Posts tagged Charlottesville

Verify your School District Before you Buy a Home

in Albemarle Charlottesville Education General Real Estate on

There’s nothing worse than buying a home, a large part of that buying decision being the school district, to then find that you’re not in the school district you thought. (hopefully before you close)

It happens.

“School District” is one of the most important criteria identified by my buyer clients searching for homes – school districts matter. Better schools = higher home prices.

Bad data entry happens. To all of us.

Trust. Then Verify.

A client emailed me the other day about a new listing … great home, great location, great school district … just not the current great school district; it was marked as being in an adjacent school district, pre-redistricting.

So – Check your school district before you buy a home. Seriously.

I tell my clients that I trust the Charlottesville MLS about 83.875% of the time … it’s greatest flaw is that it’s run by humans, humans, many of whom don’t give a second thought to the value of accurate data.

Here’s what happens when a realtor in Charlottesville inputs a new listing into the MLS:

Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® © 2013 LIST-IT-1.jpg

– Cloning is more efficient.

– Double-checking is not.

If a property last sold 7 years ago via the Charlottesville MLS, there’s a darn good chance that the school districts have shifted.

So:

– Search the MLS for homes by school district.

– Assume it’s accurate.

– Verify for your own self whether it is accurate.

– Check the website of the school system to verify whether your house is in X school district.

– Call the school system to verify. (take notes and names)

Proceed. 🙂

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City Walk is Moving A LOT of Dirt

in Charlottesville General Real Estate on

I stopped by Beer Run this afternoon (those not in Charlottesville – it’s more than beer!) to pick up a gift and noticed that the City Walk apartments are well underway. That’s a lot of dirt.

Lots of dirt moving at City Walk

More about City Walk at Charlottesville Tomorrow (including the site plan).

The apartment boom that is currently underway is going to change the Charlottesville real estate landscape – significantly.

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Popeyes in Charlottesville?

Popeyes Chicken Coming to 29?

in Charlottesville on

A Popeyes restaurant (I assume it’s Popeyes Chicken) is coming to 29.

Located between the existing Kentucky Fried Chicken and Raising Canes Chicken, Popeyes will be opening on one of the busiest, and often times most challenging parts, of 29 southbound.

I have been wondering for months what was going in that building, both for curiosity’s sake and as I have a personal connection to that building (it is the site of the former Century 21 Manley – where I started my real estate career).

This morning was the first time I was able to get into the space, as there is no traffic at 7 o’clock on a Sunday morning. 🙂

There’s also a “Bring Popeyes to Charlottesville” Facebook page. Who knew?

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From the Rivanna to Rose Hill – Rounding up a few Charlottesville Tomorrow stories

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

When I say that I couldn’t represent my clients – buyers and sellers – without the reporting of Charlottesville Tomorrow, I mean it. The past seven days demonstrate that statement:

– (Charlottesville City) Council takes first step in enacting stormwater fee – “The fee will bring in an additional $1.6 million each year in revenues that will be dedicated for stormwater replacement and repair.”

America’s infrastructure is crumbling, and Charlottesville (and Albemarle’s) infrastructures aren’t immune. This is a step (so long as it’s not a tax that never goes away) towards fixing our infrastructure.

– Officials present unified vision for long range planning – “After an hour of presentations by local officials, the burning question was a simple one: How can pedestrians cross U.S. 29 in Albemarle County’s northern growth area?”

Asking this question is a start … doing something is an entirely different matter.

– Changes in the works for Rose Hill Drive – “The proposals include buffers to protect cyclists from traffic, new street trees and narrower lanes.”

I’d wager that better multi-modal transportation options will be a net positive for property values and livability; this foresight and knowledge are beneficial to buyers moving to or within Charlottesville, residents and potential sellers.

– River design competition winners announced – “The winning design, titled Sound Crater, celebrates Charlottesville’s music scene and establishes the Rivanna at the heart of it. “

Making the Rivanna a center part of the City would be a tremendous undertaking, but one that would make Charlottesville an eminently better place to live (if done right).

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City of Charlottesville Real Estate Assessments are Out – 2013 Edition

in Charlottesville on

Charlottesville’s real estate assessments are down a bit in 2013; this is no surprise to anyone tracking the Charlottesville market. Every year brings the conversation about whether real estate assessments matter with respect to true market value … 2013 will be no different. I expect Albemarle County will be releasing their property assessments shortly. (they were out earlier than this last year) One of the biggest questions homeowners tend to have is this: is my assessment accurate? Should I challenge it?

NBC29 reports:

– Assessment for existing residential property declined in value by 2.44%.

– Assessments for existing commercial property increased in value by 6.25%.

– Combined existing residential and commercial property increased in value by .61%. When new construction & re-classification are added to the value of existing property the total value of property in the City increased by 1.35%. 


According to Charlottesville City Assessor Roosevelt Barbour, Jr., (RES), there was a decline in existing residential property values even though unit sales increased by 25%. The Assessor’s Office reviewed assessments and sales information within the City to determine the assessed value for tax year 2013. Reassessment notices will be mailed to all property owners on January 31, 2013. Virginia law requires cities to assess all properties annually.

Surely there is much more conversation to come about the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle real estate assessments, but in the meantime:

What do Real Estate Assessments Mean?

“Assessments are not a reflection of market value. They are a backward-looking assessment of what the market value may have been at the time the assessor looked at the house (most likely online, and not in person). The assessor may or may not know the condition of the property, the condition of the property’s neighbors, may not consider the traffic noise, crime stats, proximity of sexual offenders, level of inventory, smell of the neighborhood, etc. etc. etc. Assessments are why you pay taxes on.”

– January 2012 – Real Estate Assessments in the Charlottesville area – Still Declining?

– December 2007 – Assessments, property taxes and shifting market values in Albemarle County

–

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Enjoy Charlottesville Today – We’re Healthy!

in Albemarle Charlottesville on

I was going to publish this next week, but seeing as how it’s supposed to be 73 degrees today, I thought today was appropriate.

Charlottesville is healthy. We knew that, right?

I was asked yesterday what I would tell someone who’s moving to Albemarle County; the reasons to move are many, but they all come under the heading of “it’s really just a great place to live.” One of those reasons is that there is so much to do –

From the hikes around Charlottesville to the variety of adult league sports ranging from soccer to lacrosse to softball … kickball …

If the Weldon Cooper Center’s data doesn’t do it for you, look at West Main Street on a Sunday morning:

Virginia Data | Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service - Albemarle County

Not only has Charlottesville been ranked as a healthy place in Virginia, Charlottesville’s been named as one of the healthiest places in the country a couple times – by the AARP in 2008 and Men’s Journal as one of the Healthiest Towns in 2010. (but really, lists are just that … now get out there and enjoy Charlottesville today! — I’ll be riding my bicycle to a home inspection today.

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Charlottesville Loves its Restaurants

in Albemarle Charlottesville Off-topic on

Charlottesville is the #14 most “Restaurant-Crazy” City.

I like that they qualify “Charlottesville” as “The Charlottesville area” by virtue of their noting that “Charlottesville” has a population of 204k.

and:

Restaurants: 460

Restaurants Per 10,000 Residents: 22.8

I have my favorite restaurant(s) (Brookville, ahem) in Charlottesville … and many of their chefs are featured at Beyond the Flavor, (note their Kickstarter campaign).

The food in Charlottesville is remarkable, and helps to make living here pretty nice.

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