Southwest Virginia Blogs

There’s an article in today’s Roanoke Times quoting me as a source. I received a call yesterday from a reporter at The Roanoke Times looking for real estate data on home sales in the Roanoke Valley.

We have a large amount of inventory currently for sale as compared to previous years but, as I mentioned in the article, I have already noticed a significant upswing in sales and buyer inquiries since the middle of February. Things are beginning to look up!

It’s a great market to buy a home for you and your family.

You can get a teaser of Body Pump 66 in the latest Revolution magazine (page 11). Here's the link

Just wishing everyone a happy day. Spring is almost here and I’ve already noticed the number of phone calls I’ve received have increased significantly and my web visitors have doubled in the last month!

Folks are looking to buy and sell real estate this year, contrary to the nay saying we hear in the media.

Last week Virginia Governor Tim Kaine signed a new bill into law that will require Northern Virginia real estate developers to preserve a specified percentage of original trees on the land they intend to develop. The bill is intended to help with air quality improvement with additional benefits being preservation of wildlife habitat and storm water runoff filtering.

The law may not have much bite though in a much-needed area of Virginia. According to this story in the Washington Post, “The bill takes effect July 1, but local jurisdictions can choose whether to follow it.”

Treeless neighborhoods having a lasting impact according to Virginia McGuire who lives in Northern Virginia-

“I keep getting upset with my kids when they try to climb a tree,” said McGuire, who is also chair of Leesburg’s Environmental Advisory Commission. She’s worried about the trees being hurt. “You can’t spare any.”

“This was a farm, and there weren’t a lot of trees here, but there were trees here,” she said. “And there’s just nothing left.”

Another sign with a leaf motif announced the development’s name: Oaklawn.

There’s a nice little foreclosure that just came on the market in the Woodhaven area of North Roanoke County. I’ve personally inspected it and although, as with most foreclosures, it does need some repair work, it’s a great value. Here are the vitals-

• SOLD
• 4 bedrooms
• 2 baths
• 1660 square feet
• Full basement
• Huge deck in the back yard
• Tile floor in kitchen
• Central air
• Forced air gas heat
• $112,900

And here’s a foreclosed town home also in the North Roanoke County area. It’s vitals are-

• 4 bedrooms
• 2.5 baths
• 1924 SF
• Full basement
• Central air
• Forced air gas heat
• $134,900

Call me for a personal tour of either of them or to answer your foreclosure questions!

It seems like lately that the Old Southwest neighborhood in Roanoke is one of the hot places to be and a great place for investment as well. Here’s your opportunity to get in on the ground floor with some properties that are ready to be taken over.

117 12½ Street SW, Roanoke

• $66,500
• A lot of refurbishing is already completed
• Great positive income rental potential and close to the bus line
• New roof, electric panel, siding, wiring, flooring, carpet, vinyl, etc.
• 4 bedroom, 2 baths
• Great Old Southwest style

609 Elm Avenue SW, Roanoke

• $82,500
• Doesn’t need many repairs, would make a great remodeling project
• Great architectural details, fireplace, old style windows, bonus attic space, dormer windows, etc.
• 4 bedroom, 1 and a half baths
• Classic Old Southwest architecture and style

1722 Patterson Avenue SW, Roanoke

• $85,500
• Needs a few repairs but not much
• Great positive income rental potential and close to the bus lines
• Lots of space, your tenants will love it!

You see it on the news, cable television and infomercials-

Buy foreclosures at pennies on the dollar! Save big money in real estate investing with foreclosure short cuts!

I regularly sell and help people purchase foreclosures in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding counties. With all this experience I’ve learned a thing or two! Here’s the real skinny folks and a few things you need to know before thinking about buying a foreclosure-

1. Foreclosures are often a very good deal but not the kind of deals you see on TV.
   As an agent who regularly markets, services and sells foreclosed homes in the Roanoke area, I understand the process and while it is a foreclosure, the bank who owns it is trying to keep from losing as much money as possible. They do not sell for pennies on the dollar.
2. Foreclosed homes generally are in fair to poor condition.
   It’s unfortunate; the people who lose their homes to foreclosure do so because they can’t afford their payments and therefore also can not afford to upkeep the house. Foreclosed homes almost always have maintenance needs and sometimes major maintenance problems.
3. Foreclosed homes are sold “as-is”.
   The financial institutions who own these homes know they have problems and they aren’t going to spend time negotiating over carpet stains or damaged tiles. Before a foreclosed home is ever advertised for sale, it has gone through a rigorous valuation market analysis with the listing agent and other real estate agents who take these problems into account when suggesting a fair list price on the home. Hire a home inspector so you are less likely to be surprised with a problem after closing. Caveat Emptor!
4. Negotiating with the bank on a foreclosed property is almost the same as a private seller.
   Low ball offers and unreasonable expectations are likely to be quickly rejected by the selling bank the same as you would on your own home. They are reasonable negotiators but not desperate.

