Blacksburg, VA

Torgersen Hall and Bridge were named after recent President Paul Torgersen. Both the hall and bridge were built in 2000 to accomdate the growing number of students and add a high tech space for students to study. Administrators were skeptical at first of the bridge going over Alumni Mall because it would block the view of War Memorial and the drillfield from Main Street (War Memorial is directly behind me, Main Street is the street that houses the white buildings with red/green awnings). Esocoff and Associates did a fabulous job of making it blend right in with the rest of the campus, using Hokie Stone to blend it in. Along the arch reads Virginia Polytechnic Institue and StateUniversity (see why we call it Virginia Tech now?). On this side of the bridge, on either end reads 1872 and 2000- above our name is our motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

The bridge is one of my favorite places to study. Inside is filled with plush chairs and comfy desks to study either individually or with a group. There are a mixture of both PCs and Macs to use if you don't want to bring your computer. The ceiling is an arched wooden ceiling- it's really pretty. I wanted to take a picture to post, but there were too many student studying the day I went in. It's never empty, that's for sure! Our software distribution office is also located right outside the bridge- you can access it from either Torgersen Hall or Newman Library. It's a good class if it's located in "Torg", no matter what the class is. It has won the AIA DC Chapter Award of Merit, the Interior Design Award, and the APA's Award for Design Excellence.

Your kid is a junior in high school. This summer you'll be college shopping if you haven't already started. You know nothing about Virginia Tech but it should be on your list. Why?

We've got history. We were founded in Blacksburg, VA as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, a land-grant military school, in 1872. Aside from Texas A&M, we're the only other non-military school in the country that has all four branches of the military still represented. When we received accredidation in 1923, we droppped the four year Corps of Cadets requirement to two years. Today it is no longer a requirement, but it is still a big part of Virginia Tech. Over the years we had the name change to Virginia Polytechnic Insitute, then added "and State University", and it's now known as Virginia Tech or VT. (Our official name is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) Women were admitted in the 1920's and in 1973 we were the first school to allow women to join the Corps of Cadets program.

We have diversity. Currently we have about 27,000 undergraduate students (with a 16:1 student-faculty ratio). We have about 7% Asian population, 7.4% Indian population, and about 4.3% African-American population. We have students from all over the country and the wold- PA, NJ, MA, CT, FA, AL, TN, NC, SC, GA, and OH are some of our most represented states and Austrailia, China, Korea, India, Nepal, and the Carribeans are just a few of the respresented countries. We're pretty evenly split gender wise.

We've got options. With a little over 70 majors in 9 different colleges, chances are we have what your son or daugher is looking for. From Mechnical and Chemical Engineering, to Finance and Marketing, to Food Science & Technology and Biological Systems Engineering, to Residential Property Management and Urban Affairs & Planning... I would probably run out of space on my blog listing everything that we have. Our advisors here are awesome- if you're in something you don't like they'll do whatever it takes to help you find what's right for you.

We're reasonably priced. Total yearly cost living off campus is around $16,300. Total yearly cost living on campus is around $21,700. Apartments in the area range from $700 for a one bedroom to about $1500 for a 4 bedroom.

We're centrally located. A 12 hour drive can have you in Boston, Orlando, St Louis or New Orleans (I've made the Orlando and Boston drives myself). Two hour drive has you at Greensboro or Charlotte airports. There's a smaller airport in Roanoke, Va about 30 minutes away, but most students fly out of the larger NC airports.

We're a sports school. We're known for our awesome football team and our basketball team is really coming into its own these past few years. We have everything from soccer (our women's soccer team is really good), to lacrosse, to volleyball in our ACC division. We also have numerous club sports for those not wanting to be as competitive.

We've got awesome Greek life! We're have a pretty diverse Greek community: 13 NPC sororities, 36 IFC fraternities, at least 20 different co-ed fraternities ranging from professional to academic to service. We also have 8 NPHC (African-American) fraternities and sororities. As part of a sorority myself, I feel Greek life is so important to a college experience- not only do you meet some really awesome people, you make great contacts, your gpa goes up (Greeks on our campus always have higher gpa rankings than non-Greek students), and you get a chance to be really involved on your campus. The average Greek student has a leadership position within their organization, is involved in at least two other organizations, does more community service than the average student and has better job offers leaving college.

We have every type of student group you could ever imagine. Just a few of the organizations I've been involved in: Baptist College Ministries, Residential Property Management Club, New Life Christian Fellowship, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, College Republicans, Pistol and Rifle Club. We have over 600 registered student organizations- everything from academic, sports, music, gaming.... you name it we have a group for it. It's easy to get involved in this campus!

