Our listing, Still Ridge Farm in the Shenandoah Valley, was selected as the Wall Street Journal’s House of the Day last Thursday. On Friday, it was put up for public vote against some very stiff competition as the Wall Street Journal’s House of the Week. The competitors were a triplex with a rooftop terrace overlooking Paris, an architecturally designed townhome in Manhattan and a retreat overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand. Still Ridge beat out the competition! This is the type of marketing and exposure we like to produce for our seller clients. Selling Virginia Farms with Great Marketing is what sets Gayle Harvey Real Estate apart from the competition.
Author: Gayle
Charlottesville Home Inspectors
Virginia is a caveat emptor (buyer beware) state, so we encourage all of our buyers to do their due diligence as a contingency in their purchase contract. One of the most common inspections is the home inspection. We thought it would be of interest to run a series on the various home inspectors in the area, so that when the time comes, you will easily be able to select the inspector that meets your needs and you feel the most comfortable with. This quarter we are introducing Jim Quisenberry of Cavalier Home Inspections located in Charlottesville.
1. What is your background as it relates to conducting home inspections?
I spent 30 years in the building supply and lumber business as well as I built my own home.
2. How long have you been inspecting homes?
I have been inspecting homes for the last 11 years have done approx 2700 inspections.
3. What is the most common problem you see around Charlottesville when conducting home inspections?
The most common things we see are safety issues, maintenance issues and water intrusion issues.Examples: Smoke detectors not working, Filters not being changed regularly or no service on heating and cooling systems. The water intrusion issues are generally landscaping problems or gutters not working.
4. What are the three things that you would suggest all homeowners to do to keep their home in good shape?
Have HVAC systems serviced. Keep the landscaping and trees trimmed off of the house and perform general maintenance.
5. What areas do you cover? Do you have any specialties?
The area I cover is where ever I’m needed. I have done inspections in as far away as Culpeper, Staunton, Amherst and Goochland.
Charlottesville Real Estate Third Quarter 2015 Report
The latest statistics for the real estate sales in Charlottesville for the third quarter of 2015 can be found here .
Buying Charlottesville Va Real Estate
Buying a Home: The Dos and Don’ts
Buying real estate is a unique and singular experience. You trust a house with the essential task of containing everything you hold dear…from your physical belongings to the people you love to your intangible experiences and everything in between. It’s difficult to look at your home like a material possession; it honestly has more in common with commitments like getting married or having children. And like both of these institutions, there are all kinds of implications wrapped up in buying a home. While we can’t claim to be marriage counselors or child psychologists, we do know a bit about Charlottesville Va real estate, so we’d like to present our list of dos and don’ts on the subject of buying a home.
Do scope out the neighborhood. If you’re interested in, say a cattle or horse farm in central Virginia, chances are you’ll be sitting on a fair amount of acres…but neighbors aren’t the only consideration. Try doing your daily commute. If you’re looking at farms in Madison County and you have to be in Charlottesville a few times a week, see how far your potential property is down Rt. 29. After all, once you get the house, you’ll be making the drive regularly. Got kids? How far is the nearest school? What about things like soccer practice or piano lessons? How far is the nearest grocery store, hospital, Tastee Freeze, etc? The schools matter whether or not you have children…good schools are good for property values. Things like rankings and surrounding attractions are also worth attention. Both Charlottesville and Virginia have received accolades, contending that they are among the best places to live. So for someone looking at homes in Albemarle County or any property in the Greater Charlottesville area, this is a very good thing to know.
Don’t make any big financial moves when you’re looking into buying a place. Honestly, for the first six months before and after you buy your new place, we recommend keeping your assets as liquid as possible. Beforehand, you don’t want anything to interfere with your credit profile should you be obtaining a mortgage. The lenders want to see that you’re reliable, rock-steady. They want to see your paper trail. This makes it easier to get a loan. As far as after you buy the home…you never know what kind of unexpected expenses will crop up and how big a dent they’ll make in your budget. Sleeper costs are difficult to plan for; when we buy a home we tend to focus on the mortgage. But we’re talking about things like property taxes, utilities, homeowner association dues, repairs, maintenance, etc. You may eventually see the need for more permanent repairs, especially if you’re trying to get some use out of your property. Landscaping is not cheap, and once you get to know the land, you’ll better understand what it needs. Until then, try and keep your money where it is.
Do get pre-approved for your home loan if you’re planning to obtain one. This is much more involved than simply getting pre-qualified. Pre-qualification comes after you give a bank or lender your financial information. They’ll give you a rough idea of what you can expect out of the housing market based on your assets, income, debt, etc. It’s a quick procedure, often done over the phone or online, and that should be an indication of how much (or how little) weight it carries. Getting pre-approved is far more involved. It requires an extensive application (and an application fee) and a thorough financial background check. After this, a lender can give you the specific mortgage amount for which you qualify. After pre-approval, you get a conditional commitment amount which allows you to shop for a house at or below that price point. It’s good for you and for prospective sellers; you don’t have to waste your time looking at homes beyond your means, and they don’t have to waste time waiting for you to actually obtain financial backing. It simply gives you a leg up over other potential buyers who have to go to a bank/lender after they find the house of their dreams.
