David Bruce

Archive for December, 2009

December 19th, 2009

Buying A Richmond House in the Snow

Okay, we are in the midst of the blizzard of 2009 and a week before Christmas, who is really shopping for a home? Well if you’ve been thinking about buying a new home December, January and February are great months to buy a home in the Richmond area.  Why? There are usually fewer homes on the market in these months and sellers tend to be very serious about selling this time of the year.  This can often translate into a better deal for a Richmond area homebuyer. Read the rest of this entry »

December 16th, 2009

Neighborhood Spotlight: Twin Hickory

Twin Hickory is a master planned community of about 1400 homes just off I-295 and Nuckols Road in western Henrico County. Twin Hickory is made up of unique neighborhoods and includes single-family homes, townhomes, and condominium homes. The community was developed by HHHunt, the same developer of master planned communities Wellsley and Wyndham.

Numerous amenities make living in Twin Hickory an incredible experience. The development includes Twin Hickory Town Center with shops, restaurants, a grocery store and is close to Downtown Short Pump, Short Pump Town Center and the newly developed West Broad Village. There is a beautiful community pool and tennis courts, a Henrico County Public Library, the Shady Grove YMCA, Twin Hickory Elementary School, Deep Run High School and other amenities which are accessible from a a network of sidewalks and paths. Twin Hickory offers a lot to its residents and is a great place to raise a family! Read the rest of this entry »

December 3rd, 2009

Tacky Lights and Richmond Real Estate

It’s that time of the year!  Santa Claus’ outside Walmart ringing the bell, tree’s being sold about every 1/2 mile on Broad Street, even stop lights flash a bright red and green.  Wasn’t that in a song?  Seriously though the holidays are upon us and are a time for family, celebration, good cheer and yes, decorating.

 The decorating part can be a challenge if you are trying to sell your home.  While holiday decorating is fun and festive, too much can leave buyers unable to picture themselves at home in your house.  Not really the feedback you want to hear from prospective buyers. Also not everyone has the same beliefs and customs that you do. Remember when you are trying to sell a home you want to appeal to the masses, including homebuyers that do not observe Christmas. Read the rest of this entry »

December 1st, 2009

Richmond Short Sales Will Get Easier!

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday released a plan to speed up and encourage Short Sales as a means to help families avoid foreclosure. We’ve been offering Short Sale proposals to public officials for over a year, and although the new guidelines aren’t everything we were hoping for, they do represent a significant improvement over the current situation.

Short Sales have been difficult to close, and these new measures are a huge step in the right direction. One major highlight: A lender must give a yes or no answer to an offer within 10 days. Also included: a moving allowance, incentives for sellers and lenders, commission rules, and a stipulation that releases sellers from debt liabilities.  Here’s an initial Reuters news story outlining the new policies. Read the rest of this entry »