We're number 3 in the country for dining. People never consider on-campus food in their college shopping but it's so important. I work in dining services and I can say our food really is good. We were number 1, but two smaller private colleges beat us. We like to think that doesn't count here, haha. We're still the number 1 public school and that says something. There is nothing you can't eat here- we have EVERYTHING. And we do speical dinners throught the year- one around each major holiday of course, but also things like ice cream sundae nights, Pirate Night, Mardi-Gras, Southern Classics Night, Favorites Night (everyone votes throught the week for what they like)... a lot of others that I'm forgetting.

So. When you're out college shopping, make a trip down to VT. If you come anytime between October and March bring warm clothes- we're in the mountains so it's usually cold and there's some type of wind advisory. It's a great place to live and go to school. I've heard it time and again, "Tech was just on my list, didn't really know anything about it, but as soon as I visited I fell in love." If you visit anytime before May, give me a call. I'd be happy to give you a tour around the place.

I've been meaning to put this post out there for quite some time, then a month or two ago another agent did something similar and so I figured it was probably time to move it up the To-Do list.

A lot of people ask me "when's that house down the street going to sell?", or "how much did that two-story on Main Street sell for?" While I'm glad to tell you, there's a way you can find out even faster. If you'll email me your name, email address and the neighborhood you live in, I'll set up a search in the MLS that'll email you every time a property in your neighborhood comes on and off the market. You'll be the first to know when it this the market, the first to know if the price changes ... be the envy of all your friends! Don't worry - by providing your email address I won't be spamming you, or sending you cutesy recipe cards in the hope that you'll remember my name. If it helps, I won't even save your address.

I've just found that if you're interested in following the values in your area, this is a good, real-time way to do that. I've set it up for myself to track my own neighborhood, and those of some of my former clients, and can do the same for you. Just email me and I'll set it up; I hope you find it useful.

It's the winter time - duh, it's cold outside - and many folks are looking for inexpensive ways to save dollars AND energy in their homes. I came across this list from GreenCville.com and thought I'd repost it (italics are mine):

1. Seal duct work - this is the number one way to conserve energy during the winter. Duct work can leak heated air into the attic or crawl space if all the joints and intersections are not sealed with foil-backed tape or silicone caulking. (which is another reason Mt. Tabor Meadows is so unique)
2. Seal air leaks to attic - seal all holes from pipes and wires that run in and out of the living space. This includes light fixtures, pipes, wires, attic stair openings.
3. Seal fireplaces - never use a fireplace as a heat source for your home. Even as a supplemental heat source, the cold air introduced to a warm home through an open flue isn't as efficient as sealing off a fireplace and using the primary heat source. For natural gas fireplaces, turn off the pilot light when not in use.
4. Lower thermostat - in the winter, set the thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees during the day and to 58 degrees at night or when away from home for several hours. Keeping the temperature at 70 degrees is recommended for homes where there are elderly or infants. (this can be hard to maintain in homes that take a long time to heat - a programmable thermostat might help as it allows the home to begin heating at a prespecified time of day)
5. Lower water heater to 120-125 degrees - many water heaters are automatically set at 140 degrees. Lowering the temperature on your water heater will reduce the amount of fuel needed to heat the water.
6. Change furnace filters every month - This is the number one reason for furnace breakdowns. Inspect heating and cooling equipment annually. Have a professional check and clean furnaces once a year.
7. Weatherstrip doors and windows - inspect doors and windows for air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then it needs sealing. Air leaks can be sealed with caulking or weather stripping.
8. Insulate water pipes coming from the water heater - insulate the first three to six feet of cold and hot water pipes near the water heater. Insulating all hot water pipes is not necessary if pipes are lo cated in an attic or crawlspace.
9. Add an insulation blanket to your water heater - wrapping the water heater with an insulation blanket can save heating money by slowing the drop in temperature from the hot water tank as it sits unused. Inexpensive insulation kits are available at most home improvement stores.
10. Add insulation to attic - when adding insulation, start at the top and word down only after eliminating air infiltration. (I've had clients do this and it drastically reduced their heating and cooling bills)

What are YOU doing to save money on energy costs this winter?

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by WDBJ7's news anchor Natasha Ryan about a story she was writing on the online social media site called Twitter.

Now, I've admitted my addictions here on the blog before, and it was interesting to see a local news outlet not only recognizing the power of the service but taking the time to investigate it further. Below is the final result, in two parts done on last night's broadcast:





Certainly I feel the service is an invaluable tool - it helps me connect with friends, it's enabled me the opportunity to meet current and future customers, and it's even influenced the creation of a new small business startup in the New River Valley. It's nice to see local news outlets exploring new ways of breaking news and staying in touch with their viewers. If you're on Twitter, make sure to check out these local news and civic organizations:

• Natasha Ryan
• WDBJ7
• WSLS
• ABC13 WSET
• Roanoke Times
• Town of Blacksburg

There are many more, I'm sure, but these were some I could recall off the top of my head. Thanks to Natasha and WDBJ7 for the story, as well as to Patsy Stewart, Ira Kaufman and Stuart Mease for their participation as well!

Hey - are we connected?