Don’t try to time the market. We get it…if you’re on this website, it obviously means you’re looking at Charlottesville Va real estate, but it also means you’re are doing your homework. But even for us professionals, it’s pretty difficult to predict market flux, especially within a year’s time. But some things never change. You know what you want out of a house and you know when it feels right. If it’s in your price range, just go for it. Holding out for a better deal or more favorable market conditions may work out for you, but it could also backfire if something unexpected happens. Either way you could drive yourself crazy trying to find the perfect time to buy. A hint: the perfect time is as soon you have your ducks in a row and you’ve found a house that perfectly matches your personality, financial situation, and needs. It just feels right. Act now.
Do get a survey done on the land, before you buy. You want to know exactly where the property lines are, and you want to be able to point to them on a map. This is important for several reasons. If you’re looking at say, a home in Albemarle County, chances are your neighbors have been there a while. You want to stay cordial with them and make sure both parties have a good grasp of boundaries and are aware of any easements. Also, quite often title insurance companies will require a current survey in order to insure the property lines.
Don’t become attached to a house for the wrong reasons. Don’t go for the biggest house on the block or the farmland with the most acres (unless you’re going to use ‘em!). These mega-properties only appeal to a limited number of potential buyers, and you don’t want to limit your pool of applicants come resale time. If you’ve paid one and a half million for your property, and the surrounding landowners have paid $750,000, the potential appreciation on your own property is limited. This next part may go without saying, but you want to make sure every step in your decision-making process is grounded in reason and logic. You want to think critically about everything and resist the urge to act on emotion. We’re not saying you should ignore your instincts; those are probably what put you in the enviable position of potential homeownership in the first place. Instincts are important, but if we can attempt to separate the idea of instinct from the idea of impulse, we’ll have come a long way. Don’t fall in love with a coat of paint or the way a landscaping job looks. These items are not really unique to the property, it just happens to be presented in the right way. You can apply that coat of paint to that other house you were looking at…you know, the home in Albemarle County just minutes away from the place where you go horseback riding four times a week. The one that’s a third of the price. Okay, that place doesn’t have a hanging row of begonias lining the facade, or the awesome man cave that you fell in love with. But with the money you save, it sure could.
Brew Ridge Trail
When almost two hundred and fifty years ago our third president cast eye and hand upon the land of his new central Virginia property, among the rugged, rolling shapes and verdant hues of the land in the Greater Charlottesville area, he envisioned many things, certainly. A university, to serve the community’s intellectual needs, Palladian architecture for grace and, of course…a 40-mile beer-fueled drive through the scenic byways of land in central Virginia, from the ridges of Nelson through Albemarle County and into historic Charlottesville.
If that last one seems odd to you, you’re probably not hip to the Brew Ridge Trail, an informal, “self-guided” brewery tour that spans some of the hottest beer makers in Virginia (they may be offering official tours by now). If this is the Age of the Craft Brew, this stretch of land through central Virginia is your local Mecca. The area, long celebrated for its vineyards, has a burgeoning microbrew scene. Note: We at Gayle Harvey Real Estate DO NOT in any way condone or encourage the operation of an automobile after consumption of alcohol. Designated drivers are your friends. Here is a list of drivers in the area.
You can start at either end or in the middle, but for simplicity’s sake, we’re going to start in Charlottesville proper with the newly-renovated South Street Brewery, on Water Street. This brewery, just footsteps away from the Mall, is sitting on some prime Charlottesville real estate. It’s a brewery with a full bar! Since being purchased by Blue Mountain Brewery last year, South Street has cultivated more of a sports bar vibe with its vast array of television screens. Their flagship beer is the Satan’s Pony, a solid amber ale with a dark red color, a sweet smell of toasted malt and caramel. It’s fairly well-balanced between malt and hops, perhaps a little on the sweeter side. Perhaps their most interesting beer at the moment is a Russian Imperial Stout called Anastasia’s Chocolate Fantasy, which has a big taste to match the name. This beer is quite dark as expected, with a couple reddish-brown glimmers and a sandy-colored head. Aroma-wise, it smells of dark fruits, chocolate, and a hint of roasted coffee. At a whopping 10%, it may be a one-and-done if you are to continue the tour. Fitting in with the sports bar atmosphere, South Street has typical bar fare…wings, burgers, club sandwiches etc. They also have quite a few incarnations of mac-and-cheese. $2 Tuesdays
Next up, we get to the Starr Hill Brewery out in Crozet. It’s a pleasant jaunt on Rt. 250, and as you pass through various pieces of property in Albemarle County, you ditch the city feel and start to grasp at the beauty of the surrounding areas. We’re not even in Nelson yet. Starr Hill is a straightforward brewery with a tasting bar. Their tours are more frequent than South Street, and they don’t serve food. However there are usually food trucks parked outside, most of them quite good. They will sometimes get a live band (there have been some killin’ jazz trios) but beer is what’s on the menu: it’s a bottling/packing plant with a couple beers on draft. The Northern Lights is probably the most consistent beer and it’s a solid little IPA. Smells of pine, maybe flowers. Pours a dark golden brown with suggestive hints of grapefruit and other citrus. Very drinkable if you’re not a huge fan of IPAs, but if you are, we’d go with the Double Platinum, an Imperial IPA. Considering the fact that it comes in at 8.6%, its flavor yields a pretty even blend of citrus and hops, and the smell is quite subtle. The Love is a Hefeweizen which, like the other two is offered year-round. It’s a cloudy, wheaty brew, brimming with coriander and banana. If it were a little lighter it’d make a great session beer, but either way it’s pretty easy on the load. Pick up a sixer while you’re here and hit the road (with a sober driver, of course).
