Sarahiously Speaking

Oh, how I love a good piece of bubble wrap.  The joy and sense of accomplishment of snapping each little bubble.  The Feeling of anticipation as you press each bubble firmly.  There’s nothing like a good piece of bubble wrap! 

“D-Day” is around the corner for 4 college students living in a rental home in Fredericksburg City.  One student must vacate the home by January 29, 2009 in order to adhere to the City’s “excessive residential occupancy” ordinance.  The ordinance is in place to help prevent excessive noise, cars, and other effects to a neighborhood of too many people living in one house.  This case is the first that Fredericksburg City has been able to take to court.  This case raises some interesting questions for me. 

1.  Does the ordinance unfairly target college students and/or young professionals?  Let’s face it, the cost of living is high in Fredericksburg City and the surrounding areas, even in this volatile real estate market.  A one-bedroom home rents for $600-$975.   A two-bedroom rents for $625-$1550.  A three-bedroom home rents for $850-$1650.  And a four-bedroom home rents for $1200-$2100.  Prices vary depending on the area of the City the home is located in.  (Information found in MRIS and are current Active Listing prices).  The closer to the downtown area and University you want to live, the more expensive the rent.  When I first moved to this City in 2004 I quickly learned that I would have to have at least one roommate and sell my blood in order to make a monthly rent payment.  Luckily, I was able to work out a living arrangement that was beneficial to me, as well as my roommate.  But, many Fredericksburg City residents aren’t so lucky.  Taking college students out of the equation; there are still plenty of professionals living in the City finding it hard to make ends meet.  Roommates are a way of life here.       

2.  Does this ordinance actually do what it is supposed to do?  Can twelve people still live in a house, as long as they are related; and as long as they are quiet, not violate this ordinance?  Are four unrelated people living in a house noisier than 4 related people?  I grew up with 4 boys living in my home.  By the eyes of the law, we were considered related.  Being ”related” didn’t make them any less noisy or less likely to throw parties.  (And boy could my brothers throw a loud party!)  All of these boys were the same age, so we got 4 more cars in our driveway in 1 year.  Did that mean that their cars took up less room because my brothers were related?  I think our old neighbors would say “No,”  If it is a health risk that the City is concerned about or a possible noise violation they are trying to avoid, shouldn’t the City be concerned with the general occupancy of a dwelling, not the relationship of the occupants?  Or, could this approach cross into Fair Housing whelms? 

3.  How do landlords feel about this ordinance?  Do they feel that the City is infringing on their property rights?  If a property owner decides to rent their dwelling to 4 unrelated people with good credit, good jobs, and no criminal history, why does the city care?  Let’s say that these 4 unrelated occupants are police officers.  I would think that most neighbors would enjoy the benefits of having police officers living beside them.  What about teachers?  With budget cuts looming and school systems trying to get their seasoned teachers to retire so they can hire less expensive, less experienced teachers - these teachers need a place to live.  Last time I checked, new teachers do not get paid nearly enough to maintain a reasonable standard of living in this area.  Would the City take four teachers or four police officers to court for violating this ordinance?  (My guess is that they would have to, but would these professionals be better equipped than college students to fight the ordinance in court?)

Now, I am in no way supporting violating City ordinances and I am not promoting ignoring safety and health regulations.  But, I do question the City’s intent with this ordinance in the way it is written and how it has been presented to the community.  It does appear to target college students.  And for now, students are NOT protected under local Fair Housing laws.

Oh, pie day!  I do love a good pie!  My favorite is Chocolate Chess Pie from The Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC.  Icecream and whipped cream on top is a must!  What’s your favorite pie?

Or Happy Blonde Brownie Day (for those with no cat)

If you follow me on Twitter you have gotten used to this type of outburst from me.  For those of you who don’t, let me explain.  My father passed away when I was seventeen.  Shortly after this I decided that every day that I am alive is a day of celebration.  Years later I found out that in fact, every day is a holiday and celebration.  A rather funny conversation on Twitter led me to start posting these celebrations for my followers.  Well, it’s been almost a year and I’ve decided to bring the party to www.SarahiouslySpeaking.com! 

