Real Estate Information

Please check out this great home just available on Williamsburg MLS. Located at 107 Fairview Dr. in Mirror Lakes, Williamsburg, VA, this great home is sure to please! Featuring three bedrooms, two full baths, a nice sized eat-in kitchen and a huge great room with a ceiling fan and wood-burning fireplace, this charming home also offers a great location close to I-64! Commutes from Williamsburg to Newport News or Hampton are made easier!  Also offering a HUGE backyard ready for play! There is a real laundry room as well as a one car garage. Don't forget that all of the appliances convey.

A bit of good news for the folks affected by the Chinese drywall situation in James City County. The Virginia Gazette reported this morning that the County has dropped the tax assessment on all of the properties affected to $100. That certainly does not solve the horrible problem that these unfortunate homeowners have to face, however, it does help to alleviate a tiny bit of the financial burden. The very sad and real truth here is that the homes affected with Chinese drywall have a pretty rough chance of ever selling until the entire problem has been abated. Determining value on something that basically will not sell is certainly an issue. To totally remediate the drywall situation you would have to tear everything out of the home and take it back down to the studs. The Chinese drywall basically destroys all metal that it comes in contact with. (Electrical wiring, appliances, HVAC systems, etc.)

James City County has a website that specifically addresses the drywall concerns. Click here to find out more information.

I have to give an update on our new family member Mickey the little Shih Tzu dog that we adopted from Heritage Humane Society in Williamsburg. This little guy is 9 years old and actually had a very rough first week with us after he was sick. As you can see, he is on the mend and has stolen our hearts.  He is a testimony to adopting an older dog. This old dog already knows his tricks!

Check this out:

If you come to Williamsburg either to live or vacation you will no doubt have to come to New Town for one thing or another. Movies? Shopping? Dining? Dental Work? Buying a home? All of those can be found in New Town, a 365 acre 'mixed use' community that offers the opportunity to live, work, shop, and play without ever having to get in a car. When it is completed, New Town should house 600 square feet of commercial space and 400 homes as well as two large public squares, parks and walking paths.

My favorites? The New Town Regal Cinema 12 is terrific. When they first opened up they  were literally the only game in town. The movie theater sits at the heart of New Town and and serves as an anchor for Main Street where you can find shops and dining. Just a few of the businesses include Barnes and Noble, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chicos, Bonefish Grill, California Tortilla, Contes Bike Shop, Victoria's Secret, Journey's,  and Ann Taylor Loft (if you go here be sure to say hello to Jes. She is the ultimate in professional and helpful!). Opus 9 is my personal favorite for lunch. You can get an awesome meal for less than $10 bucks and sit at a table with a table cloth! They are a great choice for a steak dinner in the evening or a Sunday brunch. The Mole Hole is also a local favorite gift shop. And for buying or selling a home? Liz Moore and Associates, of course. (I can recommend a really great Realtor!)

Check out my video for a few street scenes from New Town!

Planning a visit to Williamsburg, VA.? The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance has a terrific website that offers suggestions on where to stay, where to dine and what to do on your visit. They even have a page for suggested itineraries to guide you to attractions in an organized way! Check out their site here. Don't miss the coupon section that offers discounts on lots of great places like Bonefish Grill (located in New Town), Carraba's Italian Grill, the Yankee Candle Factory (Carraba's and Yankee Candle are located adjacent off of Richmond Road), Joseph A. Bank and more. Printable coupons are here.

Enjoy!!

A few months ago it was announced that American Family Fitness was coming to New Town. So far, there has been nothing further mentioned about WHEN they will be coming to New Town. I made several phone calls and sent some emails and was told that American Family Fitness won't be starting on the New Town location until after their Midlothian location is completed. This location is scheduled to open sometime in August of this year. So, it looks like it will be awhile and well into the fall before New Town sees anything from them. The good news is that they will be renting the space and will not be constructing anything new so, theoretically, it should be a quicker build out.

It is reported that they will occupy 23,000 square feet and will employ approximately 40 folks. Even better!

We have adopted! Our new family member is Mickey a nine year old Shih Tzu. He is a sweet and awesome little guy.

I spent a lot of time on the internet researching  different breeds and their temperaments. During my research, I was suprised to learn about how the  housing  downturn has affected so many pets across the country. As families have lost their homes and have been  forced to move to apartments, with other family members or even to hotels, the family pets have sadly had to be surrendered to local shelters and humane societies.

Our local Heritage Humane Society is no exception to what has gone on throughout the country. On the day that I found Mickey, there was a precious little dog who had been surrendered by a family that was living in a local hotel and could no longer keep him at the hotel. How sad for this little guy and for the family that had to give him up. As a community, Williamsburg is so fortunate to have this wonderful refuge and all of their volunteers for our rescued and surrendered pets. It is amazing to learn that they see almost 2000 pets annually come through the shelter.

So, if you can consider adopting a pet, please do so as there are so many in need of homes. If this is not a possibility, here is a 'wish list' of items that are always needed by the shelter:

· Canned dog food

· FRISKIES canned cat food

· Purina One dry dog/cat food

· Dog & cat treats

· breakaway cat collars

· Dog leashes

· Kongs & Kong Stuffing

· Blankets or towels

· Laundry soap (for front loading washer)

· 55 gallon and 13 quart trash bags

· Liquid dish detergent

· Glass cleaner

· Paper towels, toilet paper & facial tissue

· White copy paper

· Rubber kitchen gloves & kitchen sponges

· hand sanitizer & hand soap

· Newspapers & plastic newspaper bags

· Electric can opener

The Williamsburg Heritage Humane Society is located near the Kmart off of Bypass Road. Their address is 430 Waller Mill Road. If you would like to make a donation but can't make it over there, please give me a call at 757.503.1999  or shoot me an email and I will be happy to pick up your donation!

