Completely random post, but I thought the news was very cool and wanted to share it.
Virginia Tech hurdler Queen Harrison is headed to the Olympics.
That's right, rising junior Queen Harrison will be representing the United States in Beijing, after taking second in the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials. She's the second Virginia Tech athlete to represent the US at the Olympics.
Congratulations, Queen!
Scams abound, and one I just read about really hit home to me - wanted to share it here.
We have a lot of renters here in the New River Valley, particularly centered around Blacksburg (Virginia Tech) and Radford (Radford University), but in many other areas of the Valley as well. The summer is a hot season for renters, as people move in and out around the various school systems and universities. That hot rental market is also a great place for scam artists to move and "work", as evidenced by this story by Maggie Dokic in Miami FL.
I plan on sending this post to some local law enforcement to see if they have any updates they can provide on how renters can protect themselves, but Maggie makes a couple of good points.
I'd add that working with a property manager is a must for making sure a property is above board, and I'm happy to hook you up with some of the best - just email me for a list. Most landlords in the New River Valley are above board and honest, but that's not to say there aren't unscrupulous folks out there as well. Hopefully some of these tips will help renters in the New River Valley protect themselves a little more, and not experience what this poor family in Miami is up against.
Updated July 1 11:00am - received an email from State Farm agent Eric Johnsen this morning as a follow-up to this post, wanted to share it in its entirety. He wrote: "with two large universities we do have a number of student renters. That's one of the nice things about being a landlord here, we have a large pool to advertise rental properties to. However, many students are either forced or conned into buying renters insurance. I am an insurance agent, obviously, and I have something to say about this. Some property managers require renters insurance, and if that's the case it's hard for the renter to overcome. Some insurance agents sell it, and this is where we can run into a problem with unscrupulous business practices.
If the student lives with their parents when they are NOT attending school, and the parents are homeowners, it is very unlikely that the stdent needs additional coverage. Their personal property is covered under their parents' policy, subject to the policy deductible. The liability coverage would extend from the parents' policy as well. If the student had to evacuate and live elsewhere (such as when Katrina hit New Orleans and students were scattered), the policy wouldn't extend for THAT additional living expense.
Insurance agents who are selling this policy to those students who already have coverage is a bit questionable. If that person is no longer a student, out of their own living the big life now, THEN it's time ofr renters insurance. Otherwise, as long as they fit under mom and dad's umbrella as a permanent resident of the household than they should be covered under their parents' homeowners policy."
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More good news for Blacksburg real estate investors.
If you have questions about investing in Blacksburg real estate, whether or not investing makes sense in a college town (because it doesn't always), or want advice on property management, email me and we'll run an investment analysis for you. The numbers don't always work, but we'll take a look with you and help you decide.
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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.
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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I'm royally pissed right now, and because my mother reads this blog I'll refrain from repeating exactly what's running through my mind.
Some jackwad emails me this morning ... "you're not going to put out more Virginia Tech crap today, are you?" To "Enough Already" I say this - screw you. If you don't have the intestinal fortitude to put your real name and email address up ... you know, I just don't get it. 32 people lost their lives at the hands of one sick individual, dozens more were injured, and tens of thousands of current, former, future students/alumni/faculty and staff lived a nightmare. I got beat up last year for blogging about the shootings at Virginia Tech, but if you don't like it you don't have to read. My wife and I were closer to those events than I've discussed on this blog, and it affected me in ways I'm not sure I quite understand even yet. Don't bother coming back. Seriously ...
This post is about the shootings, and remembering. It's a positive post, I think ... if you don't want to read, that's fine, I'm just giving you the heads up. It's not a recap, just my way of showing people how I'M finding a way to heal. I'm just reposting some things that I think are POSITIVE ... there are hundreds more you can find online, it won't be hard.
Slideshow of JR Woodward's view of healing
And Nikki Giovanni's speech, which still gets me choked up everytime I watch it ...
