My father’s mother’s family emigrated from Germany and settled in Wisconsin. Several related families formed something like a commune with farmers, a butcher, a storekeeper and enough talent and diversity to survive on their own. That’s how my grandmother was raised as a child, one hundred years ago. About fifteen years ago I sold a…
John Ince
Why Would Anyone Want a Farm in Virginia?
When your world consists of finished square feet and you’ve found a way to make that wonderful with beautiful decorating, climate control and all the comforts money can buy, why would you even think about a farm? When your outdoor grill turns your multi level deck into a gourmet smorgasbord, why would you ever imagine…
2012 NAR Conference Wrap Up-A Second Perspective
First of all, I’d like to thank the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR) for sending me to this year’s National Association of Realtors (NAR) Convention in Orlando. It was the first year CAAR sent the whole leadership team, and was extremely valuable in team building and preparation for dealing with our national, regional and…
Bacon Hollow
Last evening was wonderful. I had been asked to prepare a listing presentation for a family, out in the county, out in one of the hollows. The hollows exist all up and down the Blue Ridge and generally follow a stream out of mountains. The streams create some nice workable bottomland and have attracted homesteaders…
Financing Country Property
A buyer looking at a lovely home on 75 acres near Charlottesville may be thinking that the timing is perfect. Prices have fallen over the last few years making properties like this much more affordable. Inventories are flush so there is a lot to choose from and ready, willing and able buyers are treated like…
Whoa there! Country property considerations when owning a horse
Is Virginia’s Piedmont horse country? You bet! With five active hunts, Olympic caliber trainers, some of the best equine vets in the country and all the assets any breeder, trainer or hobbyist could ask for, this is natural horse country. It’s no wonder that the Charlottesville countryside is well known throughout the world as one…
Details, Details, Details: What to consider when buying country property
You’ve been living the urban life for thirty years and dreaming of retiring to the country someday. Every weekend you drive down country roads and imagine that it’s you on that tractor, riding that horse, tilling that garden. Now it’s time to make it happen and you jot down your priorities. They have mostly to…
Waterfront Real Estate In and Around Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia is best known for its dynamic setting at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. People are drawn to the dramatic vistas, the rich, gently rolling pastures and great hardwood forests. This well watered countryside also offers the opportunity for waterfront living in several different modes. Virginia Beach is about two hours away…
Do You Want To Own a Charlottesville Farm?
One hundred acres. It sounds wonderful. Plenty of room to play. You could stand right in the middle of it and scream your head off and no one would hear. All you see from your front porch are rolling hills dotted with fat black cows or perhaps well mannered rows of corn or soybeans. It’s…
Fishing Around Charlottesville and Albemarle County
As a flat topped ten year old in Newport Rhode Island, the first time I threw a wiggling nightcrawler underneath a bobber into a reservoir, I was smitten with fishing. The thrill of watching that bobber plunge underwater and the pride in bringing home a stringer of yellow perch to my mom inspired a life-…