NRVLiving - Real Estate. Simplified.

What Can You Buy In ...

Radford?  Lately I've worked with buyers new to the area and they've always seemed to ask the question, "What can I buy in <insert local community here>?  So ... what can you buy in the City of Radford?

The City of Radford has homes available in a number of different price points, at all times of the year.   Situated on the banks of the New River and calling itself "The New River City", Radford is home to world-class companies like Danaher Motion and Volvo Logistics, thriving small businesses like Tuck Chiropractic Clinic, and of course Radford University.  It's a beautiful setting on the banks of the New River, and is just centrally located to other important points in the New River Valley.

Did you know Radford's an All-American City finalist?

Impressive stuff for a city with an impressive history.  With a charming downtown, a bustling university, loads of recreational activities and miles of telecommunications fiber, Radford offers a little of everything, whether you're here for business, pleasure or both.

So ... What Can You Buy In Radford, VA?

As of May 17, there are 114 residential properties on the market in Radford.  The lowest priced home is $49900, while the highest priced home is $465000, and the median home price is $154450.  Here are some other statistics you might be interested in:

• in 2008, the average length of time to sell a home in Radford has been 73 days.
• the average property in Radford has sold for a 7.5% discount off of list price in 2008.
• properties in Radford have sold for about 7% less than what they did last year at this time.

With 114 properties on the market, there's likely something for everyone to pick from.   Here's a sampling of what you might see in various price points ...

Under $50000 - 700 square foot bungalow

Between $50001 - $100000 - 1 BR 1 BA condo          Updated home blocks to campus

Between $100001 - $150000 - 2 BR 2 BA condo with hardwood floors         1800 sf Cottage

Between $150001 - $200000 - Brick Ranch with closing costs           Newer home with hardwood floors

Between $200001 - $300000 - Main level master bedroom with HOA     Townhomes across the street from RU

Between $300001 - $400000 - Classic Colonial         Decorator's Delight in High Meadows

Above $400001 - 4100 square foot monster in need of some updating

Let me know - is there something else you'd like to know about Radford?

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Sellers - How To Make Money In Today's Market

Are you selling a home, or about to sell your home, and you're worried about the market?  Let me take a minute to introduce you to Revisions Redesigns, a home staging and redesign company based in Blacksburg.

Revisions Redesigns  uses the items already in your home to design rooms that maximize their potential.  Don't think this can make you money when you go to sell your home?  Check out some of these statistics from Home Staging Resource:

Remodeling doesn't always make sense ... thanks to Tom Markiewicz for sending that article.  Home staging, however, almost always pays, because it sets the home apart, as well as creates the environment for buyers to feel themselves in the home.

Are you ready to call Revisions Redesigns now?  You can find Machelle online, make sure to tell her you heard about her here!

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Short Shorts

There's a lot that's been happening recently, and I've gotten to virtually none of it here on the blog.  So ... allow me to introduce Short Shorts, the category established for when things just get a little bit crazy.

• Can the Roanoke Valley and NRV Valley coexist?  This guy tells you what he thinks.
• Portions of Lee Street in Blacksburg closed through June 16.
• Car enthusiasts unite this weekend.
• NOT the home of falling prices in Roanoke.  I'm sure BURG is all over this.

That's it for now.  A couple of new posts coming out shortly, specifically my take on whether now is a good time to buy and sell or not, as well as some thoughts on why it just got tougher to buy a home if you're self-employed.

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The Newest Cat Workout

Ever wonder how cats stay so trim?  The secret's just been released, and it's all the rage!  C'mon, watch it - you've got two minutes before that conference call you're dreading, don't you?

I, Jeremy Hart, Am A Genius

Fame and fortune are sure to follow.

My thanks to the good folks at Agent Genius for asking me to join their group as a guest writer!  Agent Genius is an industry-focused blog that talks about all kinds of topics related to real estate and the impact the industry has on both agents and consumers alike.  Why they asked me I have no idea - they probably contacted the wrong Jeremy Hart, but don't tell 'em!

Agent Genius is a great site for anyone to check out - make sure to bookmark it and check out what's happening over there, or just subscribe to the feed!

Excuse Me?

The Old Blacksburg Middle School Transition Committee has just announced that they are seeking public input on how best to use the 20-acre site that the previous Blacksburg Middle School is falling in on, and kicking it off will be a design contest.

There will be two public input meetings - one from 4-6pm and one from 7-9pm on May 14th at the Blacksburg Community Center on Patrick Henry Drive.  The first phase of the contest will run  August - November 2008. 

I don't know, there's just something off here, in my opinion.  We've battled for years on what to do, now we're having a design contest?  What are we designing for?  We haven't decided what we want to put on the property, and so based on some public input meetings we're going to come up with concept ideas we can get behind?  Aren't we putting the cart before the horse?

Thanks to MontVA.com for the picture.

Are We? Aren't We? Will We? Won't We?

The questions keep coming ...

"Are we in a recession?"  "Aren't we expected to make a lowball offer?"  "Will we get our money back if we sell in two years?"  "Won't we make $100000 on this flip in just two months like they do on TV?"