The trail takes us next into the scenic byways of Nelson, one of the most beautiful places in the state. Nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the sweeping views can’t be beat, and with your beer goggles on, you’re in a great position to enjoy the effulgence of land in Nelson County. Blue Mountain Brewery is arguably the powerhouse of the Brew Ridge, serving up the most consistently delicious beer in the most picturesque location. Their commitment runs so deep that they farm their own hops on two fields in Afton and small yard in Arrington. They’ve also got a second, newer location where they work with special, more time-intensive beers: the Blue Mountain Barrel House is technically a part of the tour but we may skip it…for functionality purposes. Blue Mountain’s undisputed flagship beer is the Full Nelson, a golden American Pale Ale, slightly cloudy hoppier than you’d expect. Its aroma gives out notes of citrus, toasted grain and definitely some caramel, but again it’s far less sweet than you have reason to believe. Taste-wise, the citrus comes on at first, with a bitter finish almost like grapefruit rind. Almost tastes more like a watered-down IPA than a pale ale, but it’s delicious nonetheless. The Kolsch 151 is an impressive contribution, if for no other reason than the fact that it’s impressive for an American brewery to pull this one off. It is pale yellow, with a light and unobtrusive bread smell…crisp and clean, very German. All their food is also made from scratch; they’re known for their specialty pizzas and a gluten-free menu that’s pretty good considering their main export is beer.
A casual couple of miles, past some breathtaking vistas and altogether idyllic rolling hills, and we’re at Wild Wolf Brewery. It’s a great spot for sure, and their heated auxiliary tent structure makes it a viable option at different points in the year. It’s more of a restaurant than a brewery; they prize the farm-to-fork ideology, and it really works for them. Their pulled pork nachos (appetizer) and tacos (main course) are two fun, creative dishes that really highlight the local fare. The shrimp and grits dish is absurdly good, and the grits are quite local (from the nearby Woodson’s Mill). But this is the BREW Ridge Trail. The Blonde Hunny is an interesting brew indeed. It’s almost polyamorphous…the “blonde” and “honey” aspects are readily apparent. If you like wheat beers you’ll probably dig this…it comes out golden amber, slightly cloudy as wheat beers are, and its smell is unassuming. But the full body and 6.8% ABV make it a formidable winter companion as well.
And our last stop…Devil’s Backbone. Like Wild Wolf, this gives off a “restaurant-turned-brewery” vibe. Most, if not all of these breweries have a seasonal pumpkin offering, but the Pumpkin Hunter from Devil’s Backbone is worth mentioning. It doesn’t overdo the pumpkin thing, and the smells are aromatic without being overwhelming. You get the bread, the warm malt flavors and of course pumpkin, vanilla, a little clove and cinnamon. Taste-wise, the vanilla and pumpkin waft up through the toasty bread vibes and balance everything out. Truly a pumpkin beer worth checking out. And of course you can’t mention a brewing company without mentioning one of its year-round beers. The Vienna Lager was a big hit for Devil’s Backbone and it still delivers. Its dark, amber-colored appearance belies the toasted caramel flavor. There are hints of bitterness, nuttiness, suspended between the fruity finishes and slight caramel bite.
So there you have it…by now the only drink we’re contemplating is a tall glass of Alka-Seltzer. But throughout the course of human history, there have been graver sacrifices made in the name of research. So we would do it all again…for science.
Yet Another Reason to Move to Charlottesville
Charlottesville is on the list of countless “Best Small Towns in America” lists due its beautiful landscape, university community, and cultural scene. Why not add yet another great reason to the list? This summer, Charlottesville joined the elite group of US Gigabit Cities. Now what in the world does that mean?
“Gigabit Internet service refers to data uploads and downloads of up to a gigabit (or 1,000 megabits) per second. For those without an engineering degree, that is very, very fast. It puts Charlottesville on par with other pioneering US cities like Chattanooga, Tennessee and Lafayette, Louisiana, along with world-leading cities like Seoul, Stockholm and Tokyo. It creates a huge competitive advantage for Charlottesville businesses. It allows every member of a Charlottesville household to be streaming, gaming, video conferencing and browsing at the same time. It facilitates healthcare and fosters education.” Ting.com
The service is provided by Ting, a subsidiary of Tucows Inc. If you live in the Charlottesville area, you can enter your address on Ting’s local website to see if your neighborhood or street has received service.
