SIDEBLOG
One Billion Dollars
That's how much UVA contributes to the area's economy. Now that is sustainability. UVa is tax exempt, but if it had to pay, Charlottesville would have received $4.6 million and Albemarle County would have received $6.9 million in taxes. The university's foundation, on the other…
MARKET STATISTICS
Home Sales down in Charlottesville – expanded
I was going to wait until mid-June to run the numbers for the numbers for the Charlottesville-area real estate market, but it's like someone put out a press release or something, as the same story is now seen across the local Charlottesville media. From the…
SIDEBLOG
Gated communities
My daughter loves the Veggie Tales, so I have seen quite a few of their movies and listened to even more of their CDs. However, I hadn't seen this social commentary on gated communities. Hat tip: Business Week's Hot Property.
ALBEMARLE
A case for transparent government in Albemarle
You need look no farther than the NGIC-Wendell Wood- BoS/Ken Boyd situation? fiasco? controversy? discussion? Taxpayers deserve to hear from Mr. Boyd exactly what happened. Cvillenews has a nice roundup while Charlottesville Tomorrow has incomparable coverage. From CvilleTomorrow: In addition, the Supervisors had discussions behind…
GENERAL REAL ESTATE
How a heat pump works
One of the most commons questions I get from those relocating from colder climates is - what's the difference between a heat pump and a gas/oil furnace? The short answer is that a gas furnace feels warm when you put your hand over the vent.…
BUYERS
“Family Friendly” Fair housing questions Realtors cannot answer
I wrote a story in March that discusses the same issues as the NYTimes story yesterday. The strict interpretation of fair-housing laws prohibits brokers from providing information about people that could be construed as discriminatory in any of 14 protected categories. The categories include familiar…
RE BLOGS
June’s last Carnival of Real Estate
Is up at Altos Research. Some I'd seen before, others are new. All in all, it's good stuff.
SIDEBLOG
Thoughts on vacation so far
Being as used to connectivity as I (and my clients) have become accustomed, not having reliable internet access is potentially damaging, both from a business and psychological perspective. The next five days should prove interesting. Neither the real estate market nor client representation take breaks.
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
Does blogging get clients?
Jay has a great post yesterday about whether blogging "gets" clients. After nearly 1900 posts in two and a half years, I can say unequivocally that yes, you can "get" clients from blogging (and surely lose some as well). Without working at blogging and building…
GREEN
A sustainable University and beyond
It seems that whenever I miss something cool (to me) in Charlottesville, one of my first thoughts is," I hope Charlottesville Tomorrow was there." Once again, they have come through with their coverage of UVA's "Greener Grounds" conference the other day, leading also to UVA's…