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Jim Duncan's June 2014 Monthly Note

June 2014 Note – 5 Minutes!, the Market, Responsibility and Trust

in Albemarle Charlottesville Monthly Notes on

June’s monthly note begins (really, it begins a day or two after I publish last month’s note and takes shape around now-ish).

The working outline (for now) is coming together.

I have one or two other ideas to include and will likely pull out one or two included in the outline above. Notably, one of the most popular sections/segments/topics is the blog recap, in which I summarize the better of the previous month’s blog posts, both here and for RealCrozetVA. Either way, I’m looking forward to writing this month’s note.

Interested? Two easy clicks here and I’ll send you June’s note when it’s published. Usually the notes are no more than 1500 words. If you do choose to subscribe, you’ll be in great company; my mom usually likes my notes.

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What is the value of a Greenway?

in Albemarle Charlottesville Transportation on

Bikes on a deck in Charlottesville

What is the value of a green way to a buyer in today’s market?

Had an interesting conversation this morning in the Crozet Mudhouse with someone who was noting that the attitude shift toward greenways has shifted significantly in the past 10 years or so.

It used to be that real estate agents and developers and even buyers placed little to no value in having access to a means of passage that was not centered around an automobile.

Today, that attitude has shifted 180°.

Access to bike paths or suitable walking trails (for strollers) is an enormous asset. through my admittedly myopic view as seen through the eyes of my buyer clients who are seeking such access and proximity, and through the eyes of my seller clients who are advocating for the benefits of such access, I would say that the world has shifted in this respect.

In the Charlottesville Albemarle area my view is that the City of Charlottesville is fairly well poised to design and build more greenways and bike paths (hint: West Main). The County of Albemarle needs more will and more money. And they both need to work together to have the respective systems work together.

Worth noting is that the departments within the respective localities are filled with remarkable people doing remarkable work.

The market wants these things.

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30+ Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

in Albemarle Buyers Charlottesville General Real Estate on

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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May 2014 Monthly Note – Puzzles, the Market & Buyers’ Questions

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May 2014 Monthly Note

This month’s note will be published by the end of the week. Promise.

The above is my working, preliminary outline for my Monthly Note – some of the best stuff I write that I don’t publish on blogs … and don’t have the archives publicly available.

Each month I do a “blog recap” of some of the more notable stories on RealCrozetVA and RealCentralVA. I’d like to think that since I’d been writing this monthly note, my writing and focus have improved on all three platforms, and I’d really like to think readers share this sentiment.

Audience: real estate consumers (although some of the best responses come from real estate professionals).

Curious? Interested? Two clicks and you’ll get this month’s note; I think I’ve picked a few great topics this month.

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What do Buyers (Moving to or In) Charlottesville Read?

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

In last month’s Monthly Note I asked – What do you read? One of the best responses was this:

What do I read? The sites I’ve used as we’ve considered where to move include the local newspapers and related sites — just to get an idea about the town and the issues that are important, as well as the economic health and forecasts for the area. As far as real estate specific, not so many. I opened up searches on Trulia a couple years ago to get a feeling for the houses we could afford in a couple areas. I keep tabs on things like greatplacestoretire.com, but I find them more useful in making me feel good about where I’ve chosen than helping me choose someplace out of the blue. Almost all of their recommendations are places I’d never consider for any reason.

I see it as my responsibility to educate my clients as best as I possibly can. Part of that education includes informing clients as to which information sources I’ve found useful and credible and which aren’t. (this is sort of like when I tell clients they don’t want to see a house because it’s awful)

A quick listing of what I tend to advise folks read:

– Charlottesville Tomorrow – hands down, the best source of information on Charlottesville and Albemarle transportation, growth, development news. And their archives don’t disappear.

– CvillePedia – Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Charlottesville wikipedia.

– The Daily Progress – their writing and information seems to have gotten better and more comprehensive in the past few months, although their website is an ad-ridden abomination. Install Adblock plus before you visit their site.

– RealCrozetVA – if you’re thinking about moving to Crozet, I (selfishly) highly recommend reading this. I’ve heard from many people who’ve moved to Crozet that they used the site (and many have said they wished they’d contacted me).

– C-Ville – In the absence of The HooK, C-Ville has become the only other newspaper in Charlottesville.

– Free Enterprise Forum – one of my favorite blogs. Disclosure: sponsored by the Charlottesville Realtor Association and Charlottesville Homebuilders, it has a pro-growth slant (but y’all could figure that out)

– cvillenews – one of the original Charlottesville blogs

A reader commented on my Google+ post:

Blogs: My favorite is Young House Love, and Apartment Therapy is also good (it’s probably better for how to manage a space/issue and less to do with home-buying).

