Melissa Savenko's Richmond Real Estate Review

Controversial Topic = More Traffic. Isn't Real Estate Interesting Enough?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  When I "blog" - really don't like that word as a verb, I must say - on controversial topics, I've received much more traffic to this blog - see! it's a noun! - than when I've written about something purely real estate-related.  For example, each and every one of the Baseball in the Bottom topics generated WAY more hits than anything on the First Time Home Buyer tax credit. 

[NOTE:  A colleague in my office pointed out the fact that  the phrase "Baseball in the Bottom" was .....ahem....more than slightly prurient.  He was hugely amused that no one seemed to have picked up on that fact.  Since he and I had that discussion, I could never help but think of the project logo as a naked bum with baseball bat protruding.  I know, I know - I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old.]

I wish people were more interested in the plain vanilla real estate stuff.  In the fairly short time that I have been in the business, I have observed so much head-scratching behavior in the real estate world, from both consumers and from Realtors.  It was my hope that by writing about some of the issues and situations that I encountered, that were confusing to me, or that required me to educate myself about something new, I could pull back the curtain a bit on the practice of real estate. 

Do I change my blog to give people what they seem to want, more controversial topics?  Nah.  I think I am just going to continue to write about real estate-related topics that I find interesting.  A few topics that I'm thinking about for the near term:

• Possible opportunities for high speed rail for downtown;
• The new appraisal rules, and how the rules have been impacting home sales;
• The City selling the Richmond Community High School site at Libbie and Patterson and to whom; and
• The time limitation on the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

In the meantime, enjoy the summer!

My FIRST First Time Home Buyer Seminar - And I Didn't Suck!

Well, I held my first First Time Home Buyer seminar this past Wednesday night, and I actually didn't suck!  I was really kinda worried that I would.  But it went smoothly and it wasn't as difficult to talk for one entire hour about the home buying process as I thought it might be.  I felt like there was more that I could have covered, truth be told.  The only thing that was a little disappointing was the turnout.  But actually, I think less was more for my first time.  If there was a crowd, I might have been REALLY uncomfortable.  [Although note to self:  Advertising in the Sunday Richmond Times-Dispatch is expensive and ineffective].

So, I have decided to hold the First Time Home Buyer seminar every Wednesday night, same time, same place, for the foreseeable future.  Based on the traffic coming through my Open Houses and to see my listings, it looks like there are a lot of first time home buyers out there.  That's really no surprise, with the low prices, the low interest rates, and the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.  The reason for the seminar:  Buying a house is a complicated process.  Anyone can educate themselves about the real estate market - although I will always contend you're never going to be as on top of it as someone who eats, breathes, and sleeps it daily for their living.  But it is the transactional side of the process that I think first time home buyers don't get.  How do you get financing?  How do you find a Realtor?  After you find the house you want to buy, what are the steps from contract to closing?

Is hosting a first time home buyer seminar self-serving?  Yes.  Absolutely.  I'm not going to deny that I hope I can pick up some clients from it.  But I also hope it will be people who want to work with me because they think I'm knowledgeable and good at my job. 

So here are the details on time, date, place, parking.  If you're thinking about buying a home, come on by, bring a friend, bring a work colleague.  No obligation, just information.  And maybe, hopefully, you'll think I don't suck at the public speaking too. [;)]

WHAT:        First Time Home Buyer Seminar - How to Buy a First Home

WHERE:       Windsor Court Condominiums, 1610-1612 Grove Avenue, Unit #2.

WHEN:        Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m.  Parking in the rear of the building. 

Baseball in the Bottom - Developers Kill the Proposal - Oh Yeah, and Walk Away from Boulevard Too

So, the end of the great "Baseball in the Bottom" debate has finally come.  See the Richmond Times-Dispatch breaking news report here.  Looks like Highwoods Properties decided to pick up all its toys and go home.  And when I say ALL the toys, I mean all the toys.  Highwoods has announced they are pulling out of any redevelopment proposal for the Boulevard corridor too. 

I have to say, the Boulevard proposal always seemed to me to be totally secondary to the Downtown baseball stadium proposal anyway, kinda a "here you Boulevard proponents, we'll do SOMETHING for you, just so you'll play nice."  Pity that, I think the Boulevard has HUGE potential as a retail corridor, being the connector between and so close to Northside and the Fan/Museum District/Carver/Jackson Ward.  Just look at how successful Movieland Cinemas has been in the short time it's been open.

