Monday, August 31, 2009
Refinance?
People often ask me if they should refinance their current mortgage. There are lots of things to consider, especially if the closings costs required to refinance are really worth it in the short and long term. Here is a cool calculator to help you determine if you should refinance your current loan. Click here.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
School
Well, we're at the end of the second week of school. Last year, we had a real problem with seventh grade bullies making Taylor's life miserable the first couple of months. It seems that this year might be the year that Matthew has his turn and may have to punch some kids in the nose, or open up a can...
My rule has always been, do not hit first, try to let an adult handle the issue, but if some kid hits you or tries to beat you up, you aim for the nose or where it counts. I don't want any of my kids being scared at school or on the bus. Matthew reported that a kid continually poked him with a "needle" on the bus Tuesday afternoon. What he meant was the kid had a button, or what you might call "flair", and was poking him with the safety pin part and wouldn't stop. Well, that made my blood boil. Then, yesterday, his teacher called to let me know that one of Matthew's friends had bitten him quite hard on the arm while waiting for the bus. GRRRR!
So, I had to have a little Come to Jesus Meeting with the principal this morning. I have always had good results with the teachers and principals of the Christiansburg schools in getting issues like these resolved, so I am hoping for the best.
Many times, I have clients ask how the schools are rated here and which are the best. My kids have always attended Christiansburg schools and I have been happy with them. I know that Blacksburg and Radford schools are rated very well, too. Here is a link that you can go to find the scores of just about anything a school can be ranked in Virginia. Do any of you know of any other good sites? I'm always trying to find others... please leave a comment if you know of any other good links!
So, I had to have a little Come to Jesus Meeting with the principal this morning. I have always had good results with the teachers and principals of the Christiansburg schools in getting issues like these resolved, so I am hoping for the best.
Many times, I have clients ask how the schools are rated here and which are the best. My kids have always attended Christiansburg schools and I have been happy with them. I know that Blacksburg and Radford schools are rated very well, too. Here is a link that you can go to find the scores of just about anything a school can be ranked in Virginia. Do any of you know of any other good sites? I'm always trying to find others... please leave a comment if you know of any other good links!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Benadryl, please.
I decided to forgo my usual nightly dose of Benadryl that I have become accustomed to after moving into a house who's basement is slathered in the sheddings of this lovely creature... meet Winnie, or Winston if you're feeling formal:
I figured I was sleepy and comfortable enough and maybe I wouldn't wake up sneezy or itchy, so I settled into the shoulder of this sexy creature (read: 
husband, punkie, hotness) and found myself tracing the outline of his bicep and the veins in his forearms drifting off as he still mumbled something while raking his huge hands through my hair. I told him I had been inspired to write absolutely nothing on my blog today. He tugged my hair and told me to write what's in my heart. So peaceful, so right, but oh so wrong to be awakened at 3 am by some ungodly creature that had apparently eaten the above cutie and was now having problems breathing because said cutie's big feet must've gotten stuck in it's throat on his gulp down.
Baby, I love you, but you snore like a water buffalo.
So, I moved to the cold leather couch and wrapped my whole body tightly in a quilt and proceeded to count the minutes between 3 am and 6 am. I read the news on my Blackberry and got caught up on the great health care debate and reform, all the while praying for the minute that my throat wouldn't be scratchy any more and my thoughts would turn to liquid, which signals the point when you know sleep is finally creeping back in. My thoughts started to slip and slide into each other and it made me think of an oil slick on a driveway in the 80's where all of us neighbor kids would gather to ride our big wheels. (or maybe I just wanted to add another picture)
So, what's in my heart and how on earth do I make it pertain to real estate? Well, I think you have to have a vision in life. You have to have a goal or many goals along the way. You have to believe in it and you have to see it as if you've already crossed the finish line. Sometimes people get very disappointed in the home search process. Maybe their expectations are too high, maybe they don't know what they want. I think as with any other goal in life, you have to be clear on your vision of the right home for you, while being realistic, and if something gets in the way of what you thought was the perfect home, just remember that sometimes unanswered prayers are the best kind and things work out for a reason! I found some great articles on hgtv's frontdoor website and thought it has some awesome tips to help you paint the vision of the perfect home for you!
