Does your Albemarle County horse farm have staff?
Shadowfax LLC, an Albemarle County horse farm has staff of the four legged variety. Like many Virginia horse farms they have several Jack Russel Terriers. These little guys are constantly on the alert patrolling for mice and supervising everything that is going on.
No Albemarle farm is complete without at least one feline mousetrap and usually there is an entire regiment.
Below you will meet Simon, Stella, and Heathcliff.
7 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 30 2011 10:51PM
In 2010 2,253 acres of additional land went into conservation easement. According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress this brings the total amount of protected land in Albemarle to approximately 83,600 acres. This is over 17% of the county acreage.
You might think " this is nice, but it doesn't really matter to me". It matters to all of us who live and work in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Many of the residents of the Central Virginia area moved here because they fell in love with the scenic beauty of the rolling countryside and the Blue Ridge Mountain views. Even if your home is in one of the many Albemarle neighborhoods you can enjoy driving through the countryside or the scenery that you see every day from your back deck.
However, if we don't work to protect it, the very countryside that we may take for granted can change over night. Growth is important for ecconomic vitality but we must be careful to contain that growth in designated areas.
Conservation easements are an excellent choice for land protection and ensuring that we still have large sections of contiguous open land for our children and grand children to enjoy. Among the things that land conservation protects are family farms, wildlife habitats, rivers, and scenic views.
Visit the Piedmont Environmental Council website for more information on conservation easements, how you can help with land preservation, and whether your Albemarle County horse farm could be a candidate for a conservation easement.
4 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 29 2011 09:08AMWe all know that pricing the home correctly is the key to getting that home sold. Then why is this such a difficult conversation to have with sellers? It helps to explain out thoughts on pricing if we can back it up with good sold comparisons. Then in their minds it isn't just some "magic number".
How do REALTORS® and people selling privately determine the price of a property? The key element is to research the market and find comparable properties. Making comparisons is a blend of good research and market knowledge. Some basic guidelines to finding comparable homes (both sold and currently for sale) are:
- The closer in physical proximity to your home, the more comparable. Houses in Vancouver are unlikely to make good comparisons to similar homes in Ottawa. Some out of town Buyers are amazed at the market differences. There really aren't comparisons that can be legitimately made across the country or across the city. Remember the adage: Location, location, location.
- The closer in date to today for a sale or another listing, the more realistic the market indicator.
- The ability to be honest with yourself about what makes a comparison.
- The knowledge of sold prices. While you may know what your neighbour asked for his/her home, you may not know what the final sold price paid was and if there were any concessions such as decorating bonus, closing costs, redone roof prior to possession, etc.. The sold price, more than the asking price, is the real indicator of realistic expectations.
- The ability to adjust prices between similar properties that have differences. For example, adjusting the price for the difference of a two car garage in one home and only a parking pad on the other, the former will have more value. (If the garage is functional
) If one has an updated kitchen and the other is all original from 1970, then the former will have more value. While location is key and timeliness is vital, features cannot be ignored.
Be honest with yourself about your ability to get good comparisons. You may find the "Free Market Evaluation" that most REALTORS® provide is a start. Talk to people in the business. If you think a salesperson is going too low, you might want to get the opinion of two or more REALTORS®. Be wary of an estimate that seems too high - even though you would celebrate selling your home for that price. You might not have the time to have your house on the market for 6 months or longer waiting for some naive person to pay the price. I recommend having an agent help you determine the asking price for your home and to list and sell the home, thus keeping you current on changes in the market during the sale and giving you peace of mind that you are appropriately competitive and able to have your home sold.
On a regular basis, I post informationabout current selling prices in Ottawa neighbourhoods and also the sales history. Look under the "Comparable Properties Sales Statistics' category if you are interested in more information.
Photo credit: old garage @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/lafattina/3870226487/
Valerie Zinger email: vzinger@royallepage.com (613-723-5300)
Royal LePage Gale Real Estate, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
8 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 28 2011 09:56AM"Insanely great" Happy Birthday MacIntosh!
This week in 1984 Steve Jobs demonstrated the first MacIntosh to 3,000 people. "Out of the bag" the Mac debuted into a world of IBM mainframes. As it says on the screen "never trust a computer you can't lift". At the end of the presentation the audience went crazy.
From that day on our everyday world was changed forever. If you were born after 1984, your life has always contianed personal computers. Now we have laptops, notebooks, netbooks, the iPad, tablets, iPhone and Droids. "You have come a long way baby!"
Enjoy the video of Steve Jobs introducing the MacIntosh.
Read about it in The Future of Real Estate Marketing blog.
8 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 28 2011 09:05AM
Charlottesville Virginia is a wonderful place in which to live. There are so many things to enjoy in Central Virginia and I am sure that if you ask 10 people what they like best about living the Charlottesville life they could all give you different answers.
These are the five things that I like best about life in Charlottesville:
What are your favorite things about where you live?
2 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 27 2011 11:10PM
I have been asked this question or something similar by many clients. Often the sellers have moved out several days before closing and the purchasers knowing that the home is empty see this as the perfect time to begin moving some of their belongings into the home. Or they would like to get into the home to begin cleaning and perhaps even remodeling.
Even though the home may be vacant, you don't own the home until the title has been recorded. Consequently it is not a good idea to schedule the moving van for the day of closing. Unfortunately it is not unusual for something to come up and the deed to not be recorded until the day following closing or in the case of a Friday closing, not until Monday. (This is the reason that I recommend that you not schedule the closing for your Charlottesville home on a Friday) You will not receive the keys until recordation has taken place even though you have signed all of the documents.