So, welcome to the festivities!  I will be posting the day’s celebration every week day morning (Monday-Friday).  If you have questions about the holidays, feel free to ask in the comments section.  If you have any holiday suggestions, please let me know!  I hope you enjoy these holidays as much as Twitter does!

Fredericksburg City:

• 82 days on market – this is 117 days less than in December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 92.38% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 15.7 months of inventory on the market
• 10 homes sold in December 2008 – this is the same as in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-399,999 and $400,000- 499,999 equally. 
• The average sold price was $282,806, compared to $322,330 in December 2007

Orange County

• 102 days on market – this is 88 days less than in December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 90.35% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 19.86 months of inventory on the market
• 21 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 4 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $206,633, compared to $394,812 in December 2007

Spotsylvania County

• 111 days on market – this is 24 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 87.6% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 9.29 months inventory on the market
• 121 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 29 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $200,000-$249,999
• The average sold price was $225,845, compared to $297,321 in December 2007

Stafford County

• 120 days on market – this is 48 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 88.43% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 7.33 months inventory on the market
• 139 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 74 more than in December 2007
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $253,335, compared to $343,565 in December 2007

Prince William County

• 108 days on market – this is 32 less than December 2007
• Sellers received, on average, 90.63% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 4.26 months inventory on the market
• 845 homes sold in December 2008 – this is 491 more than in December 2007!
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $212,403, compared to $349,634 in December 2007

From a REALTOR standpoint, December was a flurry of activity!  For myself and my C21 New Millennium branch, it was the busiest December in years.  So, in a down market, why is the real estate industry seeing a slight boom in business?  There are several reasons I can think of.  First, interest rates have been low.  After spending several months in the 6-7.5% interest rate range, we have been able to enjoy interest rates that hover around 5%.  For a brief 20 minutes some buyers even got to lock-in to interest rates below 5%!  Second, there is a built-up desire to purchase homes.  Buyers who were on the fence finally got off of the fence.  This is probably due in large part to the lower interest rates.  However, we also saw changes in some popular loan programs that required buyers to purchase a home before December 31 in order to benefit from the loan product.  Third, foreclosure banks started accepting reasonable offers in a timely manner.  This allowed buyers to get to the closing table before the New Year.  Fourth, Many banks that were being “acquired” by other banking institutions or “acquiring” banking institutions had a desire to get the bad debt off their books before the take-over.  We saw a noticable increase of activity for Countrywide and Wells Fargo.

Fortunately, this increase in activity has carried over to the New Year.  Even on traditional sales, showings are up and contracts are beginning to come in and be negotiated.  What’s important to remember is that we are still sorting through the consequences of the last 4 years.  This boom does not mean that we are well on our way to recovery.  What it does mean is that buyers are in the market and they are buying.  It is as important as ever to price your home correctly the moment it goes on the market.  Selling a home in this market is like creating a perfect storm.  There are several factors that have to happen simultaneously in order to end up at the settlement table.  Taking responsibility for the factors that you can influence is key to a successful outcome.

For several years Northern Virginia real estate agents have enjoyed the convenience of using the same lockbox system.  This allowed real estate agents to travel freely with their clients from Caroline County north through the Northern Virginia counties.  In late 2008 three Realtor Associations decided to switch their lockbox system.  The Prince William Association, the Northern Virginia Association, and the Greater Piedmont Association will all be converting to the Sentrilock Lockbox system in January 2009.  The Fredericksburg Area and Dulles Area will remain in their contract for the current system and will be keeping the Supra Lockbox. 

What does this mean for real estate agents?  Agents will now have to join multiple lockbox systems in order to service their clients or Buyer’s Agents will have to either be given access to a property by a home owner or the Listing Agent.  If real estate agents decide to have access to both lockbox systems, this will be an additional cost to these agents.  Agents will also have to carry multiple access keys to gain entrance to the various lockboxes that will be placed on houses.  Many agents who can not afford the multiple lockbox system membership costs will no longer be able to effectively service areas that use a competing lockbox system without the assistance of those agents that are a member of the system.  Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Listing Agent to facilitate access to ALL cooperating Brokers, regardless of lockbox system membership.  It is in the Seller’s best interest for as many real estate agents as possible be able to show the home to their purchasers. 

