Moving to central VA [Archive]

LisaB

Jun. 25, 2004, 06:08 AM

Yeah! Coming down to my neck of the woods!
My one and only experience with buying a house was just for a house. I board. But when I mentioned we MIGHT be looking for something to keep the horses on, I found out quite a bit about the agents in the area. There are plenty I don't recommend because they just wouldn't friggin' listen. But I went with Jack Samuel's realty. Jean and Joe Kube are a retired couple that do this on the side. I hope they are still kickin' They were wonderful to deal with and actually listened that this is our first house and I HATE LOATH and DESPISE ranchers and ramblers. They found houses in the style we liked and in the price range that we were in. How hard is that? Anyway, born and bred in Orange so they know the area.
Good luck!

SidesaddleRider

Jun. 25, 2004, 06:32 AM

You can search for places yourself and alert your realtor to them. Use www.homesdatabase.com, (http://www.homesdatabase.com,) it's very good.

Nootka

Jun. 25, 2004, 07:04 AM

i know a realtor that lives very close to culpepper. She actually owns the barn I board my horse at... she is a SUPER person. I just called her to see if she knows of anything.. I am sure she will get right back with me. I will let you know.. If you like you can email me at sweetwise22@yahoo.com. I am moving that way although not a farm but hey.. at least we may be neighbors..lol

Welcome to central VA! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif

wcfields

Jun. 25, 2004, 07:55 AM

Consider the Farmville are! Reasonable, beautiful, and only 40 minutes from Charlottesville, which is in VERY expensive horse country...
Call the Lafoons at Coldwell Banker in Farmville, VA Tell them Rebecca Bailey sent you. Super people, very honest. Telephone number in directory.

Welcome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LisaB

Jun. 25, 2004, 08:25 AM

F-ville?! Yes, there are some normal people moving to that area. A good friend CJMicro on this board lives down that way. When I went to school there in the early 90's, it waaaayyyy scary. But it seems to be getting civilized which is great because there is some gorgeous land out there. You might also want to look at Scottsville. There are some very nice horse farms and good instruction in that area. Much closer to C-ville. Madison is gorgeous as well. That's between C-ville and Culpeper. There are still some honest-to-God hollers in Madison and Greene county. I kid you not but normal people are starting to invade the area.
Just north of Culpeper, towards Rappahanock are some nice horse farms that aren't getting developed.

Elghund2

Jun. 25, 2004, 09:00 AM

Farmville is too far south. We'll be looking between C'ville and culpeper.

Jaegermonster

Jun. 25, 2004, 09:11 AM

Lucky you Elghund moving to the Mother Land!!

sycee

Jun. 25, 2004, 09:27 AM

GiGi Herold is a local rider that has been to just about every big show in the country and out of the country. She used to be a pro, took a lot of time off and now is showing the AAs and AOs in the Keswick area. She is a real estate agent and could certainly find something that would work for you... She is extremely familiar with the Charlottesville to Culpeper area as she hunts with the Keswick Hunt Club and rides in Gordonsville. PT me to get her information if you would like it http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

LisaB

Jun. 25, 2004, 10:57 AM

Oh! I think I met Gigi. She IS nice!

Kryswyn

Jun. 25, 2004, 08:52 PM

MADISON! The last place that will be developed as it is equidistant from both Warrenton & C'ville.

Seriously Madison county is still very ag/horse/dog friendly (read: with 3 acres you can do d@mn near anything, and with 6 you can do 2 different anythings (ie an in-home beauty salon & boarding stable http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif)

Also, prices and taxes are Kryswyn whispers: still really low.

That being said, it's hard to find places and they're often on the market only a few days or weeks or sold by owner. I thought a house & 10 acres was going to be available literally across the street from me, but it seems the man's building a retirement home on some of the acres and renting the original house. Bummer's. You'd be great neighbors.

How much land do you want?

