If you’re planning to utilize FHA financing to purchase your next home, you have to use a little bit of caution when considering condos in Charlottesville, as not all of them are approved for FHA financing.

Check out the link below to see whether or not the condo you’re considering is approved for FHA;

HUD.GOV Condos with FHA Financing

If the condo community you’re considering is not on this list, you may need to check with your mortgage lender to see if you will be able to come up with an alternative type of financing. Additionally, if you live in one of the condos that is not able to provide FHA financing, you should be aware that it may limit the potential number of Purchasers who will have the ability to buy your home on the resale market!

Please give me a call if I can help connect you with a lender who may be able to help you find alternative financing, or get you pre-qualified!

[Photo Credit: http://www.radrounds.com]

Related posts:

1. Before beginning a new home improvement project- Check this list!
2. New Home Construction Contracts; Financing
3. Great Chart On Credit Scoring; Check this out if your credit might be in danger

The All Around Town Auction features tons of participating companies around town, all of whom have different auction items present at their stores and shops, that shoppers may bid on while they peek around.

All proceeds benefit the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area toward furthering their mission to serve those at the greatest risk and with the greatest need.

Areas all over Charlottesville are participating, and are broken down into the following segments of town;

• 250 West
• 29 North
• Barracks Road
• Crozet
• Downtown Charlottesville
• Pantops/East

There are definitely plenty of stores participating, so if you’re out and about taking care of your shopping, or looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, consider stopping in some of these stores to bid on their featured items.

Click here for a PDF Auction Brochure of all of the stores represented, along with their auction items! PDF Auction Brochure

Additionally, here is a brochure listing all auction items, and where they can be found! AuctionList2010.pdf

This is a great program, for a great cause- keep it in mind over the next two weeks!

Happy Shopping!

Related posts:

1. Kim Connolly, Director of Marketing & Communications, United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area
2. February Give Where You Live: Charlottesville’s Salvation Army Shoe Drive
3. Charlottesville’s Restaurant Week January 25-31!

This month’s “Give Where You Live” focuses on the Salvation Army Shoe Drive.

U.Va’s Office of Community Relations and the Salvation Army are running a shoe drive!

This is a great chance to donate your used, but usable men’s, women’s and children’s shoes to those in need.

Monday Feb. 1 – Friday Feb. 5!

Drop Off Points:

• Fontaine Research Park (1st Floor Kitchen)
• Piedmont Center
• Health System Development (2410 Old Ivy Road)

Additionally, volunteers are needed for shoe sorting!

• February 12 @ 4:00P
• February 13 @ 12:00P

Click here for more information!

—–

Every month, I will post a segment called “Give Where You Live,” which will be focused on Charlottesville and the surrounding counties, reminding us of little things we can do to make our community a better place. There are tons of incredible non-profits and charities around the area, and hopefully these segments will help residents become more familiar with some of the different needs in the community and maybe even inspire some giving!   

I will try to post about a variety of needs and programs, from big to small, so if you know of a great local cause that is running a donation-based or volunteer campaign, please feel free to send the details my way and I will make an effort to include them in an upcoming “Give Where You Live”!

Related posts:

1. Give Where You Live: December: Charlottesville SPCA Blanket Drive
2. Check Out The United Way- Thomas Jefferson Area “All Around Town” Auction in Charlottesville February 3-10
3. #18 Out of 100 Best Places to Live and Launch (CNN Money)

It’s hard to debate it- Charlottesville is a great place to live!

From the January 21 Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce ChamberBits Newsletter;

Recent other acknowledgements for the City of Charlottesville include:

• 4th Best Place to Live in the Country - Kiplinger’s Magazine 2009
• Best Place to Launch a Business – Fortune Magazine 2009
• 11th Best Town to Find a Job - Forbes Magazine 2009
• One of the 30 Coolest Neighborhoods, Belmont - Men’s Health Magazine 2009
• 18th Safest Mid-Sized Cities in the Country (populations between 150,000 and 500,000), Farmers Insurance 2009
• AARP, Top 10 Healthiest Places to Retire, 2008
• Best Places to Retire, Black Enterprise Magazine, 2nd in 2008
• Best City for Living and Launching a Business by Fortune and Money Magazines – 18th Place in 2008.
• Best Small Market for Business by Forbes Magazine - 9th Place in 2008.

