Housing Costs & and Affordability – Where Does Charlottesville Rank?
Gas/transportation prices and (Charlottesville) real estate - are they related? What do you think? (click image for full-size version) Thanks to Daniel for pointing this out. The Center for Neighborhood Technology has been working on a Housing + Transportation Affordability Index for at least five…
Maybe the City Should Just say No to the Meadowcreek Parkway
Meadowcreek Parkway Staging Area in Albemarle County, along Rio Road Rather than drag this out any further, maybe the City of Charlottesville should just end the discussion and say they're not going to support/build/move forward with their part of the Parkway. Just stand up for…
Albemarle County Budget – 2010 – Reductions all Around?
Read the Albemarle County Budget. If you're pressed for time or attention span, start with the Budget Summary (pdf) - that's where I found this unfortunate nugget: Eliminates $190,000 for Homebuyers Down Payment Assistance Program. One-time funding for this program in FY 10/11 could be…
City Neighborhood Liaison – Needed?
The City of Charlottesville is contemplating adding a "neighborhood advocate" to liaise with City neighborhood associations. What about the neighborhoods without associations? Should there be a liaison for them as well? I vote for her: “It's a bad use of city funds and there are…
School Values and Housing Prices – Specifically in Albemarle County
Do better schools increase house prices? From my perspective as a Realtor in the Charlottesville area, the answer is yes. I have never had buyers tell me that they wanted to live in a bad school district; but virtually every single one - whether they…
Have you Read the Revenue Sharing Agreement?
I hadn't. Huge thanks to Waldo for getting the Revenue Sharing Agreement. You can download it at Scribd. The revenue sharing agreement between Albemarle and Charlottesville is a pointed point of consternation and disagreement and highlights the political (dysfunctional) relationship between the two Governments. This…
Charlottesville and Albemarle Governments Clash. Again.
For anyone interested in a prime example of the City of Charlottesville's and County of Albemarle's occasionally dysfunctional relationship, Rachana Dixit and Brandon Shulleeta have great story in today's Daily Progress. When explaining the City/County relationship to relocating buyers, I often describe the governments as…
The Burden of Proof – Real Estate Assessment Appeals
HB570 is an outstanding bill in the Virginia General Assembly that takes on particular relevance in 2010, with property assessments likely being challenged by some in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding Counties. Why? It "Changes the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the assessor when…
Albemarle County Assessment Figures Released
From a press release from the County this morning ... much more to come later ... bolding mine. Albemarle County is sending reassessment notices to taxpayers this week reflecting changes in property values resulting from the County's recently completed annual reassessment. The 2010 reassessments show…
Albemarle County’s School Budget Request
One of the reasons people choose to relocate to (and stay within) Albemarle County is that our school systems are generally regarded as being quite good. Now that the Albemarle County Schools' Budget/Funding request has been released, we need to do our part and see…