Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA.  I love Richmond VA real estate. Today, I wanted to share a very dangerous situation that I walked up to this past Wednesday.  I know most of you would never do anything like this, but I am posting this experience just in case it has crossed your mind. One of my good friends, who's also one of my "A" clients and me went to look at two homes yesterday.  The first was in Mechanicsville, VA, which is about 20 minutes outside of Richmond.  The home was very dated and we left quickly and decided to go grab some lunch.  We went to eat at Panera Bread in Henrico County which is just to the west of Richmond.  Most people around here just call it the "West E... 01/23/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA. I love Richmond VA real Estate. Today, I want to spotlight a historical event.  Some historical events affect the future in ways we regret or celebrate forever.  Some are just footnotes in the chain of human existence. Queen Victoria of Great Britain ascended to the throne at the age of 18 in 1837.  She reigned over the vast British Empire for nearly 64 years, the longest serving Monarch in the United Kingdoms history.  The Victorian Era is considered by most as the golden age of British history.  ‘Victorian' architecture, furniture, and clothing all refer to her and the time in which she was Queen.  She died on January 22, 1901. Please remember, if... 01/22/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA.  Today, I want to spotlight a historical event.  Some historical events affect the future in ways we regret or celebrate forever.  Some are just footnotes in the chain of human existence. On January 21st, 1954 the USS Nautilus was launched and so was the era of nuclear submarine power.  Over the next several years Nautilus rewrote the record books for submarine speed and distance benchmarks.  For the first time in submarine history, a ship was able to go to the absolute North Pole (diesel powered submarines were not capable of staying submerged long enough to accomplish this).  Nautilus logged about 500,000 miles in its 25 year long career. Please r... 01/21/2009

Whether or not to refinance your current mortgage is an important decision to consider while owning your home. The goal of refinancing should be to reduce your monthly mortgage expense (lower monthly payment) and reduce overall interest paid on your mortgage loan. Refinancing is not recommended for cashing out the equity in your home to pay bills or short-lived assets. This could put you upside-down on your mortgage in a declining market and/or erase necessary funds required to sell your home and pay off the mortgage balance at a later time. Whether or not to refinance your home depends on several factors: 1)  Is your home mortgage balance less than or equal to the value of your home? Lenders will not loan more than the value of your home. 2)  Does your refinance require an appraisal?  ... 01/21/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA.  Today, I want to spotlight a historical event.  Some historical events affect the future in ways we regret or celebrate forever.  Some are just footnotes in the chain of human existence. John Marshall was nominated for the Supreme Court on January 20th 1801.  He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on the 27th, and took office on February 4th of the same year.  He served on the court until his death in 1835, the longest serving judge in Supreme Court history.  His former home at 818 E. Marshall St. in Richmond was a museum to his honor until recently. I understand it is being turned into condominiums. Please remember, if you know of anyone looki... 01/20/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA.  Today, I want to spotlight a historical event.  Some historical events affect the future in ways we regret or celebrate forever.  Some are just footnotes in the chain of human existence. The Hundreds Year War lasted from 1337 to 1453 between royal families from current day England and France.  It was not really a single war, but a series of unusually long conflicts divided by rather short periods of peace so that historians have grouped their study and effects on European history into the single title "Hundred Years' War".  Probably the greatest realized effect the War had was to unite what had previously been two loosely organized regions into two... 01/19/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the Realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA. I purchased the Talking House package about six months ago(Yes, I know).  I would like to get responses from everyone on AR that can share their experience with these devices.  I have not noticed how it has helped at all.  I could be missing something here, but I just don't get it.  It seems to me that the sales pitch is to rent out their radio transmitters to FSBO's and when they still don't get their home sold, they will call you to list it.  I have a problem with telling someone that homes get sold quicker when they talk, when if fact they don't.  If this product worked, they would not need to call you to list it.  I am going to call T H on Tues.... 01/18/2009

