In the light of last week’s Biscuit Run hearing on adding 3000 homes to the Southern part of CharlAlbemarle, I am faced anew with the struggle our region faces, and how to cope with the challenges of being a Realtor who makes my living marketing and selling houses – across the gamut of price ranges …… As a Realtor, I recognize that people move to the Charlottesville area not necessarily because their jobs are moving, but because we are a destination with a reputed high quality of life…. Here is my question on TDRs: If there are 20,000 development rights in the new “boundary area,” what happens if there are 50,000 development rights to that could be sold in the rural area?… So here is the question – what do we want CharlAlbemarle/Central Virginia to look like in fifty years?*Disclosure: I sit on CAAR’s Board of Directors and am the current Chair of the Realtors’ Government Affairs Committee.
Browsing Category Politics
For a bit of hyperbole …
County property assessments rose an average of 30 percent in the last two years, and if the county does not reduce the rate, homeowners will see a corresponding increase in their tax bills……. The schools are one of the main reasons developers can sell houses so well in this area, and yes, the schools are one of the reasons why real estate assessments are rising in this area. We are successful.”Ashby Kindler, principal at Stone-Robinson Elementary, said that not fully funding this year’s school budget would be a step backward.“The proposed tax rate of 68 cents or even 70 cents … threatens to take Albemarle County back, perhaps as much as 20 years,” Kindler said…. Why not advocate for a property tax break for those who own homes and live in the County?Finding balance between the hyperbole and selfish interests is one of the reasons politics are so infuriating.
Subprime mortgages in Charlottesville
There has been a lot of furor the last several weeks about subprime mortgages and the impact that they might/will have on the housing market and the economy as a whole…. The table below can help us ascertain the potential risk (taken in the context of the entire report -pdf):From the report:This study provides the first comprehensive and systematic look at the geographic variations by region and metropolitan area for the soon to be released federal government data covering lending activity in 2005…. These loans are generally more expensive for borrowers with interest rates higher than prevailing prime rates, presumably to compensate lenders for the added risks associated with lending to borrowers with weaker credit histories…. Be prepared.Check out the third slide in this excellent post on tightening lending standards.Business Week’s Map of Misery shows the statewide averages of subprime woes.I have asked a couple of local lenders where I might find this sort of data, with not luck.
Beware of redistricting
This is why I always use the word “probably” when referencing school districts. Unless you can see the school and maybe throw a rock and hit it, there are no guarantees that that desirable Elementary-Middle-High School feeder pattern will remain intact.From today’s DP:“One of the things we’re doing with our Realtors is to say: ‘Please don’t promise folks when they move into the area that they’re going to be in that school for life,’†Behrens said. “In a growing community, in a growing county, you can expect boundary changes if you’re on the fringes…. Our goal is one time during elementary, so that you don’t have to be redistricted back and forth.â€If your Realtor does guarantee that, challenge him.
Home inspections, eminent domain and education
HB2011: Residential Property Disclosure Act; amends required residential property disclosure statementThis is one of the bills that may have the most impact on buyers and sellers of real estate in Virginia…. One of the more interesting changes is the advocacy of the home inspection:(ii) The owner makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property or any improvements thereon, and purchasers are advised to exercise whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary including obtaining a certified home inspection, as defined in § 54.1-500, in accordance with terms and conditions as may be contained in the real estate purchase contract, but in any event, prior to settlement on a parcel of residential real property.HB2064: Salespersons & brokers; Real Estate Board to adopt regulations establishing educational requirement.More education is typically a good thing. SB1296: Eminent domain; not to be used for purpose of economic development or to increase tax revenue.The public position of VAR, and an opposing view…. If a broadband company is expanding into a rural area, and one landowner is stopping that progress, part of me supports the landowner’s right to keep his land and, in turn, harm all of those around him.
Is volunteering worth it?
A wise person told me years ago that, in a multiple offer situation, if there were three Realtors bringing offers, the one known by the listing agent may have a better chance of acceptance due to the Realtors’ prior relationship…. Because of these committees, I consider myself better informed than the average Realtor on many matters that affect my clients – roads, developments, eminent domain, grantors taxes, land use policies and legislation – politics that affect and impact real estate…. For the State, I recently accepted an offer to be on the Public Policy and Governance committee as well as the request to be a Delegate (not really sure what that means yet, other than I have a couple meetings in Richmond throughout the year)…. (I said no to another request – a fleeting feeling of liberation!)Nationally, meeting Realtors and Brokers of the caliber that serve on various Leadership Teams, Presidential Groups, etc. was fascinating (I lucked my way into this committee because of a meeting made through my participation in last year’s Leadership Academy).There are at least two dangers to volunteering and participating so much – 1) Too much time spent away from representing clients in the buying and selling of real estate is fiscally (as well as to my psyche) damaging.
Charlotttesville-Albemarle conflict continues
For those who are relocating to or unfamilar the area, the County of Albemarle surrounds the City of Charlottesville…. asked the City to close Old Lynchburg road immediately as a way to improve the position of the (Albemarle County) Board of Supervisors in their negotiations on Biscuit Run (a proposed 3,500 unit development) as well as to spark acceptance by County residents for additional road interconnections from neighborhoods like Redfields to Route 29. He argued that only if County residents were literally running into a wall at the City line would they then accept the bitter pill of a political decision by the Supervisors to build alternate paths around the City and through some County neighborhoods.It’s interesting to hear councilors complaining about how roads are needed when many of them have been fighting the Meadowcreek Parkway, one of the most-needed roads, for years. People want roads; the localities have neither the money nor the will to build them.The City has closed connector roads before, but not yet to such a major artery as Old Lynchburg Road.