This map posted in September 2015 shows the current areas and future roll-out plans for the city:
Ting anticipates to have coverage for the entire city of Charlottesville by the end of 2016.
What excites us most at Gayle Harvey Real Estate is the link between Gigabit service and home values. Having homes (and an entire city with the infastructure) installed with the fastest internet available in the world is sure to increase property values!
The installation fee is approximately $400 but sure to be an upgrade to your property with a high ROI.
We are excited to see how quickly the service expands to service the neighboring counties.
Virginia Ranked #1 Best State in Which to Retire
If you’ve lived in Virginia a while, you’ve probably known this all along. But for those unfamiliar with or thinking about moving to the Old Dominion, know this: Virginia has been rated the best state in the country for retirees. This retirement index, compiled by the financial firm LPL Research, evaluates a state’s “retirability” based on the following six factors that are weighted differently:
1. Financial (35%): cost of living, median household income, private sector retirement assets, state pension funds relative to pension obligations/tax burden
2. Healthcare (20%): Access to, cost of. Healthcare expenditures and % of 45-64 covered by health insurance
3. Housing (15%): Home ownership rate, median home price list/rent list price, nursing home costs
4. Community Quality of Life (10%): # of heating days, % of home foreclosures, % of people with over 60 minute commutes, % of people living in poverty, violent crimes per 100,000 people
5. Employment and Education (10%): % of 45-64 year olds with college degrees, % of employees with health insurance
6. Wellness (10%): life expectancy, % of adults over 18 who are physically active, who are smokers, who are obese
Virginia was ranked 1st in community quality of life, 5th in financial, 10th in employment and education and 1st overall. So let’s take a look at the things that prospective retirees consider when choosing a place to relocate, and what makes Virginia a good fit.
The New York Times cites a report which estimates that as many as “57% of baby boomers say they plan to move into a new home in retirement” (Hanon ). It makes sense; this is a brand new phase of your life, and the circumstances that made your old home ideal may no longer be in play. The things you wanted in a locale in your 20s and 30s are not the same things you need out of your residence now. Of those 57% surveyed, 39% said they wanted to relocate to a small town or rural community. There are many offerings in Virginia, from the sprawling central Virginia estates in Albemarle or Orange counties, to the small-town feel of homes in Charlottesville.
Weather is among the top considerations for people looking for a suitable retirement destination. This is one of the reasons why older people tend to settle down in the southern and western states. Compared to humid places like Florida, Virginia’s climate is pretty mild. The summers can be hot but they aren’t brutal, and are often interspersed with breezy days. The winters aren’t brutal, colder than some of our neighbors to the south but nowhere near the frigid temperatures of the northern states.
There are also numerous things to do throughout Virginia. Nelson County’s Crabtree Falls, for example boasts the highest vertical drop east of the Mississippi. Its first overlook runs along a low-key paved trail for hikers of varying experience, and there are more challenging hikes as well. From slow, meandering drives amidst the scenic vistas and pastoral landscapes of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the thriving, hollows of the Shenandoah National Park, there are so many ways to enjoy the natural beauty of this state.
The real estate taxes in Virginia vary by county but are comparatively low. The state and local taxes end up being about 5.3%, a little more for the localities that make up Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. The cost of living gets higher as you move closer north, but you could do a lot worse than Virginia. The median value for a home is about $230,000.
The unemployment rate is also pretty low in Virginia: 4.8%. At first it may sound counterintuitive to think about working in the place where you’re going to retire. But many retirees, current and future say they plan to work during retirement. Merrill Lynch published a study which states that “47 % of today’s retirees say they either have worked or plan to work during their retirement years. Moreover, the number of retirees who work will escalate in the years ahead, with 72% of pre-retirees age 50+ now saying that their ideal retirement includes work in some capacity” (Merrill Lynch). This doesn’t necessarily mean getting a 9-5 and commuting. Even if the work is unpaid/on a volunteer basis, being employed has been linked with a greater sense of well-being. “Work gives us a sense of purpose, feeling connected and needed. It makes us feel relevant. It’s hard to pin a precise paycheck to that, but it’s real.”
Moreover, it keeps our minds sharper. Researchers from the RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the University of Michigan published a study showing that cognitive performance levels decline faster in countries that have younger retirement ages” (Hanon 2) . You don’t just have to work. You can also learn more. Were you to find a nice small farm in central Virginia, or a home around Charlottesville, you could make use of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Virginia. You could also take advantage of the seasonal job market, getting an easygoing gig during the summer while all the students are out of town. Did we mention Virginia was ranked 10th in LPL’s employment and education category?
