Archive for May, 2009

How Do You Decide Who Is The Best Realtor To Sell Your Home?

May 27th, 2009

How do you decide who is the best Realtor to sell your home?House for sale

There are so many Realtors in Charlottesville Virginia and they all are marketing themselves as the best, but what are the points that you need to focus on to figure out which agent would be the best fit to list your home for sale.

One of the first things you should make sure is that your Realtor is working full time in the Real Estate profession. 

Should you choose the agent who has the most listings?  Not necessarily.  Sometimes that agent with all of the listings is so overloaded that he doesn't have the time to devote to selling your home that an agent with fewer listings would.

You will want to know what the agent will do to market your home.  With over 85% of the buyers beginning their search for a home on line you will want to hire a Realtor with a strong internet presence.  One of the first things that you can do is to Google the agent's name.  Unless it is a very common name it should come up in multiple places on the first several pages for that name.  Where else is the agent active on line?  Are they on Active Rain, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and do they have a blog?

Of course, your home should have a sign, be put in the mls, have flyers  and be on Realtor.com.  But there should be more such as virtual tours, multiple photographs, email flyers, listing syndication which will submit the listing to a large number of websites as well as Craigslist.  If your home is a niche property there are niche websites that it can be on as well.  And your agent should have their own personal website as well as putting your listing on the company website.

You will also want to make sure that your Realtor is available to communicate feedback.  Also make sure that they respond to your phone calls and emails in a timely fashion.

Other things that you will want to discuss are whether the agent will hold public or Brokers open houses.  Public open houses do not usually sell the home, but broker open houses can give agents the opportunity to preview your home and may result in more showings.

If you have a niche property, it is important the your agent have knowledge regarding that particular type of property.  For instance, if you are selling a Virginia horse farm, it is particularly helpful if the Realtor if familiar with horses and all of the features that are found on a horse farm.  If the agent is part of the equestrian community, he will know how to talk with that particular type of buyer.

There are a lot of Charlottesville homes for sale in the current real estate market, so it is important to do your homework and choose the best agent for the job of selling your home.

Contact

Pam Dent

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville.

 

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale.

 

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms or visit my other blog Charlottesville Real Estate Talk  for more information on

Charlottesville

Virginia

horse farms, homes, events and real estate. 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "How Do You Decide Who Is The Best Realtor To Sell Your Home?"Postdivider

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Counting Down For The Belmont

May 22nd, 2009

We are in the final days and counting down for the Belmont Stakes. Race horse

Like many Virginia equestrians I have been eagerly following the Triple Crown races this year.  The Kentucky Derby was spectacular with Mine That Bird's dash from behind and up the rail to win by a substancial margin piloted by his colorful jockey Calvin Borrel. 

The excitment built further with the leadup to the Preakness.  Rachael Alexandra was added to the field and Calvin gave up the ride on Mine That Bird to be her jockey.  Imagine giving up the ride on the Derby winner.  The race answered the questions of whether a filly could run against the colts and whether Mine That Bird was truly a contender or was his win a fluke.  All of us who watched will remember the excitement as the filly led the whole way and Mine That Bird raced up from last place to challenge her at the end only to not have quite enough room. 

Now we are left with the questions leading into the Belmont of will Rachael Alexander run.  After all she has proved that she can beat the colts.  And who will ride Mine That Bird?  If the filly runs Borrel will be aboard her, but what if she doesn't.  Preakness jockey Mike Smith will honor a previous commitment and ride in California.  Who could imagine that a Derby winner would have such a hard time deeping his jockey.

If you are eager for information and behind the scenes color on the Triple Crown races, horses and trainers, the place to go is Joe Drape's blog The Rail.  Joe Drape is the New York Times horse racing reporter and he has five guest bloggers contributing to this blog.  One of these is Alex Brown who is one of my facebook friends and happens to be an exercise rider for Steve Asmussen who is now the trainer of Rachael Alexander.

However it plays out all of this year's hoopla has been good for racing.  The Belmont should turn out to be a very interesting race.  I can't wait!

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Contact

Pam Dent

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville.

 

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale.

 

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms or visit my other blog Charlottesville Real Estate Talk  for more information on

Charlottesville

Virginia

horse farms, homes, events and real estate. 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Counting Down For The Belmont".

