Virginia Real Estate Blog: December 2008

I have an earlier post about some pulley seals that I purchased for my old wood windows. My home was built in 1912 using balloon construction so drafts can really be significant in certain places - around the sliding pocket doors in my living rooms, around outlets and switches on exterior walls, and around the gap on the window frame where the rope pulley is. I have taken steps to seal up the house to make it more energy efficient, more comfortable, and to save money!  While doing some more research on insulating techniques, I found this video from This Old House...

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20051453,00.html

Wow is this great!  It is a big project but at the very end there is a super simple tip for "wintering" your pulley in your sash -- it is a short video so check it out -- you might learn something (like I did!)

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and New Year!

Ready to buy a house in 2009? I am ready to help!  Search for homes in all of Hampton Roadson  my website.

I had two presents this week. First was meeting a new client who is looking for her first home in Newport News. We looked at a number of townhouses near Fort Eustis and saw some real winners. There are a couple that will suite her needs very well. She would prefer a single family home.  Unfortunately the choices are more limited in her price range. We are working towards an offer on a foreclosure... wish us luck.

The other present was a stray beagle that ended up on my doorstep yesterday! She is a beautiful beagle girl. No information on her family. No lost beagles listed at the shelters. The microchip trail ends 2 years ago when she was sold by a breeder in Wisconsin to a pet store!  Egads!  Unfortunately her family didn't update her contact information so the trail goes cold. We think she may be pregnant. That would be new to us so I am really hoping she isn't -- just a bit puffed up due to dinners of McDs and Pizza Hut while on her own!

Here she is...  So cute!

Looking for a home in Hampton Roads? I can help!  Search for homes or call me and let me do the work for you!

For today's Wordless Wednesday!  Taken By dear Friend Angela near Portland OR

 

Happy Hoildays and New Year!

December 2008

 

As an accredited buyers representative (ABR), I receive a weekly email with useful information from Rebac, the association that manages the accreditation.  Here is something from the latest email.

This taken from the National Association of Realtors annual survey of home sellers and buyers and was published in November 2008. The REBAC links was to a Realty Times article by Bob Hunt.

"The most useful information for sellers and their agents is to be found in the section on the home search process. While the survey results are not significantly different from those of recent years, the trends continue. For example, this year 69 percent of buyers said that they used the Internet frequently during the search process, up from 60% last year. In 2003 that number was 42%.

Thirty-three per cent of buyers went to the internet as the first step in the home search process. 17 % contacted a real estate agent first, and 9% began by driving through neighborhoods looking for homes for sale.

Buyers use multiple sources of information in the process of looking for a home. Far and away the most used sources are the Internet (87%) and real estate agents (85%). What is the third most used information source? Yard signs (62%)."

Ready to buy or sell a home in Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth or Suffolk? Call me or USE THE INTERNET!  :-)

I look forward to hearing from you!

Bye-Bye, Dry Cleaning: Green Your Dry Cleaning

Here are some tips from Ken Hoyt with Natural Home Magazine on greening your dry cleaning: 

Brush it up!
The valets and lady's maids in period movies are always brushing clothing. In fact, it's still a great way to remove surface soil. Go over the garment with a soft brush or a microfi ber cloth before storing it.

Wrinkle Removal
Steam clothing with a home garment steamer.  They smooth rumples and wrinkles with ease and heat up the fabric, killing off microbial beasties. (Let garments cool and dry completely before wearing.)

Clothing Cocktail
Every costumer knows this trick: Fill a spray bottle with cheap vodka (not rubbing alcohol; it has additives). Spritz your garment, concentrating on areas where perspiration has collected. The alcohol kills the bacteria that cause odor, then dries quickly.

A Better Clean
For the sake of the environment and your clothing, choose a cleaner that uses the pressurized CO2 process; they usually advertise themselves as "green" or "organic" cleaners, but be sure to ask about their process because these labels are unregulated.

