Ron Bergeron

Between jobs or between sales, there must be tons of things to do which will not only help YOU in the short run and for the future, but also benefit... society.

Obviously, as some folks might become a bit depressed over the economy (especially with the expense of Christmas coming up shortly), many solutions present themselves in less commercially-minded ways... if we look for them. First of all, a re-assessment of our spending habits and what Love and Gratitude really means is a step in the right direction. Everyone "knows" this, but it's always easier said than done. We have allowed Madison Avenue to become our imagination, and so now we have to adjust our minds to invent (or re-invent) what's fun, useful, and think less about the Joneses and whether we need all those things that make life "simpler" (which usually costs more and actually complicates the world in general as a result). Things aren't always what they seem.

On the Home Front:

Many of us have looked around the house or apartment and decided it really needs a good old-fashioned cleaning, from de-cluttering all the way to carpet shampooing, wood refinishing, fixture polishing, etc. Even during slow sales or between jobs, we tend to get over-busy with "networking," prospecting, and job-hunting. In the evening when we're all burned out, we slump in front of the TV to recharge with more bad news about the financial situation of the world, all the while commercials are playing in-between to remind us how we need to come out swinging tomorrow so we can buy the next wave of new products as soon as possible.

So, after weeks and months of spinning around in the slow economy hamster wheel (there's one for every social situation), your home is still lacking attention. And you know that does NOT make you feel any better. Is it a waste of time to stop the "gotta get business" madness cycle? Not at all. You owe it to yourself and your families to pay attention to the physical home you live in. And if you have a family, why not involve them? Make a plan of action to execute a house project every week and watch how taking your mind off your lack-of-work routine changes your attitude about yourself, your home, and who you and your family really are as PEOPLE, not canaries in a coal mine reacting to the collapsed lungs of the economy machine.

For Your Community:

Most of us have participated in volunteering, but some of us are a little hesitant due to being shy or not feeling like we have anything to offer or simply think it's awkward or intimidating to start now when you see some folks who are really good at it and are in cool-sounding positions at your local church or school.

FORGET what it looks like. You know the Nike saying, "Just do it?" Well, that's really how it works. Maybe you're not sure what exactly TO join. In all likelihood, you might have time for more than one thing, but you have to start with only one and see how that fits in your schedule. If you do not know what is needed the most in your community, ask sources such as your kids' school principal, your church or temple leaders, your local food bank, your town's police department, library, ASPCA, etc. Sometimes it's got little to do with being "experienced," important, fancy or specialized and a lot more to do with helping as a team. I have done things like set up, make coffee, hand out raffle tickets at the door, and sweeping the floor for functions. You know what the best part is about just blending in and not having a cool spot on a committee? It's all the joking and laughing and merriment that goes on behind the scenes with true neighbors - some of which we would never meet without having belonged to a volunteer group. The fact is that most folks who participate at simpler levels of an event are the most conscientious and friendly. You'll have a blast. Ooops - and you actually did a wonderful thing!! How cool is that?

Being Innovative:

If we took all those hours spent in front of the computer looking for work or getting customer leads or composing great marketing tactics or re-writing resumes and instead devoted one or two days a week thinking about what our true vision is in life - wow, we'd actually find some new methods to express ourselves through volunteerism that might do all those things we've been knocking ourselves out with doing it the "practical" way.

And the funny part is, it's not about YOU nor does it necessarily have to have ANYTHING to do with your current or "desired" career. You know what they say about "doing what you like?" Well, perhaps your life-long hobby has avenues you haven't explored. Perhaps a dream or love affair you've always had with a particular topic is your road to applying good deeds in a different way. We are all experts at something. We all have well-honed hobbies or interests. We all have visions for making something - even a little something - better about the world in which we live. I bet you can take your chess fancy, crocheting fancy, classic-car fancy, book-club fancy, beer-brewing fancy, photography fancy - whatever - to another level with a bit of ingenuity if applied to a social vision in your community.

Turn Inside OUT:

The magic happens when we don't do it alone. If Edison stayed inside his room and all he did was surf the internet or TV channels and maybe babbled anonymously on some chat room, Tesla would be more recognized for the light bulb today than him. (Well, there was a bit of politics behind that, but you get the idea.)

