I write this monthly note for real estate consumers, those with a real estate interest, and specifically *not* for real estate professionals (there's enough of that stuff out there). Interested? Two clicks (one to subscribe, one to confirm, and the note is yours). … [Read more...]
Charlottesville Tomorrow Roundup
Charlottesville Tomorrow put out a lot of good, useful, relevant stories - relevant to me, as I live here, and relevant to how I practice real estate (as in, I need to know more than my clients!) A few stories from Charlottesville Tomorrow over the past few weeks Albemarle development areas to receive equal neighborhood improvements funding Doling out money to the Community Advisory Committees ... Albemarle eyes public-private partnership for new government complex If Albemarle moves the courts out of the City … [Read more...]
Comfortable Price Point + What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
This is the advice I give buyer clients, in this or any market Buy a home where the monthly payment + operating costs is comfortable. And be prepared to live there for at least 4-5 years. A client of mine defined "comfortable price point" as well as I've heard "I want to buy a home where, if I'm out to dinner with five or six friends and feel like picking up the tab, I can, without really thinking about it." Perfect. And then there's this via Mortgage News Daily: Fannie Mae has announced changes in underwriting for loans submitted to … [Read more...]
PSA to Home Buyers in Charlottesville – Beware Fake Wiring Instructions
1 - Watch out for wire fraud. 2 - Confirm everything. 3 - Question things that don't seem quite right. 4 - We have seen and heard of this scam at some of our Nest offices (one of the benefits of having a growing reach). 5 - Read the whole story. From Minnesota: (thanks, Erin for the heads up about this story!) A Minnesota couple lost more than $200,000 in a sophisticated email scam authorities say is sweeping the country. Email records reviewed by KARE 11 reveal the scam may have connections overseas. “People in other … [Read more...]
May’s Monthly Note | Pictures from the Potty
I'm continuing my somewhat-consistent-series in which I write down stories that I find myself telling to virtually every client with whom I work. Pictures from the Potty is a fun one. I like the Face Time story, too (it's not what you expect). And then I get into the standard segments ... recapping the past month on RealCentralVA and RealCrozetVA, a few of the relevant stories I'm reading (or, noting the browser tabs I've had open for a couple weeks), update on the Charlottesville area real estate market, value of community, and a brief … [Read more...]
4 Things about Seasonal Slowing of the Charlottesville Market
I've referred to this chart so many times in the past few days, I thought I'd write another post. (most of) The Charlottesville real estate market remains highly active. But ... Amazingly, we are entering the seasonally and expected less active part of the market. That green bump at the end is likely representative of new construction closings- 70 of the 296 December 2016 closings were new construction; 50 of the 256 in November 2016 were new. If you're thinking about buying in 2017, figure out your market, and look at … [Read more...]
Did You Know about the Hole in the Wall?
Every house has them ... those little things that make a house unique, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Ideally, every transaction would be so easy, unstressful, remarkably friendly and amicable that the seller and buyer would meet and talk about these home's idiosyncrasies. The Latent Gas Much of the house runs on gas, gas provided by liquid propane. The gas range is in the kitchen, the gas fireplace is in the living room, and the liquid propane tank is about 50 feet away. As my seller told me (and I told the buyer's agent) - … [Read more...]