Viginia Beach Has Clean Surf!! - 07/30/08 08:13 AM
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council Virginia has the fourth cleanest beaches in the country.  That is pretty impressive.  The only beaches rated cleaner are Alaska, New Hampshire and Delaware.  Virginia always ranks high and Virginia Beach is no exception.  Keep in mind that last year there were no beach closings in Virginia Beach due to advisories.  Virginia Beach ranks 3 out of 5 stars and Myrtle Beach which claims to have better beachs was ranked 2 out of 5 stars.  I find that interesting. 
I read a blog not long ago about the Virginia Beach lifeguards ranking #1 in … (0 comments)

Real Fires Or Mock Fires - 07/29/08 07:37 PM
Which would you rather fight?  A real fire or a mock fire at Norfolk Station's Farrier Firefighting School?  Most sailors would opt for the mock fire and are glad they have the opportunity.  Fighting a mock fire for the first time in a controlled area is bad enough, fighting a real one for your life is quite another.  Thank goodness I only had to fight the mock fires.  It was many years ago for me but the mock fires are still being fought on an ongoing basis all the time.  I take my hat off to the trainers as it is … (1 comments)

Missing Text Books Cost Big Money - 07/25/08 07:21 PM
Suffolk school officials are trying to crack down on students who don't turn in text books.  So far the missing text books are worth over $180k and the cost may go higher as more inventory is counted as missing.  Officials are looking at using collection agencies, barring student parking and other measures.  Some books cost as little as $15 and some as much as $120.  Thats a lot of missing books.

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 … (1 comments)

Who Doesn't Store My Words? - 07/22/08 07:07 PM
I did a blog a few days ago on the Wayback Machine
http://activerain.com/blogsview/601607/The-Wayback-Machine-or 
I thought that was pretty nifty but now I found out almost everyone stores my words.  That is good isf someone is looking for Virginia Beach real estate but bad if they are looking for dirt on me when I first started posting.  Google Groups stores stuff.  They used to be DejaViews and Deja News and actually Google Groups is a Web interface to Usenet.  Usenet is a worldwide system of hundreds of thousands of online discussion groups.  You may not even know you are a part of … (2 comments)

The Wayback Machine or Be Careful What You Write - 07/20/08 03:40 PM
I always thought that my words I wrote and the stuff I put on the web were just haphazardly stored by whoever the Internet gurus are.  Well it turns out that not only are they haphazardly stored they are systematically stored on the Wayback Machine.  I know you think I am milking you but it is for real.  There is a machine that takes snapshots of the web and has been since 1996.  There are currently over 85 billion pages stored and if you don't think you are on there, think again.  If you don't believe me, take a trip to … (9 comments)

Green The Camry Way - 07/19/08 07:16 PM
I took my wifes Toyota Camry Hybrid on the highway for the first time.  It has been getting around 35 mpg in the city.  I filled it up and made a round trip from Virginia Beach to Newport News for a walkthru.  Out of 100 miles there were probably 8 miles in the city.   I drove the speed limit and tried to save gas but still had the A/C on.  If someone would have told me a car this big got this good of milage on the interstate I would have called them crazy.  Now I believe.  My diesel can this … (8 comments)

Profits Rise For Monarch - 07/19/08 06:54 PM
Monarch bank which is based in Chesapeake saw its second quarter earnings rise 18 percent, mostly from its mortgage-banking unit.  This is another local bank like Townebank in Portsmouth that we wish would keep being profitable in this down market.
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 gene allen
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Townebank Income Rises - 07/19/08 06:51 PM
Townebank which is headquarted in Portsmouth saw its net income rise a very modest 2.3 percent for the second quarter.  The increase came partly from its employee-benefit and property-management services.  Lets up this locally owned bank keeps up the good work.
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 gene allen
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17 Year Low For New Single Family Homes - 07/19/08 06:46 PM
Here is an interesting fact.  Construction of single family homes fell to a 17 year low but construction overall rose by 9.1 percent.  That is because apartment building, mostly in New York city surged because of a change in buiding codes.  For our area of Hampton Roads, new construction starts were up 24% in June from May but that is still down 24% from a year ago.
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 … (2 comments)

Good Cropping Or!!! - 07/18/08 03:04 PM
This is my latest real estate listing in the Brandon section of Virginia Beach.  The houses are mixed with homes that are attached and homes that are detached.  Most of the homes are attached only at the garage so no living space is shared.  I think it actually works out pretty good if you have to have an attached home.  Below are two photos that I took of the exterior.  The only thing I did different was to move a little bit and zoom in some in on the second picture.  The second picture is the one I used in the MLS.  … (4 comments)

Country Wide Short Sale Package - 07/15/08 05:02 PM
I have a seller in Virginia Beach who had to go out of town and has minimal contact with me.  I just found out the sale will probably be a short sale.  The lender is Country Wide.  Does any one know how I can get the short sale package for the seller and have it for him when he gets back?  I looked on the web site but couldn't find it.  Also any good advice would be appreciated.
 