Related posts:

1. Danielle Fitz-Hugh, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
2. Sasha Farmer Announced as Chamber of Commerce Ambassador
3. Money Magazine Names Charlottesville in the Top 50 Places to Launch a Small Business

Men’s Journal Magazine

February 2010

Volume 19, Number 1

According to Men’s Journal Magazine, Charlottesville is competitive on the following items;

• Local Farms
• Short Commutes
• Sidewalks
• Low Pollution
• Green Spaces
• Good Weather

The other top ranking cities were;

• Iowa City, IA
• Boulder, CO (we are often compared to this city)
• Logan, UT
• Northampton, MA

Related posts:

1. Money Magazine Names Charlottesville in the Top 50 Places to Launch a Small Business
2. Charlottesville Named by National Geographic as one of the 50 Best Adventure Towns
3. Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Summarizes some of Charlottesville’s Recent Rankings

Click here to download and read the full report. 2009 CAAR Year-End Market Report

I will be doing a more thorough analysis this weekend, but until then, some of the salient points…

Some people have suggested that the first time home buyer credit hasn’t been effective, but I have completely disagreed with that, and while this data isn’t a clear indicator that the credit is working, it would suggest that more first time buyers (in the below $300,000 price range) have been in our market in Q4 2009, than we are typically used to.

As reported for the past two quarterly reports, significantly lower home prices (down 20% or more) are driving the pick-up in sales. In addition, the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers supercharged the sale of starter homes (below $300,000) in 2009. 67.5% of home sales for the year were in this starter home category, which is approximately a 10% increase in this category.

- CAAR Year End Market Report.

One thing to be aware of is the average price per square foot we’re seeing across the different counties. This is one of the more profound ways to see that our pricing has returned to that of 2005 levels (at least), if not gone lower. My personal belief is that our prices are actually closer to what they were in 2004. Take a look at the $/SF analysis below to see how your county has fared.

Price Per Square Foot (Finished)

Another indicator that allows us to see the decline in home prices is a major drop in the price per square foot numbers. The average price per square foot of finished space in homes is not a scientific number, but a downward trend over the years clearly indicates a decrease in prices (and vice versa). According to the chart below, prices peaked in 2006 and have declined for the past three years. There has been a $28 per square foot drop since the peak in 2006. The current $143 per square foot is the lowest number since 2004.

- CAAR Year End Market Report.

According to the CAAR Year End market Report, our inventory of homes is slowly declining. Of course this was the main aim of the First TIme Home Buyer tax credit, and we are all anxious to see what will happen to inventory once it expires.

Inventory of Homes for Sale

“The inventory of homes for sale in the Charlottesville has continued to decline very slowly. As we have reported for the past several quarters, the excess of inventory is causing many of the problems with our local housing market. The decline in inventory is very encouraging, but we will still have too many homes on the market for the current demand. This could change very quickly going into the busy spring market.”

- CAAR Year End Market Report.

Average Days on Market

One piece of information that I always want future sellers to be acutely aware of is the average days on market. The days on market is a measure of homes SOLD BY AN AGENT THROUGH THE MLS, and how long they’re taken on the market being actively marketed before they have sold. This number does not include some very high days on market numbers for all of the homes that never sell, it only calculated DOM for solds, so it is artificially lower than days on market of ALL HOMES. If you are thinking of selling your home in the near future, you need to be acutely aware of the average days on market for your county and be sure to give your real estate agent a reasonable amount of time to accomplish your goals.

Will be elaborating more on this report later, but would love some questions from all of you!

Related posts:

1. CAAR 2007 Year End Market Report
2. CAAR Releases it's Third Quarter Market Report
3. CAAR Mid Year Market Report 2009

The University of Virginia has been named the top university in The Princeton Review’s latest “Best Value Public Colleges” list.

The College of William and Mary is ranked third in the 2009 list, behind New College of Florida. State University of New York at Binghamton and Florida State University round out the top 5. UVa came in fourth in the previous rankings, released in 2007.

The “Best Value” rankings, which the test-preparation company jointly released with USA Today, are based on surveys of students and administrators at hundreds of colleges and universities.

[From UVa Named Best Value]

Evidently the choices are made on over 30 criteria;

Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors’ accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants.