Hello Everyone!  This is your friend Nate Rowe the realtor in Richmond VA representing homes in Richmond VA and homes in Henrico County VA.  Sometimes, I think I will just post a short memo that has no major historical interest.  I think it will be more or less a "trivia" posting.  Today, I have one that fits that category. Joseph Glidden was born January 18th, 1813.  He patented an invention that played a vital part of our western expansion.  There were very few trees in the mid west, so making fences to keep cattle and horses within confined areas was nearly impossible.  The large animals effortlessly pushed down wire fences until November 24th, 1874 when Mr. Glidden patented the fence material that helped shape the west.  BARBED WIRE! Please remember, if you know of anyone looking at... 01/18/2009

Okay, so I just got lazy.  Google "Young and the Restless" and Richmond, Virginia and the report on the creative class popped right up.  Here it is.  Looks like the focus groups were conducted in March 2004.  I'm not sure when the report itself was generated, I just know I went to the kickoff party at Main Street Station.  Pretty interesting stuff.  And the "El Camino" quote is on Page 17.  Love it.   01/13/2009

HYPE Vision: If We Ran Richmond - Play King or Queen for a Day HYPE ("Helping Young Professionals Engage," or on more than one occasion I've heard it revised tongue-in-cheekily as "Helping Young Professionals GET Engaged") is hosting an event on January 21 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 at Toad's Place called "HYPE Vision: If We Ran Richmond."  I'm pretty sure the "We" refers to "Young Professionals."   [ASIDE: I enclose "Young Professionals" in apostrophes merely because I am getting to that point where I'm wondering if my biological age disqualifies me from participation in anything calling on one to be young.  Sigh.  But enough of my mid-life crisis.  Moving on....] The e-flyer describes the event as follows: If you ran Richmond, what would you change?  If you ran Richmond, what would you... 01/13/2009

The short answer is "maybe". We need to talk about your current situation to really determine if you can qualify. If you will give me a call, we can determine if you are a good candidate in just a few minutes. If you qualify, a mortgage loan modification can help you: •·        Avoid Losing Your Home •·        Reduce Your Monthly Payments •·        Save Your Credit History I am a professional real estate agent who has been specifically trained on how to negotiate a mortgage loan payment modification so that you can keep your home - or make a short sale settlement with your current lenders so you can sell the property and get out from under this burden. Call Me Today At (804) 212-8932 AvoidForeclosureVirginia.com   Time is running out! There are many reasons a homeowner gets into trouble... 01/09/2009

I have a client interested in purchasing one or more 25 to 40 unit multiple dwellings in Richmond, VA. I have accessed my local MLS and LoopNet to see what is available but was wondering if anyone knew of any other commercial listings sites in the local market.  01/06/2009

The December 21, 2008 Sunday Real Estate Section front page had an article about a "mini condo" development in Jackson Ward.  The developer is a gentleman named Ron Stallings of Walker Row Partnership.  Just for the record, I have never met Mr. Stallings.  However, I did see him speak at the Venture Richmond Forum on Downtown Development, about which I have previously blogged. I have to say, of the residential developments that were described at that Forum, I was most impressed with Mr. Stallings and his descriptions of his condominium projects.  Not only did he describe what he was developing, he explained WHY.  He had a specific target market for each of his projects.  For example, the "mini condos" are for young, urban dwellers with steady but moderate income.  They sell for $87,550,... 01/04/2009

I'm constantly amazed at how opaque the real estate industry is to the average consumer.  I don't at all mean that as a knock on the consumer, or any indication that consumers aren't smart.  And trust me, I think we as real estate professionals are responsible for the general public's lack of understanding of what we do.  WE agents are responsible for the stereotypical image of us - mere pushy "salespeople" (said as a dirty word), not experts and partners in a very complicated and complex financial transaction.  Realtors, and other parties to a sale of home, don't do a good job explaining exactly what it is we do, and why we are value-added to a transaction, especially in difficult financial times, such as these.  So, I think I'm going to try to do my part in my own tiny little part of ... 01/02/2009

