Charlottesville's Real Estate Blog. Buyer &/or Seller Representation, Real Estate News
Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that the Albemarle County planning commission recommended approval for the Costco gas station. In a completely non-snarky way, I’m wondering how what input the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board will have as to how to integrate Costco and its gas station so that it is compatible with surrounding “historic sites“. Some googling reveals some fairly generic designs … Low expectations may be in order.
Also, will this Costco have solar panels?
My once-a-month note is 99% ready and I’ll be sending it out today. If you’re interested in stuff I don’t publish elsewhere or if the posting schedule of my blog is too frequent, this could be just the read you’re looking for (and don’t know you’re missing!)
The only consistent feature is a quick market roundup; everything else is varied – some real estate, some not.
If you’re interested, you can subscribe here. (remember – it’s a two-step process)
Update: It’s done. If you’re interested, sign up and I’ll send it to you asap.
I can’t imagine that we won’t see charging stations in at least one new Charlottesville neighborhood in the next two years.
UVA has a charging station on in the parking garage on Central Grounds. And apparently Colonial Nissan has a charging station as well. The new Arden Place apartments have an EV plug. I thought I’d heard that the new Stonefield shopping center would have one.
But … which neighborhood will have charging stations? Which builder will offer them first? If the cost is really about $200, it seems like a no-brainer option, right?
Here’s hoping the City of Charlottesville doesn’t take this upon themselves to legislate as Palo Alto just has … we’re not close to Tesla, after all.
The city council in Palo Alto, California, unanimously voted Monday night to make a small change to the city’s building code that signals a big shift in the future of private transportation. Now, every new home constructed in town will have to come pre-wired with the ability to charge electric vehicles, a move designed to ensure the city that’s home to cutting-edge car-maker Tesla will also be home to the EV industry’s early-adopting consumers.
I’ve written this for years. And Jay at Zillow has written it in a way that hopefully now consumers will lend credence to my words: (bolding mine)
But (a Zestimate is) not accurate enough to determine what price to set for a home about to go on the market, or what price to offer on a home. The Zestimate isn’t intended to be used like that.
One day though, Zillow might be right(er).
Zillow is awfully popular though.
So, thanks Jay for the post. 🙂
Update 1 October 2013:
Federal Housing Administration

HUD’s Contingency Plan states that FHA will endorse new loans in the Single Family Mortgage Loan Program, but it will not make new commitments in the Multi-family Program during the shutdown. FHA will maintain operational activities including paying claims and collecting premiums. Management & Marketing (M&M) Contractors managing the REO portfolio can continue to operate. You can expect some delays with FHA processing.
Update 2, 1 October 2013 – lending seems to be ok in face of the shutdown, for the most part. A greater challenge will be the IRS –
A less-talked about impact of the shutdown on housing is the impact on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The IRS has announced they will not process any forms, including the issuing of tax return transcripts (Form 4506 T). The Social Security Administration will retain a skeleton staff, but may prioritize new claims, resulting in difficulties in verifying Social Security numbers.
Some lenders and brokers have been able to race to get these documents certified for loans they currently have in the pipeline before the shutdown.
…
But new mortgage applications may face delays without these crucial documents. So far, secondary market participants, including Fannie and Freddie, have been unwilling to alter or suspend overlay requirements which require these documents in order for a loan to be sold onto their books.
The biggest threat is uncertainty. And decreased confidence in the market and the government. That said …
So the government might shut down … so what? (with respect to real estate). VAR Buzz has a starter:
Fannie and Freddie will continue to operate. They aren’t funded by the government; they make their money via fees.
However, FHA, VA, and USDA loan applications won’t be processed.
Using current data from the Charlottesville MLS, about 18% of all transactions in the Charlottesville MSA would be potentially directly affected by a government shutdown, assuming the above is accurate (and I believe it is). Again, right now, there appear to be about 500 homes under contract in the Charlottesville MSA. Carry out the math and we’re looking at about 100 transactions likely to be affected.
CNN:
If an application for an FHA-insured loan has not been approved by the time of the shutdown, it will have to wait until after the shutdown ends.
FHA-backed loans accounted for 45% of all mortgages used to purchase homes issued in 2012, according to the Federal Reserve. The FHA alone insures about 60,000 loans a month.
FHA loans in Charlottesville presumably account for nearly 9% of transactions. So far this year, per the Charlottesville MLS, VA loans have made up about 6% of all transactions, USDA about 4%.
Nearly 20% of transactions might not seem like a lot – until you’re one of those FHA, VA or USDA buyers – or sellers waiting for the FHA loan to fund and close. Then that’s all that matters. Everything is affected when these are delayed – movers, attorneys, real estate agents, utilities, jobs, schools, household goods – everything.
Update: per @rqd and then USA Today – more uncertainty.
43. Does that mean I can’t get an FHA mortgage? No. The Federal Housing Administration says it “will endorse new loans under current multi-year appropriation authority in order to support the health and stability of the U.S. mortgage market.”
44. Does that mean I can’t get a VA mortgage? No. The Department of Veterans Affairs says loans are funded via user fees and should continue. However, during the last shutdown, “loan Guaranty certificates of eligibility and certificates of reasonable value were delayed.”
Some of the things I’m reading this morning trying to educate myself:
This is only about 15 minutes from Downtown Crozet (by car) and about an hour or so on a bicycle.
I took this photo on yesterday morning’s bicycle ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s easy to forget the beauty we have surrounding us.
This week The HooK closes its doors, and Charlottesville returns to being a one-weekly-town. This is a remarkable look back at 12 years of The HooK – some massive stories that have shaped Charlottesville. Thanks to all at the HooK – those I know personally and those I don’t – you’ve added great value to Charlottesville.