See, Enough Already, that wasn't too bad was it? The next post will be about real estate, but I have a feeling you don't care much about that, either.
I estimate that every year, as much of 20% of our business comes from alumni of either Virginia Tech or Radford University, who are (a) looking to invest in the area or (b) looking to relocate either part-time or full-time. It's an interesting phenomenon to me - I graduated from tiny Messiah College, and while I enjoyed my time there, I don't see people rushing back to Grantham, PA. It's just not happening ...
But what brings people back to the New River Valley? Consider the case of Frank, a Virginia Tech alumni I'm working with right now ...
Frank graduated from Virginia Tech in the 60's; his girlfriend, now wife, attended nearby Radford University. They're looking to relocate back to the New River Valley from the 51st state of Northern Virginia, and we're scouring the Valley looking for that perfect place. Frank was telling me the other day that he couldn't stand college when he was here, and that he couldn't wait to graduate. As the years passed though, he and his wife discovered a real pull back to the area - they attended football games and special events, and discovered a fondness for the area they'd missed. Now, as they've retired, they're looking to move back full time and "can't wait".
What's the draw for coming back? I don't disagree that this is a wonderful place to live, but what is it about the alma mater that creates such a pull for people? Can anyone explain it?
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Austin says it's $1 Billion baby, YEA!
It was funny when Austin Powers said it, but not as funny now that Virginia lawmakers have to debate exactly HOW to make up the anticipated $1 billion budget shortfall Virginia will be seeing this year. The Governor had suggested a withdrawal of nearly $425 million from the rainy day fund, while the Republican-controlled House suggested $225 million be withdrawn. As with everything politics, I'm sure there's a lot of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" going on, but it'll be interesting to see how this shakes out. In all likelihood, the Session will run longer than normal until they get it worked out - you can follow it all and more on Richmond Sunlight.
What's it mean for the New River Valley, and specifically how do communities like Blacksburg and Radford that rely heavily on the universities that lie within their boundaries? Really, the entire New River Valley relies on Virginia Tech and Radford University in a lot of ways, but how does talk of a budget shortfall affect us here? I've been critical of The Roanoke Times in the past, but I have to give them credit for writing a very timely article on the subject, by one of my favorite reporters there, Tonia Moxley.
The gist of the article is that towns like Blacksburg and Radford are not immune to a recession, but the universities they support help to soften the blow. When we were on Capital Hill last week, that was one of the comments our delegation made to Dave Nutter - our university communities seem to be doing quite well, at least when it comes to real estate, because of the periphery of businesses that surround the universities, as well as the schools themselves. Just like you would diversify your financial portfolio, the diversification of the economic portfolio (wow, I sound smart) helps keeps things on a fairly even keel. According to Ernest Wade, an economics instructor at Radford University quoted in Tonia Moxley's article, the universities provide high-quality jobs (although not always high-paying) that don't rely on what he calls "smoke stack industries". I can imagine that one example of an area here that does rely on such an industry would be Pulaski and its loss of the Pulaski Furniture Company. 
It takes careful planning, though - we're not likely to see major changes here in the Valley, but there's a good chance we'll see small ones, and that, according to Blacksburg Town Manager Marc Verniel, requires careful
planning and supplementation of alternative revenue streams. Something we ought to be doing anyhow.
What's to come? I certainly don't know. I feel confident, however, that the Valley will continue to grow and thrive despite what the short-term holds. What do you expect to see?
Today's the first full day of the VAR Legislative & Education Conference, and already it's been a whirlwind. While the bulk of the attendees are "lunching" in a ballroom somewhere, I'm recovering with an Arby's turkey sandwich (have you seen the new Arby's redesign? Actual rotisserie meats and stuff, very nice) and my ever present Diet Pepsi, trying to remember everything we did this morning.
The bulk of the morning has been spent visiting our Delegates & Senators, and discussing with them some of the bills coming through the General Assembly and how they affect the New River Valley. Items of importance, sure, but none seems to be as hotly contested as SB768 and the budget shortfall.
