Posts Published by Jim Duncan

A Charlottesville Realtor who tries to stay on the bleeding/cutting/functional edge of technology and real estate trends. I have been selling real estate for the past 10 years, lived in C'Ville for twenty+ and am married to one of few Charlottesville natives left.

Nest Realty Group Pulls in Another Award

And we’re even getting a netbook to prove it . Nest Realty was awarded with an HP Realtor Technology Award last week at the National Association of Realtors conference in San Diego. HP honored 5 brokerages across the country that used technology in and out of the office to gain a competitive advantage. Other winners included brokers from California, Ohio, Idaho, and Minnesota.

Read More

Toy Lift in Charlottesville 2009

Provide toys and books to area children ages newborn through 8th grade Seek charitable contributions of money, toys, books and other needed items Seek volunteer assistance from the community Not interfere with any governmental or community agencies already assisting area children The Foundation’s service area includes the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Nelson, and Orange.

…This allows us to identify those families that may not already be part of “the system,” but may be experiencing circumstances that make this year particularly difficult. For example, a family that has had a parental death this year and mom couldn’t even imagine trying to pull together Christmas might not meet any financial criteria, but the school personnel that know this family can identify them for us. They can also help us find those families who may have a very recent job loss, an accident or crisis such as a fire, or a sudden family burden.

Read More

Electronic Signatures for Real Estate Transactions

I’ve been using electronic signatures for a few weeks now, and they have been tremendously helpful – saving gas, time and energy. Instead of faxing, emailing, printing, scanning … my buyer and seller clients have clicked to sign . … Now it appears that Docusign , thanks to an investment by the NAR’s Second City Ventures , is going to ramp up their development and will be spreading their reach through the Realtor world. … I expect Second City Ventures to have a better definition of “investment” than the US Treasury .

Read More

Walkability on 29 North – A Work in Progress?

The Neighborhood Model may list “pedestrian orientation” at the very top of its 12 Principles for Development, but it’s in the county’s subdivision and zoning regulations where the rubber—so to speak—meets the road. … “Right now we can’t require sidewalks on all streets in the development areas,” says Elaine Echols, a principal planner with the county. … Until we get our zoning regulations changed to make it a requirement,” she says—a project she and her staff are working on right now—walker-friendly development is not as ironclad a guideline as the Neighborhood Model would suggest. I know this – more and more of my clients want to walk places – coffee shops, grocery stores, schools, friends’ houses – and the County and developers are negligent in not following through in their plans.

Read More

Charlottesville’s OpenSpace gets cVillain Love

From cVillain : Jeff Gunther has a slightly different idea for a slightly different workforce here in Charlottesville. For many local mobile warriors, turning wherever you find yourself into a workspace is the status-quo. However, without access to printers, actual desk space, big screen monitors, and conference rooms, Java Java can’t quite provide all we may require (love the mochas though). Jeff’s idea started with the build out of the new office space located near ACAC in the warehouse district, and extended to provide all that an employee without tethers could require.

Read More

Bing Maps Versus Google Maps in Charlottesville

I just got off the phone (although I have Skype , too) with a client overseas who had been questioning whether the railroad near the Belvedere development was abandoned. She answered her own question when she said, “I’m looking at it now, and it appears that it’s still in use – there aren’t any weeds growing over the tracks .” I know I’m a “tech savvy Realtor” and all, but that statement still blows me away, as does the fact that Bing is winning the mapping race in Charlottesville right now. This year I have worked with a fair number of international buyers, and my tools to work with them have become better and more efficient.

Read More

Affordable Housing in CharlAlbemarle – Treesdale Park

The development is moving forward off of Rio Road (it’s not done yet; it still needs site plan approval) … … AHIP plans to construct three multi-story buildings which will contain a mix of both two and three-bedroom apartments. Treesdale Park will also be sustainably constructed and certified through EnergyCraft and EnergyStar to further minimize maintenance burdens for its residents. As an aside, Bing’s Birds-Eye view is pretty fantastic, but their sharing tools are pathetic. Map of Treesdale Affordable Housing Development in Charlottesville Whereas Google allows easy embedding: View Larger Map

Read More