are buyers going to see? What are they going to think? Remove the cobwebs. Paint the trim. Clean the windows. &#8220;Good enough&#8221; isn&#8217;t.</p>
<p><strong>6</strong> &#8211; Anecdotally, there are more <a href="http://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/20846"><strong>short sales and foreclosures in the Charlottesville/Albemarle</strong></a> area &#8230; I&#8217;m showing foreclosures more and more and they are likely to increase. To the listing agents who thought that getting appliances from the dump and putting them in the kitchen is a better presentation than no appliances &#8211; you&#8217;re wrong. But we had a great laugh.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/">Showing Homes in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/20/showing-notes-from-a-charlottesville-weekend/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sellers, Don&#8217;t Have Stinky Houses</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:11:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22901]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22932]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presentation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling a home]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/?p=4531</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><object id="viddler_bedddee2" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="450" height="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/bedddee2/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="380" src="http://www.viddler.com/player/bedddee2/" name="viddler_bedddee2" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object></p>
<p>Sellers &#8211; try to avoid pungent odors (unless you&#8217;ve baked chocolate chip cookies &#8211; I <em>love</em> cookies) &#8211; smells matter.</p>
<p><strong>Transcription</strong>:<br />
Hey, Jim Duncan with Nest Realty and RealCentralVA.com here.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been showing a lot of houses in Charlottesville recently and one thing I&#8217;ve noticed is that a lot of houses stink.  I don&#8217;t mean their condition or the quality of construction, I mean their houses stink.  The &#8220;dog&#8221; house, the &#8220;smoke&#8221; house, the &#8220;moldy&#8221; house, the &#8220;Renuzit air freshener in every room&#8221; house.</p>
<p>Recently the <a href="http://www.californiascents.com/">California Scents</a>, the <a href="http://www.californiascents.com/Cherry/spillproof_organic.aspx">cherry coronado</a> house.  It was <em>God awful</em> and that&#8217;s &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/">Sellers, Don&#8217;t Have Stinky Houses</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object id="viddler_bedddee2" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="450" height="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/bedddee2/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="380" src="http://www.viddler.com/player/bedddee2/" name="viddler_bedddee2" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object></p>
<p>Sellers &#8211; try to avoid pungent odors (unless you&#8217;ve baked chocolate chip cookies &#8211; I <em>love</em> cookies) &#8211; smells matter.</p>
<p><strong>Transcription</strong>:<br />
Hey, Jim Duncan with Nest Realty and RealCentralVA.com here.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been showing a lot of houses in Charlottesville recently and one thing I&#8217;ve noticed is that a lot of houses stink.  I don&#8217;t mean their condition or the quality of construction, I mean their houses stink.  The &#8220;dog&#8221; house, the &#8220;smoke&#8221; house, the &#8220;moldy&#8221; house, the &#8220;Renuzit air freshener in every room&#8221; house.</p>
<p>Recently the <a href="http://www.californiascents.com/">California Scents</a>, the <a href="http://www.californiascents.com/Cherry/spillproof_organic.aspx">cherry coronado</a> house.  It was <em>God awful</em> and that&#8217;s not the impression that sellers should want buyers to take away.</p>
<p>When I&#8217;m working with buyers we tend to name houses; the cold house, the dark house, the stinky house.  It&#8217;s not something you want.  So you know what?  Think about this: <strong><em>you can&#8217;t fake clean</em></strong>.  It just can&#8217;t be done.  So if you&#8217;re going to put your house on the market, clean it.</p>
<p>Get rid of the dog if you can.  Stop smoking for goodness sakes.  <del datetime="2009-07-09T11:04:17+00:00">You probably could afford to stay in the house if you quit smoking</del>.  Think about what the buyers&#8217; impression is going to be.</p>
<p>When they&#8217;re looking at 15 houses, <em>how are they going to name your house</em>?  Do you want it to be the clean house with lots of light or  do you want it to be the stinky house with the dog in the basement?  Just a thought.  You&#8217;ve got to be competitive in this market.</p>
<p>Give me a call or an e-mail: (434) 242-7140 or  &#x4a;&#105;m&#x40;&#x72;ea&#x6c;&#99;e&#x6e;&#x74;ra&#x6c;&#118;a&#x2e;&#x63;&#111;m or instant message &#8211; JimDuncanCville.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/">Sellers, Don&#8217;t Have Stinky Houses</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/07/09/sellers-dont-have-stinky-houses/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More and Better Pictures, Please</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22901]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22932]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MLS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Multiple listing service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PHotos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[property data]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real-estate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/16/more-and-better-pictures-please/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>I received this note last week:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Jim,<br />
