Date Archives November 2013

Monthly Note – December 2013

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December's note

In February of this year, I wrote my first monthly note. I’d like to think that I’ve shared some useful knowledge and insight about the Charlottesville real estate market, the practice of real estate and other, tangential subjects. I know this – one of the most clicked-on parts has been the “blog recap” in which I summarize some of the better posts from RealCentralVA and RealCrozetVA. Above all, I’ve loved writing these notes and I hope I’ve been able to convey that through my writings. Aside from the writing, the best part has been the one-on-one interaction readers have shared – the format of the note is such there are no comments, but a lot of readers have chosen to reply to the note, and that’s enormously gratifying.

With that preface, the early outline of December’s note (lamentably, I suspect this will exceed my goal of no more than 1500 words)

– The market (I start all the notes with this)

– An interesting home inspector update

– A great builder anecdote

– Agent reviews (the current hubbub about AgentMatch) – determining the “best” real estate agent for you entails more than data.

– Life after being on the Realtor Board of Directors

– Brief recap of some of my favorite stories from this year’s notes

If you find subscribing to my blogs by email cumbersome (three-four emails a week from one site would be cumbersome for me too) – please consider subscribing to my monthly note.

Update: published late last night; at 2,000+ words, it’s the longest ever (and I’ll return to sub-1500 words in January). My monthly note really is where I write my best stuff.

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What is “Usual and Customary” in Charlottesville? – Part 2

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Ipswich, Waterfront, Ipswich Campus, The Big Question Mark Sculpture

Part 2 of 2. Part 1 is here.

Continuing the “what is usual and customary” question and answer series …

What’s “normal” in the Charlottesville real estate market? It’s a question that’s asked of me by buyers coming from other markets (agents, too) and sellers who haven’t sold a house before (or for many years). Note: what you see on HGTV is not what is “usual and customary” in the Charlottesville market. (or any market on Planet Earth).

“Usual and customary” is always changing. Radon inspections weren’t usual and customary a couple years ago; now they are. Heck, buyer agency wasn’t usual and customary 15 years ago.

Q: — Who attends the home inspection? Appraisal? Termite/Radon inspections?

A: A buyer’s agent attends all of these, with the home inspection being far more important for them to be onsite than for the termite or radon inspections. Meeting the appraiser can be tricky – sometimes if the appraiser has a lockbox key and MLS access, we never get the call to schedule. I try to meet all appraisers onsite, as I like to pick their brains about what they’re seeing in the market as they see the market through a different lens than I do.

Q: Recording and possession. Is recording done the same day as closing? Are keys transferred when closing docs are signed or when transaction is recorded?

A: Usually recording and possession happens on the same day, although I advise my buyers to not have a moving truck on the front lawn the afternoon of closing … I’ve had this happen, something went wrong and many tears were shed, curse words flew, phone calls made and a few nights in a hotel for the buyer highlighted why I advise what I do. Frequently the keys are given to the buyer at closing, with strict instructions to not enter the property until recordation has occurred.

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Have a Favorite Charlottesville Food Truck?

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The number of food trucks in Charlottesville seems to be growing every day. When last I wrote about them in 2011, there weren’t quite so many. Now, there are way more. I see them all over Charlottesville and frequently at Starr Hill in Crozet, but I tend to either not have the time to stop or I see the food trucks before or after they’re serving. But they intrigue me.

Life would be easier if all of the food trucks in Charlottesville had twitter accounts (here’s a list of the ones I found who are on Twitter) – better yet, if they’d update their twitter accounts and if someone would do a food trucks map …

Thanks to @CorcoranGroup, I’ve created a Foursquare list to which we can all contribute. (Social media is great when it works; thanks Matthew)

After the break is a non-comprehensive list of the food trucks in the Charlottesville area, plus a Storify that led to the list. If I’m missing one, please let me know.

What do you think? Have a favorite?

Interesting, two Charlottesville places are trying to raise money on Kickstarter for their food truck offerings – Blue Ridge Pizza and The Flat Creperie – both of which offer delicious food. (I pledged a little bit to each as well)

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Tips for First Time Home Buyers (in Charlottesville)

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Actually, these are some great tips for buyers – first time or repeat – anywhere.

About a month ago I was contacted by Scott Riley, author of Homebuyer Nation, “where first time homebuyers hangout,” and he asked a question – “what is a unique piece of advice I give to my (first time) homebuyers.” While I shared Jeremy’s thought that I’d answer and never hear from him again, I answered. And then was surprised when I Scott sent me a link to the post. Then I was super-happy to see the other 31 contributors to the piece were almost all people from around the country that I’ve both heard of and think highly of (a hard thing to on the inter webs).

What I’m getting at is this – if you’re looking for some great tips for preparing for the home buying process, spend a few minutes looking through the questions at his post, 32 Home Buying Tips from Some of the World’s Most Popular Realtors. What I like best is that the advice given is useful – slow down, take your time, don’t fall in love, don’t buy too much house, use a local lender, use a full-time Realtor – all tips that are practical, applicable and frankly, good.

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What is “Usual and Customary” in Charlottesville? – Part 1

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate Stupid Real Estate Questions - AKA: What are the questions you think you should know but have never asked? on
Question Mark Graffiti


Part 1 of 2.

What’s “normal” in your market may not be (and probably isn’t) normal in the Charlottesville real estate market.

So what’s “normal” in the Charlottesville real estate market? It’s a question that’s asked of me by buyers coming from other markets (agents, too) and sellers who haven’t sold a house before (or for many years). Note: what you see on HGTV is not what is “usual and customary” in the Charlottesville market. (or any market on Planet Earth).

“Usual and customary” is always changing. Radon inspections weren’t “usual and customary” a couple years ago; now they are. Heck, buyer agency wasn’t usual and customary 15 years ago.

Tina, a colleague in the Nest Blacksburg office, asked a few questions and naturally I felt the answers would be well-served to be posted here, particularly for buyers moving to the Charlottesville area and for sellers who may be moving to other market and not have relevant experience selling a home in our market. Answers are mine.

Q: Do agents use a standard contract? If so, is it the VAR (Virginia Association of Realtors) contract, one provided by your Realtor Association, or a combination of both?

A: Most Realtors in the Charlottesville area use the VAR contract for almost all of our forms, including home inspection, radon etc. We tend to craft specific addenda as needed.

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JM Stock + Provisions

A Great Addition to Charlottesville – JM Stock + Provisions

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This is the type of place that makes Charlottesville a cool and great place to live – local food and people, beautiful space and wonderful service.

A friend alerted me to the new butchers on West Main the other day – JM Stock Provisions + Supply. Today I stopped in for some bacon, and had a great conversation with Matt and Alex, the proprietors. Genuine, nice guys who know what they’re doing. As Chip on Yelp said, “JM Stock is what a store should be.”

I’ll be back – for more bacon and more conversation to learn about what these guys do.

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