And now I’m awfully curious to know what other blogs and sites my buyers and sellers read – where do you get your advice and insight into the home buying and selling process?
I’m really quite interested in this – too often the real estate “advice” my clients cite is from other markets markets and other states – where real estate business practices are very, very different. Real estate practices are highly localized and knowing the differences and idiosyncrasies matter.

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Building a New Neighborhood in Charlottesville – Lochlyn Hill

in Albemarle Charlottesville Lochlyn Hill on

Community. It’s amazing how many of my buyer clients identify “community” as one of the top three criteria they’re looking for. We’re aiming to build that in a new neighborhood in Charlottesville.

My clients have heard me talk about this “coming neighborhood” for about two years; now dirt is finally moving, roads are going in, utilities are being run and house plans are being finalized.

Lochlyn Hill is a new neighborhood in Charlottesville – 5 minutes to downtown Charlottesville by car, 15 minutes or so by bicycle, with only local (mostly small) builders, with the focus being community and building homes. We’re focusing on building homes – and community – instead of more homes, our goal is to authentically and organically build a neighborhood.

Curious? I’ve posted a FAQ below, but thought you might be surprised (I was) by the view at the entrance to the neighborhood.

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“Where Are you From?” – Something Else Real Estate Agents Can’t Ask

in General Real Estate on

In a transient place like Charlottesville, “Where are you from”? is a common question.

Small talk. Innocuous, right?

The ability to make and sustain small talk is a critical skill held by successful real estate agents – learning about clients and potential clients, asking questions, listening. But. What if innocuous conversation is (wrongly) perceived to be “discriminatory”?

I’ve written many times about and told my clients about the seemingly-absurd limitations imposed on real estate agents regarding fair housing laws. This morning I read the account of a real estate broker in Massachusetts who asked a prospective tenant where she was from – and ended up being fined $60,000. The woman who filed the complaint seemingly suffered emotional distress not merely from being asked the question, but also because she’d been denied an apartment by another real estate broker ostensibly because of her national origin, but also because this case went on apparently for nearly 6 years!

I asked friend and colleague Sarah Stelmok, Principal Nest broker in Fredericksburg and licensed Fair Housing expert for her thoughts. She agreed, with more context:

Besides this being mind-numbingly stupid, here’s the thing; if a customer/ client comes into your office and wants your services, but doesn’t speak English, we are required to get them an interpreter.  If I get someone an interpreter, it’s important for me to know where they are from.  Not all Spanish is Spanish.  Not all Chinese is Chinese.  And, what, exactly, was her distress over the question?  Fair Housing laws in VA clearly state that there has to be a limitation of housing choice.  It doesn’t sound like her choices were limited at all.  What if a Venezuelan agent asked the question?  Would it have been brought to case?  Yes, this is so stupid, it defies any type of common sense.  I feel really bad for this agent.

As a real estate agent, I can’t talk about schools, demographics of neighborhoods, and I know that I can’t ask someone their ethnic background. But it’s ok to analyze and interpret the housing preferences of different ethnicities? (This is a fascinating series by the way – What Home Buyers Really Want: Ethnic Preferences Parts I, II, III, IV.

These laws, while grounded in good intent, have become overreachingly insane speech codes that prevent reasonable people from exercising common sense. But I get it. This is the story I tell my clients that explains the absurd fair housing laws that prevent me from discussing whether there are kids in a particular neighborhood:

A couple of years ago a man called me from out of the blue saying that he was retiring and wanted to move home to Charlottesville. Ok, I can help. And he wanted to do so in a few months. Ok, I can help. And he wanted buyer representation. Ok, I can help. And he wanted an all-white neighborhood. At this point I hung up.

Discrimination is rarely so in-your-face, but reasonable people should be able to discern whether “where are you from?” is being asked in a discriminatory way.

Reasonable?

It is undisputed that Linder violated G. L. c. 151B, § 4(6)(c), and § 1.04(i) of the commission’s amended regulations by inquiring into Mrs. Stokel’s national origin in connection with her and her husband’s application for a new apartment on July 25, 2007. While completing the application process to rent an apartment, Linder asked, `Gladys, where are you from?’ to which Mrs. Stokel responded that she was from Venezuela. The Stokels believed they were discriminated against on the basis of Mrs. Stokel’s national origin and found Linder’s question to be insulting and upsetting. Despite the fact that Linder’s comment was found to have no discriminatory animus and did not result in discrimination, his inquiry itself is a per se violation of the statute and the regulation. Therefore, on appeal Linder only challenges the amount of damages awarded.

To my layman’s reading of the Decision, the harm seems to have come from the aggregate of the rental-search process, not the small talk question asked. But.

I’ll keep practicing carefully on the knife’s edge of fair housing, pointing out signs of children (literally, the “Watch out for Children throughout Neighborhood” signs) as well as others’ descriptions of neighborhoods.

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