Kate’s Lake Anna Country

Just about an hour ago I was at a real estate closing where my purchasers were settling on a home in Louisa County that had a 2008 tax assessment of $832,000. They paid $640,000. Where did the value of almost $200,000 go?

Well, you better believe one of the first things these new homeowners are planning to do is to appeal their tax assessment. They made that perfectly clear soon after having a ratified contract and reiterated it again this afternoon.

Oh yes, they like many others are now owning property that is assessed by their local governments for much more than market value.

Will many governments make adjustments that will truly reflect the current market down turn?  Or, are homeowners simply setting themselves up for further frustration when they try to have their properties reassessed?

How will the local governments handle this without antagonizing their property owners and yet not risking a serious loss of income?  Who will pay the bills the governments have piling up?  Do the assessments go down and the rates go up?

The domino effect is alive and well.  What do you think will be the outcome?

(This post was written in December 2008.)

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, Virginia please contact Kathleen ”Kate” Elim, REALTOR®.

Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. 

Copyright © 2008 By Kathleen “Kate” Elim, All Rights Reserved. *Boy, are the Tax Assessor’s Going to be real BUSY*.

When you have lived at Lake Anna for a while, you learn to adjust to a slower pace and you learn to love it. We even have patience when we hear that there are going to be some changes.

While you may see nothing but open space in this photo, those of us with vision see Cutalong, one of the new projects proposed for our area. The plan is to turn these 1,000 acres into a very desirable community and retail center.

Cutalong will be Lake Anna’s first Golf and water oriented community. It is well into the planning stages and a number of people have put in their reservations for the opportunity to have a spot in this one-of-a-kind community proposed for the lake.

The biggest distinction is the planned championship golf course. Although we are fortunate to have Tanyard Country Club in nearby Louisa with its 18-hole course this will be a first for Lake Anna.

A clubhouse will be located on the waterfront and will provide fine dining, tennis facilities, a pool and a fitness center. With its location on the shore of Lake Anna it will provide a perfect spot to sit and enjoy sights of the lake.

Plans for Cutalong call for a number of home sites plus townhouses. A retail village will provide space for  a variety of retailers,  restaurants, nature preserves, banking, and a supermarket all within walking distance of Cutalong residents.

Cutalong Harbor will have wet slips and a boatel for the exclusive use of residents. They will be able to enjoy all the things that other Lake Anna residents find so appealing about life here. This is a great lake for water skiing, fishing, swimming, sailing, jet skiing, and simply cruising along slowly taking in the sights.

Imagine being able to have this lifestyle within easy reach of the D.C. metropolitan area, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Fredericksburg.

Reservations are being taken for those that would like to consider Cutalong as a future spot for a second home or for their permanent place to live.

If you’d like to have more information about this future community here at Lake Anna or would like to be added to the reservation list at no cost just let me know and I will make sure you receive it.

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, Virginia please contact Kathleen ”Kate” Elim, REALTOR®.

Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate’s Web sites  and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

Copyright © 2008 By Kathleen “Kate” Elim, All Rights Reserved. *Cutalong…A Golf Course of Course*.

It looks like 2009 is going to be a good one for Lake Anna real estate.

Monday I took a new listing for a water access home. It is a very nice small log cabin, cape cod style. This will make a great getaway for someone interested in spending some quality time in a very restful spot.

Tuesday (that’s today) I received a call from a fellow RE/MAX agent in Northern Virginia that is giving me a referral. He knows a couple that is thinking of buying a waterfront lot down here at Lake Anna.  As he does not know the area he has made the wise decision of referring them to someone who does.  Oh, if only more agents were so wise.

This couple is in need of a lender and I have two that I will be suggesting.

I also received an e-mail from someone that would like to come down to the lake on Saturday.  He and his wife have not been here before so we will take a tour to see if Lake Anna is where they would like to buy a second home.  If, and I suspect the answer will be positive, they decide to take a look at some houses we are all prepared to do just that.  A number of listings have been sent to them this afternoon and they will get back to me with the ones they would like to look at.

One of the agents in my office will be showing a listing of mine on Sunday. She is very positive about the house and hopes her clients will feel the same way.  Time will tell.

Are you looking forward to 2009 with optimism?  Believe me, it is the only way.

If things aren’t happening for you…make them happen. Put your mind to work and come up with the best ideas you possibly can to ensure that you make of 2009 what you want it to be.  There are some things we cannot control and there are other things we can.  Make sure you take advantage of everything you can possibly influence.

Use Active Rain to the fullest. There are so many posts full of wonderful suggestions on how to improve your business. The topics are endless and the advice often top-rate.  Digest as much of it as you can and then put it to work for you.

Make sure you:

• Do it with gusto!

• Do it with enthusiasm!

• Do it with caring!

• Do it with all the tools at your disposal.

• Do it with all the knowledge and experience you have.

• Do it with a sense of confidence!

• Do it because you want to make a difference in people’s lives.

• Do it because you can!

Sunday I was thinking that I needed to get going.  I really did not have much of anything in the works and that was fine.  2008 had been a good year for me and I enjoyed a pretty restful November and December.

Now it was time to rev up again.  It happened sooner than I thought it would.  I had no idea yesterday and today would be so fruitful.  May the same be true for you.

(Written December 2008)

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, Virginia please contact Kathleen ”Kate” Elim, REALTOR®.

Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. 

Copyright © 2008 By Kathleen “Kate” Elim, All Rights Reserved. *2008 is Still Alive and Well But Here Comes 2009*.

One of the tenets of being a professional REALTOR® is knowing your real estate market inside and out.