Can I just complain about the horrible photos on the Cville MLS? There is a listing with 25 photos and 11 of them are of the kitchen. This house has 3 bedrooms, and there are NO photos of any of them. Am I expected to sleep in the refrigerator? I think it is time for a photo article again. There are some repeat offenders out there. Help them Jim. Help them.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>And then a Realtor friend (and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tboard/">remarkable photographer</a>) posted this:</p>
<p><img style="margin: 5px;" title="Photos so bad, you'd think a Realtor took 'em" src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Twitter-_-Teresa-Boardman_-wow-these-photos-are-so-b-....jpg" border="1" alt="Photos so bad, you'd think a Realtor took 'em" width="450" height="205" /></p>
<p>One would think that taking quality photos for marketing a home &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/">More and Better Pictures, Please</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I received this note last week:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Jim,<br />
Can I just complain about the horrible photos on the Cville MLS? There is a listing with 25 photos and 11 of them are of the kitchen. This house has 3 bedrooms, and there are NO photos of any of them. Am I expected to sleep in the refrigerator? I think it is time for a photo article again. There are some repeat offenders out there. Help them Jim. Help them.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>And then a Realtor friend (and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tboard/">remarkable photographer</a>) posted this:</p>
<p><img style="margin: 5px;" title="Photos so bad, you'd think a Realtor took 'em" src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Twitter-_-Teresa-Boardman_-wow-these-photos-are-so-b-....jpg" border="1" alt="Photos so bad, you'd think a Realtor took 'em" width="450" height="205" /></p>
<p>One would think that taking quality photos for marketing a home would be one of the more basic core competencies of a Realtor, but unfortunately, this too often is not the case.</p>
<p>A few of the more critical faults:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; No pictures.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; ONE picture.</p>
<p>3 &#8211; Pictures of everything <em>but</em> the interior.</p>
<p>4 &#8211; Not enough photos (the Charlottesville MLS allows up to 50 pictures)</p>
<p>5 &#8211; Not enough pictures of <em>everything</em>.</p>
<p>Statistics say that approximately 85% of home buyers search online. Why in the world would a seller allow his or her hired representative to be so delinquent in the marketing of his or her most valuable asset? Heck, even things for sale on <a href="http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/clt/1230705300.html">craigslist have photos</a>!</p>
<p>On homes that have been trashed, people still want to see what the inside looks like. Not every home is going to be beautiful (and none are perfect) &#8230; but buyers understand this. And they still want to see more. More of the inside, more of the outside, more of the street view, more of <em>everything</em>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, in all things real estate, the client is responsible. If you as the seller are not checking your Realtor&#8217;s efforts <em>on your behalf</em>, you are failing to do your due diligence in ensuring that your home is being marketed effectively.  And really, what I say doesn&#8217;t matter. What should be most concerning is that buyers are, rightly or wrongly, dismissing your home if the pictures are bad or non-existent.</p>
<p><em>Thank you to the reader who sent that to me via my meebo widget (it&#8217;s in the sidebar). I have an idea about bad Charlottesville MLS photos. If you&#8217;re game to try, please <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/contact-me">contact me</a>. Frankly, I think the pictures I take and have processed <a href="http://www.realcentralvarealestate.com/Properties.php/Details/73">look pretty good</a>. <img src='http://realcentralva.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </em></p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Coming soon &#8211; a discussion about real estate video and buyers&#8217; and sellers&#8217; conflicting demands/desires/goals.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/">More and Better Pictures, Please</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/06/22/more-and-better-pictures-please/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Times have Changed &#8211; Telling a Story</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2009 15:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General Real Estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garyvee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real-estate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://1553793922</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><object width="437" height="288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.viddler.com/player/ee7b9959/"><param name="id" value="viddler" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="src" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/ee7b9959/" /><param name="name" value="viddler" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p>
