Botetourt County real estate
As I reported before, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has voted to lower the real estate tax rate for property owners. According to The Roanoke Times, this happened last in 1998.
The Botetourt County real estate tax rate will be lowered from 70 cents to 65 cents per $100 of value.
Local business fundraising for sick child
CCS-Inc (aka Comprehensive Computer Solutions) is raising money for baby Ian H.
Ian was born with Biliary Atresia and is in need of a life-saving transplant. The employees and families of CCS are having several fundraisers (with the help of COTA) to help offset the $100,000 cost of the transplant.
Upcoming events-
May 16, 2006 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm - Make & Take Stamp Event (Radford Rec Center)
May 20, 2006 from 7:00am to ? - Garage Sale (Central United Methodist Church, Radford)
June 30, 2006 - Golf Tournament sponsored by CCS (Auburn Hills, Radford)
Please consider helping the fundraising by attending one of these events.
Also, they are collecting used cell phones for recycling. We receive $3 for each phone so if you would like to recycling your old phone(s) and help a young child in need, For more information or pick up of your phone(s), please call me at 397-0014 in Roanoke or John Herndon at (800) 277-3077 in Radford.
Vacation…short though it is!
I will be out of the office and so not blogging about the Roanoke real estate market for a couple days. I’ll be back in on Monday so look for more real estate news and information then! Have a great weekend!
Gifting real estate
Inman News has a great article on working to avoid capital gains tax on real estate gifts to your children, either now or in your will.
This is a great article to read if you’re considering it or have already made arrangements, and naturally you’ll want to consult with your accountant and tax attorney. I do believe it can save money in the long term.
City of Bedford seeks to grab real estate from owner
The City of Bedford, according to The Roanoke Times and The News & Advance, are seeking to use the government power of eminent domain to condemn and take the farm property of Mike Schrock. Mr. Schrock’s Bedford City real estate is zoned for planned industrial development which makes it a prime piece of property for the City of Bedford.
The City of Bedford has offered Mr. Schrock $300,000, a pittance for his 44 acres of farm land. It’s also interesting to note his real estate is contaminated by a Bedford-owned land fill.
Unfortunately for Mr. Schrock, as unfair as this situation appears to be, he doesn’t have much hope in court. The Code of Virginia specifically allows the (ab)use of eminent domain by localities and the U.S. Supreme Court has recently upheld this practice as well.
For more information on eminent domain in Virginia, visit the website of The Virginia Property Rights Coalition.
Time to pay the Man
Today is the last day to pay the tax man. Normally taxes are due on April 15 each year, but because the 15th fell on the weekend this year, you have until 11:59pm tonight to file your taxes!
Real estate can be an advantage at tax time. There are many ways owning real estate could be an advantage at tax time allowing you to lower your taxable income.
If you’re interested in owning real estate in Roanoke, Roanoke County, Botetourt, Franklin County or Salem, I encourage you to contact me right away. This is a great time to be buying and selling real estate!
Roanoke mortgage lead company draws complaints
According to The Roanoke Times, a company selling lead generation services on the Internet to mortgage brokers has drawn numerous complaints for bogus leads. The company, marketing itself at Telextra.net, and receiving mail at a Mailboxes, etc. location on Franklin Road has had 22 complaints filed against it with the Better Business Bureau of Western Virginia in Roanoke, 6 complained to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and 2 have complained to the Virginia attorney general’s office.
Caveat Emptor.
Don’t fear the…boot
The Roanoke Times wrote an interesting story about the new tire locks the City of Roanoke police department is using to thwart those downtown citizens who leave their vehicles in the prized parking real estate downtown.
Using the Internet doesn’t replace a REALTOR®
Many home buyers and sellers are turning to the Internet in an attempt to sell, price, market and/or buy their home.
The Internet is a fantastic resource for beginning to research the market and look for homes for sale, however, oftentimes you must search multiple websites for different types of homes for sale- for sale by owner (the worst way to buy/sell a home), real estate agents, REALTORS®, land offers, and/or auctions. It is a herculean task to try to locate that perfect home or real estate you are dreaming of.
REALTORS® are trained and experienced real estate professionals. They know where, when and at what time to search for property that’s right for you. Did you know that the buyer doesn’t pay any fees to their REALTOR®? All agent fees are paid by the seller.
My name is Marty Martin and I specialize in Roanoke, Botetourt and Franklin County real estate and especially looking for great deals. I have a contract for one of my buyers right now on a beautiful home in the Grandin Road/Raleigh Court neighborhood. By knowing how to locate distressed sellers, I was able to negotiate a price well below the appraised value of the home. I can’t tell you the exact price, but it is well under $100,000. If you know that neighborhood, you will understand what a great deal it really is!
Give me a call today at 397-0014 and let me help you in your search for your next home.
Second homes 40% of market in 2005
According to a report by the National Association of REALTORS®, second home purchases (for vacation use or investments) accounted for 4 out of every 10 existing home sales. This record year in real estate sales helped drive the national real estate market to uncharted highs.
Most of the buyers of homes in this category were baby boomers in their top earning years, flexing their economic muscle and purchasing real estate investments for retirement planning and vacation homes for fun.
According to USA Today, this trend started in 1997 when Congress changed the IRS tax code and allowed homeowners to dodge the capital gains tax when they sold their home. The exemption is $500,000 for married couples and $250,000 for single individuals so long as the real estate was their primary residence for two of the past five years.
Roanoke REALTOR® in the Big Apple
This past weekend I spent two days in New York City chaperoning a group of middle school band students. Needless to say, I spent most of Sunday sleeping and/or horizontal watching TV and napping. I’m exhausted. It was a great trip though and I was very surprised to find many of my presumptions about New York to be false…and true.
Incorrect presumptions–
- Times Square is a huge place. (It really isn’t very big, it’s rather long and narrow.)
- The citizens are rude and not very nice. (To the contrary, numerous citizens I stopped and asked for information or who stopped to help us were all very nice people.)
- It’s very expensive to eat in New York. (Actually if you visit a non-touristy restaurateur, it’s quite reasonable.)
Correct presumptions–
- There are a lot of pigeons. Yes, they carry diseases, but I thought they were pretty awesome.
- There is in fact a lot of trash on the streets, sidewalks…and in the trees.
- It truly is an amazing experience to walk the streets of New York.
I’ll write more later and publish some photos but that is all for now.
Salem Avalanche field gets new name
Lewis-Gale Medical Center has bought the rights to the name of the playing field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. Drum roll please, it will now be called–
Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium
Does anyone else besides me think that is crazy long? I know this is a marketing stunt and all that, but who thought that name was a good idea? Read more about this boneheaded idea here or here…
Real Estate Development a “no-go”
The Roanoke County Planning Commission voted to turn down a rezoning request from an upscale developer for a new subdivision in the mostly rural Mount Pleasant area of Roanoke County. Roanoke County residents complained that the “McMansion” style homes would disturb the scenery and increase traffic to their quiet neighborhoods.
This isn’t the end of the road however for the local citizens, the issue will go before the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors who can also decide on real estate zoning requests and are not obligated to follow the decision of the planning commission.
Old Southwest Roanoke beauty!
One of a kind building in Historic Old Southwest Roanoke
This beautiful building in Roanoke’s historic Old Southwest is ready to be used as a residence or commercial space. Over 6994 square feet of spacious luxury!
Show case grand foyer with natural woodwork and refinished hardwood floors throughout. Seven baths, original stained pocket doors, full basement, up to 14 off-street parking spaces. Upgraded wiring, central air on third floor, and maintenance free vinyl siding top of this great opportunity.
Priced to sell at only $310,000! Contact me for a showing!
