– I’m looking to find a good Realtor to share the management of RealWaynesboroVA – a third blog is just a bit too much work, and to be truly successful, I need more content and time dedicated to building that site. … – A focus here and on RealCrozetVA will be on the community – building, maintaining, helping … this year is one where community is going to play a much stronger role than it has in the past decade.
Date Archives January 2009
Not Only is the Downtown Mall Walkable
One of the things I enjoy best in the world is putting both kids in our double stroller and walking the mile and a half to Charlottesville’s downtown mall . … I’ve written all this out to show that even though things aren’t optimal in my life at the moment, I know what is of chief importance to me – raising my children.
Lowball Offers Aren’t Insulting
Lowball offers are indicative of several things –
1) Buyers’ lack of confidence in the market
2) Buyer’s attempts to price in anticipated declines in the market
3) A possible indication that sellers’ have unrealistic price expectations.
4) Fear – on the part of buyers (buying something that will be worth less tomorrow) and on the part of the sellers (fear that they won’t be able to pay off the mortgage with the proceeds from the sale).
Charlottesville Regional Housing Inventory Update for January 2009
Compare these numbers with last year – As of 1 January, there were currently 2206 properties on the market in the Charlottesville market area, and 400 were under contract. … * Here is my speculation on the numbers, relative to the last few years – Of the houses that are on the market now, 20% are listed in the Charlottesville MLS as being “New Construction” – I’d bet that that percentage is a bit lower than at this time last year, but also, those numbers do not include the new construction foreclosures that are on the market but not necessarily in the MLS . 
*Central Virginia is Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson, Lousia
2009 Predictions
Those who acquire properties in this market will thank their lucky stars in twenty years that they had the foresight to do so – Realtors still won’t recognize how important their MLS data is. … – I’m going to continue to work with the local media We demonstrated in October that loans are absolutely available – but buyers have to be, you know, QUALIFIED – quite a shift from the “a thin file is a good file” mentality of the boom years.
10 Mistakes Sellers Make
There’s nothing here that’s necessarily ground-breaking, but a clever refresher is always welcomed (and who doesn’t love a little viral video?) 1 – De-Clutter 2 – De-pet 3 – Leave during showings 4 – Strongly consider the first offer 5 – Lowball offers aren’t insults – they’re a starting point 6 – Update, clean and paint 7 – Curb appeal matters 8 – De-personalize 9 – Lighten the house 10 – Fix broken stuff Not included – #11 – Price to the market; what you owe does not matter to the buyers or the market.
Great Discussion on New Urbanism and Walkability
At CvilleDevelopment –