So there you have it. The experts agree that for people planning to retire, Virginia is your best bet. Relocating here affords you warm weather, reasonably priced homes, and a bounty of natural splendors. You can foster your continued growth through a variety of channels: working, volunteering or going back to school. The pace of life is very malleable. The pace of life here moves with you. If you want seclusion and privacy, you could get a small farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains; there are several nice offerings available in Nelson, Greene, Madison and Albemarle Counties. If you want a thriving community of various ages and backgrounds, consider a home in Charlottesville, where live music, theatre and sports are close at hand. The only thing you need is an appreciation for natural beauty and a thirst to make the most of out life. After all, Virginia is for lovers.
Biking in Charlottesville
The phrase “it’s like riding a bike,” is surprisingly apt. It’s hard to forget what is for many of us the first foray into freedom, the unbridled pleasure of taking the training wheels off and zooming down a hill with abandon. For a lot of people it’s one of the first truly autonomous actions; something you don’t need mom and dad to do for you once you’ve got it down. For many people (this writer included) it is a fundamental, primary means of transportation that costs much less than an automobile, both from monetary and environmental standards. Since the 19th century, riding bicycles has been a viable option for transportation, recreation and fitness. Charlottesville / Albemarle County was recently recognized as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists. The LAB is a non-profit organization founded in 1880 to promote cycling (for fun, exercise an transportation) through advocacy and education. It is probably the largest community of cyclists in the country, so you know Charlottesville is up to some good. Land in Albemarle county, the lush sprawl and rolling pastures of the central Virginia countryside, is ideal for mountain biking, but there are many good road trails too. Let’s explore the many ways in which Charlottesville—both the governmental heads and the people themselves—work to build an accessible home for the folks on two wheels.
Charlottesville Community
The city of Charlottesville proper is only 10.4mi2; in other words very accessible to the cycling community as far as transportation goes. There aren’t many places in town that you can’t go, especially once you’ve been biking long enough and get used to some of the hillier parts of the city. The mix of road/city and mountain bike trails has fostered a strong community here, comparable to our neighbors to the east in Richmond. Bicycling truly is a viable option for getting around. All the city buses (both Charlottesville Area Transit and University of Virginia transit systems) come equipped with two bike racks so you can bike to bus stops, take the bus to places that are a little less convenient, and get back on the bike when you get there. Bike Charlottesville is one of many groups that rally the cycling community for events like group bike rides and information about topics relevant to people on two wheels. Cycling is something the local government takes pretty seriously too. Albemarle County and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission take cycling into consideration in many of their planning policies, and there have been a few collaborative efforts to make the town more bike-friendly. Take for example the Cville Bike mApp. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization, Charlottesville City, Albemarle County, and UVa came together to develop a cycle route mapping app. Cyclists from all over the county uploaded their daily routes, mapping their paths with help of the app. Staff took all of this raw data and analyzed it, drawing conclusions as to what parts of town were most and least bike-accessible, the places cyclists couldn’t get to, crowded bicycle corridors etc. UVa has also successfully implemented a BikeShare program, the likes of which you may have seen in many more metropolitan areas like New York City or the District of Columbia. This is a pretty inclusive system that does not require UVa affiliation. Create a membership, register, choose your payment plan and you can pick up/drop off your bike at any of the designated areas around town. It helps to democratize the process of biking. Not everyone can afford a bike, and not everyone needs one all the time either. This way if you wanted to join some friends every now and then on a casual bike ride, you’d be able to. This is good for people who enjoy biking but aren’t sure if regular biking is for them. If the kids have been clamoring on about getting a new mountain bike, you can let them try out the BikeShare program for a month before you decide to take the plunge. It’s also a great way to get to know the surrounding area. Rumor has it that Richmond is working on one as well, trying to get it up and running by the start of the UCI Road World Championships, which begin September 19 of this year and lasts until the 27th.
The Charlottesville Area Mountain Biking Club (CAMBC) is a chapter of the International Mountain Bicycling Association. They strive to promote and publicize the litany of accessible trails in and around Charlottesville while at the same time emphasizing the importance of trail safety and responsible use. They put on events that foster a sense of camaraderie and solidarity among two-wheel enthusiasts. Earlier in the year, they threw a party on the property of the Devil’s Backbone brewery in nearby Nelson County, raising $1350 for the trails while enjoying beer, music, bacon, eggs and some solid biking tips. People celebrated with bonfires and campout. This club is yet another example of the thriving cyclist community in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. It’s also a wealth of information for anyone who wants to know more about the available trails in the area.