We have to get out and join society in more ways than just comfort-zone. This "zoning" has ideally led to our nation's stagnant ingenuity. We have become the perpetual indoor cat. No mousing, no exercise, and sitting in the laps of comfort. Well, comfort comes with a price. It was all great while Visa and MasterCard was our lap. It was all great while our home's equity was our Mac machine. It was all great while TV, iPod, X-Box and the internet gave us the world without having to step out the door.

Using Tools - Only a Means to an End:

Searching the web for what's out there is perfectly useful. YOUR key phrase is "OUT THERE." And, yeah, it's annoying that sometimes all we see is people distracted by their cell phones texting back and forth when others are trying to have a conversation with them in social settings... I think we may be in for a de-evolution in the days ahead. "Be there or be square" - we have to be present and in the now. We have to begin making decisions without scripts given by our distant mouthpieces, and that definitely means being able to think for ourselves, for the situation at hand, and by using common sense for the good and not for greed.

And that ties in nicely with our lack of corporate "support" during these slow times. The great "THEY" are not always there for us, so WE need to be there for us. That requires community-level interaction where things can develop naturally through investing our efforts, interests and time, finding what our abilities are, no matter how small or large, and using our talents to affect our "vision" in new ways in the things we find important about our own localities.

Remember to Have Fun:

And "work" is fun when you are giving your real self. You already know how it feels to be a number. Well, you can throw that number away any time you like now. (You always could.)

ROANOKE - THE STAR CITY

If you've never been to Roanoke or have only briefly visited and didn't have time to scope out one of America's best-kept secrets, you might think "we all" (like "y'all") are just this little dot you see here on this map from wikipedia:

Roanoke City is actually part of the area called The Roanoke Valley (and you can see the night skyline here below with one of our major arteries, I 581):

For anyone and everyone interested in finding a blend of the rural with some metro flavor within minutes of either one, Roanoke could be your new home or a place for an extended stay. BestPlace.net ranks Roanoke, VA as the 11^th best place to live in the USA - which is one of the reasons I moved here, myself... http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/bestplaces05_list.aspx

The city's population as of 2007 is 91,552 people and the median home price at around $185,600 according to BestPlaces. Per our RVAR MLS statistics, the average sale price in 2008 for the entire region, which includes the Roanoke Valley and some outer counties, is $202,751. As far as the city itself, $173,133 is the number I calculated averaging out our sales in the city year-to-date 2008 from RVAR MLS data.

According to BestPlaces.net, Roanoke's cost of living is 21.94% lower than the US average, its Public Schools spend $6,486 per student, $428 more than the US average, and there are 14 students per teacher in Roanoke.

Now mind you, I do not have children, so I am only going by this published report. I will say that I know a few parents and a few teachers in Roanoke, and I haven't heard any complaints from either - yet. (I suppose this blog entry may start a discussion!!)

The website also points out that our unemployment rate as of 2007 was 3.60% while the US average was 4.60% for that year, and that Roanoke jobs have increased by 1.99%.

What I know as a resident myself is that there is definitely something for everyone here in Roanoke. First of all, we have a regional airport (here's a link - http://www.roanokeregionalairport.com/) which I have found to be a pleasant experience to navigate. No extreme waiting and no harassing feeling getting through to the boarding gates. The best part about flying in and out of Roanoke is the terrific views of the Appalachian Mountains.

Which brings me to the most important information about Roanoke - it's about the VALLEY!! Yes, nature lovers, this place is for you. From downtown, no matter what direction you head, you're going to run into BIG BEAUTIFUL HILLS! It doesn't matter whether you like to hike, bike or just sit back and look, this part of the country was meant for anyone who loves seeing a mountain landscape around them. Even from our Downtown residential and office lofts, the view is awesome.

Just nearby also, the Blue Ridge Parkway can wind you around to places where you can stop to look out and even catch a stream to fish at. There's hunting (so I hear) but since I'm a little like comedian Ron White, I rather stay indoors at 4 am with the heat up and my blanket over my head. Of course, further out east of the Valley, another big attraction is Smith Mountain Lake. SML is not only a popular recreation place, but boasts a residential and business community with much of its real estate being waterfront property.

