Wi-Fi Locks on Houses when you Miss a Payment?
Wi-fi locks on houses when borrowers miss a payment can't be that far in the future, based on this NYTimes article: Ms. Bolender was three days behind on her monthly car payment. Her lender, C.A.G. Acceptance of Mesa, Ariz., remotely activated a device in her…
Student Loans’ Impact on Housing – Two Perspectives
I've written about student loans' impact on housing, notably its impact on the Charlottesville market, but these are two recent stories, each with its own take on student loans. (My short opinion: student loans are increasing for the same reason the housing bubble expanded ...…
One of the Best Things about Living in Charlottesville
Taken on this morning's bicycle ride on Garth Road. One of the best things about living in Charlottesville is, quite simply, this time of year. The weather - the crisp temperatures, clean air, blue skies - and the changing of the leaves makes this truly…
C’Ville Pie Fest 2014 – 28 September
I love this about Charlottesville. C'Ville Pie Fest is Back! It's this Sunday at the Crozet Mudhouse, supports the Crozet Volunteer Fire Department, and pie entries are needed (there are some hungry judges!) mmmmm … Pie. It all started on Twitter and was, as I…
Food for Thought about New Economies
Food for thought ... A couple stories and trends that I'm trying to work through as they apply to real estate: Tesla and Uber/Lyft: Tesla, the groundbreaking electric car company is slowly but surely breaking down archaic, consumer-unfriendly barriers to being able to sell their…
Charlottesville’s Changing West Main
A bit more fun with Hyperlapse. I'm sure I'll tire of these very soon, but for now, I think this is a neat way to show how one of the City of Charlottesville's main corridors has recently changed.
Photosphere and Hyperlapse – Two Interesting Tools
Google have released a new tool that further enables users (us) to help them map the world. Photosphere was just released for the iPhone (it's been available on Android for a while) and it's quite remarkable. I'm not sure just how useful it is, but…
Engaging with Albemarle County
An easy way to learn about and engage with Albemarle County - Engage Albemarle. Here's an interesting topic: The Comprehensive Plan is Albemarle County's most important document regarding growth, development and change. It establishes government policy to help guide public and private activities as they…
September’s Monthly Note – Community, Oil Tanks & the Market
One note a month. Usually less than 1500 words, I tend to write my best stuff in this note.* One of the highlights of every month's note, in addition to the market insight and stories I write, are the blog summaries, in which I highlight…
Radio Recap from WNRN 7 September 2014
Today was an interesting radio show - some real estate and more community, community building, and becoming part of the community. I'm going to update this post with detailed show notes, but in the meantime, the podcast is here. Enormous thanks to those who responded…