On rare occasions a purchaser will work out an agreement with the seller where they will be able to take possession before closing. In such a case it is in the best interests of all parties to execute a legal agreement which is similar to a lease contract. Rent is paid to the seller and it states what is to happen if for some reason the contract falls appart at the last minute and closing does not occur. There are many issues that make it complicated for a purchaser to occupy the home before closing, such as who is responsible for liability and insurance. It is usually best to avoid this situation.
The bottom line is you will have to wait until after closing and recordation to enjoy your new Charlottesville home.
4 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 26 2011 07:45PMIn today's real estate market sellers should keep in mind that unless they get a cash offer their home will need to appraise for the sale price. This is another reason why it is not a good idea to overprice the home. If by some wild chance they get a buyer willing to pay the price, there is a good chance that it won't appraise. This excellent post by Leah Stern explains what happens then.
What Happens if the House You're Buying Does Not Appraise?
If you are purchasing a home and financing it with a mortgage, the bank will require an appraisal of the property to determine its market value before committing to a mortgage. They determine the dollar amount they are willing to lend you based on the appraised value of the house as opposed to the purchase price of the house. Hopefully the two numbers will be one and the same.
But, what happens if the house you're buying does not appraise, and the appraised value is less than the agreed upon purchase price? You've got several options.
- You can renegotiate the deal and try and get the seller to drop the price to the appraised value. This is the best option. It will allow the sale to
go thru as planned. If the seller refuses to drop the price, he runs the risk of losing his buyer and in all probability the next buyer that comes along will have the same problem of the home not appraising. No one wants to purchase a home at a higher than market value price.
- The buyer can make up the difference between the appraised value and the agreed upon sale price by putting extra cash down. Of coarse this is only an option if he has the cash and if he's willing to purchase a home at a higher than market value price. If this is the house of his dreams, then it may just be the seller's lucky day!
- The seller and the buyer split the difference and meet somewhere in middle. The seller reduces the price somewhat and the buyer brings cash to the table. This is the most frequent solutions.
You can cancel the transaction. If all else fails and your purchase offer was contingent on mortgage and appraisal, then you could walk away from the deal and still get your deposit money back.
If none of the above options work there still remains one other possibility. The buyer can try to get the appraisal adjusted. Appraisals are based on the choice of comparable sales within the past 60 days within a radius of a few miles, and within 10% variance in size. If you know of any homes in the immediate area that are pending sales, similar in size and value, that the appraiser overlooked, you can offer it up for consideration. It's worth a try!
Hopefully, you and your realtor have done your homework and your offer based on the current market stats will have no appraisal issues. But, not to worry if there are glitches; most can be remedied.
If you're looking for a home in Suffern NY or anywhere else in Rockland County, I'll be happy to be your guide and help you navigate through the home buying process and smooth the bumps along the way..
Lora "Leah" Stern - Your Rockland County, NY REALTOR of Choice - (914) 772-4528
Your Rockland County, NY Real Estate Specialist
(914) 772-4528 CELL
(845) 369-1938 DIRECT LINE
(845) 634-0400 OFFICE
(862) 345-2463 FAXIf I can assist you in any way with your real estate needs in Suffern, NY Rockland County or the surrounding areas, please feel free to contact me by phone at (914) 772-4528, email me at Leah.Stern@cbmoves.com or visit my website .
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2 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 26 2011 07:23AM
et report.Charlottesville Virginia has several golf communities. Glenmore is a gated golf community located in Keswick just minutes from Charlottesville Virginia. This post will examine the sales of single family detached homes in Glenmore during 2010.
2009 average list price $734,945.
2010 average list price $762,789.
2009 average sale price $698,150.
2010 average sale price $730,411.
2009 median sold price $625,000.
2010 median sold price $680,000.
2009 %sold/list 94.99%.
2010 %sold/list 95.75%.
2009 average days on market 214.
2010 average days on market 175.
2009 homes sold - 24.
2010 homes sold - 27.
The positive things that we can take away from this report are that Glenmore home sales are up slightly over 2009 and days on the market are down. Also Glenmore home prices are up as well.
The above figures are from the mls and while they are presumed to be correct they are not guaranteed.
View all of the Glenmore homes for sale
3 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 25 2011 09:30PM
For many purchasers closing costs is a catch all phrase that encompases a whole laundry list of items. They know that it is something that they will have to pay at closing, but have no idea what it will include. Often it may be more advantageous to ask the seller to pay all or a portion of the purchaser's closing costs rather than ask for a price reduction. The seller's agreeing to pay closing costs may determine whether the buyer can even obtain financing.
The following items are included in Purchaser's Estimated Closing Costs:
Your lender is required to provide you with a Good Faith Estimate within 3 days of making loan application which outlines your settlement fees. However, it is good to have an idea of how much your closing costs could be before presenting an offer to buy a Charlottesville home. Your real estate agent and your lender will be able to help you with this.
3 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 23 2011 01:43PM
Skiing in Virginia? Yes! Charlottesville is lucky to be close to one of the best ski resorts in the south. Wintergreen Resort is located within about a 45 minute drive of Charlottesville. Today there are 26 slopes and trails and 5 lifts open. The average base is 45"-60". In addition to skiing the resort offers ice skating, tubing and a Terrain Park for skiers and boarders to perfect their freestyle skills. Apreski, soothe those sore muscles in the spa.
While you are welcome to visit Wintergreen for a day of skiing, many people rent a house or condo for a week or weekend. In fact a Wintergreen home may be a perfect rental property for an investor. In addition, there are many people who choose to buy a home in Wintergreen Resort for the perfect vacation or weekend getaway. And of course, some prefer to enjoy the resort lifestyle year round.
Search all of the Wintergreen homes for sale
2 comments • Pam Dent - REALTOR Charlottesville Virginia Homes and Horse Farms • January 22 2011 09:34AMContent © 2009 'Frequent Contributors'. Design © 2009 ActiveRain Corp.
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