[From Best Value Colleges for 2010 and how they were chosen - USATODAY.com]

Photo Credit: GetMoreU

Related posts:

1. UVA Named #1 in Nation as Best Public School in Terms of Quality to Value
2. According to Kiplinger.com, UVA is #3 in the Nation for Best Value in Public Colleges
3. John Garwell; Greene County Public Schools

Here are a few of the places that Charlottesville was competitive;

1. Favorite Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway; Humpback Rock voted #3!
2. Favorite Waterfall Section in the Blue Ridge; Crabtree Falls is voted #1! (biggest waterfall East of the Mississippi)- Nelson County
3. Best Ski Runs in the Blue Ridge; Wintergreen Resort Cliffhanger mile long run voted #2!
4. Best Snowboarding Event in the Blue Ridge: Blue Ridge Double Cross voted #1!
5. Favorite Section of the Appalachian Trail: Shenendoah National Park Section voted #5!
6. Best Road Race: The Charlottesville Ten Miler voted #5!
7. Favorite Terrain park: Wintergreen Terrain Park voted #6!

Check out the full video interview of Tom Daly, from Blue Ridge Outdoors on the Newsplex website here and be sure to read the full article at the Blue Ridge Outdoors website here!

Photo Credit: http://www.blueridgelocksmithing.com

Related posts:

1. Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive
2. Charlottesville’s Restaurant Week January 25-31!
3. Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Summarizes some of Charlottesville’s Recent Rankings

From their monthly newsletter;

We are now accepting proposals for our third annual Local Fall Building Project. In partnership with local nonprofit agencies, BGF volunteers will donate hundreds of hours of skilled labor to consult, design, build or renovate a building that serves a community need in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area. Renovations or additions to existing buildings such as clinics, schools or community centers are examples of likely candidates. The Local Fall Building Project will not accept proposals for individual housing improvements.

Proposal applications for the Local Fall Building Project will be accepted until 5:00pm on Friday, February 26, 2010. A pdf version of the form is available here for download and also on our website. If you have questions, please contact Ethan by email or call the office at 434.973.0993.

Download the Request for Proposal here (aka the RFP pdf for BGF’s LFBP)

I hope you will consider submitting a proposal or perhaps volunteering with the Building Goodness Foundation!

Related posts:

1. Downtown Mall Design Proposals
2. Where Do You Fall?
3. February Give Where You Live: Charlottesville’s Salvation Army Shoe Drive

So far, the following restaurants are participating;

• Aberdeen Barn
• Blue Light Grill
• The Boat House
• Brassiere Montiel
• C&O
• Camino
• Carmello’s
• Cassis
• Fossett’s at Keswick Hall
• Horse and Hound
• l’etoile
• Maya
• The Melting Pot
• Old Mill Room at The Boar’s Head Inn
• The Pointe at The Om
• Ventana
• Vivace
• Zinc

Visit the Restaurant Week website to check out the prix-fixe menus for each restaurant!

From the Restaurant Week website;

“For any diner who has ever dreamed about fine dining without breaking the bank, Restaurant Week is that dream… come true. Modeled on similar events in other cities, this is seven days of good food and good fun. Diners get to choose from each participating restaurant’s special prix fixe menu and enjoy three courses— an appetizer, an entree, and dessert— for just $25 [CORRECTION- actually $26 this year]. (Beverages, tax, and gratuity not included.)

Charlottesville Restaurant Week is January 25-31 and July 12-18, 2010.

[From About Restaurant Week » Charlottesville Restaurant Week - ]

Related posts:

1. Charlottesville's First Annual Restaurant Week!
2. City of Charlottesville to Hold Citywide Tree Debris Collection next week!
3. January is National Radon Month!

How is this determined? According to Kiplinger.com;

“Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, then add our own reporting.

We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).

To assess costs, we look at total expenses for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and books); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans); the average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants; the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt per student before graduation. (In the table, aid is need-based assistance.)

To determine out-of-state rankings, we run the academic-quality and expense numbers again, this time using total costs for out-of-state residents and average costs after aid.”

[From How We Rank the Schools - Kiplinger.com]

Related posts:

1. UVA Named #1 in Nation as Best Public School in Terms of Quality to Value
2. Once Again, UVA is Named by Princeton Review as the Best Value in Public Schools
3. John Garwell; Greene County Public Schools

BEST NEW ARENA: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.

The University of Virginia spent $140 million to build John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006. The arena is a perfect size (capacity 14,593), includes state-of-the-art practice, training and academic facilities, and it blends perfectly into UVA’s stately campus.

