There are a number of issues that a real estate agent needs to be aware of that could make closing more difficult and as a result delay closing.  This list was given to me by one of my associates who is in the insurance industry, fellow Active Rainer, Becky Reid.

• Is the home located over 5 mi. from a fire department?  Insurance companies love it if there is a fire hydrant nearby.  Fire departments have ratings according to their speed of response.
• Insurance companies don't like old wiring with fuses instead of circuit breakers.
• What kind of dog does the homeowner have?  Most insurance companies won't cover or offer liability for chows, rotweilers, dobermans or pit bulls.
• Quest or polybutelene pipe can cause problems.  It is usually ok with new connections.
• Woodstoves must be professionslly installed.
• Pools without surrounding fencing are a red flag.  These are often covered under local regulations as well.
• Many companies will not deal with mobile homes.  They used to be ok if on a permanent foundation, but that is not necessarily the case anymore.
• Log homes can be difficult to insure.
• There can be a problem with isurance if there is a business on the premises.
• Horse operations can be difficult to find liablility coverage for.
• Beef cattle farms can be difficult to insure as well.
• Christmas Tree Farms
• Properties with an old falling down barn or shed present problems, because policies do not have the ability to exclude structures.
• Find out if the property has had a claim within the past three years.
• Also ask your buyer sif they have had a claim during the past three years.  If so they need to call their agent immediately.

Not all of these items will prevent your buyers from obtaining insurance, but it might take longer, be harder to find, or be more expensive.

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
434 960-0161
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

Condo and attached home projects have increased in popularity in the Charlottesville, Virginia area in the last couple of years.  As the prices for detached homes skyrocketed in 200-2005 more people began looking at condos as an affordable alternative.  Also the University of Virginia, and the hospital bringing in students, and residents added another segment of the population who needed housing.

For the purpose of this real estate market report I have grouped attached homes and condos together.

In June there were 44 contingent contracts ranging in price from $85,000-864,000.

36 homes have pending contracts and are priced from $149,900-579,900.

In Charlottesville 15 homes sold with an average price of $291,828 and a median price of $263,275 and an average days on market of 117.

There are currently 123 active listings, priced from $103,900-$895,000.

At the June rate of sales there is approximately 8.2 months of inventory on the market.  This is definately still a buyers market.

For more information on the Charlottesville condo market please contact:

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, VA
434 960-0161
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com

Information is from the mls and deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

This post will keep you up to date on what happened in the Albemarle County real estate market in June.  Albemarle County surrounds the city of Charlottesville and is one of the most beautiful areas in Virginia.  These figures track the real estate activity for detached single family homes in the past month of June.

There were 79 contingent contracts on homes ranging from $104,000- $1,500,000.

91 homes had pending contracts with list prices ranging from $129,900-$2,500,000.

77 homes sold in June for an average price of $452,930 and a median price of $375,000.  They sold for an average of 95.38% of list price and had an average of 79 days on the market.  This compares with 73 homes sold in Albemarle County in the month of May 2008.

There are 719 active listings ranging in price from $84,500-$18,000,000.

With the current number of homes on the market and judging by the May sales rate there is approximately 9.33 month of inventory so it is still very much a buyers market. 

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, VA
 434 960-0161 
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com

As the median home price in Charlottesville, Virginia rose dramatically in the first part of this decade, it became increasingly apparent that the workforce that was necessary to serve the community could no longer afford a home in that same community.  In 2004 the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors' Workforce Housing Fund was started to offer down-payment assistance for ppurchasing a home to home buyers from the following professions: teachers, nurses, firemen, and police.  CAAR has managed so far to raise $400,000 and is well on the way to building the fund to $500,000 this year.  The Piedmont Housing Alliance is the administrator of the program.  So far between 5 and 10 buyers a year have been helped to purchase a home.  If they sell the home, the downpayment will be paid back into the fund.

One of the top fundraising events to benefit the Workforce Housing Fund is a summer concert sponsored by the Charlottesville Association of Realtors.  This years concert will feature B.B. King and will take place on August 6 at the Charlottesville Pavillion.

Pam Dent
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
 434 960-0161 
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

In the current real estate market because there are so many choices of homes available to buyers, sellers are busy trying to figure out how to ensure that their home is the one that will stand out in the crowd.  Of course the right price and location are key pieces of the puzzle, but what about remodeling?

In my earlier post How Much Will Remodeling Raise Your Homes Value, I spoke about the five remodeling projects that brought the biggest return for dollars spent.  In this post I will talk about the five projects that bring the least bang for the buck according to Realtor Magazine and Remodeling Magazine.

1. Remodeling a home office - 57% return
2. Adding a back-up generator - 58% return.  Although it is priceless during a long power outage.
3. Adding a sunroom - 59.1%
4. Adding an upscale master bedroom brings only a 64.1% return and could cost over $200,000.
5. Adding an up scale garage - 64.6% return

To see the full report click here.

Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
  434 960-0161  
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

In the current real estate market with the large number of homes for sale, it is important that your home stands out from the pact.  The savy seller will prepare his home so that it is the one that buyers will notice and choose over all the rest.  Of course the most important thing is to make sure that the property is priced right from the beginning.  In this maket buyers are looking for homes that are prefect and that are a deal.  If you home is overpriced it will be one more listing languishing unsold.  However, a well priced home will sell in any market.

One of the first things to do when you decide to sell is to declutter.  Clean out closets, remove items that you are not using from rooms, cupbords and shelves.  Be aware that buyers will look in closets and cubboards; so those areas need to be clean and neat as well.

It may be a good idea to rent a storage locker or a pod if you have a lot of extra items that you want to keep.  If there is a lot of large furniture , place it in the storage unit as well.  A room that has a lot of large furniture crowded in looks smaller.  People like a sense of openness and space.

The home needs to sparkle inside and out.  Power wash the exterior; wash windows, professionally clean or replace carpeting; Clean all molding and baseboards; don't forget to dust the ceiling fans and ceiling corners.  Don't forget to declutter and tidy the garage as well.

Painting rooms in a light neutral color will make them seem new and will appeal to a wide range of buyers.  Also light colors will make a room appear larger.  Don't forget to repair any cracks in the walls and molding, and fill nail holes in the walls.

New handles and drawer pulls on your cabinets, can update your kitchen.  Also consider new light switchplates.  New towels for the bath and accent pillows for the furniture are an inespensive way that you can enhance your homes appearance as well.

One most important things is to remember that your home needs to make a good first impression so that buyers will want to view the inside.  It needs to have curb appeal.  For that reason landscaping is very important.  Keep the grass mowed and walks edged.  Prune your foundation shrubery.  Flowers either in beds or pots on the porch and deck provide a nice focus and a touch of color.

Finally if you really want to make your home look its best, you might want to consider hiring a professional stager.  The professional stager specializes in preparing homes for sale and often these homes will sell faster.

There is a lot to do, but by following these tips you will have given your home the best chance to be the one that sells.

Happy selling!

Pam Dent, e-PRP, SRES(R)
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
  434 960-0161  
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.CharlottesvilleHorseFarmsandCountryHomes.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

In the current market with such a large inventory of homes for sale homeowners need to do everything they can to make their home be the one that buyers want.  If you are dealing with a small home it is important to make sure that the rooms appear as large as possible.  One of the most inexpensive ways to make a room look larger is through paint.

We all have heard that lighter paint hues make a room look larger and that dark colors make it look smaller.  However we do not necessarily have to resort to pale colors.  If you do want to use a darker color try covering it with a coat of clear satin polyurethane to add some shine.  Or use white trim with your deeper paint color to give  a crisp feel.

Another thing to do is to make one wall a focal point and paint it in a deep color.  Then paint the other three walls in a lighter neutral tone. 

You can give an illusion of space through painting the room in thin vertical stripes in two similar tones.   Or try a faux finish to give the walls a feeling of depth.

After painting be sure to declutter.  Also surfaces that reflect light such as glass and mirrors can help make a room look larger.

Pam Dent, e-PPRO, SRES
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, VA
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com

Writing an offer on a foreclosure is not the same as writing an offer on a privately owned home.  Banks are often not looking for the same things in an offer that your normal seller is.  In the Charlottesville, Virginia area we have historically had very few foreclosures.  At this time we still have many less that other areas of the country, but it is definately more than we have had in the past.  In my office there are very few agents who have participated in a transaction dealing with a foreclosure.  However, in this market there is a destinct posibility that you will be helping at least one buyer make an offer on a foreclosure and need to be prepared.

To begin with the banks are looking for a cash offer with a quick closing time.  Recently I submitted a full price offer for a client on a house that we did not get.  The bank accepted another offer for $15,000.00 less, but with a quicker closing time.  The listing agent  later told me that too many things can go wrong with a vacant foreclosed home, so the banks want to get them off their books as quickly as possible.

When you are writing the offer there are several things that you should know.  If you want a well, septic and termite inspection you should put in an ammendment that they must be satisfactory even if the property is being sold as is.  It is also important to state in the contract that the seller is to pay any past homeowners dues and taxes.  Also many banks have their own addendums that must be included with any offer.  These addendums usually state that they superceed the contract.  Because of this you will need to put in the addendum everything that you asked for in the contract.  When the addendum superceeds the contract everything that you asked for in the contract goes away and if you don't ask for it in the addendum you won't get it.

Many of the forclosures are seeing multiiple offers.  When this happens instead of negotiating back and forth,  the bank will ask each of the buyers to submit their best offer.  They will then choose which one they will accept.  If your client really wants the home, it is important to put in an escalation clause so that they will end up being the highest offer.

In this changing real estate market we need to become educated regarding the ins and outs of foreclosures in order to better serve our clients.

Pam Dent
Real Estate III
Charlottesville, Virginia
www.JumpintoGreenerPastures.com
www.Charlottesville.virginiablogpage.com