South Hill To Benefit - 05/31/08 04:46 PM
The biodiesel plant that was going into South Hill in Chespeake is gone.  You would think the area would be the same or worse but it looks like the area may be better off.  The city still wants to relocate residents and that could be a good deal for prices.  The city needs put up a large block of property to make the the area viable as commercial property and buying up the homes there is one way to do it.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of … (0 comments)

Another Cost Of Short Sale/Foreclosures - 05/31/08 01:21 PM
A forgotten cost of the the new real estate market consisting of vacant short sales and foreclosures is the cost to the city in terms of caring for the property.  The city of Norfolk says the number of properties it cares for is up to 325 from 160 a year ago.  There are three full time employees who do nothing but care for the private property.  The city does assess a fee for the mowing but it can be difficult to get payment.  Norfolk charges $40.00 a house and Portsmouth charges $250 a house.  Portsmouth officials feel if they charge more … (6 comments)

Local 919 Almost Gone - 05/31/08 01:04 PM
Chirs Kimmons is leaving his job as the leader of UAW Local 919.  After the Ford plant in Norfolk shut down there is not much need to lead.  The plant is shut down, the workers are gone and his work is done.  The building which housed Local 919 will remain open for a while allowing retirees to contiue to meet there on a regular basis.  Maybe he will have more time for skiing.  We wish him well.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is … (0 comments)

Great ROI - 05/31/08 12:56 PM
Where can you spend a $1 and get a return of $1.18?  Why in Virginia Beach of course.  For every $1 the city spends on tourism it nets $1.18 back.  That is pretty good if you ask me and one the reasons the city is trying hard to draw tourists all year round.  Of course most tourists just come for the beach but the beach is pretty much maxed out.  You can build bigger hotels but that is only a marginal increase.  Town Center is a start, the new Convention Center helps and maybe a new attraction at the old Dome site … (2 comments)

Portsmouth Boat Tax Increased - 05/24/08 07:13 PM
Portsmouth may not raise the real estate tax this year but they have the boat tax.  It has gone up to 50 cents per $100 of assessed value.  There are about 3,025 boats still docked in the city.  That is only down about 100 from last June.  The tax bills are just starting to go so we will soon see if more boats have have the city.  It doesn't seem like much but when you have a $1million boat it can add up quick.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as … (0 comments)

Portsmouth Teachers Get A Raise - 05/24/08 07:08 PM
Portsmouth School superintendent David Stuckwisch proposed an average teacher raise of about 4 percent recently.  That is lower then what was expected.  With real estate rates going down lots of budget items in city are taking a hit.  The city didn't give the school system any money and this was one of the solutions along with cutbacks.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to your home search.
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Bennetts Pasture Road - 05/24/08 07:03 PM
What does a man who imported fouty settlers to Suffolk 400 years ago have to do with this rd?  Well if is name is Richard Bennett it has everything to do with it.  He was the first father of Nansemond County and was Virginia's first governer under the Puritan Commonwealth.  Now we know where the Bennett came from but what about the pasture?
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to … (0 comments)

Light Rail Forging Ahead - 05/24/08 06:56 PM
Another contract was awarded recently for light rail track in Norfolk.  This was for the section going from Harbor Park to the Eastern Virginia Medical Center.  The bid was for $42.4 million which was $15 million more than what is should have been.  Hopefully this isn't a harbinger of things to come as Norfolk as to make up the cost overuns.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to your home … (1 comments)

Virginia Beach Gets New Sports Plex - 05/22/08 01:21 PM
What is better than an outdoor sportsplex you ask?  Why not an indoor sportsplex at by Dam Neck Rd and Princess Anne Rd in Virginia Beach.  7 Cities can now build the sports training and therapy center for amateur athletes after the city gave the ok for it.
 
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to your home search.
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Norfolk Gets New Library - 05/22/08 01:13 PM
The newest addition to Norfolks library system will be the Seaboard building downtown and it will also be the main library.  The building is on the corner of Plume and Atlantic and was built in 1900.  Originally the building was for the federal courts and the U.S. Post Office.  It was also the city hall for a number of years.  It is a beautiful building and Norfolk should be proud.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate … (1 comments)

Portsmouth To Get New TCC Campus - 05/22/08 01:08 PM
Portsmouth will soon get a new campus for Tidewater Community College (TCC) on a 35 acre site near Victory Blvd and Greenwood Dr.  The current Portsmouth campus is actually in Suffolk was the first TCC campus to open in the area.  The fees at the school are much lower then at four colleges but the education is top notch.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to your home search.
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Be Careful With Fake Names - 05/22/08 12:54 PM
Recently federal prosecutors indicted a Missouri mother on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year old MySpace user.  Prosecutors alleged that by helping create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist, she violated the terms of service an thus illegally accessed protected computers.  This is a novel interpertation of the law and could criminalize routine behaviour on the Internet. 
Some users create accounts or posts information under aliases for many legitimate reasons, including parody, spam avoidance and a desire to maintain anonymity or privacy online.  This also gives a business contract the force of law: Violations of … (1 comments)

Quick and Dirty Exposure Fix - 05/21/08 07:26 PM
I was out shooting my latest but certainly not my greatest listing in Virginia Beach and the sun was to my back and right and the driveway was in the dark shade.  My display gets washed out in the sun so I was using the viewfinder so the picture was really small.  The shot kept coming out dark and then I remembered I could play with the aperture and get a better exposure but I couldn't really see that.  So I zoomed into and took an exposure on the house, locked the exposure and zoomed back out to take the picture.  … (4 comments)