… (5 comments)

Just One House - 07/13/08 08:05 PM
I just had a prospect call me on my listing which wasn't for them so I sent them a few more listings in Portsmouth, Va.  They drove down from Richmond to look at one townhouse in a little subdivision called Westmoreland and fell in love with it.  They wanted to look at a few more so I showed them five more a few days later to help them make up their minds.  They bought the first house they looked.  They knew what they wanted and went for it.
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, … (2 comments)

Smog Protection Gone - 07/12/08 09:54 PM
Many people in Suffolk are feeling like they lost something.  They did.  The catalytic converters have been stolen from their cars by thieves in the night.  Apparently they can get up to $100 per converter for the precious metal inside.  Three people were recently arrested and had over 150 charges between Suffolk and Chesapeake.
 
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Rabid Foxes Everywhere - 07/12/08 07:48 PM
A fox was recently tested for rabies and it was positive.  This is the third fox in just the last month for the city of Norfolk.  The last one was found in the 8500 block of O'Conner Cres.  Several people including an officer have been attacked by the foxes.  If you see one attacking your dogs or running towards you, take off in the other direction as the fox is not looking for attention.
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 … (1 comments)

Here A Court, There A Court - 07/12/08 07:33 PM
It seems Portsmouth can't make up its mind where to put the new court building.  The new builidng would cost about $45 million but with real estate values going down so did revenues.  That got the city thinking about putting the courts into an existing building in Port Centre.  That idea only cost $27 million and would save the city $18 million or so.  I guess we will see which wins out in the near future.
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)

Pressure Cooker For Dispatchers - 07/12/08 07:28 PM
I hadn't thought much about our dispatchers at the end of the 911 line but they have a heck of a job and mostly go unnoticed until something goes wrong. 
In Virginia Beach they work in a two year old building that has a quiet room for for call takers to decompress after stressful situations.  It seems that the dispatchers field over 1300 calls a day compared with 60 back in 1969.  Wow what a huge difference. 
Back then you had to ask the gasping man for his address, today a computer gives them the information and much more. 
There are … (0 comments)

Cardinal At The Feeder - 07/06/08 08:34 PM
Cardinal At The Feeder
Here is a frequent visitor to my yard at Glenwood in Virginia Beach.  The camera kind of missed how red the bird really is so I opened up Photo Shop Elements and used the magic lasso to capture him.  Then I went into Enhance, selected Adjust Brightness/Contrast, Selected Levels, then the Channel for red and made a small adustment that brought just the red up in the bird.  The difference is not huge but I think just enough to make the color correct.  When I was done, I let the Cardinal out of the lasso so you … (2 comments)

Cardinal At The Feeder - 07/06/08 03:42 PM
Here is a frequent visitor to my yard at Glenwood in Virginia Beach.  The camera kind of missed how red the bird really is so I opened up Photo Shop Elements and used the magic lasso to capture him.  Then I went into Enhance, selected Adjust Brightness/Contrast, Selected Levels, then the Channel for red and made a small adustment that brought just the red up in the bird.  The difference is not huge but I think just enough to make the color correct.  When I was done, I let the Cardinal out of the lasso so you all could enjoy him.
 
… (0 comments)

When Is A Cross Shouting!!! - 07/05/08 03:11 PM
According to a federal judge in Norfolk when it is 12 feet high and at Chesapeake city park during the fourth of July celebration.  The Christian Rights Ministries had a 12 high cross at the park to help get their message across.  They were asked to remove the cross for safety reasons.  They did so but filed suit in federal district court.  The judge, Robert G. Doumar, recently ruled in favor of the city.  The judge said "this is not a supression of free speech-it's clearly a cse of how loud that speech can be"  The Christian Right Ministries could have come back … (3 comments)

Tunnel Plan Upsets Neighborhood - 07/05/08 10:15 AM
North Truxton in Portsmouth may be in for a rude awakening if plans to ease tunnel traffic is approved.  21 homes and nine businesses will be affected by the plan.  Some of the residents have in the area since 1947.  The Virginia Department of Transportation wants to connect U.S. 58 to Interstate 264 creating a link between the Midtown and the Downtown tunnels.  This would move a lot of traffic off local streets and ease congestion.  The residents like the idea but don't want to loose their homes in the process. 
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia … (0 comments)

Beat The Text Spammer - 07/04/08 01:26 PM
We are supposed to get over 1.5 billion unwanted text messages this year.  That is up 400,000 from last year.  What to do about it?  Here is what you can do depending on your carrier.
AT&T Mobility  Dial 611 from your mobile phone and ask them to turn off the text messaging or other options.
AT&T Log on to My Account at mymessages.wireless.att.com and you can do a varity of things to your text messaging.
Sprint  Call customer care
T-Mobile They are working on it but at the moment you can't turn it off
Verizon Wireless Call customer service and you … (0 comments)

Norfolk Has New Assessor - 07/04/08 01:12 PM
Deborah Bunn is THE assessor for Norfolk.  She worked in the assessor's office 22 years as a clerk stenographer.  Now she is running the place.  My how times have changed.  She has a staff of 26, 73,000 properties to assess and a problem.  It seems that while the tax rate for the average homeowner rose 40 percent in the last three years, business rates only went up 4 percent.  One of her jobs is bring balance back to the tax base without getting fired like her good friend, Maria Kattman, did in Suffolk.  So far she has the backing of the … (0 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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