But no matter.  The deal is dead.  I am not too upset about it.  If it worked on its own, without major investment from the City taxpayers, I wouldn't have been opposed.  But the simple fact is the numbers didn't work without major subsidies from the City - and ONLY the City.  The counties would have benefited, but didn't need to have any skin in the game.  In this economic environment, that type of burden placed on the City and its bond rating just ain't reasonable. 

Maybe we can now move on to discussing two things that I think are MUCH more interesting for revitalizing the Bottom - heritage tourism and high-speed rail.

And man, I gotta tell you - I was driving back from a meeting today and took the Manchester Bridge from the south side of the river to the north.  That view is SPECTACULAR.  I think it's the best view of the Richmond City skyline, period.  If we ever did do a new stadium, how cool would it be to be on the South side of the River, with the stadium facing north, looking out over the water?  That's a revitalization project I could get behind.  A woman can dream....

FREE First Time Home Buyer Seminar - Next Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Gulp.  Now I've gone and done it.  I've created a Facebook "Event" for this seminar and sent it off into cyber space, so now I am committed.  Gotta do it.  No choice.  No turning back!

"This" - an educational seminar on home buying - is something I've been thinking about doing for a while.  The event will be held next Wednesday evening, June 24, 2009 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Windsor Court Condominiums, 1610 Grove Avenue, Unit 2.  To some extent, hosting a seminar seems a natural extension of blogging.  There is, of course, the major difference that I have to stand up there live before people, talk in real-time, and hopefully sound somewhat intelligent and knowledgeable.  Urrgh.

I have been turning the idea of a seminar around in my head for a while now.  I think there is a lot of misinformation and many misconceptions about buying a home.  I know I didn't fully understand the home-buying process until I got into the business, which was WELL after I bought my first house, and I consider myself a fairly educated and informed person. There is also a lot of publicly available housing data out there, but many individuals may not know how to sift through and analyze that data.  We all know buying a house is a major personal and financial commitment.  But I don't want this seminar to be too high-brow or theoretical.  My idea is to arm people with practical information to help them navigate the buying process.  You need to understand the basic outlines of the transaction, what the hurdles and obstacles can be along the way, and how to find knowledgeable experts in the various areas - Realtor, lender, inspector, title insurance provider, etc. - to assist you. 

So, for anyone out there that is thinking about buying a first home, or even if you've bought before but wouldn't mind a refresher course, feel free to show up next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at 1610 Grove Avenue, Unit 2.  There is a Facebook event page, which you should be able to locate by searching my name, "Melissa Savenko."  There is no need to RSVP, you can just show up if your schedule allows.  You are welcome to bring a friend, neighbor, or work colleague.  There is free parking in the rear  of the building, accessible through the alley on Vine, between Hanover and Grove Avenues.  Constructive criticism will be welcome, and indeed, encouraged.  But please, be gentle.  This will be the first time I've tried this, so I'm a bit nervous.

Is the Recession Slowing? Good News for Richmond, Virginia

Here are two articles which suggest that a slow, steady economic recovery may be in the not-too-distant future for Richmond.  For the ultimate impact of the recession, one article puts Richmond in the middle of the Top 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.  That means the recession has been milder here compared to about 50% of the other major metropolitan areas in the United States.  For example, with respect to a decline in home prices year-over-year, the Greater Richmond Metropolitan area, which will include the surrounding counties, has seen only a 2.2% drop in 1Q 2009 compared to 1Q 2008.  All in all, that's pretty small, especially compared to the figures for the LAST area on the list, Stockton, California, with a drop of 30.6% in home prices 1Q 2009 to 1Q 2008.  OUCH.

The other article details a national increase in housing starts - new construction - and stabilization in wholesale prices.  That data is good news, although any good news on the broader economy should be met with cautious optimism.  One month's positive numbers do not necessarily a sustained recovery make.

But for those of us hoping and praying for a turnaround in the real estate markets specifically, and the overall economic markets generally, any little glimmer of hope is cause for celebration.  Fingers crossed, keep it comin'. 

Cleaning Up Shiplock Park - Commonwealth Architects Does a Good Deed

Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person.  So I am not sure how my Significant Other talked me into giving up my Saturday morning sleeping in to go pick up trash, weed, paint, and otherwise clean-up Great Shiplock Park on the James River.  And, I might add, this activity was scheduled for June 13, 2009, which promised to be a typical HOT, muggy June day.  I don't like to sweat either.  But his firm, Commonwealth Architects, had pledged to do the park clean-up as a public service and in celebration of its 10 year anniversary.  So, even though I was a bit grumpy about it, he talked me into participating.  Beer and pizza at Bottom's Up was promised.