If you’re a seasoned biker who is new to town, or a novice biker and native Charlottesville-dweller, there are a few places around town to meet like-minded individuals and administer care to your iron horse. Blue Wheel Bicycles has been servicing a community of Charlottesville cyclists for about 40 years now, first at their location on Elliewood Avenue and then the Ix Building in downtown Cville since 2006. The owners Roger Friend and Scott Paisley are both award-winning cyclists who know just about everything there is to know about the practice and they are open six days a week, until 6pm (except on Saturdays). Community Bikes is a non-profit organization over on Avon Street, near the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville. The entire operation is powered through funding from private individuals and organizations and rife with enthusiastic volunteers who just genuinely love bicycles. They work with Virginia Organizing to promote environmentally-sound transportation (foot power!), and recycling bikes. Their community-oriented approach is supplemented by programs that are open to the public. These range from events like bike rodeos for children and bicycle repair and maintenance workshops where you can learn the best way to care for and maintain your wheels. They even offer Open Shop time, in which patrons can come through and use the shop’s resources, including one of three repair stands. All they ask is a small fee, perfectly understandable coming from a non-profit organization with barely any employees and a highly sustainable model.
Charlottesville Bike Trails
The mix of road and mountain trails in Charlottesville attracts a variety of cyclists, both natives and people from other land in central Virginia. Here we’ll take a look at some great places to ride bicycles in the areas around Charlottesville.
Observatory Hill is owned by UVa. It’s off of Alderman Road by the group of residential buildings considered the “new dorms.” This is one of Charlottesville’s most vigorous trails, probably not for the faint of heart. It is a pretty exciting one too; the trails lap each other all over the mountain, intersecting in a such a way as to make it possible for people to ride up and down the mountain several times without repeating the same trails over and over again.
There’s also Preddy Creek, a much newer set of trails, northeast of the City of Charlottesville in Albemarle County. Apparently these trails span 571 acres of wilderness with a little over 8 miles of trails that are utilized for a variety of pursuits including hiking, horseback riding, and of course mountain biking. This set of trails is brand new, so there are still components that are under construction. For now, there is a very good beginner loop that’s pretty accessible to people just starting out. It also has some quick turns between trees and steep descents to make it interesting for the more intermediate among us. Check back up on Preddy Creek though, because new and exciting things are happening over there. People are working on some expert trails with engineered attributes like elevated bridges and rock gardens, courtesy of the kind, community-minded folks at the aforementioned Charlottesville Area Mountain Biking Club!
Walnut Creek is an awesome park that takes advantage of the beauty of property in Albemarle County. It spans 525 acres, 45 of which are water acres. There’s a huge lake for kayaking, swimming and fishing. You can rent canoes or BYOB (bring your own boat, assuming it’s Coast Guard-approved). It also might be the areas only legitimate disc golf operation; 18 holes! The 15 miles of bike trails are fairly challenging for a new cyclist, but will definitely get you in shape and make the hills in town seem like a joke. It’s a narrower singletrack with errant loose rocks and gnarly roots. You can link up several different trails to make your own custom loop or follow the beaten path, but be prepared for a workout! For a park rife with so many resources, Walnut Creek’s admission is relatively cheap: $3 for Albemarle County residents and $4.50 for everyone else. You can also scoop a yearly pass.
Bicycle Route 76, also called the TransAmerica Route is enormous. It spans the state of Virginia from east to west and actually stretches from the Midwest (Missouri) to Yorktown, VA. It connects to the incredibly scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, then to Garth Road, White Hall, Crozet, and then up to Afton Mountain. Serious cyclists could spend a few days on the journey with a tent, sleeping bag and provisions. You get rewarded by 25 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, amidst awe-inspiring visions of the bucolic majesty of central Virginia’s mountain and pasture ranges.
The Rivanna Trail (also known as the RTF) is a sprawling trail that circumnavigates Charlottesville at watershed areas of the Rivanna. Its website offers an interactive map where you can plot your journey and plan it out in style. You can get onto the trail from East Market Street, right onto Riverside Avenue and into the Riverview Park, where the trails are fairly easygoing and non-committal. Great for all ages. This is by Long Street or Richmond Road, where you’d get into Pantops from the city. Here there are trails with hard-surfaces that take you up and around, over to the Free Bridge area. There are several entrances in town, from Park Street to Hydraulic and other places off of Emmet Street, to 5th Street extended, Fontaine, Old Ivy Road. The trail even stretches all the way to the Quarry Park, an impressive ~20 miles! Keep in mind that although parts of RTF are pretty accessible, there are spots that should not be attempted by less-than-experienced cyclists. We’re talking about roots and rocks, exposed rock cliffs and other tricky things. Use discretion when deciding which trails are for you; the RTF has so much to offer. Don’t forget to consult the interactive map or ask an experienced cyclist.
As you can see, Charlottesville is a great place for cyclists of all levels!
Guide to Selling Your Home
You don’t need us to tell you that selling your home is a monumental decision. Not only do you have to think about finding somewhere else to live, you’ve got to tie up loose ends at your current residence, make sure your potential new dwelling has all the necessary amenities, and convince your kids that they will indeed make friends at the new school. It’s not exactly a relaxing process and, chances are if you’ve found your way to this posting, you’ve probably already decided to sell your place. We here at Gayle Harvey Real Estate have put together this guide full of helpful things to keep in mind.
