Can it Be True? No Real Tax Hike?
April 5th, 2008 categories: Real Estate News
It seems Stafford county supervisors have agreed to advertise a “modified, equalized rate”. Taxes in Stafford were supposed to go up from 70 cents to 89.8 cents per $100 for assessed value. Even with the large drop in this year’s reassessment values, the average property owner would have seen a tax hike of about $206. If the new
rate of 84 cents is approved then the average property owner’s bill will only go up $17. That’s great news for most people, but the county administrator is not so thrilled. He wants the board to reconsider the rate, since it will leave the county $9 million short next year.
The supervisors have asked county staff to find further cuts - leaving public satefy departments and school funding intact. Board member are willing to forgo this year’s pay raises and suggest that no new hires me made and some positions go unfilled. Some supervisors believe the level of services will be adversely affected. I’m actually very curious to find out if we, the county residents, will really notice a difference in services with a “budget shortfall”. Maybe that’s navie to say, but will it just mean longer lines at the any of the county offices? Or will it be a lot more significant? I guess only time will tell.
In the meantime, Spotsylvania county, with its much higher assessments this year, will see a 6 cent real estate tax increase to 62 cents. Fredericksburg will see a 5 cent increase to 58 cents. Maybe by next assessment cycle the real estate market will be doing a lot better and the pinch won’t be so bad!
| Discussion: No Comments »
North Stafford Hits the Big Time!
April 2nd, 2008 categories: Local News
At least that’s what it felt like to most of us who live in the area when the new Best Buy store opened at Stafford Marketplace. The store opened on March 7th, 2008. And even though it might not be quite as large as the others in surrounding areas, it’s great not to have to drive up or down the road to Potomac Mills or Central Park!
I spoke with the shift manager on a recent evening and she told me that Best Buy did not anticipate the amounts of customers the store has been experiencing. I thought she must be joking, seeing all the major stores go into Central Park in Fredericksburg. There are over 120,000 people who live in the county, and a large concentration is on the Rte 610 corridor, so it surprised me to hear that they were expecting it to be much slower in this new store. In response to the high traffic the store has experienced, Best Buy is going outside their budget for the store to hire more employees. That was good to hear, since I had just waited over twenty minutes to speak to someone ab
out a cell phone and finally had to give up. Nevertheless, I’m glad they are here, giving us one less reason to travel on I-95!
| Discussion: No Comments »
Lost in Transplanting
March 12th, 2008 categories: Military Life
Your spouse has orders for a new duty station. Now that the moving truck has left the driveway and you let out that sigh of relief and you’re on to a new adventure. During that transition time of days, or weeks depending how far your new assignment is and how much leave you are taking, you have that carefree feeling, almost as if you don’t have any real responsibilities, at least for the moment. You’ve lived the hard moments, saying goodbye to dear friends you’ve made, had your children say goodbye to theirs, tied all the loose ends. If time allows, you take a quick detour to visit family and perhaps old friends along the way to the new duty station.
As you arrive at your new location you ponder all the possibilities that lie ahead, all the unknowns. “Will I ever figure out my around this place?” was always one of my first questions - knowing I eventually would, just as I’d always done before. Schools are always important, if you have children. The issue of your children making friends changes with each age group - it was a lot easier when they were younger and it was definitely a lot easier to move before they were in school, you didn’t really care what rotation your husband/wife was on then. Once they get older you soon find out why everyone wants to be on the summer rotation!
I’ve always found it exciting to move to new places, around the country or around the world. There is always the excitement of meeting new people, learning things, seeing new places, learning new customs, creatint new memories. It’s a wonderful thing. However, there is that period where I tend to feel lost in the transplating. When the dust has settled, the children are enrolled in school, the last box has been unpacked and I don’t really know a soul around! Being a woman, this is time when I miss my old friends the most. The relationships you’ve nurtured, even if it’s for a few short years, are sorely missed. It can be a lonely time. Even if we throw ourselves head first into every kind of volunteer program and activities offered by the wives’/spouses’ clubs, we are still missing that vital connection that a true friend offers.
Thankfully, it seems that sooner or later, there is always someone in the great community of military spouses that you just click with. (great friends can be made outside the military community as well, especially when living off base). Then the process begins all over again. Getting to know that special friend or friends. Learning their likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses, learning from their experiences, sharing their passions. Before you know it you’ve established another crucial friendship for that season, for that particular time in your life. A friend that you know perhaps you’ll never see again once those new orders come for them, or you. But you know the investment is worth the time, effort and the eventual pain you will feel as you say goodbye. That person will always have special place in your heart and you will always relive that season of your life whenever you think of them, no matter where you are. In the end maybe not all is lost in transplanting after all.
| Discussion: No Comments »
How Deep Can You Go?
March 9th, 2008 categories: Real Estate News
If you are contemplating plunging into the deep, dark waters of real estate, you might be asking yourself: “How much further will prices plunge?” The Washington D.C. Metro area has been hard hit by the housing recession. That’s not surprising seeing that three years ago the market in the area was doing insane things. Houses would sell the same day the sign went in the yard. If a house was on the market longer than a week everyone thought there MUST be something wrong with it, and the owners would become extremely anxious about the fact their house hadn’t sold yet! Buyers had to contend with multiple offers and a lot of them would not only offer above asking price but they would forgo inspections, appraisal values and any other type of contingency.
Homes would sell regardless of their condition and they would appraise regardless of how ridiculous the price seemed. Anyone and everyone was able to obtain one of the many loans available through creative lending programs - the interest only loans became very popular and didn’t seem to deter a lot of people.
Fast-forward to present time. We are now reaping the consequences of the crazy market. The market that allowed sellers in many instances to make profits of over $100,000 in a year or less, a market were sellers became arrogantly in control has now turned into a buyers’ market. However, the mortgage industry debacle and the doom-saying from the media are keeping buyers on the fence. In the last few weeks I’ve seen at least 3 negative articles, directly or directly tied to the current real estate market , per week in our local paper, The Free Lance-Star. Any buyer would be afraid to take a plunge if they read what’s been printed. Will prices continue to drop? Has the real estate market yet to bottom out? Well, no one has a crystal ball so the truth is, only time will tell. However, I do want to point want out what the media neglects to mention. If you are thinking of buying a home and you have good credit and planning to live in that particular are for a few years - The Time is Now! Interest rates are still very low, hovering around 6% and lower, depending on the loan you get. Inventory is high and prices have dropped tremendously, which gives you, the buyer, endless homes to choose from at much better prices than in the past two years. You can also count on seller assistance in some way, shape or form. If you need closing costs assistance you don’t have to go it alone, the seller will most likely pay most, if not all of your closing costs for you. The buyer is running this show!
Pundits predict that things might start to turn around towards the end of this spring. By no means does this mean will see the market completely balanced, that’s going to take a while longer. But if things do begin to become more balanced between sellers and buyers, it might mean that the great opportunities currently available to buyers might not be there if you decide to wait for things to “bottom out”. You might wake up one morning to find that rates have gone up, sellers aren’t willing to give as much and you missed the “bottom” after all. In my humble opinion it’s a great time to buy a home!
| Discussion: No Comments »