I figured I was sleepy and comfortable enough and maybe I wouldn't wake up sneezy or itchy, so I settled into the shoulder of this sexy creature (read: 
husband, punkie, hotness) and found myself tracing the outline of his bicep and the veins in his forearms drifting off as he still mumbled something while raking his huge hands through my hair. I told him I had been inspired to write absolutely nothing on my blog today. He tugged my hair and told me to write what's in my heart. So peaceful, so right, but oh so wrong to be awakened at 3 am by some ungodly creature that had apparently eaten the above cutie and was now having problems breathing because said cutie's big feet must've gotten stuck in it's throat on his gulp down.
Baby, I love you, but you snore like a water buffalo.So, I moved to the cold leather couch and wrapped my whole body tightly in a quilt and proceeded to count the minutes between 3 am and 6 am. I read the news on my Blackberry and got caught up on the great health care debate and reform, all the while praying for the minute that my throat wouldn't be scratchy any more and my thoughts would turn to liquid, which signals the point when you know sleep is finally creeping back in. My thoughts started to slip and slide into each other and it made me think of an oil slick on a driveway in the 80's where all of us neighbor kids would gather to ride our big wheels. (or maybe I just wanted to add another picture)
So, what's in my heart and how on earth do I make it pertain to real estate? Well, I think you have to have a vision in life. You have to have a goal or many goals along the way. You have to believe in it and you have to see it as if you've already crossed the finish line. Sometimes people get very disappointed in the home search process. Maybe their expectations are too high, maybe they don't know what they want. I think as with any other goal in life, you have to be clear on your vision of the right home for you, while being realistic, and if something gets in the way of what you thought was the perfect home, just remember that sometimes unanswered prayers are the best kind and things work out for a reason! I found some great articles on hgtv's frontdoor website and thought it has some awesome tips to help you paint the vision of the perfect home for you!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Back at it again...
Well, it's another Monday! I think my husband thought I was nuttier than usual posting that last pic, but hey- that's how the first week of school made us all feel, so there it is!
I've found some great resources that answer tons of questions about buying or selling a home on HGTV's website. Check out this link to making your next real estate transaction DRAMA-FREE!
The air feels a lot less humid today and makes me anxious for fall and good hair! :) hope everyone's day is great!
I've found some great resources that answer tons of questions about buying or selling a home on HGTV's website. Check out this link to making your next real estate transaction DRAMA-FREE!
The air feels a lot less humid today and makes me anxious for fall and good hair! :) hope everyone's day is great!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Back to School
Wednesday was the first day back to school for Montgomery County. I have an 8th grader, Big Taylor, a second grader, Bryson, a first grader, Matthew, and a 4 year old pre-schooler, Little Taylor. Yes, I have two Taylors- I inherited the cute girl one through marriage- as fate would have it, we both had a kiddo named Taylor, and yes, it is completely confusing. The kids came up with the Big and Little prefixes and it's just stuck. To date, the 8th grader is MUCH happier with his science teacher this year. She happened to have a Rubiks Cube on her desk that had been been all mixed up, stickers moved around and all, and my genius Big Taylor who can solve one in 45 seconds or less, was able to rearrange her stickers back to the correct spots using his magical, mythical Rubics Cube algorithims and hit it off great with his new teacher. (Science was the class that pretty much ruined 7th grade for us all last year.)
Matthew, absolutely loves first grade and is SO glad not to have to take a nap and is SO excited to have homework! yes, you heard right- a boy who anxiously awaits homework, I pray he always stays that way!
Bryson's second grade teacher was excited to have him in her class as she remembered him from last year being in the class beside her and that he was a very sweet, well-behaved boy. He is very smart, too.
I'm a lucky girl to have my crazy, awesome, little/big family!! Hope you all have a great first week of school whenever it may be!
(and btw- only 101 days left to get the first time homebuyer tax credit! Time is ticking!!)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Some Things I've Learned!
