What Lake Monticello owners should know about homeowners associations
November 20th, 2009 categories: Communities, FAQ, First Time Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Helpful Tips, Info, Lake Monticello, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
A Lake Monticello home at sunset
The Lake Monticello Owners Association is one of the largest homeowners associations in Virginia, and certainly the largest in the Charlottesville area.
Not to long ago, we shared with you how you can get information about the LMOA directly from their website.
But what if you want more general information about how homeowners associations work? Or what if you live in a homeowners association other than the Lake Monticello Owners Association? Then what?
Don’t worry– we’ve got just what your looking for.
HouseLogic.com has a very informative article about what to expect when you live in a homeowners association.
The information in the article applies to homeowners associations in general. Sure, every homeowners association is going to be different, but the article is a great starting point for general information that will prepare you to live in a homeowners association.
One piece of advice that is particularly useful is the what to do when you don’t like the rules of your HOA, or you think things need to change– get involved. The article offers the following ways to do something in order to get the results you want:
Become the rule-maker
If you don’t like the rules, the best way to change them is to become part of the process.1. Know your CC&Rs, annual budget, and employee contracts. Do you see areas where expenses can be cut? Are service providers doing their jobs?
2. Volunteer for a committee or task. If the board needs to enforce parking rules, for instance, you can volunteer to gather license plate numbers of residents’ vehicles. In addition, put your professional expertise to work: Assist the board with data entry, accounting, or website design.
3. Stand for election to the board. When a position becomes open, the board notifies the members, and you can put your name forward. New board members are elected at the annual meeting by member majority vote. Many boards are three to nine members large, with terms of one to two years.
Living in a homeowners association can be very different from neighborhood to neighborhood. With the knowledge that the article provides, however, you’ll be more prepared as to what you should expect from your homeowners association.
If you have a question about any of the homeowners associations in the Charlottesville area, don’t hesitate to ask us! We’ve helped hundreds of buyers and sellers in the Charlottesville area who lived in or moved into homeowners associations. We’re always happy to offer our knowledge and experience, or put you in touch with the right people to answer your questions.
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How Charlottesville area homeowners can save money with tax credits and incentives
November 19th, 2009 categories: Financing, First Time Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Helpful Tips, Info, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Everyone wants to save money at tax time
We can’t speak for you, but we sure do like saving money.
One of the great things about being a homeowner, is that the Federal Government has all kinds of incentives and deductions that homeowners can use to save money when tax time rolls around.
The best thing about these credits is that it doesn’t matter whether you own a home in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Lake Monticello, or New York City, you can take advantage of these credits and incentives, too.
HouseLogic has an entire section of their site devoted to sharing tax incentives and deductions with homeowners.
The site lists all kinds of interesting deductions and incentives that you can take advantage of, so be sure to check it out!
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacreative/ / CC BY 2.0
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Houselogic.com is a great resource for Charlottesville area homeowners
November 19th, 2009 categories: First Time Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Helpful Tips, Info, News, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
HouseLogic.com and NAR want you to be more informed homeowners
The National Association of REALTORS has recently launched a new site aimed at giving homeowners the information they want and need to be more informed about everything from home maintenance to legislation that might affect them.
The new site is called HouseLogic.com
We’ve been poking around HouseLogic, and have found a lot of the information very useful. Since all of us are not only REALTORS, but we also own homes in the Charlottesville area, we are very interested in what HouseLogic can offer, too.
So what’s the deal with HouseLogic?
In case you’re wondering what HouseLogic is all about, check this out, from the site’s “about” page:
What is HouseLogic.com?
HouseLogic is a free source of information and tools—from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®—that can help you make smart and timely decisions about your home.
What can HouseLogic do for me?
With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways you can get involved in and enrich your community, HouseLogic can help you increase and protect the value of your home by helping you make confident decisions.
Why did NAR create HouseLogic?