<p>PR has changed; so has real estate marketing. A simple sign in the yard, an ad in the weekly paper &#8230; none of this is new to buyers, but it seems to take time to make its way to the full</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/08/30/why-use-print/">Print advertising doesn&#8217;t work to sell homes.</a> Advertising real estate in print accomplishes two things:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; <strong>Placates a seller</strong> who wants to see their house in print because they want tangible evidence that their Realtor is doing something. I&#8217;m all for satisfying clients, but I&#8217;d rather not be condescending to them, and that&#8217;s just what I believe advertising &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/">Times have Changed &#8211; Telling a Story</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object width="437" height="288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.viddler.com/player/ee7b9959/"><param name="id" value="viddler" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="src" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/ee7b9959/" /><param name="name" value="viddler" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p>
<p>PR has changed; so has real estate marketing. A simple sign in the yard, an ad in the weekly paper &#8230; none of this is new to buyers, but it seems to take time to make its way to the full</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/08/30/why-use-print/">Print advertising doesn&#8217;t work to sell homes.</a> Advertising real estate in print accomplishes two things:</p>
<p>1 &#8211; <strong>Placates a seller</strong> who wants to see their house in print because they want tangible evidence that their Realtor is doing something. I&#8217;m all for satisfying clients, but I&#8217;d rather not be condescending to them, and that&#8217;s just what I believe advertising in print is.</p>
<p>2 &#8211; <strong>Helps a Realtor or real estate firm brand himself/herself/themselves</strong>. This is the big one and it&#8217;s a bit counter-intuitive. Print advertising doesn&#8217;t sell homes, but it may convince potential sellers that X Realtor sells a lot of homes because he advertises in a medium that has proven ineffective for selling homes. Got it? <img src='http://realcentralva.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>In a meeting with a developer a few weeks ago I told him that one of the things that we at <a href="http://www.nestrealtygroup.com">Nest</a> could do for him is listen to his BS (his words), <em>his stream of consciousness that makes his project what it is</em> &#8211; distill and refine it and then package and distribute it to the right audience.</p>
<p>You just can&#8217;t put a <em>vision</em> into a print ad &#8211; you need context, photos, video, text &#8230; if I could do a scratch and sniff ad online I would!</p>
<p>Real estate is marketing, sales and client representation. Print is environmentally unsound, at best, and a waste of money at its worst.</p>
<p><strong>If you&#8217;re a seller, your property has a story, too.<br />
</strong></p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t intend for this post to become a discussion about the merits of print advertising, but here we are. My intent was more to define the role of marketing and advertising in this new age.</p>
<p>Of note, the <a href="http://dailyprogress.com">Daily Progress</a> has partnered with Zillow &#8230; <a href="http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/zillow-and-the-newspapers-sitting-in-a-tree">in 2007</a>. See below for the email I received last week.</p>
<p><span id="more-4250"></span></p>
<p>Full text of the email I received last week from Zillow &#8230; I&#8217;m not attaching the referenced powerpoint slide.</p>
<p>&#8220;My name is &#8212; and I am the Account Executive with Media General Interactive in the Charlottesville Market. If you do not recognize the name Media General we own the majority of the newspapers &amp; magazines in the area (The Daily Progress, Richmond Time Dispatch, The News Virginian, Madison County Eagle, Orange County Review, Greene County Record, Lynchburg News &amp; Advance, Charlottesville Business Journal, Home Style Magazine, etc) I handle all of our Interactive (Internet/Online sites) Media Advertising related to the web-based versions of our daily &amp; weekly newspapers, magazines, TV stations, etc.</p>
<p>Media General has recently partnered with Zillow.com and I am now the local representative in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area for Zillow.com. I know you list properties on Zillow.com so wanted to introduce myself as your local contact and also hope to be able to setup a time to stop by to meet with you and show what else Zillow can do other than the basic free uploading of listings like most Agents and Agencies do. You might not be aware exactly how you can get your name and listings recognized much more than being compiled into a list when people do property searches. What I would like to talk to you and/or your team about how you can “Showcase” and/or “Feature” themselves &amp; listings so you can standout and be more successful in building client base and selling properties.</p>