[From Tyler Hansbrough, Jonny Flynn shaped decade in college hoops - 2000s: The Decade in Sports - SI.com]

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Related posts:

1. John Paul Jones Arena
2. Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Summarizes some of Charlottesville’s Recent Rankings
3. John Garwell; Greene County Public Schools

If any of the projects sounds interesting, I’d venture to say that many of these non-profits are likely looking for volunteers to help carry them out!

The following is a complete list (Credit to Newsplex.com):

1. Albemarle County Schools (Monticello High School) – $3,000 for school supplies, books, field trips, glasses, and clothing to financially needy Monticello High School students.

2. Albemarle County Schools (Stony Point Elementary School) – $1,000 stipend to a professional songwriter who will teach music literary to students in Pre-K classes.

3. Albemarle Pipes and Drums Band, Inc. – $1,500 for musical instruments for the volunteer Celtic band at various community functions.

4. Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries – $5,000 to support a dance instruction curriculum to enhance the 5th-8th grade tutoring program at Walker Upper Elementary and Buford Middle School.

5. Charlottesville Area Dental Access – $10,000 to support the Community Children’s Dental Center that provides full service pediatric dental care for low-income children in Central Virginia.

6. Charlottesville City Public Schools (Adult Education Program) – $2,000 to help fund a one-day Festival of Cultures in Lee Park in the spring of 2010.

7. Charlottesville Jazz Society – $3,000 to fund educational program by which jazz artists teach local students.

8. Charlottesville Police Department Foundation – $10,000 to support police/community activities, including the Cops4Kids program that provides positive engagement with disadvantaged youth.

9. Children, Youth & Family Services – $8,000 to support the STAR Kids program that teaches positive social and decision-making skills to low-income preschoolers.

10. Covesville Child Development Center – $5,000 for scholarships to financially disadvantaged preschoolers from Albemarle and Nelson counties.

11. Fluvanna County Habitat for Humanity – $10,000 to help build one of five Earthcraft-certified homes for deserving Fluvanna County residents as a part of a new rural conservation cluster subdivision design.

12. Fluvanna County Schools (Fluvanna County High School) – $1,500 to help fund the Fluvanna County High School Blue and Gold monthly newspaper.

13. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville – $10,000 to help complete critical electrical work at Southwood Mobile Park.

14. Hope Foundation, Inc. – $10,000 to support the Hope Community Center’s afterschool program for elementary and middle school children in the Tenth and Page neighborhood.

15. International Rescue Committee – $10,000 to create an emergency fund for medical and dental assistance to Charlottesville refugees whose health insurance programs do not meet their health needs.

16. James River Association – $5,000 to support education efforts of the Upper James Riverkeeper program.

17. Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACAA) – $10,000 to fund the Hope House transitional housing facility for homeless families.

18. Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville-Albemarle – $9,000 to provide hot meals for seven homebound disabled clients for one year.

19. North Branch School – $5,000 for the Naomi Scherr Memorial Scholarship to provide tuition assistance to needy students attending the North Branch School in Nelson County.

20. People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM ) – $8,000 to fund the salary of the Guest Advocate position to assist shelter guests by creating a relationship of trust and to provide information about jobs, housing, and identification documents.

21. Piedmont CASA, Inc .- $5,000 to support a part-time teen specialist position to increase the effectiveness of advocacy for teens (13 to18) who are victims of abuse and neglect.

22. Quest Institute, Inc. – $2,500 for the Books Behind Bars program that collects and provides books without charge to incarcerated individuals in Virginia prisons.

23. QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia – $5,000 to introduce children throughout the CACF service area to the game of tennis.

24. Second Street Gallery – $2,000 to support Family Art Day and the Public Art Project which provide art education for the Charlottesville community.

25. Senior Center, Inc. – $5,000 to support arts and humanities programs to enrich the lives of area seniors.

26. Service Dogs of Virginia – $7,000 to provide a Service Dog Scholarship to support advanced training and placement of one diabetic alert service dog.

27. Spay/Neuter All Pets, Inc. (SNAP) – $2,500 to provide low-cost spay/neuter services to low-income residents of Louisa County.

28. Special Olympics Virginia – $7,500 to support a tennis tournament for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Charlottesville with participants from across the country.

29. Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless – $8,000 for supplies for the community kitchen at “The Haven at First and Market” (formerly known as the First Street Church Project) that provides daily meals and a food service job training program.

30. Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission/Jefferson Area Disability Services Board (DSB) – $3,500 to develop a home modification network for people with disabilities in the planning district.

