Browsing Category Albemarle

Charlottesville, Albemarle and AirBnB

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Great story from Laura Ingles at C-Ville about the growing popularity of AirBnB. The question:

So what are local governments doing?

Airbnb isn’t just for big cities anymore, and neither is the controversy around it. Charlottesville and Albemarle County officials say they don’t plan to wipe out homestay arrangements, but they are interested in making sure renters are doing everything above board. 

Take the time to read the whole thing.

And for a preview of how Charlottesville and other localities may react/respond to AirBnB, watch New York City:

Airbnb, which has already taken down 2,000 accommodation listings in New York from “bad actors,” agreed to warn all new and old hosts in the state that they may be breaking hotel laws.

For the next year, new New York hosts will now have to click through a screen informing them of New York short-term rental restrictions, and messages will be emailed to old hosts as well.

It says that apartments in buildings that have multiple dwellings can’t be rented unless a permanent occupant is present, no money is exchanged, or the stay is longer than 30 consecutive days. It lays out tax information, rent-control regulations, zoning codes and business-licensing rules.

“Lost” revenue aside, I would seek to apply my “don’t be a butthead” rule to the neighbor issue. If you let your space via AirBnB, don’t be a butthead and inconvenience your neighbors. Chances are, if their lives aren’t negatively affected by your making some money, they won’t raise a stink.

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(Search for Homes Near) Wegmans in Charlottesville

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I didn’t intend for this to be a “search for homes near Wegmans” post but as I wrote, I got curious …

Wegmans - via NBC29

Wegmans is seeking to open in Charlottesville next year. This is huge for two reasons:

– Wegmans is coming and those on that side of Charlottesville won’t have to go to Barracks Road or Pantops or 29 North for groceries.

– The connector between Avon Street and 5th Street Extended will be opening to coincide with Wegmans’ opening.

Progress. Although the inevitable segmentation of the Charlottesville-Albemarle area continues. (more on this)

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What Would you Change about the Real Estate Process – Conveying Space

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“You asked in your monthly note about what’s typically missing from real estate listings that you’d most like to see included.”

“

For me, the answer is easy: practical information about the space. Most real estate photos – even the non-terrible ones – try to show off the space aesthetically. You rarely get photos that show off the space functionally. But on a day to day basis, the functionality of the space matters as much or more than the aesthetics. And that’s especially true if you have any sort of accessibility requirements. How narrow are the hallways? How wide are the doorways? How steep are the stairs going down to the basement? Would there be enough space to add a rail on the wall next to the toilet? Etc. These kind of things really matter to me when I’m looking at houses – they matter a lot more than granite countertops or crown molding – but I can almost *never* get information about them from looking at MLS listings.

“

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The 29 Saga Continues

in Albemarle Charlottesville Transportation on

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Decades and decades of planning and fighting about what to do about Route 29 and I’d argue that our region is worse off because nothing substantive has been done other than widening 29 and adding stop lights.

Anyone stepping into the morass that is the evolution of the 29 Corridor would be hard-pressed to make sense of what the County is trying to accomplish. Sean Tubbs at Charlottesville Tomorrow does a good job breaking down where we are right now in the 29 planning process.

A $203 million package of solutions to ease traffic congestion on U.S. 29 through Albemarle andCharlottesville includes one new road, a grade-separated intersection at Rio Road, study of a similar facility at Hydraulic Road, and a down payment on a second daily Amtrak train.

Pictures are worth 1000 words; this concept of what the grade-separated interchanges look like is a start.

There is a public hearing about these 29 alternatives on 27 May. Hopefully people will show up.

I know this; my younger daughter will be driving by the time this thing is halfway started.

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30+ Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

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This week I had the opportunity to talk to a small group of first time homebuyers. In preparing, I asked social media, “What one piece of advice would you give a first-time homebuyer?”

The answers – from clients (recent and not), friends, and good real estate professionals – were outstanding. I’m grateful for their sharing. I thought about highlighting one or two or ranking them in order from best to not-quite-best, but each is the best piece in its own category.

How does one rank these? They’re all really important – and these aren’t even a third of the great advice offered.

– Buy below your means

– Profits are made when purchasing a house not selling

– ignore HGTV

– Pay attention to the things that really matter (layout, size, neighborhood, etc.); don’t focus on aesthetics like paint color and appliances that can be changed.

Have savings after you close; cash solves a lot of future problems

– Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you’re worried they’ll make you sound dumb.

There are a lot more after the break.

Some of the notes I used to prepare and speak: (naturally, in writing this post, I was able to find and references stories I’ve written over the past 9 years)

– When to start? I’d say to engage with a good Realtor and lender about 9-18 months before you’re aiming to close. Take time to learn the area, the market, your life patterns, growth and development patterns. Read all that you can.

– Rent first.

– Always visit the area around your house before you buy – at multiple times of day on multiple days.

– Questions a Realtor can’t answer (related: Big data and civil rights. Also:

– Questions to ask your prospective Buyers Agent (My advice: don’t hire a part-timer) Also: Why hiring family may be a bad idea.

– How to search for homes without a Realtor (in Charlottesville)

– Assembling the team. How your Realtor helps assemble the necessary A-Team.

– Work with a local lender. These are the two I tend to recommend the most.

– How to choose the right buyers agent (hint: it’s sort of like dating)

– I highly recommend reading RealCentralVA and, if you’re interested in Crozet, RealCrozetVA. But at the very least, please do subscribe to my monthly note, in which I summarize the best posts from the previous month, among other original stories. In fact, the quote I read during the talk from a buyer client was published in my monthly note.

And because I’m writing this post purely as advice from a real estate professional, my name is Jim Duncan. I’m a real estate agent. I’m a partner at Nest Realty in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Call or email me anytime with questions – even ones you think are dumb.

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Costco Coming to Charlottesville, Bringing Traffic With It

in Albemarle Charlottesville Transportation on

Who woulda thunk that dropping 150,000 square feet of retail would bring traffic with it? The Stonefield shopping center is challenging at best to navigate – from Trader Joe’s to Pasture, for example, and is remarkably so for a pedestrian (I haven’t yet tried to bicycle there as 29 is scary).

If you’re curious to read some of the background, these are some of the stories I was writing in 2006 about Stonefield, which was originally called Albemarle Place.

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