<p>Please take a look at the attachment for what I mean what I say “Showcase” listings.  The Listings I circled in Red is the Showcase position. Zillow.com allows ONLY 2 showcase ads per zip code per month. These do not go into a rotation nor do they share the space with anyone else. Any realtor who chooses to Showcase themselves will be seen by 100% of the traffic that searches for listings in the Zip Code they choose to Showcase themselves in (Agents are more than welcome to Showcase in multiple Zip Codes and often do). An excellent example of how much exposure one could get is in March 2009 the Zip Code 22911 was searched 2,259 times. If you had chosen to Showcase yourself in either 1 or both showcase positions, everyone of those 2,259 searches within 22911 Zip Code would have seen your picture and one of your Showcase listings! Chances are you would have received a lot of inquires on yourself as a realtor, your listings and most likely gained quite a bit of contact from prospective homebuyers. The best part of showcasing yourself is it only costs your Agents $20/month to been seen by everyone searching in a specified Zip Code. For $20/month and the potential revenue they can generate there is not a better option I can think of. Unlike the listings within Zillow.com where the ranking of the listing in the results page is based on how long it has been active on Zillow.com this will be seen at the top of the page to everyone on May 1st and still be the first Listing they see on May 31st .</p>
<p>If you are available for me to stop in I would definitely like to explain it to you further instead of trying to understand through reading. But I definitely think it is something that would increase success and make you standout amongst everyone else in the area!</p>
<p>Please let me know when you would be available for me to stop by to talk to you further or when I could plan to have about 5 minutes of your time. Feel free to email or contact me at my number below.&#8221;</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/">Times have Changed &#8211; Telling a Story</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/11/times-have-changed-telling-a-story/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hinting at Nest&#8217;s Announcement</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2009 15:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shameless Self Promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jim-duncan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nest realty group]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/?p=4242</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>There is a challenge, regarding the pending announcement from <a href="http://www.nestrealtygroup.com/nest_report/">Nest</a>. I mentioned it on <a href="http://twitter.com/JimDuncan/status/1729478460">Twitter</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Nest is about to make a huge announcement. A *really* huge announcement. Stay tuned.</p></blockquote>
<p>And it is a big one. But &#8230; </p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the challenge:</p>
<p>We need to define <em>how</em> and <em>why</em> this matters to potential buyers and sellers in Charlottesville and Albemarle and Central Virginia, because it absolutely <em>does</em> matter. Realtors will get it, but I and we are more concerned about how we can convey the how and why to our existing and potential clients.  </p>
<p><em>We</em> know it matters, we can &#8230; <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/" class="read_more">Continue reading...</a></p><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/">Hinting at Nest&#8217;s Announcement</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There is a challenge, regarding the pending announcement from <a href="http://www.nestrealtygroup.com/nest_report/">Nest</a>. I mentioned it on <a href="http://twitter.com/JimDuncan/status/1729478460">Twitter</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Nest is about to make a huge announcement. A *really* huge announcement. Stay tuned.</p></blockquote>
<p>And it is a big one. But &#8230; </p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the challenge:</p>
<p>We need to define <em>how</em> and <em>why</em> this matters to potential buyers and sellers in Charlottesville and Albemarle and Central Virginia, because it absolutely <em>does</em> matter. Realtors will get it, but I and we are more concerned about how we can convey the how and why to our existing and potential clients.  </p>
<p><em>We</em> know it matters, we can feel it, and can describe it in a thirty to sixty minute conversation, but we need to distill this conversation into a more communicable message; and we will.</p>
<p>Being a partner in Nest is, to use the word in the truest sense, awesome. Communicating that sense, our story, and most importantly how our clients benefit is next.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dirtaroundgrounds.com/?p=258">As Keith said in his post about the pending announcement</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>
I will go more into this listing in future blog postings, but there is one thing for certain. I would not have this listing if we had not started Nest. I’d like to think I’m that good, but it is about my team and the vision that we share together. It is how that vision is playing out in our actions, our marketing, our space, and our clear and directed philosophy. That is why we as a team have this listing.</p></blockquote>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/">Hinting at Nest&#8217;s Announcement</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/05/08/hinting-at-nests-announcement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Innovation, Emulation and Flattery</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:15:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22901]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22932]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[realtor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[         We expect to be copied - on our signs, on how we market, on how we work with clients - and that, in and of itself, is a good thing.  ...  Heck, I and we copy other people as often as we can ... first mover is cool, but sometimes the real skills are recognizing emerging trends and technologies and then having the gumption, wherewithal and ability to implement said trends and technologies.   <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/">Innovation, Emulation and Flattery</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="370" id="viddler_JimDuncan_13"><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/91d9df41/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/91d9df41/"  wmode="transparent" width="437" height="370" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler_JimDuncan_13" /></embed></object></p>
<p>We expect to be copied &#8211; on our signs, on how we market, on how we work with clients &#8211; and that, in and of itself, is a good thing.  Will others do it better? I&#8217;d like<br />
to think that no one else can do what we have done, but I&#8217;d rather not underestimate our competition <img src='http://realcentralva.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> . </p>
<p>Heck, I and we copy other people as often as we can &#8230; first mover is cool, but sometimes the real skills are recognizing emerging trends and technologies and then having the gumption, wherewithal and ability to implement said trends and technologies.</p>
<p>The signs are an extension of Nest&#8217;s collective intent, start towards our &#8220;one size does not fit all&#8221; philosophy &#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/#comment-26143">Downtownenvy&#8217;s comment</a> the other day hit the nail on the head (bolding mine):</p>
<blockquote><p>I like this! Not only do you get a price on the property without stopping the car, but <strong>this sign is actually more about the property for sale than the agency representing it. That’s refreshing. I would love it if I were a seller.</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s not about us, it&#8217;s about <strong>the client</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>Update 26 May 2009</strong>: I&#8217;m going to be transcribing these videos from here until my new found partner stops working with me.</p>
<p>Hey!  Jim Duncan, RealCentralVA.com here.  It&#8217;s Wednesday morning and lots to do.  Buyers and sellers are crawling all over the place which is wonderful!  I think there has been an up-tick in activity on both sides of the isle.  </p>
<p>I want to talk today about innovation.  If you saw the release of Nests&#8217; new signs (I&#8217;ll have a link here at the bottom) they&#8217;re pretty kick butt.  That was evidenced by the fact that NBC 29 even did a 45 second segment on how we have shaken things up in the real estate market here in Charlottesville.  I think it&#8217;s pretty cool.</p>
<p>The one challenge that we&#8217;re facing is that we expect to be copied.  Take the fact that flattery is best shown by imitating.  At least two people in our market have bought Diverse Solutions as a search since I implemented it about six months ago.  So thank you Diverse Solutions for having a great product.  </p>
<p>So what do we do?  We expect to be copied.  We expect people to emulate what we are doing, and frankly, I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if some of them do an even better job than we do.  So that&#8217;s a really great thing though because it shows that real estate is changing.  It shows that people have to strive to keep up and get better and realize that stagnation which has been the rule in Real Estate for the last several years is no longer good enough.  Good enough was good enough to get by and survive and sometimes thrive, but now, we&#8217;ve got to change every single day.  New data, new information, new technologies and that&#8217;s a really cool thing.  So it&#8217;s keeping us on our toes and holding us accountable through what we see online and also by seeing how our competitors try to keep up with what we are doing.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s it for Wednesday.  Talk to you soon.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/">Innovation, Emulation and Flattery</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/25/innovation-emulation-and-flattery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Redefining Real Estate Signage in Charlottesville</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:17:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Albemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlottesville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22901]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[22932]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charlalbemarle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate sign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[real estate signs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One size does not fit all,   and this is but one way that we are seeking to re-define how real estate is done in Charlottesville and Central Virginia.    ...  -  A real estate sign of the times: Our first custom yard sign printed in both English and Spanish   -  Describing  Mariana and Derek's signs  in Colorado Springs    -  Describing John Kalinowski's signs  in  Northeast Ohio . <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/">Redefining Real Estate Signage in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/awesome-real-estate-signs.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/awesome-real-estate-signs-tm.jpg" width="450" height="342" alt="I love our new signs" /></a></p>