The good news is that it’s a pretty good time to sell. According to Time Magazine*, housing prices have increased, more people are looking into/able to buy, and interest rates are still low, creating incentive for potential buyers. This is especially true for real estate in Charlottesville and other areas; with several recent accolades celebrating food, culture and overall living, homes in Charlottesville and other property around central Virginia have more demand than they seen for quite awhile. Let’s get started with some important things to keep in mind before or as you put your home on the market. Presentation is obviously important, and it spans a variety of senses (from the look, lighting and feel of the place to the way it smells), areas (in/outside your home) and times. As soon as you know you want to sell, start thinking about some of these things.
Cleaning up and depersonalizing
Who’s cleaning the house? It depends on your needs and the current state of the house. If you’ve got a few empty rooms once inhabited by college-age kids, you may be able to handle most of the cleaning yourself. As important as actual cleanliness is your commitment to reducing clutter and accumulation. It’s tough to say goodbye to some our long-standing possessions, especially during a move. Owning a home is a testament to stability and structure, and when you’re selling it and trying to limit the number of things you take with you, it speaks to an ephemeral transience which informs the human experience. Consider hiring a professional organizer with whom you can consult as to what to take, what to toss, and what to do with the things you choose to leave behind. You should make a concerted effort to depersonalize your home, especially when interested parties are coming by to see it. Think about removing some of the personal touches; photos of the family, Christmas stockings, banners and tapestries. Potential buyers don’t want to live in a world of your experiences; they want a blank canvas, something onto which they can project their hopes, passions, and humanity. People want to “see themselves” in the space. Think about this when painting too…use neutral colors and steer clear of expressive, “loud” colors like yellow and purple. It’s easier for someone to envision his or her self in a place with muter, unobtrusive colors. You may get people who like the purple, but they’d probably paint it purple themselves either way.
Long-term improvements
If you’re still in the planning stages, now’s the time to start thinking about long-term steps. Investigate funky smells and any errant damp patches around the house, especially if the smells are sort of musty. It could be mold or mildew. Sometimes it’s not particularly difficult for you to get rid of yourself; some good detergent and a bit of cleaning should take care of it. You might also consider a humidifier for patches of moisture around the house. But if you come across a concentrated area of mold over 10 square feet, you should probably seek professional assistance. Look for water issues in your bathroom as well. A squishy floor requires immediate attention and will definitely cost you some money off the asking price, some potential attention from buyers, or both. It could be something as simple as a toilet pan with a leak, or the damage could be more foundational. Either way, you ought to nip it in the bud way before the open house rolls around. Make sure there aren’t any excessive cracks in the foundation (we’re talking 1/8 of an inch or bigger) because that could mean the structural integrity of the home requires attention from an engineer. Also pay close attention to the baseboards, corners and crevices in your house. You’d probably know whether or not you had a full-blown infestation, but roaches and mice don’t need huge spaces to slip by unnoticed. Be on the lookout for termite wings near windowsills as well as little holes or traces of sawdust on the baseboards (carpenter ants). The roof is another very important consideration. If you’ve got extra time and or money, consider a re-shingling job. The age of the roof is definitely something to think about when looking into a new house, and for good reason. It’ll run you at least a few thousand depending on what type of shingles you use. Laminated shingles are the best but also the most expensive. If the roof appears to be faulty or even just old and worn, buyers could try to leverage it into subtracting money off of your asking price, and sometimes this will outweigh the cost of repairing the roof yourself.
Kitchen and bathrooms are important
You may think you’re in the process of selling a house, but in actuality you’re selling a kitchen (and in some cases a master bathroom). It sort of makes sense; the kitchen is probably the room that will attract the highest volume of traffic. It’s also one of the only unique rooms in the house (there are multiple bedrooms, bathrooms etc.) You want your whole house to look good of course, but make sure your kitchen is in tip-top shape for potential buyers. However, we don’t necessarily advise breaking the bank to accomplish this. If you drop thousands of dollars on long-term improvements, it’s not certain that you’ll make that money back. Start off with the more cost-effective repairs and additions. The effect will still go a long way towards winning over potential buyers. We’re talking about things like leaky faucets, shaky light fixtures, and loose drawers. Replacing the cabinets isn’t too pricy and goes a long way towards revitalizing your kitchen and giving it a fresh look. However if the hardware in your kitchen is a little outdated and you have some money to spend, you might think about replacing an appliance or two. Carting that old musty fridge away and replacing it with an ice-making stainless steel behemoth will make buyers think that the rest of the kitchen is at least up to that standard.
The same goes for the bathrooms. Assuming they’re free of the aforementioned water damage, there are still a couple of things you can do to spruce them up. Make sure all the faucets are working and check to see if every sink and bathtub drains quickly. If not, grab some Drano, lye or a plumber’s snake if you prefer to work without chemicals. Replace the shower curtains and, if necessary, any shower and toilet mats you have. Getting a brand new toilet is relatively inexpensive (a few hundred dollars). Consider changing the light fixtures to give the room a brighter appearance, and maybe re-grout the tiles as well.
