SOLD! Foreclosure hunt is on!
DUPLEX FORECLOSURE SOLD
One of my regular investment clients recently purchased this duplex in SW Roanoke City. It appears the previous owner was attempting a remodel job when they were foreclosed on, saving my investment client some time and money.
This duplex foreclosure features 2 units with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath each with kitchens and baths.
The duplex also features a full basement for tenant’s storage and a walk-up attic that could be remodeled into an efficiency apartment. Quite the bargain with a sales price of around $57k.
Are you out there looking for deals like this? Contact me for more info and to be added to my regular foreclosure listing email!
Homes for sale IN Valley View Mall
Soon you’ll be able to buy and sell your home at a mall near you!
iRealEstate, LLC will be bringing an interactive real estate kiosk at Valley View Mall in August. Valley View Mall has nearly 1 million shoppers per month! Imagine having your home advertised for sale by your agent in front of even a fraction of those shoppers!
This real estate kiosk is new to the area and features 48 back-lit ads of local homes for sale. It also will have advertising for local businesses and two interactive touch screen monitors featuring slide shows for all homes and businesses advertised on the kiosk. There will even be participating real estate agents available to answer your real estate questions!
The iRealEstate kiosk will be located in the food court directly across from the new Barnes & Noble Bookseller on the main level. Visit the Valley View real estate kiosk to list your home with one of our agents and have your home for sale advertised at the mall!
If you’re a real estate agent and are interested in being a participating advertiser, contact their sales manager at (540) 397-0014.
Kudos to Smith Mountain Lake (from NY Times)
There was a good article published in the Great Homes section of the New York Times on 6/22/2007 about Smith Mountain Lake and New Englanders who choose SML as a retirement destination.
The article, titled- In Virginia, a Blue Ridge Retreat That’s ‘a Little Undiscovered’ emphasizes the affordability of Smith Mountain Lake for people used to high prices in large metro areas like New York and New Jersey.
“One day I was at work, and one of my buddies said he bought a place on a lake down here and would I come visit him on a vacation,” Mr. Rada, a retired supervisor for a natural gas company, said of his first trip to Smith Mountain Lake, in 1992. “It wasn’t a year before I bought a house here, too. Who in Jersey could have a house overlooking a lake with a dock for a couple-hundred-thousand dollars?”
I think that’s the primary appeal for the Roanoke Valley and Smith Mountain Lake for retirees from our northern neighbors. A home on the water at Smith Mountain Lake is relatively cheap when compared to comparable accommodations up there.
Mr. Rada has since sold that first house — at a 200 percent profit, he said — and now owns a three-bedroom, three-bath town house he bought for $320,000 two years ago in the Mariners Landing development at Smith Mountain Lake. It has a sunset view of the lake from the back covered porch and a sunrise view, only disturbed by the first hole of the Mariners Landing golf course, from the front covered porch.
“It’s all too relaxing here,” he said. “I meet people all the time who come here for a second home or retirement from New Jersey.”
The article goes on to compare life at Smith Mountain Lake to the retiree rat race in Florida and other areas.
Smith Mountain Lake is a great place to live whether you’re a retiree or not. Are you relocating to Smith Mountain Lake? Contact me for help in finding your Smith Mountain Lake home.
Easy ways to save money on your air conditioning
One of my favorite blogs, lifehacker.com, recently published a great post on “No cost ways to get those cooling bills lower“.
The article links to tips put out by the State of California’s Efficiency Partnership. Here are the tips:
- Check the settings on the room air conditioner. Make sure the “fresh air” vent on the air conditioner is closed so you are not cooling outside.
- Close drapes, blinds and shades to keep sun’s rays out of the home during the warmer months.
- Close drapes, blinds and shades to help retain heat at night or during unoccupied periods.
- In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan motor so that the blades push air up toward the ceiling, where hot air normally rises. The fan will drive the warm air back down around the edges of the room, which can result in more even heating. Better heat circulation will help combat the problem of sweating windows that some homes experience in the wintertime because of condensation on the glass.
- Set the temperature lower in the winter when your home is unoccupied. Use a programmable thermostat to automatically lower and raise the temperature according to your settings.
- Set the thermostat as low as comfortably possible in the winter. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating bill will be.
tba relocates to downtown Roanoke
tba (The Thomas Becher Agency), a Roanoke public relations, advertising and marketing company, has moved to historic Warehouse Row in Downtown Roanoke.
“The move allows us to be more centrally located to service our clients,” said Thomas Becher, president of tba. “Our new home also will give us a fresh new start and will facilitate even more creativity.”
Warehouse Row is a historic three-story office building converted from an existing warehouse with classic hardwood floors, wood supports and brick walls. It is an excellent place for any business looking for a classic, stylized office with great amenities and shared conference room facilities.
tba was represented by Marty Martin, Realtor in their negotiations with the leasing broker.
