Homes For Sale Charlottesville VA

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Homes on the Market for $150,000 or Less

For many people, as summer heats up, so does the search for a great home. Whether you’re looking for your first home or hoping to relocate to another city, in today’s housing market, it can feel impossible to find something you love that suits your budget and taste.

Fear not. Plenty of delightful homes in metro areas around the country provide the best of both worlds for eager home buyers. Check out these 10 homes currently on the market for under $150,000.

Atlanta, GA

1012 Mcdaniel St SW, Atlanta, GA
For sale: $129,900

This bright 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath home provides stylish interiors and attractive wood flooring. You’ll find an open concept kitchen, stainless steel appliances, and dark wood cabinets. The family room includes a stone wall backsplash complete with a mounted electric fireplace. Best of all, you can enjoy time on the front porch or in the backyard.

See more Atlanta homes.

Memphis, TN

1072 W Perkins Rd, Memphis, TN
For sale: $145,000

This ranch-style abode is surrounded by green space, with two luscious lawns and sprawling trees. Inside you’ll be impressed by the wood flooring throughout and a large living area, as well as a spacious kitchen and separate dining room. The single-story home features energy-efficient windows, along with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Find your next Memphis home.

Indianapolis, IN

519 E Edwards Ave, Indianapolis, IN
For sale: $149,000

Boasting a walkway reminiscent of a secret garden, this craftsman-style home brings plenty of character, along with 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. A sweeping living room includes hardwood floors, a brick fireplace, and a chandelier. Decorative ceilings and arched doorways lead to an expansive kitchen, while many of the bedrooms include classic fixtures. This home provides a balance between modern upgrades and classic accents.

See more Indianapolis homes.

Columbus, OH

74 S Westgate Ave, Columbus, OH
For sale: $139,900

With stunning curb appeal, you’ll find it hard to believe that this 3-bedroom, 1-bath farmhouse dwelling was built in 1938. In addition to the elegant front porch, you’ll discover a great deal of charm inside. Multicolored hardwood floors, wood-framed windows and a tile-surround fireplace outfit the living area. The dining room provides a view of the backyard, and the kitchen offers access to the outdoors, along with plenty of counter space and white cabinets.

Find your next Columbus home.

Phoenix, AZ

2742 W Tuckey Ln, Phoenix, AZ
For sale: $145,000

If you’ve always dreamed of a sun-drenched home, look no further than this single-story brick desert oasis. With 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, the rambler features a galley kitchen, arched walkways and built-in shelving. An Arizona room allows you to spend time close to the outside without overheating, while tile flooring throughout promises for an easy clean-up.

See more Phoenix listings.

San Antonio, TX

8815 Mesa Vis, San Antonio
For sale: $122,000

This cozy 3-bedroom, 2-bath craftsman-style home includes a two-tone painted living room with a cut-out window into the kitchen, allowing you to chat with guests while you prep the refreshments. A barn-door garage adds rustic appeal, and the well-maintained lawn provides plenty of space to enjoy the sun.

See more San Antonio homes for sale.

Des Moines, IA

1810 E 32nd St, Des Moines
For sale: $137,500

This welcoming brick cottage offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, refinished hardwood floors, and several windows. An upgraded kitchen features a sophisticated monochromatic color scheme and tile backsplash. The covered back patio will be a welcome retreat, and the handyman or -woman in your life will have plenty of room to store their tools in the shed.

See more homes in Des Moines.

Milwaukee, WI

3672 S 15th St, Milwaukee, WI
For sale: $127,000

With a quaint exterior and well-maintained grounds, this Cape Cod-style dwelling offers 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. Stylish upgrades, honey-colored wood floors, and two living areas are just some of the many delights this home has to offer. A festive rec room and finished basement promise you’ll love spending time at home. Outdoors you’ll enjoy a patio, large backyard, and a tranquil stone water feature.

See more listings in Milwaukee.

New Orleans, LA

7871 Briarwood Dr, New Orleans, LA
For sale: $149,900

This stately home boasts soaring ceilings, intricate tile flooring and a stone fireplace. With 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, including a first floor master with a Jacuzzi tub, relaxing will be easy. Elegant windows provide natural light inside the open-concept kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Outside you’ll find an expansive covered patio, perfect for dining al fresco.

See more New Orleans homes.