SB768 passed the Senate on the 12th of February, and is now in the House for review. Essentially, the Bill caps the amount a municipality can charge a developer in fees. The current system allows for "proffers" - fees charged to a developer when a house is built, or a lot rezoned for development. In some cases, developers are being charged upwards of $45,000 per lot, which ultimately gets passed on the property buyer and increases the cost to the consumer. SB768 limits the amount of the proffer the municipality can charge to $12500 in the 51st state - Northern VA - and $7500 throughout the rest of the state. Those are STILL large numbers, but quite a bit less than what's currently being charged, and possibly bringing more properties in line with buyers' budgets.
As with any bill, there are arguments for and against. Being in Richmond this week, I'm fortunate to be surrounded by people a WHOLE lot smarter than me, and so I forced Jim Duncan to sit down and talk for a few minutes. Jim talked candidly about his take on the bill, specifically how while he agreed with the need for capping the rates on proffers, he wanted to see local municipalities set the limit and NOT state legislature. Personally, I think a cap - state-mandated or not - is a good thing. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this one. The word right now is it's being tabled for 2008, and will be revisited for 2009. The drama continues.
More from Richmond tomorrow, this should be fun.
This morning I had the pleasure of joining the Blacksburg Transit (BT), members of Blacksburg's Town government, Virginia Tech administrators and media folks in the unveiling of the BT's newest route, the Hokie Express. The bus will circulate only on the Virginia Tech campus, and features a wrapped logo design that was created by Dave Elmore, a local graphic designer and installed by a Charlotte company, AdMark. The route was created to celebrate the BT's 25th Anniversary. I hope to have interviews with Dave and the BT's Marketing guru Fiona Rhodes in the next day or so, but for now here are some pictures and a link to more video.
Did You Know?
Side #1
Side #2
Contest winner David Elmore being interviewed by a local station
(my apologies to WSLS for walking through their video interview - completely embarrassing)
Thoughts and photos from Blacksburg Transit's new bus ...
Wonder if it'll have spinners?
I had the extraordinary opportunity last night to see Dr. Maya Angelou here at Virginia Tech. I have to admit that I was unprepared for what to expect. Truthfully, I knew little about her. But I'm intrigued to learn more.
Dr. Angelou came to Virginia Tech as part of their Dr. Martin Luther King festivities; it was inspiring to hear her stories, to hear her read some of her poetry and talk about some of her experiences. When I find a video or audio of the speech, I'll post it here. There's no way that I can accurately recap her message.
I can tell you that for me, one of the things that was as inspiring as her speech was a recitation of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. I'd never heard the entire thing - it was done by a guy named David Johnson, who - in my opinion - absolutely nailed it. Here's the speech as Dr. King gave it, if you've never heard it in its entirety.
The Roanoke Times - which might be for sale if you'd like to buy it - published a short "Whatever Happened To ..." piece this morning on The Colosseum, a six-story $60 million, 172-unit sports condominium hotel project scheduled for Blacksburg.
Well, they're back ... managed by Salamander Hospitality, the project has been expanded to 241 suites in TWO six-story towers, and is reported to now cost $80 million at full build-out. One of the developers, Daryl Andrews, says they've had 20 people place reservations, on units ranging between $170000-800000. The smallest floor plan is 312 square foot space, with a deck that's a whopping 8 square feet. Yes, eight.
I don't know, something about the name The Colosseum leads me to believe that the space will be BIG. Rome seemed to think so. Allow me to introduce Blacksburg's version of The Colosseum.
I think we've saturated the market with condos for a while, and it started with Cascades and Cascade Pointe (among others). They've finally got a good REALTOR working on that project and I expect he'll get them going again, but he's still at the mercy of the market, which is going to need to see the rental market grow in size a bit more before it starts to make sense for investors.
Now, we've got this project, and the Holiday Inn is in the process of being converted as well. Kent
Square has
condos for sale, as does Clay Court. I know the alumni market continues to be strong, but this seems a bit aggressive to me. Anyone out there have thoughts on this?
