Inessa Telefus - Charlottesville Real Estate

The CAAR 3rd Quarter report just came out, which attributed the recent uptick in sales to more first-time home buyers. So in that spirit, I've included an article on how to avoid some of the common pitfalls.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 2:38 PM 0 comments

U2 and Muse last night at Scott Stadium!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:19 PM 0 comments

Open Houses on Sunday, August 23

1118 St. Charles Ct - Downtown - Open 12-2PM
Directions:From Downtown, travel North on Locust Avenue, cross over bypass bridge, left on Calhoun to Right on St. Charles Avenue.


1624 Meridian St - Belmont - Open 2:30-4PM
Directions: Go Avon South (away from Downtown), turn Left on Rockland, Right on Green Left on Rougemont, Right on Meridian, House on left

Labels: Belmont, charlottesville real estate, Downtown, open house

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 6:46 PM 0 comments

Open house this Sunday, 8/9! 1624 Meridian Street - 3BR, 1BA, $229,900

This house has been well taken care of and has an updated bathroom, kitchen, and finished basement. Basement features family room and an apartment for extra income or more living space. The house sits on a double lot, with a completely fenced in back yard. A shed and detached 1-car garage with electricity complete the picture.





E-mail me or call me at 434-989-1559 for more information!

Labels: charlottesville real estate, meridian street, open house

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:04 PM 0 comments

Open Houses - This Sunday (6/28)

I hope to see you this Sunday!

1118 St. Charles Court - 12 - 2pm

1508 Rutledge Avenue - 2:30 - 4pm

Feel free to e-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 12:12 PM 0 comments

Open House Today (6/25), 4:30 - 6!

I will be at 1118 St. Charles Court hosting an open house, where wine and cheese will be served!



Please stop by!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 9:23 AM 0 comments

Surprise! - 1508 Rutledge Avenue, 4BR, 2 1/2 BA, $569,900

This charming 1940s Cape Cod has 2 additions to the main house and is larger than it looks from the outside. The home features a first floor master bedroom with sitting area that could be a home office (has separate entrance) or library, separate dining room, kitchen with island, huge sunroom, and living room with fireplace. Wood floors throughout. Premier location close to UVA, Greenleaf Park, Crow Pool, Downtown, and shopping. Unfinished dry basement for extra storage and fenced backyard.





E-mail me or call me at 434-989-1559 for more information!

Labels: charlottesville real estate, Downtown, rutledge avenue

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 9:25 AM 0 comments

1118 St. Charles Court - close to Downtown, a lot of upgrades, $424,900

Built by Southland Homes in 2006, this house has plenty of upgrades that will make a new homeowner very proud. Antique oak floors from the well-known Mountain Lumber company are laid throughout the house, even in the closets! They give the home a very warm, rich look. Granite counter tops, cherry cabinets, and a professional paint job with Ralph Lauren paint. The back yard was professionally designed and converted into a beautiful, private stone courtyard. You have to see the antique wood pergola! Walk to Downtown, enjoy dinners in your own fabulous patio, or have a party with friends and neighbors. The current owners do all of the above!





E-mail me or call me at 434-989-1559 for more information!

Labels: antique oak, Downtown, Southland Homes

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:59 PM 0 comments

City Hopping: First We Take Charlottesville, Then We Take Manhattan

I am just paraphrasing Leonard Cohen's song...

The Neighborhood Leadership Institute encouraged us to take on some sort of a project to help our community get better. Some people got interested in how to make local bus transit more "cool", so they suggested having poems written by city kids available on buses (it is going to be done this summer). Another group is going team up with the city fire department and make sure that every house in Charlottesville has a smoke alarm. Along with 4 other wonderful people, I decided to concentrate our attention on the City Market. All of us love it so much and go there every weekend. Well, it is easy to talk about the improvements but it is not easy to do. New spaces, more market days in different locations, adding recipes and cooking classes - all of this sounded very interesting but not easily implementable in a short time.

When we met with Stephanie Maloy, the market manager, she said the City Market is the most popular in the region; vendors love it because they can make money here. She has a long waiting list of vendors and wanted to know how many people come on Saturdays. So, on May 16th we all manned the City Market entrances in order to get a head count. By 6:45AM the market vendors were already ready to go. I usually go a lot later, but there is something special about being there before the big crowds. My spot was at the bottom of the hill and frankly I did not expect it to be a busy place,since there was construction next to it and it just did not look like a very good entrance space.