Open Houses and Showings
Up until now, we’ve been discussing improvements and techniques that are more long-term. Here we’ll go over things to keep in mind in the days leading up to an open house. You should be ready to show a house at any time. Treat every day like it’s an open house. When you get a call from your broker last minute at 6:30 pm, the interested party at the other end of the transaction is probably fed up with the houses s/he has seen. This isn’t a hard and fast rule of course, but a person just starting out a house search is looking at scheduled open houses and making appointments. Spur of the moment showings indicate that the buyer is trying very hard to find a place and hasn’t quite succeeded yet. So the house should always be show-ready.
Start by tidying up the exterior; make sure it looks inviting. An unappealing exterior loses a sale the same way a beautiful kitchen makes one. Fix any cracks in the siding, refurbish the brick, and think about power washing driveways and front steps. Repainting the front door could be a good move as well, so long as the updated paintjob doesn’t make it clash with the rest of the façade. In fact, there are many places inside the house where a fresh coat would go a long way…identify these areas and remember to keep the colors muted. Keep the lawn freshly mowed, trim the hedges, and patch up any fencing. These are things the new owners could easily do, but they are a reflection of you and your upkeep of the house.
Lighting is also crucial in this regard. If you have ample natural light, open up the windows or draw the blinds to showcase that. If there’s not so much natural light, get new light bulbs with higher wattage, more transparent lampshades…anything. You want it to be bright and inviting in your house. Try to avoid drawing attention to dark corners. Move furniture around to maximize floor space. You want to display the most efficient utilizations of the floor plan and you definitely don’t want buyers to think it’s cramped. No one ever complains that a house has too much room. If your closets are bulging, take half of the clothes out and stash them so the closets look bigger. Make sure all the closets are on track too. It’s a quick fix, and shaky closets, like loose doorknobs and leaky faucets just give the impression that the house hasn’t been well maintained. They’re all quick fixes for the people who may end up moving in, but they’ll just contribute to negative impressions of the house.
Avoid any strong smells during this period. Save that delicious chicken tikka masala recipe for the new place; we advise against pungent aromas at open houses, even if they’re savory and appetizing. It goes back to that blank canvas thing. People may also assume that those smells come with the house. For this reason, we’d also suggest treating your lovable Doberman to doggy vacation for a week or two. Not only may you intimidate people who aren’t comfortable around pets, the smell and dander may detract from the first impression. You can’t be sure which of your potential buyers has a negative association with the smell of kitty litter. Fish are okay. Use discretion when decided whether or not to take your terrarium somewhere else, but if you’ve got snakes you may want to let a friend borrow them. Remember, a first impression is likely to be the only impression; the people coming by your place are looking at comparable properties. They’re roughly the same price range and will have many overlapping features, so the only things a potential buyer has to differentiate (besides the objective specs and asking prices) these homes are the experiences that they take. A lot of people will have freshly baked bread or cookies somewhere in the house. Cookies. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn’t like cookies, although they’re out there. While we’re on the subject of food, think about crafting a light, generally accessible menu for the open house. You’re not opening up a restaurant, given. But a carafe of pinot noir with some camembert or fontina cheeses, some salami? You’re cultivating an atmosphere. A bouquet of flowers at the entrance is a nice touch as well.
This may go without saying, but sweep up and wipe down surfaces before any open house. Make sure the bathroom and kitchen are spotless. When sweeping up, pay special attention to the baseboards and the corners. Wipe the dust off fan blades. Make sure the dishes are clean and the sink is empty. Pretty much hide any evidence that a) you actually use any of the appliances b) you even live in the house at all. Because soon, you won’t. Someone else will be, and hopefully they’ll be writing you a nice check as well.
*http://time.com/money/3629800/housing-outlook-2015/
House Payment with an Adjustable Rate Comparison
If you have a high house payment, that doesn’t mean your home is more valuable, it may indicate that your mortgage rate is higher than it has to be.
Although fixed rates are currently low, you might consider looking into an adjustable rate mortgage. Depending on how long you plan to own your home, an ARM may provide the lowest cost of ownership.
There are different types of ARMs. One type, an FHA ARM, features a maximum rate change of 1% during one period and the maximum lifetime cap of 5% over the initial rate.
The chart below shows an example of a 30 year mortgage with a five year fixed rate that can adjust every one year after that, based on independent indexes. The payment on the adjustable is $153.48 lower for the first five years/60 payments. The lower interest rate loans amortize faster than higher interest rate loans. The ARM in the example below has a lower unpaid balance of $4,239 at the end of the first five years.
At the end of the first period, the total savings on the ARM is $13,477. The breakeven point for this loan would be 8.5 years. If the borrow felt they would sell the home prior to this point, the housing cost for this ARM would be lower, even if the mortgage rate increased to the maximum level at each adjustment period.
Always consult with a trusted mortgage professional to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of varying programs. You can also contact one of our agents to help guide you as well.
For more information, visit: www.freddiemac.com/pmms