<p><strong><em>As a cost-saving measure, all listings I market will have to be priced at $360,000.<br /></em></strong></p>
<p>Kidding.</p>
<p>This is <a href="http://nestrealtygroup.com">our</a> first attempt at doing custom yard signs. Some developments won&#8217;t allow post signs, others require their own, neighborhood-approved signs in accordance with their homeowners associations&#8217; regulations &#8230; some neighborhoods don&#8217;t allow signs at all.</p>
<p><em><strong>One size does not fit all,</strong> <span style="font-style: normal;">and this is but one way that we are seeking to re-define how real estate is done in Charlottesville and Central Virginia.</span></em></p>
<p>We want to market our clients&#8217; homes, not our brokerage.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/#comments">early feedback has been promising</a>.</p>
<p>- &#8220;I love that the price is there!&#8221;</p>
<p>- &#8220;I love the interior photos!&#8221;</p>
<p>- &#8220;I think sellers are going to be wild about these!&#8221;</p>
<p>- Phone number is too small, sign&#8217;s too busy. (We&#8217;ll work on this)</p>
<p>- &#8220;am surprised that your contact info (esp your website) isn’t more prominently displayed&#8221; (This will be addressed in the next generation)</p>
<p>The next ones will be better.</p>
<p>But &#8230; do they work?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=3267">They did here</a> -</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Here’s the really interesting part. After hanging the sign I started to pull away and had to stop and get my camera out again. Three cars in a row stopped to look at the sign and one actually sent their child out to get the flyer.</p>
<p>So… within minutes of hanging the sign I had eyeballs from three cars and conversion on one; you have got to love that kind of impact! BTW, the first thing my clients said was they loved the sign. I remarked how standard signs only tell people a house is for sale while marketing for the brokerage. One of the ideas behind a custom sign is to encourage people to stop the car and get out to read the sign (thus increasing the possibility of interest).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Saturday and Sunday I held an open house and the feedback I received from the nine to ten sets of people who came through was universally positive. Positive feedback is good &#8211; constructive feedback is better.</p>
<p>Now, how long until we&#8217;re copied? <img src='http://realcentralva.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><strong>Update 23 March 2009</strong>: <a href="http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=10054799">NBC 29 did a nice story about the signs</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p>Credit where credit is due -</p>
<p><strong>Greg&#8217;s series of posts on custom yard signs.</strong></p>
<p>- <a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=3528">A real estate sign of the times: Our first custom yard sign printed in both English and Spanish</a></p>
<p>- <a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=6189">Describing</a> Mariana and Derek&#8217;s signs <a href="http://coloradospringsrealestateconnection.com/">in Colorado Springs</a></p>
<p>- <a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=6200">Describing John Kalinowski&#8217;s signs</a> in <a href="http://www.liquidbluerealty.com/">Northeast Ohio</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.alloyworkshop.com/">graphic designer</a>.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/">Redefining Real Estate Signage in Charlottesville</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/more-on-our-new-signs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nest&#8217;s New Signs</title>
		<link>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:18:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jim Duncan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sellers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ More to come ...    <a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/new-signs.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/new-signs-tm.jpg" width="475" height="362" alt="New-Signs.JPG" /></a>  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a><p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/">Nest&#8217;s New Signs</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>More to come &#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/new-signs.jpg"><img src="http://realcentralva.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/new-signs-tm.jpg" width="475" height="362" alt="New-Signs.JPG" /></a></p>
<p>Feel free to see them for yourself &#8211; I&#8217;m holding an <a href="http://www.realcentralvarealestate.com/Properties.php/Details/65">open house today</a> from noon to four and tomorrow from three to five. </p>
<p>Feedback &#8211; candid, blunt &#8211; welcomed. This is our first run; they will improve.</p>
<p><hr />
<a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/search-charlottesville-mls/">Search the Charlottesville MLS</a>

<p><em>Copyright RealCentralVA.com, LLC. If you like this post, please,  <a href="http://www.realcentralva.com"> visit RealCentralVA.com</a>where this was originally posted.</em>
<hr /><br/><br/><a href="http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/">Nest&#8217;s New Signs</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.realcentralva.com/2009/03/21/nests-new-signs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>27</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