These agents owe me for the free advertising, by the way.
Yesterday, Scott Rogers in Harrisonburg posted an explanation of why investing in college student housing MIGHT NOT be for everyone. It's an excellent post, and I recommend you read it. But that's not what this post is about.
Scott highlighted a complex called Hunters Ridge, which caters to college students. I found that ironic ... Blacksburg has a Hunters Ridge, as well, which caters to college students. And lo and behold, they look the same! Must've been built by the same company, and I thought it would be an interesting comparison, to put two college communities in separate university towns against one another. We'll look at cash flow as it's affected by purchase price, mortgage rates, and rental income, among other things. Prices in Blacksburg's Hunters Ridge appear to be a bit higher than at Harrisonburg's Hunters Ridge, so we'll take that into consideration as of today, December 21 2007. So let it begin ... The Battle of Hunters Ridge, 2007.
| 1470-J Seneca Drive, Blacksburg | 1346-D Hunters Road, Harrisonburg |
| Price of $136450, 80% financed at 7.25%, self-managed | Price of $105000, 80% financed at 7.25%, self-managed |
| Rental Income + $750, going to $1000 in May 2008 | Rental Income + $770 |
| Mortgage (Principal & Interest) - $744 | Mortgage (Principal & Interest) - $573 |
| Condo Association Fee - $145 | Condo Association Fee - $155 |
| Real Estate Taxes - $80 | Real Estate Taxes - $45 |
| Insurance - $28.50 | Insurance - $35 |
| Monthly Profit - $247.50 loss until May 2008 | Monthly Profit - $38 loss |
If you decided to put down only 10% and hire a Property Manager, your numbers would look like this:
| 1470-J Seneca Drive, Blacksburg | 1346-D Hunters Road, Harrisonburg |
| Price of $136450, 90% financed at 7.25%, property mgr |
Price of $105000, 90% financed at 7.25%, property mgr |
| Rental Income + $750, going to $1000 in May 2008 | Rental Income + $770 |
| Mortgage (Principal & Interest) - $837 | Mortgage (Principal & Interest) - $645 |
| Condo Association Fee - $145 | Condo Association Fee - $155 |
| Real Estate Taxes - $80 | Real Estate Taxes - $45 |
| Insurance - $28.50 | Insurance - $35 |
| Property Management - $75, going to $100 in May 2008 | Property Management - $77 |
| Monthly Profit - $415.50 loss until May 2008 | Monthly Profit - $225 loss |
Scott muses, "with these monthly losses, you might wonder why someone would buy an investment property." Keep in mind, at least with the Blacksburg property, after May 2008 you'd MAKE $2.50 a month if you managed the property yourself, and lose $190.50 a month if you let a Property Manager take over. So ... why does investing in college towns make sense??
It's an interesting comparison, to be sure. In both examples, it's either a wash or a loss each month at current market prices. That isn't to say investing in properties like these doesn't make sense ... but, before you jump into the game, let's talk about what specifically your goals are and structure a plan to get there. Just an update on a post I made last week. Prior to the Miami game last week, thousands of folks from the local community joined together on the Drillfield at Virginia Tech to spell out a great big Thank You to the world. The message was photographed via helicopter and airplane, as well as from the IKONOS satellite, orbiting 423 miles above the Earth. In case you were wondering how the satellite could pierce through the clouds and capture such a great looking image, it's quite simply, really - it maneuvered it's optics in reverse to a 139.33-degree azimuth and a 66.85-degree angle looking north towards Blacksburg. Anything different would have been, of course, ridiculous.
The low-altitude photo:
The satellite image:
Pretty cool ...
What a great idea! Free and open to the public, they're asking everyone to arrive on time and visit the check-in tent on the Drill Field (presumably for further instructions, and to get an accurate count of how many participated).
You can find out more at www.HokiesThankTheWorld.org