You can learn more about Heritage Humane Society by clicking here .

Of course, as any new parent, I have to show off Mickey! He is just fabulous!

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My husband Jim and I recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! Jim surprised me with a trip to St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.(Yep, he is a pretty good guy.) So, we had an awesome and wonderful time. While we were visiting,we spent an afternoon at Coki Beach; a beautiful and pristine beach that is pretty much run by the local folks. Our chairs ended up near a now local gal who is (surprise!) selling her home on St. Thomas as she is ready to move back to Michigan. While trading a home in paradise to be in Michigan may sound a bit unusual, it does go to show that there truly is 'no place like home'. Island life can get to be ho-hum too, I guess, especially when the island isn't so large and unless you are buying rum or jewelry there really isn't much shopping. The food there was awesome though!

So, if you are looking to move to paradise or would like a second home in St. Thomas, I do have a beautiful and fairly cost-effective property for you to check out. I was very impressed by the interior of this beautiful condo.

Here are the grits and grasshoppers of that property:

The address: 

Anchorage (The) Intrepid 110 110 Nazareth RH 00802

In the Red Hook area of the island of St. Thomas, the beautiful walk-in level 2 bedroom beachfront condo with 960 square feet has been extensively remodeled plus professionally decorated. New kitchen has granite counter tops, new appliances, cabinets new tiles remodeled bathrooms. Many custom extras.

A few photos:

For more information you can click here.

Please check it out and I will personally schedule a showing and accompany you on that tour! You can certainly reach me at 757.503.1999!

Real Estate taxes in Williamsburg will vary by the county (or City!) that you live in. The majority of addresses with a "Williamsburg" mailing address will include homes that are in James City County. James City County tax rates are assessed at $.77 per $100 of assessed value. So, for example, a home assessed at $300,000 would have an annual real estate tax of $2310. (.0077 x $300,000). You can further check out James City County tax rates by clicking here.

There is a portion of York County that will also have a "Williamsburg" address. The tax rate in York County, VA. is assessed at .6575 per $100 of assessed value. That same home that was assessed at $300,000 will now be taxed at $1972. More information on York County taxes can be found here.

Of course, there are homes that have a "Williamsburg" address that are actually IN the City of Williamsburg. Those homes are assessed at .54 per $100 of assessed value. Your taxes on that same home will now be $1620. More information can be found here. The rates here are certainly lower, however, most homes that are located within the "City" proper are in highly sought after locations like close to The College of William and Mary or Colonial Williamsburg. So, while you may save a bit on the Real Estate taxes, it may be a wash as those properties are assessed at higher rates.

So what is going on in the Williamsburg Real Estate Market?? Is it a good time to be selling your home?

Interest rates took a dive last week and today's rates can be had anywhere from 4.25 on a 15 year fixed to 4.75 on a 30 year fixed. Of course, these are incredible rates and should entice buyers even further. I firmly believe that there is an 'age sensitivity' to recognizing the relevance of a decline in interest rates. Those first time home buyers have been hearing about lower interest rates for a awhile now and are more inclined to be having a ho-hum attitude towards the historically low rates.  More experienced buyers who have been around for awhile and have seen rates all over the board truly recognize and seem to jump on and lock on the lower rates. They recognize that not only are there tax advantages to having a mortgage but more importantly that they stand a good chance of locking the loan low and then putting their money to work for them and earning a much higher return on investments than they would by just paying cash for a home.

The home sales market in Colonial Heritage in Williamsburg, VA. is a prime example of 'age sensitivity' to interest rates or for lack of a better term- experience! This "55+ Active Adult Community" struggled as did every community in Williamsburg after the stock market plummeted in October of 2009. Lennar continued production of their homes and, as the market declined, they were faced with a glut of new construction not to mention the re-sales that added to market saturation. Values declined significantly as Lennar actively cut prices on their standing inventory.  Last spring we saw interest rates plummet to all-time lows and as this happened the inventory sharply declined in Colonial Heritage and values increased. This market came close to being 'balanced' and Lennar actually had no standing inventory and buyers sought the re-sale market. The demographics of the 55+ community is obvious- these folks are no strangers to high mortgage rates and knew the value of 'cheap money'.

So is it a good time to sell? If you have a home that appeals to the more experienced buyer in Williamsburg (i.e. a rancher or a smaller home with a first floor master bedroom), my crystal ball would say that absolutley it is a great time to be selling. Position the home properly (i.e. PRICE it RIGHT!) and you should be able to move forward onto your next residence and lock your own low rate.

Please join me on

Thursday May 27th from 2:00-3:30

 Verena at the Reserve 

 121 Reserve Way, Williamsburg, VA.

We will be discussing  the current market trends in Williamsburg and what you need to do to accomplish a closed sale. Special Guest Tara Smith with Design Alternatives will also be present to give advice on down-sizing options and complete home setup as well as advice on transitioning into a senior community.