Half Price Gas In the Country - 05/14/08 08:26 PM
After showing some homes in rural Suffolk and trying to sell some real estate, my tank was empty and I was out in the country.  I stopped to get some gas and thought I had gone back in time.  Gas was $1.80 a gallon.  I thought I was on to something and was looking for milk jugs to fill up with.  Imagine my surprise when I went in to pay.  The guy took out a calculator and multiplied times two.  What was going on I asked.  He smiled and said that the old fashioned gas pumps with the mechanical insides can't go … (7 comments)

Solar-Ready Homes - 05/14/08 08:06 PM
Ok I have heard of pre-wiring for fans, garage door openers and the occasional generator but for SOLAR POWER???.  Are you kidding me.  I guess it is the newest thing in new construction.  You have to think ahead on something like solar power and build the house with it in mind.  Extra cables, chases, energy efficiency, the way the house sits and other considerations have to be put in place.  If the house isn't built at the beginning for solar power then it probably will never be retrofitted because of the extreme cost involved.  I don't think it has hit Virginia … (1 comments)

CHUMBY To The Rescue - 05/12/08 07:17 PM
As my alarm goes off I have to have my fix of a picture of my grandchild with some music playing and the latest stock quotes coming across the screen.  The device that does all this is called the CHUMBY which is a computer encased in a leather pillow about the size of two fists.  It runs on the internet via wireless and is just full of widgets that you can get for it.  Go check out the site at www.chumby.com   You may be pleasantly surprised at the cuteness of it.
  
http://www.genesellsvirginiabeach.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale … (2 comments)

The Newest Chinese Import To Virginia Beach - 05/12/08 07:02 PM
The newest import to Virginia Beach is an oyster.  Actually about 100,000 of the critters.  You see the Lynnhaven River used to home to the most succulent and biggest oysters to be found most anywhere.  Several diseases have plagued the native oysters and the Chinese oyster looks to be the rivers salvation.  The Virginia Seafood Council is trying to introduce the species and make sure they can survive without introducing new disease's or other problems.  Along with providing jobs the oysters act as a natural filter for the river and filter out algae and other debris in the water.  This is … (0 comments)

Something Is Missing - 05/12/08 06:45 PM
These are two pictures I took in Suffolk, Va at Lakes Edge where a tornado passed thru last week.  The area was hit hard but no one was seriously hurt or killed.  I have a listing not 2,000 feet from where these pictures were taken.  Can you tell what is missing.  I did not photo shop the second picture.  The third picture shows how close disaster could have struck.  Just to the right of the mangled building is Sentara Obici hospital. 



http://www.genesellsvirginiabeach.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as … (6 comments)

RADAR VS HOTEL - 05/09/08 08:46 AM
You think you have problems building in your city?  Imagine if you have a Master Jet Base in the middle of the city.  Guess would what happen if Virginia Beach let a 207 foot hotel be built by the oceanfront?  The city has no problems, the Navy has no problems but according to the FAA there would be a blind spot preventing authorities from spotting some types of incoming missiles.  It is amazing that the city and the officials at NAS Oceana didn't know this could be a problem.  There have been several proposals to build hotels around the new convention … (1 comments)

First Blog With Moto 9M - 05/08/08 07:45 PM
I am sitting here in my living room writing my first blog on my new Moto 9M and need to find out to make the font bigger or it is going to go back. … (9 comments)

Picture size - 05/08/08 10:14 AM
When I take pictures with my Panasonic DMC FZ 18 at full resolution which is 8 megs the resulting picture is stored at between 4.6 and 5.6 meg.  Yahoo only allows me to upload a 5 meg picture.  How can I best get the meg below 5 and keep the picture the same size? or am I making it to hard on myself?
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital to your home search.
Google … (13 comments)

.org - 05/06/08 09:03 AM
Is it ok to use the .org or .biz or .info to get the keywords you are looking for in a web address?  All the ones I want are taken except the .org.  Is there a difference in the way search engines look at a .org or will I be found there any ways.  I have read a lot of information on all this but it is still so confusing. 
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real estate … (0 comments)

Apple Slightly Bruised - 05/03/08 04:37 PM
My friend is a user of an iMac with a 20 inch screen and his pictures of homes he took in Suffolk, Va weren't coming out quite right.  We found out the problem wasn't him, it was the computer he was using.  The system can only display 262,144 true colors.  The other millions of colors are a trick.  Apple uses a technology that shows similar shades at high speeds to create the illusion of the desired shade.  It works for the most part but you can see colors that don't appear smooth and that can be disconcerting.  I guess you always need to be … (4 comments)

A Little Traffic Relief in Deep Creek - 05/03/08 03:49 PM
If you travel on George Washington highway in Chesapeake during rush hour then you know it can be a hassle at Willowood Rd.  It seems drivers like to drive in the right turn lane and then get back in the thru lane.  Well a year from now and about $4 million will fix that problem.  The city is acquring a right of way and then will make two thru lanes available in both directions.  Sounds like a plan.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site … (0 comments)

Low Light Reading - 05/03/08 03:41 PM
As I get older I read slower and that often gets into the night.  So when I am reading those all those offers I have on my listings in Virginia Beach I often need extra light.  The wife doesn't like the light on, so what to do?  I don my reading glasses from PantherVision with LED's of course and then I am good to go.  You can see these and other great lighting ideas at http://www.panthervision.com/
http://www.genesellsvirginiabeach.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated … (2 comments)

 
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Gene Allen Realtor Hampton Roads Real Estate

Virginia Beach, VA

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Resh Realty Group

Address: 192 Ballard Ct Ste 305, Virginia Beach , Va, 23462

Office Phone: (757) 557-0030 x 320

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