Well, I had some interesting things happen last night while showing houses. First, I really want to apologize to my client for the fact that both times I have showed her houses, I have managed to either run over top of some landscaping edged rocks into a culvert or plow right into a big huge pothole while pulling out of my office onto 460 Business Rt. (and yes. I did just say 'big huge', and while it may be redundant, I felt it to be necessary for the illustrative qualities it will surely elicit in your head as you try to picture not just any pothole.) Anyways, when we hit the pothole that I never even saw, I almost instinctively reached over to the passenger side to hold on to her father's arm, as if he were my six year old sitting there in his booster seat, because I was sure the bump was going to make his side of the car detach. I later had to explain that I was used to driving a Volkswagon Passat and am now so thrilled to be driving a bus, er car
that can boast it's ability to trump the measured length of a Chevy Suburban by 7 inches! Face Suburban!
So, onto what I've learned! When I'm showing property in Giles County to out of town folks, I like to point out the local natural attractions such as the Cascades or Mountain Lake. A lot of people have read about or seen pictures of how the Lake recedes and seems to drain. The lake is amazing in the fact that it literally sits atop a mountain at nearly 4,000 feet above sea level! It is fed entirely by springs and ground water from the surrounding mountain. The water level is determined largely by the amount of snowfall we receive. I am not surprised that the lake has all but disappeared over the last year or so, it seems that we get such little snowfall in this area compared to when I was a kid. Here is a great link to all things Mountain Lake:
And here is a link to The Mountain Lake Conservancy Blog.
Something else I learned more about is a Cistern. What is a cistern you ask? Well, we discovered one in a house I was showing last night. We had previously viewed this house and I had noticed the first time we were there a box shaped protrusion in the floor of an added on room at the back of the house. I had tried to life the carpeted box lid that covered the opening but couldn't get it up. It basically looked like this, but in a finished room (and minus the cute little old man who apparently is strong enough to open one of these covers when I'm not!) :
I tried again last night, and low and behold it came up, only to reveal a cavernous concrete opening that appeared to be about 3 or 4 feet deep before water was visible, and heaven only knows how deep the water was. My first thought was, "oh my gosh they built the addition over what used to be a spring house!" I've seen spring houses behind old homes, but maybe only one other cistern. So, I did what any good Realtor would do when I was clueless, and I called my husband. Doug happens to know a whole lot about home construction and well, pretty much anything there is to know about a house. I described it to him and he told me it was in fact a cistern. What is a cistern you ask?
A rainwater cistern is—as the name implies—simply a setup for collecting rainwater (usually the precipitation that falls on your home's or barn's roof) and storing it until it's needed in a (usually underground) concrete or masonry tank. Cisterns are ideal for farms and homesteads situated on waterless land, or for areas where the natural ground water is too hard—contains too many dissolved minerals—to drink, use for washing hair, etc. (Fact is, some of the people hereabouts who have good springs on their property have gone ahead and installed cisterns anyway, just because they prefer the taste of rainwater.)
Another thing I have been learning more about is Asbestos Siding. Should you be concerned? Will it effect the value of your home should you purchase a house with asbestos siding? There is actually a whole website dedicated to it, so I will let it speak for itself. asbestossiding.org
that can boast it's ability to trump the measured length of a Chevy Suburban by 7 inches! Face Suburban!
So, onto what I've learned! When I'm showing property in Giles County to out of town folks, I like to point out the local natural attractions such as the Cascades or Mountain Lake. A lot of people have read about or seen pictures of how the Lake recedes and seems to drain. The lake is amazing in the fact that it literally sits atop a mountain at nearly 4,000 feet above sea level! It is fed entirely by springs and ground water from the surrounding mountain. The water level is determined largely by the amount of snowfall we receive. I am not surprised that the lake has all but disappeared over the last year or so, it seems that we get such little snowfall in this area compared to when I was a kid. Here is a great link to all things Mountain Lake:
And here is a link to The Mountain Lake Conservancy Blog.
Something else I learned more about is a Cistern. What is a cistern you ask? Well, we discovered one in a house I was showing last night. We had previously viewed this house and I had noticed the first time we were there a box shaped protrusion in the floor of an added on room at the back of the house. I had tried to life the carpeted box lid that covered the opening but couldn't get it up. It basically looked like this, but in a finished room (and minus the cute little old man who apparently is strong enough to open one of these covers when I'm not!) :
I tried again last night, and low and behold it came up, only to reveal a cavernous concrete opening that appeared to be about 3 or 4 feet deep before water was visible, and heaven only knows how deep the water was. My first thought was, "oh my gosh they built the addition over what used to be a spring house!" I've seen spring houses behind old homes, but maybe only one other cistern. So, I did what any good Realtor would do when I was clueless, and I called my husband. Doug happens to know a whole lot about home construction and well, pretty much anything there is to know about a house. I described it to him and he told me it was in fact a cistern. What is a cistern you ask?