What does this mean for consumers?  Consumers lose out the most in the lockbox system changes.  It will be the responsibility of the consumer to ask which lockbox system their REALTOR is a member of.  Your REALTOR should be using the lockbox that is compatible with the local Association if you are listing your home for sale, this may require multiple lockboxes on properties that are on the market so that your home is available to the most agents.  Multiple lockboxes on a property can create a security threat to the property owner.  Not all lockboxes are created equal.  Some are extremely easy to manipulate.  Your REALTOR should also have access to the lockboxes that are on the homes you are looking to purchase.  This may involve planning your house hunt in advance so that Listing Agents can meet you at properties you would like to view.  Remember some agents are choosing to be a member of various lockbox systems, but many are not.  (There are numerous, legitimate reasons for not being a member of two lockbox systems, other than the cost factor.  Many agents feel that the Sentrilock lockbox is an inferior product to Supra).  Be sure that your REALTOR is aware of the lockbox changes and that they explain how this change will affect you and your housing situation.

It’s happened again.  Someone thinks the world should know more about me; as if I don’t share enough.  I’ve been MeMe’d.  Now, I’m not upset with D. Patrick Lewis for tagging me.  Nope, we go way back to my Raleigh, North Carolina days.  Apparently we only lived a few blocks from each other, but it took Twitter to bring us together!  So here it goes.  You probably already know a Meme is a blog post that usually tells others several things about you on a personal level that they probably don’t already know. Then, at the end of the Meme the writer of the blog post ‘tags’ 7 other people to write one about themselves. This variation requires me to tell you 7 things about me that have nothing to do with Real Estate.

1.  I hate cold weather, but I love wearing warm, bulky sweaters!  I know, I can’t have it both ways.  In a perfect world I would only have one month of cold weather so I could get in my bulky sweater time, but alas, the world is not perfect. 

2.  My favorite drink is Dr. Pepper.  - Some of you may already know this, especially if you have met me before.  I can’t get enough of this stuff!  I am actually starting a campaign for Dr. Pepper to start producing Caffeine-Free Dr. Pepper (they already make a caffeine-free diet version), because of my migraines.  So far, they haven’t listened to me.  Sigh.

3.  I’m a migraine sufferer.  - And, yes, I’ve seen a doctor about it!  Migraines are horribly misunderstood by people who don’t suffer from them.  Actually the medical world doesn’t understand much about migraines either.  I pretty much spend my life with a constant dull headache.  At times it increases into a full blown migraine.  I would say on a good migraine day the pain level is a 6.  On a bad migraine day the pain level is a 13.  I function at any pain level because life doesn’t stop when I have a migraine.  But please don’t ask me if I’ve seen a doctor for them, or if I took some Tylenol.  Yes, I have and I still have a migraine. 

4.  I met my husband the first Thursday of college. -  It just took 4.5 more years for us to go out on a date.  And another 5 years for us to get  married.  He has to think things through before he commits. 

5.  I have brittle finger nails. - They just don’t grow.  I’ve tried everything, special nail polish, extra vitamins, nothing seems to work.  So, I keep my nails very short. 

6.  My first job was sorting hangers at a large dry cleaning warehouse.- I got paid $2 a tote.    Sorting involved untangling the hangers and facing them to the right.  Some of the totes would take 2 hours to untangle.  The most totes I could sort in an hour was 10.  Up to $20 an hour isn’t bad when you’re 15! 

7.  I was pressured to quit the Girl Scouts by my Troop Leader. - Yep, I couldn’t hack it as a Girl Scout.  I’m not cut out for hiking, spending the night in the woods, cooking over an open fire, or being a good citizen.  I go against the grain and always have questions.  In two years I had earned 2 badges.  Both were Birthday Badges.  I got them ’cause I had a Birthday.  I was a bit frustrating to the adults that ran my Troop, to say the least.  They asked me not to come back after a trip to Girl Scout Camp that went horribly wrong.  I was more than happy to retire my Girl Scout Handbook!    

Now I am required to tag 7 more people to write a MeMe.  But, I’m in a charitable mood and I am giving 7 people a stay of execution!  Happy New Year!