What you might also want to know about Roanoke Valley is that our climate stays pretty tame. We get tons of sunshine year-round. There is little humidity in the summer. The winters are not harsh. When it snows, it's usually in the outer counties, but not so much inside the Valley nearer to the metro area. You definitely have all four seasons. Our autumn change comes later than what you may see up North by about two to four weeks.

Yes, there are the big corporations here (Norfolk Southern, Wachovia, Sun Trust, GE, UPS, and more), retail businesses (shopping centers, big-box stores, strip malls), a great nightlife, and the Arts. Actually, there is more by the way of Arts and Entertainment here than what I'm accustomed to in Central NJ. (I will expound on that in another post.) We have two huge healthcare systems, which likely are Roanoke's biggest employers: Carilion and Lewis-Gale.

So I'm told, we have a harder time keeping young people around Roanoke. In answer to that, several organizations had sprung up in the recent past to plan for a better youthful future, and that includes the young-at-heart. NewVa Connects (http://www.newvaconnects.org/) and Valley Forward (http://www.valleyforward.net/artman/publish/) initiate new ways to improve the quality of life around the Roanoke Valley. Check out their websites to learn more.

However, what I do hear is that many college grads actually wind up coming back to the Roanoke area after making their way in busier metropolises outside of SW Virginia.

But even here in Roanoke, our higher education system keeps many young adults from having to look outside for opportunity. Locally, we have Roanoke College, Hollins University, Virginia Western Community College, and Jefferson College of Health Sciences. Of course, as you Hokie fans know, Virginia Tech is just down the road off I 81 in nearby Blacksburg in the New River Valley. The Christiansburg-Blacksburg area is also a major employment hub for many of us in and around Roanoke, especially for the Information Technology sector.

This is our Official Logo:

This is our Official Seal:

Thanks for visiting. Join me next time for more details about our great city and the Roanoke Valley...

Ron Bergeron, REALTOR (R)

KL Recknor Real Estate Company, Roanoke, VA - A Trusted Name in Real Estate in the Roanoke Valley for over 24 Years!

All graphics & pics (except my signature!!) copyright of Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Roanoke

MOMO PLAY: A slang term used to describe an investment purely as a momentum play, not worrying about the company's fundamentals.

MOMO is a word I am going to use here in Real Estate also. It's a combination of two words - Modern Momentum. It describes what people do when they see activity has picked up. Problem with that is everyone else has already gotten on the boat, and now you're really buying into a deal that's likely marked-up higher than when you could have gotten in just recently.

As an investor (in Stocks and Real Estate), I see this happen all the time. It doesn't matter what kind of market we're having, because there are always good sectors and bad sectors in any given time. An example would be Alternative Energy stocks dizzily escalating up in a down market.

In Real Estate, there may be a down market in certain locations, a depressed market in other locations, and a healthy market in yet another.

In the Greater Roanoke Valley, as Realtor Association statistics of sales have been showing (and from a query that any Realtor can pull up in their MLS software to get particulars), sales are not consistent with down-market reports of harder hit areas around the United States. You cannot compare Roanoke to the Cleveland area. (Upon edit, a message from Stan at Realty One in Cleveland who comments that sales in some areas of Cleveland are doing as well as Roanoke - PLEASE TAKE NOTE, and I apologize for any misrepresentation.)

So when should you buy if you live in or want to live in Roanoke? Now is the time. Spring 2008.

If even a jump of 10-15% in sales volume hits this summer, you could be running into the MOMO problem. And that means prices have hit bottom, momentum will start, home values begin to increase. Does it make sense with gasoline at $3.85 a gallon? Yes. People can drive less, people can shop more cost-effectively at the grocery store, people can do without frilly gadgets, but they have to live somewhere.

Renters can still get into homes cheaper, and there are a few mortgage brokers who will work with various credit strength. Homeowners looking to upgrade can bargain with builders right now. Homeowners looking to downgrade can likely cash fund a smaller home - especially if they're moving to Roanoke from expensive areas of the country.

Supply and demand changes at intervals. The supply is good at this moment to support a buyers' market. The best homes priced to move will be gone first. The rest will adjust as a reaction... when business picks up, prices will adjust up. If you miss it, you will get caught in Modern Momentum when you decide that everyone's out buying a house now, so it must be a good time...