NAR has been a champion of homeownership rights and opportunities for more than a century. Helping consumers become more informed, responsible homeowners is important to the stability and value of the housing market – and your overall enjoyment of your home.
From time to time, NAR may ask you to partner on issues or legislation that may impact you as a homeowner. It’s up to you whether to participate in these causes.
Will my information be shared? I can’t stand junk mail, spam, and dinnertime phone calls.
We’re with you. We’ll NEVER sell your name and contact information to third parties or partners outside of HouseLogic without your explicit consent.
How does HouseLogic work?
They explain it all here, but basically, you can create your own user account, and then put interesting articles and information into your personal “binder.” You will also be given “tasks” based on the information that you give and collect. There are options to take quizzes to test your homeownership knowledge, or you can just browse the site looking for helpful tips.
Everything on the site is designed to help you become a more informed homeowner. We’re always striving not only to be better REALTORS, but to be better homeowners, too, since we know that it is good for us and our clients. From what we’ve seen and experienced on the site so far, it looks like it is certainly going to make all of us better homeowners.
We’ll share information and articles from HouseLogic that we think you might be interested in, but if you want the full experience, you can head on over to HouseLogic.com and create an account.
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How to save money by winterizing your Charlottesville Area home
November 5th, 2009 categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Helpful Tips, Info, STR Market Info Blitz
This post is part of the Strong Team REALTORS Market Info Blitz. We’re heating up the Winter market by giving you three-months worth of the information you need, November through January. Check out the latest posts in the blitz, here.
Luckily, the chances that your home will look like this are slim
Luckily, the chances that your home will look like this are slim
Winter is around the corner in the Charlottesville Area
This is one of our favorite times of year in the Charlottesville Area. The leaves are changing and falling, the air is crisp, and the mercury is falling. All of that means that winter is just around the corner. Whether you are thinking of buying a home in Charlottesville, or you already own one, preparing your home for winter can save energy; and saving energy saves money.
Winterizing your home can save you money
The U.S. Dept. of Energy reports that if you turn down your home’s thermostat by 10-degrees for 8 hours during the day, you can reduce your heating bill by 7%. Programmable thermostats are worth their weight in gold, and average around $150 in our area to install. Turning the heat down while you are at work all day seems like a good idea and the reward is a 7% decrease in your energy bill.
More tips to save energy and money
Other great tips are simple ones:
–close the damper in your chimney when your fireplace is not in use
–close drapes on north-facing windows to block out the cold and open drapes on your south-facing windows to allow in the sunlight.
–Turn then off the ventilation fan once you leave the bathroom or immediately after your shower – otherwise they will suck the heat right out of your home.
–Clean those HVAC air filters. Did you know that a dirty filter can clog the system, making it stay on longer to warm your home? It can actually cost you much more than the price of a new air filter! Remember to check your filter’s size before heading to the store because they aren’t all the same!
–“Get Your Ducts In A Row” Did you know that your home can lose up to 60% of its heated air if the ducts are disconnected, not insulated or have to travel through unfinished areas. Go into your basement, attic, and/or crawl space and make sure your ducts are connected.
Make the most of your ceiling fans in winter, too!
Most people only think of using their overhead fans in the summer when they want to cool things off, but by simply reversing the blades (using the little switch on the side of the fan) you can actually send the warmer air, which is collecting at the ceiling, back into the room. Remember, counterclockwise rotations produce cooling breezes, whereas clockwise rotations bring the heat off of the ceiling and into the room.
How can a lit stick of incense save you money?
Take a lit incense stick on a windy day and walk around your home with it. Hold it near recessed lights, wall receptacles, door and window frames. If you see the smoke move, you will know immediately if heat is escaping from those areas. If it is, start caulking or insulating!
Stop throwing money out the window!
Winterizing your home might not sound like a lot of fun, but saving money sure does.
For more tips on saving energy and money throughout the year, check out all the helpful tips from the US Department of Energy.
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