Minneapolis,MN

1211 Upton Ave N, Minneapolis, MN
For sale: $149,900

Lots of open space and windows keep this 3-bedroom, 1-bath craftsman home bright and airy. Graced with warm wood flooring and coffered ceilings, the formal dining room thoughtfully includes a built-in buffet with room to store your fine china and impress guests along the way. The spacious kitchen comes equipped with white appliances and room for a breakfast table. A home office makes working remotely a treat, while a stunning backyard with a rain garden and stone patio await your leisure hours.

See more Minneapolis homes.

Related:

from Zillow Porchlight http://www.zillow.com/blog/homes-for-150000-or-less-198752/
via Reveeo

Monday, June 6, 2016

Diddy Drops Price on Manhattan Digs by $2M

shutterstock_108926555 Want a deal on an apartment near Central Park? Hip hop mogul Sean Combs has slashed the price tag on this 2,300-square-foot apartment with city and park views by $2 million, to just $6.5 million.

He’s been steadily dropping the price since first listing it in 2012. Puff Daddy has done considerable work on the place, including shrinking it from a 3-bedroom to a 2-bedroom home in the interest of expanding the living and entertaining space.

The apartment boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, seven-foot-wide plank floors, a wet bar and a kitchen with high-end appliances.

The master suite is decked out with two walk-in and two regular closets, plus a bathroom with dual sinks, a radiant floor, and a large shower that’s separate from the soaking tub.

The listing agents are Whitney Didier and Stephanie Subervi of Douglas Elliman.

If Manhattan isn’t your thing, check out the estate Diddy’s listing in New Jersey — also discounted from his initial 2015 asking price of $8.5 million to $7.99 million.

While his homes back East sit on the market, Combs himself is enjoying the 13,400-square-foot, Los Angeles mansion he dropped a cool $39 million on in 2014. Now that’s coming home.

Related:

from Zillow Porchlight http://www.zillow.com/blog/diddy-drops-price-in-nyc-199002/
via Reveeo

'The Amityville Horror' House on the Market for $850,000

Want to buy a piece of horror history? “The Amityville Horror” house on Long Island is listed for $850,000. It’s the site of a tragic mass murder in 1974, when a man shot his parents and four siblings. His lawyers said voices in the house made him do it, but that’s where reality ends and “The Amityville Hoax” begins, according to locals and listing agent Gerald O’Neill of Coldwell Banker Harbor Light.

They give little credence to the tales told in a best-selling book and two movies, all called ‘The Amityville Horror,’ based on the supposed haunting of a family who lived there briefly after the murders.

“There’ve been four owners since the murders, and none of them ran out of the house screaming, and there were no strange experiences,” O’Neill said. His own brother lived there for a decade with his family.

The two-story home with dormers is recognizable from the book cover and from the movie, although its Dutch Colonial architecture also matches that of thousands of other homes built in the 1920s. In fact, a similar colonial about 100 miles away, in New Jersey, was the on-location set for the 1979 movie.

Set on the Amityville River in a sleepy village first settled by Europeans in the 1600s, the home measures 3,600 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. There’s a large boathouse and boat slip with peaceful water views.

“I’ve known that house for 50 years,” said O’Neill, who spent a lot of time there growing up, when a friend lived in the house.

The address is different from when the murders happened, because the post office changed it at the request of one of the owners. But people still know the house, and O’Neill is trying hard to “avoid any people want to see the house just for the sake of seeing it.”

Related:

from Zillow Porchlight http://www.zillow.com/blog/amityville-horror-house-for-sale-198916/
via Reveeo

House of the Week: A Mill Workers' Home Turned Modern Mansion

Tucked between two expansive local parks, this estate is barely recognizable as the humble textile mill workers’ cottage it was built as in 1835.

Back then, it was a duplex of sorts, housing two families and set amid many other homes of its type - part of a village built around the mill. Now it’s a single-family home on nearly five acres amid parkland. It maintains its original stone appeal from the front, but otherwise is a modern home complete with reinforced concrete piers, walls of glass and steel beams. It’s on the market for $4.299 million.

A Philadelphia doctor who bought the home in 1910 converted it into a single-family dwelling. He turned the surrounding homes and buildings into a sanitarium called Gladwyne Colony. The facility eventually closed, and in the 1960s, a neighbor (who was also a Campbell Soup heir) bought the property and tore down all the buildings except this home.