So there you have it. A few tips from an experienced foreclosure agent. With all of that said, foreclosed homes are still a good deal and typically priced below the actual market value, and, the longer it’s been on the market, in most instances, the better the deal for you. Be smart though and consult with an experienced agent before buying any home, foreclosure or not.

Just a few days ago we received 65. It turned out that we were the first instructors to receive our music at our club, so Tami put the word out that we're getting to work on our review. Her post had hardly hit our blog when we got several messages back that 65 was old news - not only had other instructors long ago received their music, they'd already launched the release!

To be sure, rollout of a new release must be a huge job - According to LMI these programs now run in more than 10,000 clubs worldwide. Even if you had only one instructor per club that'd be a big undertaking, but of course there's quite a few more than that.

Which begs the question - does this distribution model really make sense anymore? Really, in this age of iTunes and movies over the internet, can we not make use of technology to help get the job done? Obviously having downloadable releases won't work for everyone, but consider this - for those instructors who do have access to a fast connection and know how to download music to an iPod, this might actually work just fine.

Let's suppose that's one instructor per club - 10,000. And just for the sake of round numbers, let's suppose the cost of putting together the physical materials for each release (CD, DVD, plastic case, book, etc.) is US $15, and the cost for packaging all that up and getting it to an instructor's mailbox is another $5 - so (round numbers again) we're at $20. If my numbers are even remotely close, that puts $200,000 per release back on the table if even one instructor at every club would download their release rather than take physical shipment.

Again, the population of instructors that could benefit from electronic release distribution is probably limited. But maybe - just maybe - it's large enough to make it a viable option. Especially if it means we here in little ol' Blacksburg, Virginia aren't the last ones on the planet to get music anymore!

Jeremy Hart asked Stuart Mease who tapped me for this meme as a way to share information from blogger to blogger to increase exposure and give a more personal touch to a blog. So here you go-

1. I am an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America. As a Boy Scout I was able to do a lot of amazing things and take some really fantastic trips to places like Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico!
2. I spent almost 7 years in jail from 1998-2005. (I actually worked there as a magistrate!) One midnight shift I smashed a giant jail roach with a volume from the Code of Virginia, quite literally throwing the book at it.
3. While in college I volunteered with the Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department as a cardiac technician on the rescue squad. Saw many tragic things.
4. We have a golden retriever named Rooster. He’s a mischievous fellow and likes to raid the laundry for his favorite item to play keep-away…our socks.
5. I worked for 4 summers at Camp Bethel near Troutville on the summer staff. One of the things I enjoyed most was working as the naturalist and one of my assumed responsibilities was to rid the main areas of any snakes that wondered in. I was given the nickname “Snakeman” by the kids!

So it is now time to pass this along to someone else.  I think I will tap Todd Hester and Rhett Fleitz.

Always an exciting day in our home is when we receive the new release - and for us it was Saturday. And, although I was the first to the mail box, I allowed Craig to choose the first song and for him it was the ab song. When I was reading off the artists to him, and mentioned Kanye West, he knew right away who it was. I however did not. I do know Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and I recall DJ Alligator from a previous release, but I'm pretty much out of sorts when it comes to all the new stuff. Not that I don't like - thats not what I'm saying - I'm just an ol' rocker at heart. I really like the bicep track - great song! Of course we have only listened to it once so far so too soon to tell how we feel about the whole thing. Craig will be working on the review and have it out shortly. Keep checking back...

Our club only just launched BP 64 several weeks ago. We wanted it to be at the same time that they launched Body Step, a brand new program for the club. (Which by the way is doing fabulous!) We are hoping to launch 65 a tad sooner!

I know the quarterly for our area was going on today - I wished we could have been there but things just did not work out this time. If anyone out there went, let us know how it was!

Lately our classes have been jam packed. Whats strange is that it did not start after New Years but more around Feb. 1. Wednesday and Sunday we are usually turning people away - on Friday, well, it is still a bit slow - around 13 or so. I love the packed classes! I can remember when I first started teaching and almost wishing no one would show up to class! Now, I'm somewhat disappointed if we don't fill the room. It's so much more fun!

By the way, for anyone who lives in Gwinnett County, Georgia, there is a great new magazine/website out on fun things to do in and around the area. It is called The Fun Finder. Go to www.thefunfinder.net and check it out. Also, the forum is cool too. See if you can figure out which post is mine...!

Craig and I will be traveling in our beloved "Love Shack" down the Atlanta Highways this weekend. It is time to see my boys and also we are bringing my mother home with us to live for a while. That should be interesting. Maybe I can get her to Body Pump?

Take care!!!!

Tami