Dave Shockley Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate

Let me provide a short update for those that haven’t visited this blog previously. I am not a wine expert by any means. My lovely wife is the reason I started this section on wines. She, being the wonderful partner she is, provided me with a membership to the Virginia Wine of the Month Club this past Fathers Day. That started the adventure of relating my tasting experience each month. Over the past three months I have been having a lot of fun with it. For past articles go to the drop down menu on the right that says Select Topic then choose Wineries or Wine & Travel to read where we have been so far.

Now let’s get to this months’ selection. I always like to say a little about the vineyard. August previews the CHRYSALIS VINEYARDS in Middleburg, Virginia, Loudoun County founded in 1997 by Jennifer McCloud, the winemaker is Alan Kinne. This Winery has the largest planting of the Native American grape the Norton east of the Mississippi. Therefore, the selection that I received is a bottle of the 2006 NORTON.

The first thing that caught my eye was the beautiful label. If you were buying wine based on the label you would definitely purchase this one. I found it fantastic. Maybe a little whimsical, but tastefully done.

After seeing this label I am thinking for the first time about getting one of those label saving kits and starting a scrapbook.

You are probably saying by now, enough about the bottle, what about the wine. Well without tasting it I am going to provide you with a little of what the Virginia Wine Club says in its newsletter. (In Parenthesis are my words.)

Like I said before I am not a wine expert I only pretend to be one on the weekends. Now I quote “In the glass, the 2006 vintage is opaque filled rim to rim with a deep shimmering garnet. ……”open in the glass a few minutes, or better yet decanting,” “….opens up the wine’s jammy licorice and plum filled nose.” (I guess there are some that decant their wines. If you do please let me know if it makes a difference. I may try it with this one.)

“The attack is fairly sharp leading to a robust mid palate” (as opposed to front or rear palate I guess) “that has layers of dark stone (?) fruit flavors.” “The full bodied dark cherry finish lingers nicely and features a minimalist rounded tannic structure.” (Next stop Barnes and Nobles for a wine dictionary)

“The round tannic structure and bold mid palate makes this an excellent pairing for traditional Italian dishes.” (So I guess it goes well with pizza.)

Later this week ,I will post in my words, what I think of this wine. I may wait until the weekend so I can take my time with it. You wouldn’t want me to rush this would you? Based on the label it has to be good so taking my time is important.

If you don't want to miss the next wine post you can subscribe and be notified via email on my main blog at CharlottesvillebyDave

Also, if you would like information on homes for sale near a vineyard just let me know. I am a REALTOR® "Licensed to Sell Real Estate in Virginia"

It seems that almost everyone now understands that the real estate market has cooled. Analyst are implying that if you didn't get into the market before the boom it's no use investing now. WHY? Again I ask Why? When you get down to it and talk with real estate professional in the local market you may get an entirely different response.

True the real estate market has cooled off even in the Charlottesville, Virginia area, but the real estate market has always been cyclical. Supply and demand may change in the local market, but the feeling is that real estate is one of the better investments still to be found in our Nation. Granted the cycle may be longer now. The need will always be there as the population continues to grow. There is always going to be a need for shelter whether it is for a family, and individual or a business.

On a national average real estate has historically increased in value each year. There have always been drops and spikes, but in the majority of cases the rate has continued to increase over the decades. You may have noticed I said decades not years.

Even though the market has cooled, there are still great opportunities for making a sound investment through real estate. It often comes down to your knowledge of the market, and your ability to negotiate or have a professional negotiate for you.

There are still great advantages to investing in real estate. The tax benefits and the ability to leverage your money. You can deduct the interest on your mortgage payments, thus reducing the taxes you owe. You can also as an investor claim the depreciation and expenses to lower your taxes.

Plus mortgage rates are still at a historical low. Just take a look at your local mortgage companies on the internet and you will still see interest rate around 5 percent and less.

So what are you waiting for?

Shopping for a home in the Charlottesville, Virginia area or anywhere for that matter? Below you are a few helpful tips to keep in mind.

Few things in your life will be as exciting or nerve racking as locating and purchasing a home ranks right up there with divorce and a death in the family. It's not unusual for good and bad emotions to converge during the search process. Don't despair, this is a normal reaction. Even seasoned home buyers go through the same thing. The tips below will help you organize a house buying plan. This in itself will help relieve a lot of tension.

You have already made a start by deciding to take the leap towards home ownership. However, before you leap you need to take time to prepare. It is very tempting to just start looking, and it is very easy to do so with all of the information at your finger tips. Doing so without being prepared can be disastrous and can cost you time and money.

Get your financial house in order first! Getting this out of the way in the beginning will save you an enormous amount of time, heartache and aggravation.

You will need to determine what your budget will comfortably allow and then stick to it. What!!!! You don't have a budget? You should prepare one if you don't. There is plenty of information on the internet to help you with this. By having a budget you will avoid spending yourself into a "house poor" situation.

Next get familiar with the areas that you are considering to help narrow your search.

Decide on what your minimum requirements will be as well as those additional features that you would like. For example do you really need a four bedroom or will a 3 bedroom with a bonus room work just as well.

Make a good list of items that you do not want in a house. (steep driveway, small yard, small kitchen etc.)

What locations will work best for schools, work, shopping etc.

Then begin to familiarize yourself with the home buying process in your area, and the paperwork necessary. Talk with a friend that has been through it or better yet contact a REALTOR®. This can also keep your stress levels down.

When you start visiting properties carry a notepad and your digital camera so you can compare homes later at your leisure. If you look at more than a few properties features of the homes may start to run together. The notepad and camera will help you avoid this.

The important thing is to purchase the home that is best for you. By maintaining your perspective and your emotions the process will be a lot more enjoyable.

I hope these few suggestions are helpful. Please don't hesitate responding with any questions you may have.

At a time when most of us are seeing more and more short sales & forclosures we are also hearing more & more horror stories about problems with lenders. Being non responsive, calling at the last minute to request information that had been sent weeks earlier, never getting to speak to the same person twice etc.

I thought it might be nice if you have had a positive experience with a lender to give them a pat on the back by sharing their name here. We all realize that it may depend on the processor that you are dealing with at the time.

To start the ball rolling I will mention one here in the Charlottesville, Virginia area that has been reported to go above and behond the call of duty while working with an agent in my office. Suntrust Bank.

I hope that this will not be the only one on the list. So let us hear from you.

Here in the Charlottesville, Virginia area we are starting to see a good response to the market. More traffic through open houses, more buyers calling for showing, plus more contracts. Whew....had me worried for a while.

However, a new problem is starting to present itself and I was wondering what the rest of the Active Rain community was seeing.

Some of our agents are starting to see really low appraisals coming in. Not close to the selling price, which we can handle, but way out of line $35,000 or more. Of couse the agents go back to the market information and can't figure out where the appriasers are coming up with their price. A few have even called and run into a wall. Comments like "depressed neighborhood" or "depressed community" "to many houses on the market to support the sale price" have been used.

Are you running into this? If you are how are you responding? How should we or can we use this information to help educate future seller when pricing?