Okay, so maybe I haven't gotten that last question - at least not phrased like that - but everything else is verbatim.  Plenty of mixed signals floating around about the real estate market, and it's understandable that people have questions. 

Making matters worse, Scott Rogers posted links to posts entitled "The Recession That Never Was Is Now Over", and "Is Housing Slump At A Bottom?".  I point these out not because I think Scott shouldn't have posted them, I just think that both posts make strong arguments to at least make you consider that perhaps times they are a changin'.  For instance, the post "Is Housing Slump At A Bottom" makes the argument that new housing starts slumped below the one million mark in March.  Historically, every time that's happened in the last 50 years, it's been at the bottom of a recession.  it's hard to argue with history - as a friend of mine says, "hindsight is 40/40".  Yea, she's like me, she was never good with numbers.

I do think there are concerns that need to be addressed. Dependence on foreign oil, uncertainty overseas, among other things, compounded by a constant barrage of negativity and fear in the mainstream consciousness, have people scared. These things need to be addressed in order to begin an upswing in confidence, IMO.

One thing I DON'T understand is how we hear about massive layoffs in industries like auto and manufacturing, yet GDP is up. Wouldn't conventional wisdom say that by laying off in massive quantities, and exporting goods and jobs out of the country, that GDP would go DOWN?  In the last three years, Volvo has announced layoffs of 1000, 650 and 1100 personnel in their Dublin factory.  I've got to imagine that production in the plant slowed down accordingly, not increased ... I didn't do well in Economics, for sure, but what am I missing here?

Beauty's In The Eye of the Beholder

In all likelihood you've seen a house on television and you thought "That's a really weird home!".  Well, thanks to my Twitter bud @ResPres for pointing out some of these really unusual digs ...

From Nubricks.com:

The Airplane - Late 1994, JoAnne Ussery’s intention was to find a new mobile home. Luckily for us, her brother-in-law had a brainwave experienced by all of us at one point in our lives: Why not look for a decommissioned aircraft instead and convert it into a habitable space? JoAnne did exactly that and the next year had transported an old 727 and started the renovation herself, the end result being an extremely long home boasting over 80 windows and a jacuzzi in what used to be a cockpit.

The Ship - If you head for South Bass Island in Lake Erie, Ohio you may see the ‘Ship Residence’ photographed above. This extraordinary home sits perched on the shore and is actually the front-end of what used to be The Benson Ford, a boat that was in service for 50 years on the Great Lakes after being built by Henry Ford. It was subsequently snapped up by a married couple who then had the front detached, transported 60 miles and renovated to house a family on the island.

The Water Tower - The house at the top of the tower in the above photograph was designed to disguise the huge water tank contained beneath it over 80 years ago. The tank itself has since been removed and the premises converted into a gorgeous home boasting 5 bedrooms and a generous 3 bathrooms. What was once an eyesore in the area or Thorpness is now a majestic home with what must be the best views for miles.

The Cave -

Just over 20 years ago, Cathy Wertz and Randy Clark purchased 45 acres of land in Bisbee, Arizona after falling in love with its natural beauty. After much deliberating they then took the most difficult route possible and decided to convert one of their newly owned cliff-sides into a home by creating a 3′000sqft cave. A habitable cave in itself isn’t that rare but just glancing at the interior tells you this must surely be one of the most luxurious around. The cave home is currently on the market at $1.95m.

The cave has its own website here.

 

The Car Ferry - After seeing various converted tugboats being used as houses, architect Olle Lundberg decided to fry a bigger fish and purchased a ferry in need of some love. After stumping up $260k for the retired vehicle carrier and transporting it from Iceland to San Fransisco he duly renovated the interior to the standard you see above and moved in with his wife. The result is a stunning, floating and unassuming duplex home.

The Missile Silo - Ed Peden was the first person to convert a missile silo into a habitable living space (something that still only a few people on earth have done since his brainwave occured in the early 80s) and when he first viewed the silo he did so using a canoe due to major flooding of the entire structure. The complex itself is huge, highlights including a 47ton door, a few 18inch thick concrete walls and a 120ft long tunnel connecting the 2 halves of the home.

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Crime Statistics In The New River Valley

The Roanoke Times wrote me this morning to tell me of a new service they're providing on their online site.

It's a crime aggregator, basically - they're compiling crime statistics from across the New River Valley and posting them on Roanoke.com.  Right now, it appears that they've got limited statistics, but they tell me that they're adding stats as quickly as they can. 

I'd love to say that there's no crime throughout the Valley, but the unfortunate truth is that's impossible to say anywhere.  Farmers Insurance thinks we're pretty safe, and I do too, but if you're interested in tracking just how safe your area ... or that new neighborhood you've been thinking about ... is, then this just might something you want to bookmark.

Thanks to Preaprez for the image.

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No Hanging Chads Here

The ballots are closed, the results are in, the after parties are over - here's a link to election results throughout the Valley.  Now, will the Council's get to work?  What do you want to see from your new Council? 

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