J.F. Brown Real Estate

There is a buzz in the Lexington area air. The real estate market in Lexington and Rockbridge County has improved and seems as though it is on a road to recovery. However, the improvement in the area real estate market is not treating all those home sellers equally. Some well price homes in prime Lexington locations are selling much more quickly. In other neighborhoods it is still taking months to sell.

There are several important factors that could be keeping your home from realizing a sale. The list price, the condition of your property or the lack of broad market exposure are probably major factors.

Buyers today just do not overpay. They need to be convinced that the asking price is a very close representation of fair market value. While the worst recession in modern time is in our rearview mirror it is still fresh in buyer’s minds. Many buyers think that now is a good time to buy a home, but they are not likely to even make an offer on an overpriced listing.

Clues that your home is overpriced include few to no showings or buyers look at your house but always purchase other homes. A home seller needs to pay attention to buyer feedback. False expectations will get you nowhere.

When you are selling your home make sure your agent always follows up showings with the buyer’s feedback. It is also important that you are getting the proper internet exposure. Most importantly make sure you are pricing the home correctly.

Lexington, VA has a lot going on in the month of March.  Take a look at the calendar, provided by our Visitor’s Center – there is something for everyone!

http://www.lexingtonvirginia.com/events.asp?t=March&y=2013#March

Conservation easements are legal agreements between a landowner and a non-profit, charitable land conservation organization or public entity. The landowner retains ownership of the property and conveys specified rights to the holder of the easement. Typically the easement is donated; however, there are other financial advantages to the landowner.

Property owners use conservation easements to ensure long term land conservation and preservation of natural, historic, or scenic features. Usually this is done because they feel a strong attachment to their land and desire to be good stewards.

In order for a landowner to realize financial benefits in the form of tax deductions from donating easements, the restriction must be in perpetuity. The permanent easement thus can be considered a charitable contribution on federal and state income tax returns. The value of the contributions is the difference between the highest value of the land before the easement is placed and the property value after the donation. This can enable the easement donor to realize very significant reductions in their state and federal income tax burden over several years.

The benefit to the community at large is that the easement helps to maintain a supply of clean air, water and animal habitat. Also, all citizens can enjoy the beauty of the undeveloped meadows, famland and scenery.

J. F. Brown Real Estate Services has a keen interest in the conservation of the rural character of Rockbridge County and the Shenandoah Valley. Please stop in our office located in Lexington Virginia and we would be happy to discuss with you the merits of conservation easements.

Here are four effective ways to prepare your home for sale.

Make the outside of your home inviting to buyers. Maintain the lawn, power wash the exterior and inject some color, and trim hedges. The yard and homes exterior imparts the first impression, so make it a gresat one.

A new coat of paint will do wonders for any room. Paint where it is needed and use neutral gray and tan colors. Consider painting rooms that are bathed in bright colors which tend to focus a buyers attention to the fact that they would have a lot of costly time consuming projects that would come with the house.

Lighten up the house with extra sunlight that creates a airy feeling and interior lights provide a cozy glow. So, wash your windows, open the drapes, replace burnt out light bulbs and if possible add outdoor lanscape lighting. These things will make the home look cheery instead of dark and gloomy.

Find somewhere to store unnecessary furniture and personal objects. Less is more when showing your home. However, make sure not to stuff it all into closets because buyers expect closets to be clutter free as well.

With a little elbow grease, these tips should help you sell your home in Historic Lexington.

House Mountain – A prominent Rockbridge County landmark, five miles west of Lexington. The mountain consists of two peaks with gentle meadowland between called ”the saddle.” Once a pasture and apple orchard, the saddle looks up at the cliffs of Big House Mountain to the west (3,645 feet) and Little House Mountain to the East (3,386 feet). NOTE: THE TRAIL HAS NOW RE-OPENED (FOLLOWING CLEANUP AFTER THE STORM OF JUNE 29, 2012). To reach the trails from Lexington, take Rt. 60 west 2 miles. Turn left on Jacktown Road (Rt. 641), continue 3.5 miles. Turn right on Saddle Ridge Rd., 1/4 mile to the end of state maintenance and park. Do not block the entrances. As you begin the walk, bear right at the first fork in the road to reach the saddle, which is located 2 miles from the parking area. There is a white gate and information board here. The hike is moderate to the saddle. The hike to Big House Mountain to the west is difficult.

Lexington, VA has lots going on in the month of February!  Take a look at the calendar of events from the Lexington Visitor’s Center -

This years Hospice Hustle 5k Run/Walk and After Party is going to be the best and biggest yet. This is the first year of having live music with the ever popular band Loose Change, great food, games, and costume contests. It raises funds for a great community service that Rockbridge Hospice provides and helps them help families in need. Entry is free. Come cheer on a runner/walker and cheer on Hospice! Come celebrate life!
www.hospicehustle.org

It is with sadness that I report the sudden loss of our donkey, “Zeke”. He was the leader of the pack on our farm. But, it is with celebration that I write this blog. What a true and trusted friend he was! Every morning he would honk and bray from a distance when the back door knob was even slightly turned. He led the horses to and from the barn to breakfast and dinner. When danger approached in the form of a dog or unfamiliar human, he would come challenge or investigate while the horses ran in the opposite direction. If you carried an apple or carrot treat, he was first one there to pick-pocket the contents. If you held a pitchfork, he would demand a back scratch.

