Charlottesville Archives

Living Green – How Do I Measure My Carbon Footprint?

Everyday in the course of our normal lives each of us is adding to the emission of greenhouse gases. One of the main factors changing the earth's climate is greenhouse gases. The choices that each of us makes in how we live our lives has a direct impact on how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are created each year. Choices in home construction, the foods we eat, energy consumption, what we buy and what we throw away have a direct impact on the environment.

The Nature Conservancy has an online carbon footprint calculator designed to measure how your personal lifestyle contributes to the global climate. Click here to use the calculator.

We are seeing an increase in awareness of how our home choices affect the environment. As a result we are seeing the construction of more "green" homes. If you would like information on energy efficient or "green" homes on the Charlottesville, Virginia real estate market, contact me. I would love to help you in your search for the perfect green home.

Click here to search all of the homes on the market in the Charlottesville area.

Comparison of Real Estate Taxes for Central Virginia

When you are considering a purchase of a home, one of the necessary things to know is the real estate tax rate for that particular area. In the Central Virginia real estate market there are considerable differences in tax rates among the various counties that make up the region. For some purchasers these rates are still very low compared to the section of the country that they are relocating from. However, many purchasers will need to carefully consider the tax rate, because it may impact whether they can afford a particular home.

The following are the real estate tax rates for the Central Virginia area:

City of Charlottesville – $.95/$100 of assessed value

Albemarle County – $.71/$100 of assessed value

Louisa County – $.62/$100 of assessed value

Fluvanna County – $.48/$100 of assessed value

Greene County – $.72/$100 of assessed value

Orange County – $.47/$100 of assessed value

If you are considering a move to Central Virginia, I would be happy to talk with you about the different neighborhoods that make up the Central Virginia real estate market.

Click here if you would like to search the homes for sale in Central Virginia.

Virginia Now in Top Ten States for Foreclosures

According to the July Foreclosure Market Report just released by Realty Trac, the leading online foreclosure market report, Virginia is now among the 10 states with the most foreclosures. The three states with the highest foreclosure rates are Nevada, California, and Florida. The additional states in the top ten are Arizona, Ohio, Gerogia, Michigan, Colorado, Utah and Virginia.

In Virginia the areas with the most foreclosures are Northern Virginia, Prince William County and Fredericksburg. We are lucky that the Charlottesville area, although we are seeing an increase in foreclosure activity, is still seeing much less than many parts of the country.

However some foreclosures are starting to come onto our local market. These can present a valuable market for the savy buyer.

To read the entire article click here.

Contact me if you would like to discuss the possibility of finding a foreclosure or would like information on the Charlottesville real estate market.

Click here if you would like to search all of the homes currently on the market.

Enjoy the Trails at Glenmore

The extensive system of walking and riding trails is a key feature that sets the Glenmore neighborhood appart. Glenmore is a gated community located in the beautiful Keswick countryside just east of Charlottesville, Virginia. The neighborhood has the usual amenities of country club, golf course, pool, tennis and fitness center. However, it is the dedication to providing numerous opportunities to enjoy the countryside outside of the residential areas, but still inside the gates that sets this community appart.

Glenmore currently has 8.5 miles of trails, which is slated to grow to almost 13 miles by 2012. These trails are enjoyed by walkers, joggers, photographers, birdwatchers and equestrians from the adjoining Glenmore Equestrian Center, managed by Shadowfax LLC. Maintaining the trails has been a tru community effort with more that 50 volunteers participating in the upkeep of the existing trails and the opening of new areas.

It is very special to have so much access to nature, yet be a few minutes away from Charlottesville. Please contact me if you would like a tour of Glenmore, to see how you could experience the Glenmore Lifestyle.

Click here to search all the homes for sale in Glenmore and the Charlottesville area.

Shadowfax Riders in the Glenmore Parade

Every July 4^th the Glenmore Community has a parade through the neighborhood. Any community member is welcome to participate and we always see an array of decorated golf carts. This year's parade included a contingent of dedorated horses and riders from Shadowfax LLC at the Glenmore Equestrian Center. The riders included Allyson Louthan, her daughter Tyler and grandson Linden, Shelly Payne, and Sidney Simcoe. Baily Dent even decorated the barn tractor and drove that in the Parade.