How can someone possibly help their client buy a property in an area that is unknown to them 75-100 miles away in a very different environment?

I often ask myself this question when I receive calls from agents some distance away asking for information on property here at Lake Anna.  They have never been here and yet plan to work with clients interested in buying at the lake.

One day I received a request from an assistant to a “high producing” Northern Virginia agent.  I was asked to do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for Lake Anna.  Lake Anna is 17 miles long with over 250 miles of shoreline and approximately 120 subdivisions.  We sell waterfront homes, water view homes, access homes, waterfront lots, water view lots, and water access lots with or without assigned boat slips.

Would you like to do such a CMA?  Would it tell you very much?  Would you be able to help your clients with this information?

I suggested to the assistant that I would be very happy to accept a referral.  That seemed like the logical step to me.  The assistant said the agent preferred to work with her own client.

Who’s best interest was paramount on that agent’s mind?

When I first became an agent I worked in Northern Virginia.  I had been living there for several years and there was still quite a learning curve getting to know the area.  It is huge.  My office was located in what is known as inside the beltway, fairly close to D.C.  It was the area where many people chose to start their search for a home.  At that time most of the jobs where in D.C. or close in.  Little by little we would venture further out when they realized they were able to buy much more home for the money.

After moving to Lake Anna I experienced another learning curve. This time I had to learn about the lake.  Lake Anna has it’s own story.  Then I had to learn about surveys, septic systems (alternative and conventional), about wells (drilled and bored), the building permit process, and other things that were more unique to Lake Anna.  Just getting to know where the nearest towns and shopping areas were as well as medical resources and schools took some time.

There definitely is a case to be made for referrals and they do not necessarily have to be just across state lines or outside a MLS.

Do you provide the best service for your clients even when that may mean not working with them?

Please think about that the next time someone tells you they are interested in an area you do not know.

That is some of the best advice I have heard recently. It certainly applies to sellers in this real estate market. The idea is to price aggressively.

Representation! When buying or selling real estate it is very important that you understand the different types of representation. Your REALTOR®, at the very beginning of your relationship, should explain what this means.  However, if you have an understanding before then you will be even better prepared to make the right decision.

When I first began working in real estate, back in 1986, all REALTORS® represented the seller.  The agent working with the buyer was not representing the buyer.  Rather, they were sub-agents to the seller’s agent.  Soon after, buyer’s representation began to creep into the way we did business.

Buyer representation was resisted initially by some agents as it meant a change in the way they were accustomed to doing business.  Others embraced it readily as it really reflected the way they would prefer to work with buyers.  This meant that they were no longer sub-agents for the seller.  Instead they were legally and ethically able to advise buyers on price and other negoitation factors vital to a contract.

Be sure when working with a REALTOR®whether you are buying or selling, that you fully understand the role your agent will be performing.  You are the one that makes that deterination.  You select the type of representation you want.  The choice is absolutely yours, not the agents.  Make sure it is what is in your best interest.

If you would like to learn more about the types of representation you may select in a real estate transaction I would be more than happy to provide you with that information.

Looking for something interesting to do this weekend? Here are some fun choices of things to do at Lake Anna State Park.

Friday, June 13

1 pm Panning for Gold Free

2 pm Goldmine Tour **

4 pm Story Time in the Woods **

7:30 pm Campfire

Saturday, June 14

1 pm Panning for Gold Free

2 pm Goldmine Tour **

4 pm Operation Nature **Share an appreciation of our world and its environment with others through a “make it and take it” community service project!

7:30 pm Movie Free - Meet at the Visitor Center.  The Lorax by Dr.Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel

 Sunday, June 15

 1 pm Stampmill Sam’s Gold Adventure $5pp

** These program fees are $2 pp, $6 per family

Make Father’s Day even more fun for that special Dad in your life.

Make time on Sunday, June 15th to come to the beach area at Lake Anna State Park. As you watch nature’s beautiful sunset over the lake, relax, sit back and listen to the musical wonders of The Company Store.

The Company Store stocks and delivers American-made string-band music with an energy and enthusiasm sure to satisfy the pickiest of ears and shuffle the clumsiest of feet.  Featuring robust fiddlin’, exuberant singin’, and family humor.  The Company store is a crowd favorite whereever they set up shop!

We are so fortunate to have them here at Lake Anna.  Be sure to take advantage of this treat.

Be sure to bring your lawn chairs and blankets.

This is the type of entertainment the whole family will enjoy.  Bring the neighbors too.  The program begins at 5:00 p.m. and is over at 7:00 p.m.

A Thank You to Jo Finch, President

Friends of Lake Anna State Park

for the above information 

When the real estate market was busy, busy, busy and the prices were going up year after year many were wondering where the good old days had gone.

They were nostalgic about the low rates of yesterday and the big inventory of homes on the market.

What do we have right now? Low interest rates and a big inventory.  Prices have dropped dramatically in the past two years.  Those that are waiting for even lower prices may be in for a surprise if the market turns around.

How will they know when the market has bottomed out?  I am in the business and there is no way I would predict when that will happen or if it has happened. 

What I am saying is that the only way we know is when we are all looking over our shoulders down the road saying, ” Why didn’t we buy back then?” 

Why doesn’t everyone buy at the bottom and why do some people buy at the top?  It is not because they knew.  It was because they made the decision at that particular time given the information they had or the circumstances they were in at that point.

There is not much if any possibiity that someone buying now will be buying at the top of the market or even close to it.  That has come and gone.  Has the bottom?  Do you want to risk missing it? 

If you have been thinking of buying here at Lake Anna or elsewhere do the best you can to find what you want and realize how fortunate you are to be a buyer in a buyer’s market.