Little did I know. Not only did I get to see all my friends there, I clicked over 1,200 hundred people before 11AM. By the end of the day we had 4,442 visitors overall, and over 1,700 of whom came in through the hill area! Stephanie found our information to be very beneficial; she will be able let the vendors know that the hill area is a desirable area, and vendors need to take advantage of it. This will make many vendors very happy.

I have to brag about another great adventure that awaited me after the triumphant count at the local market. My husband and I saw Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday the 17th. What a treat!

Labels: City Market, Farmer's Market

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 8:07 PM 0 comments

Is it me, or are things getting better?

The CAAR 1st quarter market report is out, and I can definitely say that we are, in fact, coming off one of the worst quarters we've ever had in this business. If there is a silver lining, I have been working with a lot of buyers who do see some opportunities (from the report):

For buyers, the market has a few short-term opportunities to think about. First, interest rates, thanks to actions by the feds to shore up the financial markets, are very low right now. We do not know how long rates will stay this low. Second, first-time buyers can get an $8,000 tax break if they close on a home by the end of November. If a buyer is interested in taking advantage of this incentive, they should not wait until the fall to start the process.

As I've said in earlier posts, inventory is high and I've told my sellers to be flexible because we're competing with short sales and foreclosures as well. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 4:54 PM 0 comments

Ya govoryu po- russki! (I speak Russian!)

Our Charlottesville community is not that big but very diverse. I have been using Russian quite a lot for work; many of my clients come from different parts of the former Soviet Union. You would think that most are affiliated with UVA, and that is true to some extent. But I also have clients who have come to America through the International Rescue Committee. For some of my Russian-speaking clients I am not just a real estate agent but also an interpreter. But often the biggest issues with my clients are not with language but with culture.

Certain enhancements that are popular back in their old country might affect the property here in a negative way. Take wallpaper, for example. Back in Russia it's very popular and inexpensive to do, but here the cost is prohibitive and it's not as easy to change as a coat of paint. The current economic crisis is something a lot of my Russian clients take to heart because they went through a horrible economic downturn in the 90s. As a result, some of my clients simply do not trust the banks. Those stories of clients bringing suitcases of money are not always jokes, but it doesn't mean they're with the mob. Very often, in my case, it's hard workers who have saved over the years and are just scared of the banks. Now, this might seem funny, but in reality it makes it more difficult for them to get a loan even with their sizeable assets because the money has not been in the bank. Because of my background, I can explain to underwriters their point of view, and hopefully it will result in a loan.

If you happen to know someone who speaks Russian and needs help with real estate, I would be happy to chat with them and offer advice. Spasibo!

Labels: charlottesville real estate, russia, russian language, soviet union

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 9:44 PM 0 comments

Happy New Year to everyone!

Here is the End-of-Year report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors; the statistics explain a lot of things and confirm what we've been talking about for the last several months. You can't argue with the numbers, but you can still hope for a good 2009!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 6:41 PM 0 comments

Preventing foreclosures

There was a scene in Bonnie and Clyde that I found interesting; a family came by to see the house they lost to the bank during the Great Depression, a house in which the two robbers were squatting, thinking it was abandoned. After telling them their story about the foreclosure, the father was given a gun by Clyde to shoot at the house to get back at the bank...and he did. Foreclosures are not just one family’s problem; it’s the community’s problem. The good news is that banks today don’t want empty houses, so they are willing to talk. If you know that you won’t be able to make your mortgage payment in a couple of months, don’t wait, call me, call your lender, or even call the Piedmont Housing Alliance, but let someone know ASAP.

In Virginia foreclosure can take place in as little as 30 days, so if you are already late on your payments, you should call the Piedmont Housing Alliance immediately. The staff at PHA will be able to help you evaluate your situation. They will work with you, your real estate agent, the lender and its reps. Everybody involved will help you work out a plan with the lender to hopefully avoid foreclosure or/and buy you more time to prepare for your next step.

There are also government-sponsored programs, such as Hope Now and Hope for Homeowners, that can help qualified consumers.

Please call/e-mail me if you need more information. Foreclosures are a community problem and we need to deal with them together.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 4:25 PM 1 comments

Neighborhood Leadership Institute: Pilot your city

It’s important to me to give back to the community, and my job demands that I be familiar with things that are going on around town. Tonight I am taking the third class with Charlottesville’s Neighborhood Leadership Institute. The Institute’s program consists of 11 sessions and there are almost 50 students of various ages and backgrounds. We all want to know how the city is run, learn about future projects, and find out how we can be responsible citizens of our community. Some of the session topics include “Public Safety: Buildings, Police and Fire,” “Transportation in Charlottesville,” and “Social Services and Education.”