This post is a little belated, but I just got the pictures and I wanted to share the fun.

Glenmore is a gated community located in Keswick just east of Charlottesville, Virginia. The nighborhood offers an active lifestyle with many amenities such as country club, golf course, tennis, pool, fitness center, and adjoining equestrian center.

If the Glenmore lifestyle looks like fun, contact me; I would be happy to give you a tour of the neighborhood.

Click here to search all of the homes for sale in Glenmore.

For information on Shadowfax LLC at the Glenmore Equestrian Center click here.

Features of Green Building

It has become quite popular to speak about "green" building, but what exactly do we mean. I was reading an article in Realty Times this morning wich gave a good overview of the factors which make up green building design.

According to the article a green home should have the following features:

Natural Light – in order to reduce energy used for lighting
Shading – screens, awnings and trees on the southern and western exposures to block the summer sun
Dual-glaze windows – keep heat in during winter and heat outside in the summer
Roof reflectivity or a landscaped roof to lessen heat absorption
Green building materials
1. Non-toxic materials (low-VOC paint and finishes)
2. Sub-flooring made of strawboard
3. Renewable wood products
4. Materials made from recycled content
5. Non-toxic insulation with a high R factor
6. Energy Star rated HVAC systems and appliances
7. Drought tolerant landscaping and native plants

While many of these systems and supplies may be more expensive initially they will often pay for themselves over time.

Click here to read the entire article.

Search all of the homes currently on the Charlottesville, Virginia real estate market or contact me if you would like information on green homes available in the Central Virginia area.

Construction Begins At Bundoran

Construction has started on the first home to be built on the 2,300 acre Bundoran development. This unique community is comitted to natural preservation, conservation of natural resources and the environment. The 100 homes to be built will be required to meet the standards for the Earthcraft designation. In addition, the majority of Bundoran’s acreage will be under conservation easement and deed restriction designed to limit development and insure the continuation of the community’s natural beauty. It will be exciting to watch Bundoran’s creation. I think it will be raising the bar for future area projects.

Click here to read about Bundoran as reported in the Charlottesville Daily Progress.

To search all of the homes on the market in Charlottesville and Albemarle County click here.

716 Salem Road – What A Steal!

5 Patriot Lane – Open House, Sunday Aug. 10, 1-4

Open House at Lake Monticello, Sunday August 10, 1:00-4:00.
5 Patriot Lane, Palmyra, VA

Come see this well maintained Lake Monticello home. This home is a great value with a lot of space for the money. 1,960 finished sq ft, 728 unfinished, 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, built in 1999. Priced at $229,000. Open floorplan, with a split-bedroom design. The terrace level boasts a large family room with a stone accented bar, stone fireplace and full bath. The private backyard is fully fenced.

Don’t miss the chance to tour this home!

Lake Monticello is a gated community with a lake and golf course located in Fluvanna County within minutes of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Click here to search all the homes on the market at Lake Monticello.

July Market Report – Albemarle County Country Homes

The following is the market report for sales of country homes in Albemarle County, Virginia for July 2008. For our purposes a country home has 3-10acres.

In July in Albemarle County there were 11 country homes with a contingent contract. The average list price was $592,323 and the median price was $660,000. They averaged 113 days on the market.

2 homes had a pending contract. The average list price and the median price was $315,950. The average days on market was 158.

In July 2008 12 country homes sold in Albemarle County. The average list price was $844,392 and the average sold price was $773,963. The median price was $599,500 and the average days on market was 69. The ratio of sold price to list price was 91.66%.

There are currently 133 active listings of country homes in Albemarle County with the average list price of $780,441 and a median price of $549,885. They have been on the market for an average of 170 days.

To see what is happening in the market in June 2008 there were 11 sales of country homes which had been on the market for an average of 92 days. They sold for an average of 97.25% of the list price.

Information obtained from CAAR MLS, and is deemed correct but not guaranteed.

Check back next month for the August market report to see what the trend is in the Albemarle County real estate market. If you would like to read market reports of the sales of detached homes, condos and townhomes in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna and Louisa go to my other blog www.CharlottesvilleRealEstateTalk.com.

Click here to search all of the homes for sale in the Charlottesville and central Virginia real estate market.