Describing Charlottesville & Crozet to a Friend – Part 2
A friend shared with me his description of the Charlottesville area that he'd sent to a friend. This is part two; part one is here, and it's quite useful and good. Reading this has been interesting for me; I look at Charlottesville through the lens of a…
“Nothing But Building Equity”
Remember the real estate crash? I do. Short-term thinking is a large part of how we got to the last housing-based recession. Welp. With clients over the weekend, we went into a new construction model home. When the salesperson said this, I was taken aback.…
Buying a House that’s “Good Enough”
There comes a time in every home search process (and often the home selling process) where one says "this is good enough." Arriving at the point of whatever you want to call it - concession, compromise, acquiescence, acceptance, or, to use a positively-connoted descriptor -…
Charlottesville Land Use – A Brief History
Jim's preface: Affordable housing in Charlottesville + Albemarle (and America) is at, or nearing, crisis stage. I love this post because I learned a lot from it. I hope you do, too. The housing crisis isn’t just about affordability—it’s about economic mobility, too Community land trusts take…
How Exactly Does Local Government Work?
tl;dr - we're going to try to learn about local government. If anyone wants to help plan and organize, please contact me. 434-242-7140 How exactly does local government work? (few people know) A few weeks ago, I wrote a story on RealCrozetVA I saw this…
Buyer Letters to Sellers … Pros & Cons
Years ago ... in the boomtime, I was representing a seller, and we received several offers on his property. One of the buyers came into my office to drop off the offer (pre-electronic signatures, mind you), and the exchange went something like this: She said,…
Describing Life in Charlottesville & Crozet to a Friend – Part 1
A friend is trying to convince a friend to move to the Crozet or Charlottesville area; he shared with me his argument to his friend, advocating for a move to Charlottesville. For all of our area's faults (all areas have them), Charlottesville is a fantastic place to live.…
Who Are the Major Employers in Charlottesville?
Who are the major employers in Charlottesville? Asked another way, as was by a client, how do people afford buying houses in Charlottesville? I asked the Nest Charlottesville minds to help add to my list. UVA ecosystem - School, Medical School, Maintenance, etc Martha Jefferson Hospital NGIC/DIA CFA…
Fire Trucks and Street Design
Surely, we can do better. Why do we design streets almost exclusively for massive vehicles, rather than for vehicles and people to interact safely? Another question - how long would it take to redesign Charlottesville and Albemarle planning to accommodate more reasonable streetscapes designed for humans first?…
Lochlyn Hill neighborhood in Charlottesville – New Construction with Character
Not like any other new construction in the City of Charlottesville. Yes, I'm one of the marketing agents for the neighborhood, and yes, I have represented buyers in the neighborhood. But. Every single person who was walked through the Lochlyn Hill neighborhood has said the same thing -…