The current owner bought it in the early 1990s and “blew the back out.” Only the front and side walls of the 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath home are original, said Dennis Milstein.

All the windows and skylights provide a feeling of connection to nature, even from inside the 6,500-square-foot home, he said. It’s also filled with light, despite being in a valley. “Natural light pours in from the skylights,” he said. Even at night, “it mimics what it would be like if you weren’t inside a building at all.”

The property has been landscaped so that the woods almost envelop the home, and Milstein loves that there’s virtually no yardwork. “We don’t have any lawn whatsoever - no grass, no lawnmowers, no leaf raking,” he said. “Everything goes back to nature.”

Most of the heating and cooling are geothermal, he said, and the estate is just a 15-minute drive from Philadelphia. “If there’s any quality about this house that’s more special than anything else, it would have to be it’s location - because that’s not replaceable.”

The listing agent is Lisa Weber Yakulis of Kurfiss/Sotheby’s International Realty. She also holds the listing for the former Campbell Soup estate, at $19.5 million.

Photos by Jim Albert.

Related:

from Zillow Porchlight http://www.zillow.com/blog/mill-worker-cottage-to-modern-198649/
via Reveeo

Predicting the 'Right Time' to Buy or Sell a Home

Buying or selling a home at the ‘right time' is tougher than it sounds. People usually take these actions because of a life event or financial issues. The economy and real estate forecasts tend to be secondary considerations. Yet both buyers and sellers often pose the question, "When is the best time to buy or sell?"

If you have the luxury of choosing when you enter the real estate market, here are some points to consider when timing a home purchase or sale.

Every market is different

There’s no longer one national real estate market or forecast like there was 20 years ago. And just because the 24×7 national news outlets tell stories of hot real estate markets with multiple offers and quickly rising prices doesn't mean that's happening in your neighborhood.

In fact, real estate activity can vary widely within the same county. One town can see record-breaking activity, while another 10 miles away has a glut of inventory.

If you want to purchase or sell, dig deeper, look around and get as much local information as possible. Meet with a good local agent early and often to stay informed about shifts in the market.

Interest rates fluctuate

Most people need a mortgage to purchase a home, and long-term interest rates are a major factor. For many years, we've been living with historically low mortgage rates. But while we might be living in a time of three- or four-percent rates today, remember that in the 1980s rates were 12 percent or higher.

It’s not uncommon for buyers to get off the sidelines and into the real estate market when they hear news of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. It’s very likely that when rates do start to creep back up again (and they eventually will), would-be buyers will turn into active customers.

Seasons change

Traditionally, spring has been the big real estate selling season. Flowers bloom, the grass is green, pools are open and homes show in their best possible light. Parents with school-aged children also wanted to purchase in the spring or summer so the kids could start a new school in the fall.

While the spring is still a strong selling season, today’s buyers are looking online and searching on their phones every day, no matter the season, and transactions happen from New Year’s Day to Christmas Eve.

If you have a home to sell and aren't in a rush, consider doing so at a traditionally “off” time. There will be fewer homes for sale, which means less competition.

Don't try to time the market based on antiquated assumptions about seasons. It's more important that you show your home in its best possible condition and choose the right list price. If it's priced right and shows well, it will sell anytime.

Money isn’t everything

If a real estate purchase were purely financial, then we would see every renter who has money saved up and a solid job getting in the market. But there are practical and emotional considerations. I've worked with buyers for months, sometimes years. They were always qualified to purchase, but never pulled the trigger.

Why were they gun shy? Because it doesn't make sense to put down 20 percent and take on a mortgage if their job with an hour commute isn't steady, their marriage is on the rocks, or their aging parents live across the country.

Renting and keeping with the status quo is totally acceptable if there is any uncertainty in your future. While these buyers are free to shop and learn the market, they may not make a move.

Since the financial crisis, many buyers have been hesitant to get back into the real estate market. And for good reason: some of those buyers probably were never qualified to be in the market.

But in many parts of the country, we've seen a comeback. Some markets are better than others. If you think home buying is in your future, do your research. Take your time, get your ducks in a row and start to feel the market.

Just know that nobody can predict when the right house will come along, and you can't time a real estate market.

Related:

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

from Zillow Porchlight http://www.zillow.com/blog/right-time-to-buy-or-sell-home-198898/
via Reveeo