Let me just say, the old adage, "Many hands make light work," is certainly true.  In the course of a morning, 8ish-1ish, we managed to:

• Pick up all the trash up and down the river bank, railroad tracks, and other areas of the park;
• Mow the grass;
• Weed whack the edges and corners;
• Paint the trashcans;
• Re-stripe the parking lot;
• Repaint the curbs in shocking yellow;
• Paint various other concrete barriers and large metal objects (although I think the "Las Vegas Green" was probably a TAD brighter than someone had intended);
• Paint the bridge steps;
• Spray for weeds; and
• Collect all the cans and bottles from the trash for recycling.

At the end of the morning, the park looked great.  It was cleaner, brighter, more inviting.  I, however, didn't make out so well, and was neither cleaner nor more inviting.  Just grubby and paint-covered.  NOT so great. 

But being down there on the river reminded me, once again, of what an amazing treasure the James River is.  The project also got me thinking.  We accomplished so much, just having 25-30 people pitch in one morning for a few hours.  Wouldn't it be great if we could have community clean-ups at various places along the river on some kind of regular schedule? 

Thanks to the employees and owners of Commonwealth Architects, and to their friends and family, for giving of your time and energy.  Your generosity has made Shiplock Park a more beautiful place.  Richmond rocks.  Viva la James!

Real Estate Investors Cheated - How Did This Happen?

The front page article for today's Sunday Richmond Times-Dispatch describes real estate investments gone horribly, horribly wrong.  Apparently, a gentleman named Donald C. Lacey was borrowing money from private individuals and using that money to acquire real estate and renovate it, then resell that real estate for profit.  HOWEVER, it appears he did little to no fixing up and borrowed well in excess of the actual value of these properties from multiple investors.  For example, one property, 1320 N. 22nd Street, was assessed at $76,500 by the City, but a single individual, Mr. Allan Mullian, had $140,000 of Deeds of Trust against it.  In other words, there was way more debt against the property than it was worth.  AND no renovation work had been done to the property, it was boarded up and abandoned.  

[NOTE:  Deeds of Trust are called mortgages in other jurisdictions.  They are essentially liens, or debt, on the property, and those liens are supposed to be secured by the value of the property.] 

I feel for the investors.  It appears they lost LOTS of money.  But I do have a question:  How can you lend money on a property and never even do a visual inspection of the property?  Perhaps this makes sense if you are an out-of-town investor, which it appears some individuals were.  But if you live here, and you're lending someone money to buy and rehabilitate property, that just seems to me a glaring and inexcusable lapse, to not even do a drive-by look-see.

But as we all know, hindsight is 20-20.  The moral of the story:  Make sure you know who you're working with.  Make sure you fully understand every step of a transaction: to whom the money is going, for what, when the construction is going to occur, when the subsequent sale is going to occur, the anticipated sales price of the rehabbed property, the basis for the 10%-12% rate of return.  And as my father likes to say, "If something looks too good to be true, it probably is."

Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Richmond - Underappreciated Treasures

Once again Style Weekly knocks it out of the ballpark with an in-depth article about some of the modernist architecture right here in our fair City, and how it's slowly disappearing.  One quibble with a noticeable overlook - The article didn't include the Rice House, now owned by the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation, which is the only example of Richard Neutra's architecture on the East Coast.  See Slide No. 6 in the ProViz portfolio.

I guess it's no surprise that in Richmond, mid-century modernism is under-appreciated.  After all, we are traditionalists who love our Colonials and Georgians.  And I understand that not all people find modern architecture pleasing to the eye.  Once again, this is an area where there is no "right" or "wrong," just personal preference.

But I do think it is probably the case that because there are fewer individuals who find modernist architecture beautiful, these buildings are not being preserved the way they should be.  I thought the story of the Executive Motor Hotel on West Broad Street illustrated the point well.  The poor building sits empty, surrounded by weeds and overgrowth.  It just looks so sad.

Did you know that some modernist architecture, and possibly all the architecture highlighted in the article, could be considered "historic modernism" and might qualify for preservation tax credits?  How cool would it be if the Executive Motor Hotel on Broad was restored to its original glory, as a kitschy chic boutique hotel?  Just an idea, but one can dream.

Predicting the Future of Real Estate - When Will This Recession End?

A friend sent to me an article from Vistage, billed as "The World's Leading Chief Executive Organization."  It was a summary of a presentation by economist Brian Beaulieu of the Institute for Trends Research.  The title of the article is "Gearing Up for the Recovery:  Economist Brian Beaulieu Projects October 2009 Recovery."  Here is what the article says about real estate:

Housing Market
There’s more negative housing activity to come, says Beaulieu.

