Richmond, Virginia Real Estate - Melissa Savenko's Blog

I'm constantly amazed at how opaque the real estate industry is to the average consumer.  I don't at all mean that as a knock on the consumer, or any indication that consumers aren't smart.  And trust me, I think we as real estate professionals are responsible for the general public's lack of und...

I've blogged before on the pluses and minuses of new technology.  On the positive side, it's GREAT when it's working.  It allows me to be efficient, to work remotely, to better juggle the craziness that is my single mom/working mom/person-trying-to-have-a-life life.  On the down side, when it's n...

Back on December 5, 2008 I posted an entry about a Venture Richmond Forum highlighting downtown development projects recently completed, under construction, or proposed.  The gist - I was impressed by the breadth and depth of stuff going on in Richmond, as well as the program put on by Venture Ri...

Well, I am VERY excited.  A listing of mine, a 24-unit condominium project in the Historic Fan District, the Windsor Court Condominiums, is coming together and coming on the market January 3, 2009.  This is the culmination of over a year of work by real estate agents, the real estate developer, t...

This was posted on my personal blog back in mid-November.  Thankfully, the computer problems have been resolved, not without turning over the laptop for several weeks and outlaying mucho dinero.  But it did make me think twice about how totally dependent I am on my technology tools.  When they wo...

Here is an observation that has had me scratching my head since I got into this business.  QUERY:  Why does the average consumer do more research before buying a television, or refrigerator, or car, than they will to find the person who will help them buy and/or sell a home? It makes no sense to ...

Below is my very first blog post ever, pre-AR, on June 23, 2007.  I recently got a comment on an AR post that suggested I'd get more responses if I had an actual profile picture, rather than just a silhouette.  Perhaps.  But this post might explain my struggle with what I call "the picture thing....

The economic news continues to be grim.  The equity markets have been in free-fall.  Daily drops of "only" 300 points are heralded as a positive.  The credit markets remain frozen.  And more money is chasing commodities and government bonds, pushing yields on those investments ever lower. One bri...

Well, I got radio silence in response to my October 10, 2008 post on dual agency.  I'm actually rather surprised.   I thought - and hoped - some more experienced agents might try to tell me why I was wrong, and why dual agency wasn't a bad idea.  Oh well, I would have liked to have read the count...

Welcome to 1416 Grove Avenue!  This gorgeous home has four (4) bedrooms and three and one half (3.5) baths on three levels.  The first floor features double parlors with grand columns and unusual glass lighted pocket doors, a spacious dining room with beautiful fireplace, an original built-in st...