When leaving the house for the barn at dawn, he would call to alert us and the horses it was time to eat. In response, Afton, our large All American dog would howl back in response that we were on the way with food.

He would challenge a horse 2-3 times his size to playful combat. His low center of gravity gave him an unsuspected advantage for nipping belly’s and legs. And, his bite or kick to an unsuspecting dog gave him total respect and wide birth. Any christened K-9 always knew where Zeke was. Otherwise, he would sneak up on a distracted dog When we received Zeke on the farm 16 years ago, he quickly learned friendly cars (ours) to the occasional visitor. If he did not recognize you, he would come after the car successfully biting several bumpers before a driver could get a way. Once, after a long walk, I snuck up from tree to tree towards the barn. The horses worried but Zeke charged and challenged me before I could indicate who I was. My biggest fear is that I would show up in the local newspaper badly kicked and bitten, and my ego bruised by a donkey.

He could unlock a barn door or open a gate with ease. He could weather any storm. He could play jokes on the other horses or on unsuspecting humans by sneaking up to them in the dark. If you sat at the barn door to relax and enjoy the view while the animals all fed, he would imperceptibly back up and try to get rubbed first and then literally try to sit his 400 lbs. on your lap. He saw the dogs do it, he figured he could to.

He was the court jester, the entertainer, and was in charge. He has been a reminder of why we so like the country life and the farm. The morning is so quite without his call.

On Sunday, August 28th, J.F. Brown Real Estate is helping to bring “The Steel Wheels” to Lime Kiln Theater. J.F. Brown Real Estate is sponsoring the event for the benefit of the S.P.C.A. to aid in their efforts to help homeless animals. Proceeds from this concert will go to that cause. A little information about “The Steel Wheels”: we saw them several months ago at the Mockingbird in Staunton after hearing high accolades from Robin and Linda Williams. They said the group was fabulous and that statement was no exaggeration. The musicianship, songwriting, and creativity are stellar; the sound is infectious, and the audience really gets into the music (more so than most any concert I have seen in recent years). We were very pleasantly surprised at just how good and fresh they really are. I thought it would be hard driving Bluegrass but it is far more varied than that with the influence of blues, bluegrass, old-time, and a new original genre of sound. They are hard to categorize and their high energy, balanced with sensitivity, is very powerful and enjoyable. Please consider coming to Lime Kiln in Lexington, Va. for ear and heart candy- plus it supports a good cause. Don’t wait too long for tickets, they sell out every show at the Mockingbird in Staunton.

July is right around the corner which means balloons will fill the skies of Lexington. Join us for the annual 4th of July Balloon Rally!

http://www.lexingtonvirginia.com/balloon.htm

House and Garden Tours presented by the Garden Club of Virginia
April 16-23, 2011
For More Information: www.vagardenweek.org

Trying to sell your Lexington home in a slow market is definitely frustrating. You may find that it takes longer to sell and you cannot get as much money as you could during a strong market. However, you can’t believe all the hype about a sluggish real estate market. Do the research and separate the facts from the fiction.

1.     You won’t get a fair price. Your Lexington property will sell for whatever a buyer is willing to spend on it. A comparative market analysis shows you what other buyers spent on property like yours. Of course, if you bought your house when values were higher, you may have to take a loss. However, most people can get a fair price and even make a profit in a slow market.  2.     Your real estate will stay on the market too long. While it’s true that real estate tends to take longer to sell during a slow market, it’s not impossible to sell them. People do still buy real estate in slower markets. If your real estate is priced right you can still sell it within a reasonable amount of time.  3.     Buyers only want and short sales and foreclosures. The truth is that buyers want good deals, and this can be in the form of money or time. The price of a foreclosure or short sale may certainly be attractive, but they can take a considerable amount of time to close while the banks negotiate their terms. Paying slightly more for a traditional sale is sometimes well worth the time they can save. Selling your Lexington home in a slow market isn’t easy, but it can be done.

I was reading, the other day, some of the provisions of the new tax law and how it will affect the 1031 exchange. By all appearances the law should have a positive effect on exchanges of real estate. The major areas of concern for most people were the rates and treatment of capital gains, the tax free exclusion amount for estate and gift taxes and the stepped up basis for inherited property. The tax rates for capital gain has remained the same for real estate at a 15% maximum. For estate and gift tax there is an exclusion of $5,000,000 per person and for amounts over $5,000,000 there is a tax rate of 35%. One of the most important provisions of this estate tax provision is that real estate is inherited at the stepped up basis at a market value reflective of the time at which the properrty is inherited and not based on the value of the property when it was originally purchased by the decedent. Therefore, an exchanger can continue to defer capital gains by doing an exchange and leave the property to heirs without any income tax on the deferred capital gain. The result is that the heirs will pay no income tax on the previous gain as they will recieve the property with a tax basis at its current market value. If the heir sells the property immediately there will most likely be no capital gain. These provisions will be in effect until the end of 2012.

As always it is prudent to check with a tax professional to determine how the tax law will affect you.