A rainwater cistern is—as the name implies—simply a setup for collecting rainwater (usually the precipitation that falls on your home's or barn's roof) and storing it until it's needed in a (usually underground) concrete or masonry tank. Cisterns are ideal for farms and homesteads situated on waterless land, or for areas where the natural ground water is too hard—contains too many dissolved minerals—to drink, use for washing hair, etc. (Fact is, some of the people hereabouts who have good springs on their property have gone ahead and installed cisterns anyway, just because they prefer the taste of rainwater.)
Another thing I have been learning more about is Asbestos Siding. Should you be concerned? Will it effect the value of your home should you purchase a house with asbestos siding? There is actually a whole website dedicated to it, so I will let it speak for itself. asbestossiding.org
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Welcome to my blog!
Sitting in the Blacksburg Quiznos is a seated patron dancing with her arms to the beat of "No Baby You Ain't Seen Nu-nu-nuthin' yet", pointing towards her husband's face as she laughs. I can't see him, but I imagine he rolls his eyes at her silliness the same way my husband rolls his eyes at me when I pull such shenanigans. I like her. I smile. I figure now is the time to follow through on my idea of a Real Estate Blog. And it begins to rain.
So, even though the entertaining lady in her Payless business woman shoes has left, I must sit and wait out the rain, even though I'm illegally parked as a BB&T banking customer and not as the salad-with the scrumptious bread- seeker that I truly am. Oh rain. How I rue the day in my prepubescent years that my hair changed from silk to cork screw. But, I digress. This blog is not so much about the efforts I go to to tame my hair or how my six year old looks at a picture of me and my hubby when we were 17 & 18 and says, "Mom, I'm surprised Doug even liked you then, your hair looked terrible!" Well, I'm sorry if this guy
had to pay his hard earned money for the same hair God and Nice & Easy gave me in 93.
And I'm sorry if my new blog had to start out with a story about my hair and Quiznos. Besides-having hair that requires 400 degree heat to tame is riveting, I'm sure. But what I really want to share with you is who I am so that should you choose to spend a whole entire day in and out of my big huge bus, I mean car, looking at houses with me, you won't feel like you've been picked up by a total stranger. I've had a couple of clients who have shared their blogs with me and it has been so awesome being able to read all about them and knowing so many fun things about them before we even met in person. I plan to share with you a little of my ramblings along with some of the things in Real Estate news, area news, and personal randomness as I see fit. I hope you enjoy! (And ps, to my 5:30 client today, forgive me if my hair looks like I just got out of bed... I had to make a mad dash for it through the parking lot... the umbrella left in the back of my car was of no help! :)
So, even though the entertaining lady in her Payless business woman shoes has left, I must sit and wait out the rain, even though I'm illegally parked as a BB&T banking customer and not as the salad-with the scrumptious bread- seeker that I truly am. Oh rain. How I rue the day in my prepubescent years that my hair changed from silk to cork screw. But, I digress. This blog is not so much about the efforts I go to to tame my hair or how my six year old looks at a picture of me and my hubby when we were 17 & 18 and says, "Mom, I'm surprised Doug even liked you then, your hair looked terrible!" Well, I'm sorry if this guy
had to pay his hard earned money for the same hair God and Nice & Easy gave me in 93.
And I'm sorry if my new blog had to start out with a story about my hair and Quiznos. Besides-having hair that requires 400 degree heat to tame is riveting, I'm sure. But what I really want to share with you is who I am so that should you choose to spend a whole entire day in and out of my big huge bus, I mean car, looking at houses with me, you won't feel like you've been picked up by a total stranger. I've had a couple of clients who have shared their blogs with me and it has been so awesome being able to read all about them and knowing so many fun things about them before we even met in person. I plan to share with you a little of my ramblings along with some of the things in Real Estate news, area news, and personal randomness as I see fit. I hope you enjoy! (And ps, to my 5:30 client today, forgive me if my hair looks like I just got out of bed... I had to make a mad dash for it through the parking lot... the umbrella left in the back of my car was of no help! :)
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