I have been impressed with the program so far; several city officials have participated in these sessions, including former mayor David Brown. And the Institute is excellent at keeping its students engaged; last time we had a scavenger hunt in the City Hall. What a great way to learn what every department does and where it is located!

Be sure to check out some of the municipal links on the right side of my page if you want to learn more about our wonderful city!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:23 PM 0 comments

Did you vote today?

I voted for the first time today! I became a US citizen on Sept. 30 and could not wait to participate in the presidential election. It was wonderful, I went to the poll at 6 in the morning. Our polling place was very busy and I spent almost an hour in line, but it went very fast. I felt shivers a couple of times from seeing so many people and realizing how important this day is. I wore my "I voted" sticker with pride.

And thanks to Barbara for writing such kind words!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 6:13 PM 0 comments

Have 36 hours to kill?

The New York Times Travel section, which does a "36 Hours in..." series for cities, usually like Paris and London, have added Charlottesville to their list.

It's certainly a fine way to spend a weekend, but my husband wanted me to point out that while the Bluegrass Grill is nice, the best grits in Charlottesville are at the Horse and Hound.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 4:19 PM 0 comments

I have some data for you!

For all those interested, here is a link to the CAAR 3rd Quarter Report.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:13 PM 0 comments

See no evil, hear no evil.

I try to be positive, yet talking to people who barely make it through the month (never mind gas prices and the threat of losing their jobs) and see the value of their homes drop from when they purchased it two years ago makes it hard for me to say things are "fine". Maybe when you hear about figures like "$700 billion" in the news every day, numbers like 10,000 or 20,000 may not seem like much, but those are the numbers I deal with every day. A $10,000 loss on a sale of a house was unthinkable just a year ago, now it is reality for some sellers. So what solutions can I offer?

1) while selling don't compare this year with last or two years ago (it hurts too much)
2) if you don't have to sell, don't (I have told several clients to wait)
3) if you have to sell, keep your options open (be flexible when it comes time to negotiate)

The other day I turned off the radio so I wouldn't have to listen to any more Wall Street news. Unfortunately, we can't turn off the bad news of the economy right now. But even in this economy my job is the same. I am trying hard to get the best deal for my clients, whether buying or selling.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:52 PM 0 comments

Deal in the city!

915 Rockcreek Road, 3 BR, 1 BA, 2 1/2BA, $139,900



Affordable townhouse on a city bus line. Very close to UVA Hospital, Downtown and shopping. Perfect for a 1st time home buyer! Upgrades include: windows, washer/dryer, refrigerator, stove, and bathtub upstairs. 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 2 half baths, living room with fireplace, separate dining room and fenced back yard.





E-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 7:16 PM 0 comments

Lot for sale in Foxchase subdivision - $204,900

Gorgeous subdivision west of Charlottesville with houses priced from 750K to 1.4M. Mountain views and great amenities. Clubhouse is right next to the lot and offers a fitness room, tennis courts and a pool. Build your dream house! Priced to sell!

E-mail me or give me a call at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 7:09 PM 0 comments

New listing in Sherwood Manor coming soon!

I will be listing a townhouse in the Sherwood Manor subdivision with a basement later this week. Please e-mail me or call (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 3:39 PM 0 comments

Another reason to love Charlottesville!

AARP Magazine named the city one of the ten healthiest in America! The article claims residents in the city are "most likely to say they are satisfied with their lives."

Well, we know when we have a good thing, don't we?

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 7:10 PM 0 comments

10 years gone good/10 years gone bad

A couple of things that have happened recently:



10 years gone good

I was invited to a luncheon last week as one of the top 100 agents in the Charlottesville area. The work I have been doing in the last 10 years is paying off, good or bad market. I really was honored to be in the same room with other agent who I admire and respect professionally.