Hand Washing
Hand wash wool and silk sweaters and simple, unlined garments, but don't clean structured garments (anything with a lining and shoulder pads) with water, as it may distort their shape.

Not to copy from Richard Iarossi, but this one struck me as a great wordless wednesday addition!

 

I was lucky enough to spend the morning with my husband. It was our anniversary so we went to brunch at Freemason Abbey and spent time walking around Freemason District and Downtown Norfolk before heading to Prince Books to buy our anniversary gifts (romantic!) and then home to rake the last of the leaves (really romantic)!

Here are some images from our tour!

 

Norfolk has selected Mermaids as their sculpture/symbol of choice. There are many throughout the city from Ocean View and Willoughby to Downtown and beyond. My favorite is at the Nauticus. Even though we walked that way today, I didn't take a photo.  This one is on Granby Street near Macarthur Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked through Selden Arcade which houses the D'art Center. It is decorated for the holidays with greenery, wreaths, and a tree.

This area is filled with small artist's studios and is a great place for finding a unique gift. Not many stalls were open on a Sunday afternoon, but it was fun to window shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have written about Macarthur on Ice before. Here is a photo of the skaters with St. Paul's in the background.

It is really hard to tell these are skaters  - but I promise!

We had a great chat with the gentleman manning the Norfolk Visitors Center booth on Granby Street before walking over to the ice skating. He was really jazzed about the number of people downtown today. He was right -- there were families everywhere - kids skating, people out walking, eating, and shopping. It was a good day to walk through the city -- usually quiet on a Sunday afternoon!

 

THANKS FOR JOINING ME on this brief tour!  If you are looking for a home in Norfolk, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, or throughout the area, I am happy to help!

Ok, I found this one looking at foreclosures and short sales in Virginia Beach. This is a really nice neighborhood in Ocean Lakes High Schooldistrict. Really close to the oceanfront. Close to the Oceana, Dam Neck military bases but not right in the flight paths.

This is not my listing.  I just think it is a really good deal. Currently listed at $269,900.  4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. More than 2100 square feet. Lovely deck and pond in the back yard, The community has pool, tennis, playgrounds. Floors are wood and the backyard is fenced.

You would have great neighbors -- I sold a home in this neighborhood to a really cool family!!

I would love to show you this home if you are looking for a nice family home with a garage! 

 

Or search for all homes for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk and beyond!

What a great tour!  Congratulations to the organizers of this years holiday house tour. Though the weather was what one could certainly call 'blustery' outside, it was warm and welcoming inside the 10 homes and churches on the tour. Here are some photos that highlight the tour -- all from my cell phone so the quality is medium at best!

    NOTE SANTA at the Front Door!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the garden and waterview of the home above!  Just lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a church on the tour - Lovely inside and its on the water. They are thinking about starting a pre-school on the premise (there is a great education building attached!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This fireplace separates the dining room and the kitchen. You can see the fire from both sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is another fabulous watefront home in Lafayette-Winona. It has been totally renovated and is just lovely! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The owner of this awesome bungalow gave their pet a bit of decoration for the holiday too!  The bow is almost as big as she is!

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Lafayette Winona! If you would like information on homes for sale in this neighborhood (or any other Hampton Roads neighborhood), give me a call!

Ok, I don't have a picture but this is pretty good.

To save freezer space... Freeze family size portions of soups, stews, and sauces in empty cereal boxes fro space-saving stack-able storage.

Line a box with a large zip-top bag, folding the edges over the top (picture a cracker or cereal box lined like a trashcan). Then fill.  Seal the bag, freeze vertically while still inside the box. Once frozen, remove the box and stack in freezer horizontally. Downsize to smaller bags for fewer servings. 

WHAT A GREAT Space-SAVING idea! 

From November 2008 Southern Living Magazine.

Need more space?  Buy a larger house!  I can help buy or sell real estate in Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and beyond!