• Housing prices will continue to decline, reaching a bottom in late 2009.
• Mortgage rates will stay low through Sept. 2009. Take advantage of these rates while we have them.
• Even though housing prices have a little more to fall, now through the end of 2009 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a house. Rarely do low interest rates align with low prices and the promise of a modest recovery two years off.  There will not be a better time to buy real estate in our lives. Look for areas with strong demographics suited to an aging population.
• Home prices will begin to rise slightly in late 2010.

Is this guy right?  Heck, I don't know.  But if he works for an organization called the Institute for Trends Research, I presume he has LOTS of data at his fingertips.  As someone who tries to find the silver lining in a whole heck of a lot of clouds lately, I prefer to focus on one particular statement:

Even though housing prices have a little more to fall, now through the end of 2009 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a house. Rarely do low interest rates align with low prices and the promise of a modest recovery two years off.  There will not be a better time to buy real estate in our lives (emphasis added).

So, if you are one of the lucky few with a stable job, a stable income, decent credit, and some cash for a down payment and closing costs, and you do not own a home, consider buying a house now.  Make sure you find out about the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.  If you already own a home, you might consider investing in income-producing real estate, rather than the stock market.  There are great opportunities out there for savvy buyers.  And if you need any help with your real estate needs, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail.  I can be reached at 804-986-3993 or melissasavenko@gmail.com.  [Shameless self-promotion now over].   

NEW Photo Albums for Two New Listings - Carytown and the Historic Fan District

I've created photo albums for two new listings.  One is for 3132 Parkwood, a whole-house renovation that backs up to a great block of Carytown, across from Cary Court Shopping Center.  The other is for 2210 Floyd Avenue, a wonderful house smack-dab in the heart of the Historic Fan District.

3132 Parkwood is a detached brick and slate home that has been COMPLETELY renovated.  This home's first floor has refinished original hardwood floors, a dining room, a living room open to the kitchen, and a kitchen with island.  The kitchen has all new cabinets, granite counters, a tumbled travertine backsplash, ceramic tile floors, and stainless steel appliances.  All the appliances, including range, refrigerator, and washer/dryer, are included.  The first floor half-bath has all new fixtures. 

The second floor has three bedrooms and an updated hall bath, with a new ceramic tile tub surround and a new vanity and new fixtures.  The "guts" of the house - also known as the "not-so-fun-stuff-to-do-or-pay-for" - have been redone also, with an all new electrical system, new HVAC, and new plumbing supply lines.  Outside, the home has a full front porch and a large rear yard with new privacy fence.  There is a masonry storage shed and off-street parking for up to two cars.  Really, all you have to do is bring your furniture and move in!  Offered at $299,500.

2210 Floyd Avenue is bright and airy with the traditional Fan floor plan - formal living room, formal dining room, first floor powder room and kitchen with rear staircase to the second floor.  HOWEVER, there are some surprises and extras with this home - wonderful built-ins, an ingenious wet bar tucked beneath the stairs, the laundry room hidden in the powder room behind closet doors, and exposed, pickled ceiling beams in the kitchen.  The kitchen features a ceramic tile floor, white cabinets and black granite counters.  There is wonderful storage and a breakfast bar. 

The second floor has an expansive master suite with his-and-hers walk-in closets and access to the hall bathroom.  The hall bath has a separate shower and jetted tub, as well as a separate area with vanity and dressing table area.  The rear bedroom on the second floor is generous and has the added feature of a screened second floor porch.

In addition to these bedrooms, 2210 Floyd has a finished basement space with its own ceramic shower bath.  Use this extremely flexible space as a guest suite, a third bedroom, a playroom, or an office.  There is an additional, separate storage area in the basement as well.  Finally, this home's outdoor spaces are AMAZING.  There is a full front porch, the second level screened porch, and a lovely decked rear yard, perfect for entertaining but EXTREMELY low maintenance.  You'll never need a lawn mower again!  Combine all these features with something difficult to find in this price range in the Fan - A BRICK GARAGE THAT FITS AN SUV!  PLUS an additional brick covered carport!  That's TWO off-street parking spaces!  All of this, offered for $425,000.

So give me a call or drop me a line if you have any interest in either of these properties, or any other property, for that matter.  I can be reached at 804-986-3993 or melissasavenko@gmail.com.  And look for additional information, coming soon, on the first time home buyer tax credit and a new program from the Virginia Housing Development Authority ("VHDA") that allows qualified buyers to turn that credit into cash for closing.