Yes.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Charlottesville area, or used to live here and are coming back home, my opinion is that – and I tell my clients this – if you have the luxury, you should absolutely rent for at least six months prior to purchasing.

Why rent instead of buy?

Simple – you may not like where you live and selling is a lot harder to do than changing leases.

What do you want to be “close to”? Work? Gym? (which one?) Will the kids swim? Play soccer? Baseball? Where are practices? Which school is best?

If you’re searching for rentals in Charlottesville, start here, but please, be aware of craigslist rental scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If you are considering buying in the Charlottesville area, do your research. Learn how to search for homes in Charlottesville yourself. Educate yourself about the area (don’t reinvent the wheel).

But here’s the challenge – finding short-term rentals in Charlottesville is difficult at best. This is a tremendous opportunity for someone … military families (of which we have many now) are used to moving to an area and finding a rental or temporary rental quickly. Our area does not easily lend itself to this practice.

Why does a Realtor advise renting rather than buying?

Easy – I want my clients to be happy – happy with where the live and how they live.

Buying a house in a down market can be a very good thing; buying a house in a market that may have more decline yet to come takes confidence and a bit of faith. The Charlottesville area is a great place to live; find where is key.

Make no mistake – moving twice sucks. I’ve done it. But living in an area you don’t love is worse.