Back on December 5, 2008 I posted an entry about a Venture Richmond Forum highlighting downtown development projects recently completed, under construction, or proposed.  The gist - I was impressed by the breadth and depth of stuff going on in Richmond, as well as the program put on by Venture Richmond.  The post went out into the Internet ether with nary a ripple, but for one snarky comment accusing me of "drinking the Kool-Aid."  Well, maybe I did, but I L-O-V-E my hometown, and when it comes to progress in the River City, I'd rather be an optimist and root for the glass to be half full. Yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch did a cover article that followed Mayor Wilder around as he basically covered the exact same ground as the Venture Richmond Forum.  Maybe 7:30 a.m. was too early fo... 12/30/2008

Here is an observation that has had me scratching my head since I got into this business.  QUERY:  Why does the average consumer do more research before buying a television, or refrigerator, or car, than they will to find the person who will help them buy and/or sell a home? It makes no sense to me, but it seems to happen all the time.  Buyers pick up their agents at a random Open House, or by calling on a sign.  Sellers choose their boss's daughter, or their work colleague's cousin, or the name they see most in the neighborhood, to sell their home.  They don't bother to do research.  They don't bother to interview.  On the other hand, they'd be up to their elbows in website reviews and Consumer Reports before buying a toaster.  I dunno, it just seems totally bass-ackwards to me.  The R... 12/15/2008

.style1 {color: #FF0000} Price: $225,900 FIZBER.com ID 8928927 Single Family with 4 bed, 1.0 bath, in 6105 Bremo Road RICHMOND, VA, 23226 http://www.fizber.com/8928927/ 6105 Bremo Road - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 6105 Bremo Road, RICHMOND, VA, 23226 Sq footage: 1866.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 1.0 Bedrooms: 4 Year built: 1946 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Virginia homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Huge Opportunity for You to Get Instant Equity! 6105 Bremo Road Richmond, VA 23226 Only $225,900! Open House Sunday December, 14th 2:00- 4:00 PM After Repaired Value: $280,000 This is a very nice 4 bedroom brick home with one bath. It is near St. Christopher's School and St Mary's Hospital in a great area. I... 12/13/2008

.style1 {color: #FF0000} Price: $179,900 FIZBER.com ID 8928926 Single Family with 3 bed, 2.0 bath, in 5906 Misty Oak Court RICHMOND, VA, 23234 http://www.fizber.com/8928926/ 5906 Misty Oak Court - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 5906 Misty Oak Court, RICHMOND, VA, 23234 Sq footage: 1432.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 2.0 Bedrooms: 3 Year built: 1993 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Virginia homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Cozy 3 Bedroom in Chesterfield County!5906 Misty Oak CourtRichmond, VA 23234Only $179,900!You will love this 3 bedroom 2 bath house on a cul-de-sac in Chesterfield County. This property has been recently re-modeled with new paint and carpet and too many other upgrades. This is a must see home ... 12/12/2008

In my last post I gave a couple of simple examples of folks who are taking action rather than waiting for relief from Washington.  I think it's good for us to also engage with state and local governments to carve value out of them.  I am going to talk specifically about Richmond, Va. since that is where I live and with what I am familiar.  After all, all politics is local.  The principle can certainly be applied to any region of the country. And while I am going to list off specific ideas and examples, I want to impress upon you that these are based on well thought out ideas, not well thought out research... Unlock Value - As I look over a map of the Richmond region, I notice a couple of pieces of land that are very intriguing to me.  Land occupied by some state agency or another.  The ... 12/10/2008

.style1 {color: #FF0000} Price: $82,900 FIZBER.com ID 8907255 Single Family with 3 bed, 1.0 bath, in 1248 Wallace Street RICHMOND, VA, 23220 http://www.fizber.com/8907255/ 1248 Wallace Street - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 1248 Wallace Street, RICHMOND, VA, 23220 Sq footage: 1322.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 1.0 Bedrooms: 3 Year built: 1956 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Virginia homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Great Rehab Deal at VCU1248 Wallace StreetRichmond, VA 23220Only $82,900! Tax Assessment $112,200 Approximate Repairs $20,000 or Less to Rent or $31,000 to Retail Should Rent For $1100 Per Month to Students After Repaired Value $160,000 This 3-bedroom, 1-bath brick house is situated in just 4 bloc... 12/09/2008