10 years gone bad (but not anymore)

On a non-real estate related note, I have been sleeping for the last 10 years on the
worst mattress ever. Waking up was a pain in the neck for me figuratively and literally. After testing more than a dozen mattress I picked a Serta closeout brand at Better Living on 29 North. I tried not to look at the prices and the specs, so I would not get influenced by the price or the brand name. Being true to myself and picking the right fit for me was my only objective. What a difference! I feel like I am on vacation. I strongly recommend replacing a mattress to anybody who has discomfort sleeping. Don't get discouraged by too many choices. Actually, choosing a mattress is like choosing an agent. Be patient, you'll find the right one!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 3:13 PM 1 comments

Open house this Sunday, July 20th! 1440 2nd Street, Waynesboro, $119,900!

Very cute house! Completely redone 2 years ago. Very low utility bills. New owner improved the property by installing privacy and picket fences, landscaping the yard (patio in the back, stone path), tastefully decorating the rooms, tiling bathroom and more. Enjoy indoors and outdoors! Shed for extra storage. All appliances (2yrs old) convey. What's not to like?





There will be an open house this Sunday, July 20th, from 1-4 PM! E-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 with any questions!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 4:00 PM 0 comments

OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY! 304 Mobile Lane, 5 BR, 2 BA, $264,900

Save on gas and get help with mortgage payments! Great opportunity to live in the desirable Fry's Spring area. Walk or bike to UVA, Fry's Spring Beach Club, Rivanna Trail, and Azalea Park. Legal apartment in basement is currently rented for $500/month w/utilities included. Recent improvements include tile in bathroom, new floors in basement, new windows upstairs and more. Workshop area. Great back yard and shed for extra storage. What's not to like?

There will be an open house this Sunday, July 6, from 1-3PM. E-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

Click here for a virtual tour!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:12 PM 0 comments

Coming soon! New listings!

Starting July 1 I will have a new listing available on Mobile Lane; 5 bedrooms and two baths, with a legal apartment in the basement.

I will also have a new townhouse available in the city; 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths, very affordable, no HOA.

E-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 6:18 PM 0 comments

Just listed! 232 Cordelia Drive, Ruckersville, 3BR/2BA, $189,900

Very well maintaned ranch is ready for a new owner. Some of the features include split bedroom design, cathedral ceilings, laminate and parquet floors, custom paint, large back yard, beautiful landscaping. All appliances are included in the sale. Perfect location off of 29 N, very close to Hollymead Towne Center.

E-mail me or call me at (434) 989-1559 for more information! Scroll down for more pictures!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:56 AM 0 comments

What are YOU looking at?

Well, this giraffe looks a bit bemused, but my family had a wonderful time with the animals on two recent day trips. Virginia Safari Park is an enjoyable 3-mile loop where you drive around and feed the roaming animals (and contend with pushy zebras), while the Richmond Zoo also is quite nice. While the offerings are more modest compared to the Washington Zoo, it's also half the distance. Sometimes you forget what's available around the Charlottesville area, but these are great destinations without the two-and-a-half hour car ride.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 3:07 PM 0 comments

If you like numbers, this post is for you!

The Virginia Association of REALTORS has released its 1st Quarter Report, which shows that while Virginia is not immune to national real estate trends, it is holding up better than in most states. The link sends you to a PDF file.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 9:49 AM 0 comments

Just listed! 605 Beechwood Drive 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, $247,900

Within walking distance to Downtown! Joy to show! This updated ranch with a large fenced yard features wood floors throughout main level, tile in bathrooms and kitchen, wood burning fireplace in living room, wood and glass cabinets in kitchen, remodeled bathrooms, plenty of light. Very useful partially finished basement has a spacious family room with wood stove, den/office,and plenty of room for storage.

E-mail me or give me a call at (434) 989-1559 for more information!

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 5:19 PM 0 comments

I just read an interesting article in the latest issue of COMMONWEALTH magazine (no link available; e-mail me for more information). Steve Harney's article addresses the obstacles real estate agents are currently facing with regards to sellers' expectations. Sellers have to come to terms with:

1) increased inventory (buyers have more choices and negotiating room)

2) increased mortgage rates (because banks are nervous, buyers have less buying power)

3) increased mortgage restrictions (more buyers are being disqualified and need a higher down payment)

4) increased vacancy rates (investors are selling their empty homes at cut rates, which hurts the sellers in the same neighborhood)

5) increased foreclosures (as Harney says, "bank-owned properties drive prices down" for the entire neighborhood).

These factors simply cannot be ignored; Harney says that some agents, acting out of fear that they won't make sales, will tell their clients what they want to hear to get the listing. I'm busy enough without generating false expectations.

posted by Inessa Telefus @ 8:07 PM 0 comments