31. Town of Mineral – $6,000 to modernize and expand Walton Park utilizing a plan by the Virginia Tech Design Group to attract more performing arts activities to Louisa County.

32. University Montessori School – $3,000 to complete construction of an outdoor classroom for environmental education classes.

33. UVA Rector and Visitors (UVA Children’s Hospital) – $3,000 to provide helmets to third grade children in Charlottesville and Albemarle, to be distributed through the Bike Helmet program.

34. Urban Vision – $8,000 to help start an incentive program for Friendship Court families with the goal to make families more self-sufficient.

35. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy – $3,000 for travel, lodging and honoraria for 10 authors/storytellers/illustrators to give presentations fostering the love of reading and literacy skills to local schools, youth and community organizations during the Virginia Festival of the Book March 17-21, 2010.

36. Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL) – $5,000 to support Firewalkers: Changing the Story of Mental Health, a book and outreach project to educate the Charlottesville community about mental illness and to improve mental health services.

37. Wildlife Center of Virginia – $8,000 for environmental outreach programs for area elementary schools.

38. Wintergreen Adaptive Sports – $8,000 to support an ongoing sports program for wounded servicemen and women.

39. Writer House, Inc. – $3,000 for scholarship funds for disadvantaged youth to develop creative writing skills.

[From Dave Matthews Band Gives Back to Hometown]

[Photo Credit: http://wknc.org/blog/post/wp-content/uploads/dmb.gif]

Related posts:

1. Give Where You Live: December: Charlottesville SPCA Blanket Drive
2. Charlottesville Christmas Tree Recycling Program Begins Saturday!
3. February Give Where You Live: Charlottesville’s Salvation Army Shoe Drive

Chandler Law Group isn’t paying for you to party-hop!

Please note the local phone numbers and keep them handy during your holiday celebrations! Thank you Chandler Law Group!

General Facts (From the Chandler Law Group Website):

• Campaign began in 1990 making this the twentieth year.
• Through the past nineteen years, The Chandler Law Group has provided nearly 40,000 safe rides home.
• The following cities are participating this year: 2009- Charlottesville, Waynesboro, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Winchester, and Front Royal.
• Cab rides will be paid for by The Chandler Law Group within a ten mile radius of the city.
• Riders must be going home; The Chandler Law Group will NOT pay for a ride to another party or drinking establishment.
• Campaign runs December 18th, through New Year’s Day.
• In Charlottesville call 295-4131
• In Staunton call 886-3471
• In Waynesboro call 949-8245
• In Front Royal call 683-1305 or 631-1306
• In Harrisonburg call 438-7777
• In Winchester call 662-1199

[From THE CHANDLER LAW GROUP OFFERS SAFE RIDE HOME FOR 20TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR | Chandler Law Group]

[Image Credit: https://www.tlw.org/public/content/Documents/TLW_Logos/SafeRideLogo_edited.jpg]

Related posts:

1. Give Where You Live: December: Charlottesville SPCA Blanket Drive
2. Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Summarizes some of Charlottesville’s Recent Rankings
3. Just Released! The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors’ Year-End Market Report

The sites are as follows:

* Chris Greene Lake in Earlysville
* Crozet Park
* Darden Towe Park
* Greenwood Community Center
* *Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Recycling Center on McIntire Road (*note: Sunday hours are 12noon – 5pm)
* Scottsville Community Center
* Walnut Creek Park

By combining forces with the Charlottesville Curb Side Pick-Up Program, the two programs collected over 5,600 trees in 2008, yielding approximately 268 cubic yards of mulch. According to the City Public Works Department, their curbside pick up will be the week of January 11, 2010. Trees must be at the curbside by 7:00 am.

Shortly after the City’s curbside pick up, the County and City Parks & Recreation crews will team up to chip the estimated 2600 trees at Darden Towe Park.

As a reminder, this program is for Christmas trees only, please no yard waste. Both the County & City programs require that all decorations, stands and nails be removed from the Christmas trees.

Free mulch will be available to citizen by February 1, 2009, at Darden Towe Park.

[From Christmas Tree Recycling Program Details Announced]

[Image courtesy of http://www.eastampton.com/images/Christmas_Tree.jpg]

Related posts:

1. City of Charlottesville to Hold Citywide Tree Debris Collection next week!
2. City of Charlottesville Housing Affordability Program
3. Sasha Farmer Graduates from Leadership Charlottesville Program