A Little Henrico County History : Courtney Road Service Station      Henrico County is full of great little historical places and I thought I would share this one seeing that gas prices have skyrocketed lately. The sign at Courtney Road Service Station reads, "Before there were gas stations, motorists would   get a drum of fuel from an industrial depot, bring it home, and store it. Soon after, consumers got their gasoline at the blacksmiths shops and hardware and grocery stores. Still others received gasoline from horse drawn tanks that made house calls. In the early 1900's, gas producers standardized their station designs to better package the image of their petroleum products. The "House with Canopy" design of the Henrico County gas station originated 1916 with prefabricated prototyp... 03/08/2011

Real Estate Bar Camp in Richmond #REBCRVA and Social Networking with Brian Block What a great time today with fellow Real Estate Professionals.  Jennifer James gave a wonderful talk on the power of Activerain and Google placement.  Blogging has been a constant challenge for me.  The schedule of Real Estate tends to knock me off of the schedule I should be keeping on blogging.  After learning about the SEO benefits, I'll definitely be working on my blogging effort. Yesterday master social networker & blogger, Brian Block spoke to the powers of using Facebook, Activerain, twitter, & blogs to build one's real estate business.  As I was starting to get in the groove, I had to fly out the door to meet with a Client to draft a Purchase Offer.  Not complaining, but a prime example of how easy ... 06/23/2010

  Winterizing Your Home Whether you are buying or selling a home, you should have a professional home inspection performed by an experienced inspector.         A home inspection will look at the systems that make up the building such as:             Structural elements, foundation, framing etc     Plumbing systems       Roofing      Electrical systems     Cosmetic condition, paint, siding etc  If you are buying a home, you need to know exactly what you are getting. A home inspection, performed by a professional home inspector, will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed. You should require an inspection at the time you make a formal offer. Make sure the contract has an inspection contingency. Then, hire your own inspector and pay... 11/21/2009

I started something new today and I am excited about the future! Thinking that more businesses are open seven days a week, making weekends difficult for some to come to open houses, I started my Lunchtime Open Houses. Starting at 11 and ending at 1 these are in different locations throughout the week, allowing people to come on their lunch hour! And today, first day out,someone loved the house and is bringing the spouse back to see it! The reasons for coming to an open house during the week include: Parents are often running around after work and on weekends with their children activities College sports take up Saturdays, and National sports take up Sunday Children are in school so parents can come without children if they desire Something different to do! Because you can! Hope to see y... 10/01/2009

One of my first time homeowners asked a really great question - How does a Realtor get paid? And another client, who had not purchased a home in quite a while, asked a similar question "Is a Realtor still paid by the seller? " The majority of Realtor's work on commission. The rate of commission is determined, and agreed to in advance of a sale, or transaction, by the Realtor and their client. This should be a signed agreement so there is no confusion in the future! Most Realtors are paid their commission by the seller's closing costs after the closing of a home. BUT, if a buyer of a home, and their buyer's agent, have agreed to pay their agent a certain commission, and the seller does not agree to meet that commission price, the buyer's closing costs may reflect the difference. The sell... 09/20/2009

That's right, it is curb appeal that entices a potential buyer to want to come in and preview your property over the neighbor's down the street. Many homes that are beautiful on the inside never get viewed because they lack curb appeal. Don't fall into this trap and neglect curb appeal. Keep these simple tips in mind when preparing your home for the fiercely competitive real estate market and rest assured that you'll be sure to attract potential buyers for showings. Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression! 1. Remove and store any tools, lawn ornaments, toys and general clutter. Potential safety hazards should  be eliminated.   2. Crop and trim all plants, shrubs, trees and flower beds. Remove any dead plants or those about to die and replace with new plants. Everythi... 01/27/2009

This is the market report for zip code 23233. The report will give you a more realistic picture of the market in the area closest to your home. Currently, there are   184 Single Family Homes For Sale.                                          42 Single Family Homes under contract. The sales figures in this report are for the month February 2008, This data was provided from the Richmond area MLS. Homes sold         Average List Price         Average Sales Price        List Price/Sales Price         Days on market 20 Homes                 $341,175                        $325,802                                     %95.49                          96 Days    For additional local real estate information, information about me and my services, to request home listings by E-Mail, to request a ma... 06/14/2008

**Open House Sunday 5/18/2008 from 1-4 pm** Come see this open floor plan with HUGE amount of Kitchen Cabinet Storage. Island Bar separates the kitchen and great room area. The island is HUGE and only adds more storage underneath. Perfect for entertaining with this open floorplan and large liveable space. One level living in the West End **note the grab Bars in the Master Bath. This house has a ramp and is handicap accessible. Perfect for anyone who wants to say goodbye to stairs or looking for an open floorplan with plenty of kitchen space opening onto a back deck with wooded backyard. 05/12/2008

A "new" business has come to be in Richmond, Virginia-well "sort of new"-read on. Having grown up in the Richmond area in a home surrounded by beautiful antiques-her mother is a well-known Richmond Antique dealer-Pam Bosetti's love and passion for beautiful homes and furnishings started at a very young age. This passion has spilled over into her adult life in a way that many don't understand. Pam and her husband have purchased, lovingly restored and sold FIVE homes in the Richmond area over the last ten years. Friends and family have obvious concerns and questions such as "Why are you moving again, your home is beautiful"? After all, moving is rated as one of the most stressful events in a person's life so why move if you don't have to?  Well, having never stayed in one place for more t... 12/14/2007