Routine Maintenance and Repairs are expenses that a lot of homeowners – particularly first time home buyers – neglect to expect. And plan for. Get Rich Slowly talks about some of these items . Planning for Budget Busters – Home Ownership from Adam Baker on Vimeo .
A Shift in Charlottesville Soccer
Update 16 July 2010: Charlottesville’s getting an indoor turf field … at the Ice Park.
Plans are to offer an ice rink for six months of the year, from October through March, and a turf field for the remainder of the year. Visitors to the arena will now be able to take part in both winter and summer sports programs, from public ice skating to indoor soccer and lacrosse.
Courteney Stuart has more at the HooK on Mark Brown, the new owner of the Ice Park.
You probably didn’t hear it, but a shift happened on Sunday in the Charlottesville soccer scene.
Playing and coaching soccer in Charlottesville for years, first coaching one kid from U-8 up and in the process of starting another, playing in SOCA’s adult league for nearly seven years, I have always lamented the lack of soccer league competition. No more.
Last Sunday marked the first week of soccer for CvilleSocial. The early reviews are that it’s fantastic to have soccer competition in Charlottesville. Turf fields. For soccer players in Charlottesville, this is Huge.
The big dog in the Charlottesville soccer scene has (always) been SOCA – the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville. Monticello United has recently offered competition for the youth league as well, but there has never been more than one option for adult soccer in Charlottesville.
Here’s a quick primer on adult soccer in Charlottesville/Albemarle:
SOCA offers Spring and Fall 11 -v- 11, Summer 8 -v- 8 and Winter indoor 5 -v- 5 (our region desperately needs an indoor soccer facility … and there might be hope for that).
CvilleSocial’s Summer offering is 6 -v- 6 on TURF fields. Yep, turf. At the newly-renovated Park at UVA. The Park is located just down the hill from UVA’s Law and JAG schools.
Short Sales VS Strategic Defaults
Which one is harder on your credit? Which one is truly more “strategic”? Must read post from Steve Harney on this subject . stra-te-gic relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them
Second Quarter Charlottesville Real Estate Market Report
The second quarter real estate market report has just been released by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. Happy reading. 2010 2nd Qtr CAAR Market Report
“New” Lead Based Paint Rule Revised
The only way I learned about it was when I saw that the National Association of Home Builders is suing the EPA : (bolding mine) A coalition of housing industry groups joined the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today in announcing plans to file a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for removing the “opt-out” provision from its Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. … Its opt-out provision, which expired July 6, let consumers allow contractors to bypass extra preparation, clean-up and recordkeeping requirements in homes where there were no children under 6 or pregnant women, thus avoiding additional costs. “Removing the opt-out provision more than doubles the number of homes subject to the regulation,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. … Right now* nearly 1/3 of homes on the market in Albemarle – 322 homes – are affected by this rule (as in, they were built before 1978).
Is Inventory in Charlottesville’s Housing Market Really Increasing?
Ignore data prior to November 2009; there was a glitch. The answer to the titled question: Yes. Inventory seems to be increasing. Realistically, (and I’ve said this many times before) we won’t know where we are today until we have the benefit of at least 18 months of hindsight.
I’m Moving to Charlottesville – Should I Rent First?
If you’re unfamiliar with the Charlottesville area, or used to live here and are coming back home, my opinion is that – and I tell my clients this – if you have the luxury, you should absolutely rent for at least six months prior to purchasing. … If you’re searching for rentals in Charlottesville, start here , but please, be aware of craigslist rental scams . … This is a tremendous opportunity for someone … military families (of which we have many now) are used to moving to an area and finding a rental or temporary rental quickly.
…Buying a house in a down market can be a very good thing; buying a house in a market that may have more decline yet to come takes confidence and a bit of faith.