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Virginia Horse Farms For Sale – It Won’t Sell If I Can’t Tell It’s A Horse Property?

May 19th, 2009

Yesterday I was searching the mls for Virginia horse farms for sale to email to a client, but how can I sell your farm if I can't tell it's a horse property.  And how can I tell it's a horse property if the agent doesn't put the equestrian details in the listing information.
The first thing that struck me was how hard it was to sort out the true horse farms from the other properties with acreage.  The equestrian amenities were ofter burried somewhere in the agent notes after all of the details on the house.  One listing didn't even mention that it had a barn until I looked at the additional media and "voila" there was a picture of a 9 stall barn.
If you are selling a Virginia equestrian property, it is important to hire a Realtor who understands the importance of the horse facilities to horse people.  They will want to know the size of the barn, how many stalls, kind of fencing and whether there is a ring.  That information needs to be at the beginning of the notes, even before the information on the home.  After all the true horse person will want to make sure that his horses are happy and then if that is perfect he will often try to make the house work.
Remember that if you list your Virginia horse farm for sale, I need to be able to find it among all the other listings so that I can put it in my tour to show my clients.  Please make sure that it is easy to see on the listing that it is a horse property in order that it does not get overlooked as I scroll through all of the properties that are currently on the market.

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Contact

Pam Dent

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate
III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434
960-0161
to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore,
Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County,
Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek,
Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County,
Ruckersville.

 

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia
homes for sale
.

 

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms
or visit my other blog Charlottesville
Real Estate Talk
  for more information on

Charlottesville

Virginia


horse farms, homes, events and real estate. 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Virginia Horse Farms For Sale – It Won't Sell If I Can't Tell It's A Horse Property."

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May in the Virginia Horse Country Means The Keswick Horse Show

May 14th, 2009

For as long as I can remember May in the Virginia Horse Country means the KeswickStevo & Just Jack (WinCE) Horse Show.  Traditionally the second week in May has been the date for the Keswick Horse Show.  This years show began on this Wednesday and will continue through Sunday afternoon.  Some of the top show hunters, jumpers and ponies on the east coast are competing.  The riders range from top professionals to tiny leadline riders on their precious ponies.

The show grounds are located at the Keswick Hunt Club show grounds in Keswick Virginia just a few minutes east of Charlottesville Virginia.  The beautiful ring with its old trees and flower decorated jumps is the perfect backdrop for the elegant equine athletes.  Among the riders and spectators "Keswick" is known for its hospitality.

The picture is of my daughter Baily Dent showing a the Keswick Horse Show when she was a teenager.  Baily is now a professional rider running Shadowfax LLC at the Glenmore Equestrian Center.  She still looks forward to riding at Keswick every year.

Take some time this week to stop by the horse show, enjoy watching the horses from the picturesque old grandstand while sipping some Keswick tea.  Enjoy this Virginia horse country tradition.

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Contact

Pam Dent

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate
III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434
960-0161
to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore,
Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County,
Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek,
Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County,
Ruckersville.

 

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia
homes for sale
.

 

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms
or visit my other blog Charlottesville
Real Estate Talk
for more information on

Charlottesville

Virginia


horse farms, homes, events and real estate.

 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "May in the Virginia Horse Country Means The Keswick Horse Show".

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Central Virginia Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

May 12th, 2009

This Central Virginia real estate market report is a compilation of all of the local market reports Real estate (WinCE) for the month of April 2009.  You may compare the activity in the various areas around Charlottesville Virginia for an overview of Central Virginia real estate as a whole.

Albemarle County Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

Charlottesville Virginia Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

Charlottesville VA Real Estate Market Report Condos – April 2009

Charlottesville VA Real Estate Market Report Attached Homes – April 2009

Fluvanna County Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

Louisa VA Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

Greene County VA Real Estate Market Report – April 2009

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Contact

Pam Dent

, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate
III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434
960-0161
to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore,
Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County,
Troy, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek,
Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County,
Ruckersville.

 

View all of the Charlottesville Virginia
homes for sale
.

 

View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms
or visit my other blog Charlottesville
Real Estate Talk
  for more information on

Charlottesville

Virginia

horse farms, homes, events and real estate. 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Central Virginia Real Estate Market Report – April 2009".

No Comments