Date Archives May 2010

What Makes Realtor.com Different?

in sideblog on

This post is targeted more towards Realtors rather than real estate consumers, hence, the “sideblog” category …. … 2 – I’ve sent clients to the Realtor.com mobile app and they have told me they like the mobile app . … I do have a few questions, predicated by this from Inman.com today regarding the beta Realtor.com :

“”We plan to have homes for sale listings, which is still the search default, new construction, recently sold, as well as off market properties and rentals, all searchable and discoverable from one place,” Berkowitz said.” – Why do Realtors have to go through the time and expense of VOWs to display sold data? – Why does Realtor.com get to play by different rules than Realtors? – Why don’t they pay Realtors for data? – Can an IDX provider do the same thing as Realtor.com?

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Three Charlottesville Neighborhoods – Thanks to USA Today

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The biggest draw is Keswick Hall, a 600-acre gated community that is home to the Keswick Club with an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, an Orient Express hotel, and the Estates at Keswick Hall, 124 home sites ranging from 2 to 8 acres. … Anchored by a large pedestrian mall and walking distance of the University of Virginia, downtown is suddenly hot, with many new condos to choose from. … “This is probably the most popular second-home area right now, with everything from condos and townhomes to detached single family homes,” says Mailloux. … One appeal for second-home buyers is that maintenance fees include “everything down to the landscaping and lawn care,” with about 150 houses and condos from $500,000 to $1.2 million.

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Local Food in Charlottesville and Albemarle

in Green on

The more I delve into and learn about the food system, local food, where our food comes from, the more convinced I become that real estate – my chosen path – is a huge component to the food system. … Albemarle loosens some key regulations : A pair of zoning amendments adopted Wednesday by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will make it easier for farms and wineries to sell their products. … Previously, Albemarle restricted the amount of people allowed to attend events held at wineries to no more than 150 people, and restricted such events to no more than 12 a year.   UVA Planning Students audit area food systems : For each of the past five years, students in Tanya Denckla Cobb and Timothy Beatley’s class have examined different aspects of how this community obtains its food.

… There are at least nine Farmers’ Markets in Charlottesville and Albemarle: Charlottesville City Market ( CharlottesvilleCityMarket.com ) Charlottesville Holiday Market Crozet Farmers Market Earlysville Farmers Market Farmers in the Park Forest Lakes Farmers Market Scottsville Farmers Market The Market at Pen Park Whole Foods Farmers Market

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What Kind of Economic Growth should Charlottesville Attract?

in General Real Estate on

important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} #tjp (Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development): 30% of albemarle-charlottesville workforce commutes into the MSA less than a minute ago via txt Brad Ramsey bradramsey

…important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} #tjp : “our local economy is forcing the middle class to get more education or drive elsewhere for work, is that the economy we want” less than a minute ago via txt Brad Ramsey bradramsey

…important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} #tjp : “all of our job growth is coming from health, education, etc, government jobs that limit the number of people paying taxes” less than a minute ago via txt Brad Ramsey bradramsey .bbpBox{background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1272910395/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px ! important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} #tjp : we need to “strategically grow & attract capital intensive, private sector employers that provide career ladder ops for our residents” less than a minute ago via txt Brad Ramsey bradramsey .bbpBox{background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1272910395/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !

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NGIC and DIA – What’s the Impact on the Charlottesville Real Estate Market?

in General Real Estate on

Right Now *, There are: – 289 Homes for Sale within five miles of the NGIC/DIA facility on 29 North. – 113 have “NGIC” in the public remarks. (one of these listings is mine, and it’s GREAT .)

…But understand that obtaining a new clearance, probably higher than TS, for most of the professional jobs at NGIC will be a long process (12 to 18 months), and site security policy may not allow personnel into the building until a clearance is finally granted. In that case, two issues apply. #1, even if it takes 2-4 months and several thousand dollars to relocate, a pre-cleared person from DC or straight out of the uniformed services can come on much faster than Sara’s fresh, uncleared UVa graduate. #2, assuming that fresh, uncleared Hoo gets hired, what’s s/he going to do for the next 12-18 months while awaiting clearance?

…Quite a few people have been moving to and buying homes in the Charlottesville area due to the NGIC/DIA relocation, and I suspect there will be more as the move continues its phase-in over the next few years.

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Nothing Better than Fresh-Picked Strawberries from Crozet

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There’s nothing better than a morning at the orchard with the family, picking strawberries, drinking fresh strawberry milkshakes … Seriously good strawberries from Chiles Orchard in Crozet .

… We’re lucky to have so many local orchards in the Charlottesville area ; making time to take advantage of them is the challenge. Further, now farmers in Albemarle are more free to sell their goods .

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