Arado

Jun. 27, 2004, 04:33 PM

I have to agree on the madison/orange area really pretty country and close to culpeper and warrenton a few minutes from the horse park.........happy shopping

cornbread

Jun. 27, 2004, 06:41 PM

The real issue here is: Will you keep your sig line? http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Elghund2

Jun. 28, 2004, 02:41 AM

I don't see why not. I've actually never set foot in Nebraska except for an airplane refueling.

cornbread

Jun. 28, 2004, 06:44 AM

For some reason I thought you lived in Nebraska, but I guess you are just an Unforgiven fan. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Elghund2

Jun. 28, 2004, 07:15 AM

Yup, I thought that was one of the funniest movie lines ever. It is one of my favorite movies.

Hunter's Rest

Jun. 28, 2004, 08:14 AM

Wow. Welcome. Hope I'm not too late onto this one, but call Justin Wiley (Hugh Wiley's son - you remember, The Horse With The Flying Tail??) in the Rappahannock office of a big Charlottesville RE agent. CAn't remember the firm, but I can find out if you contact me. Also, Julie Reardon is up here in Old Dominion Hounds territory but she's from down in Culpeper and specializes in horse property and, esp., the cheaper finds. her # is 5403649480. Tell her Betsy Parker sent you. Also, my neighbor (I teach her kid) Patti Brown is with ReMax. Again, in your general vicinity and she's a Jack Russell of an agent. Her # is 5403643974. I hope you'll come stay with me while you're house hunting. CAll me.

va2txrider

Jun. 28, 2004, 08:24 AM

Another website to search: www.mycaaar.com/property.asp (http://www.mycaaar.com/property.asp)

I am SO jealous! What a great place to live! When I lived in Cville, there were lots of equestrians who were also real estate agents (more flexible job), so I'm sure you can find one who will understand horse properties.

Best of luck!

breezymeadow

Jun. 28, 2004, 10:31 AM

Oooh Elghund - you'll be looking in my neck of the woods.

I can't recommend Susie Ashcom highly enough. She runs her own real estate group under Re-Max & is FANTASTIC as far as horse property goes. Unlike a LOT of realtors out there, she knows all the various zonings, etc. (I can't BEGIN to tell you how many realtors didn't have a CLUE as to horse/farm zoning & just "made it up as they went along - for instance - steer clear of Rainbow VIP!!!). She also was the ONLY realtor who took us seriously as to what we had/wanted to spend. Absolutely ALL the others spouted hot air & tried to pump up our $$. Susie asked us, we told her, she stuck to what we wanted. What a pleasure.

Susie's office is in Warrenton, she lives in Culpeper County, runs an equine B&B, hunts regularly, her husband has been employed professionally with a NC hunt & is an equine author. . .. She also gave us names & numbers of local farriers, hay suppliers, etc. And - still stops by now & then, what - 7 years later? She's a gem.

I know Susie has a realty website - do a search on "Susie Ashcom". She is truly a pleasure to work with. No bulls**t.

I also know that, as Hunter's Rest said, Julie Reardon specializes in horse properties. My neighbors used her, but their property went unsold for a LONG while, & they ended up selling it on their own. Not that that is Julie's fault, but their place was WAY overpriced compared to other horse properties in the immediate area.

And as Kryswyn said, Madison is nice - we looked there - but it's too far away from civilization. Here in Rixeyville (Culpeper County), I'm an hour from Charlottesville, an hour from Middleburg, 45 minutes from Great Meadow, 15 minutes from the town of Culpeper (which has what, 3-4 supermarkets & a new Lowe's), & 20 minutes from the town of Warrenton - again lots of supermarkets, feed dealers, etc.

I feel that I am truly in the best place all round.

(P.S. her website is: www.susieashcom.com (http://www.susieashcom.com)

Kryswyn

Jun. 28, 2004, 08:36 PM

With all the construction happening along Rte 29 into C'ville, I'd seriously consider moving as close to C'ville as possible as the gazillion homes they're putting up (on an unwidened 29) will make a 45 minute trip there from Madison an hour long w/in a year or so.

Depending on where you're teaching access via Rte 20 may be better for you, in which case Orange County and the Gordonsville area would do nicely.

How big a property and house do you want? 10+ acres? More than 20? Let me know and I'll put out some feelers.

I also highly recommend Susie Ashcom, but she doesn't really travel too much south of where I am now, and you may want to be closer to work.

Elghund2

Jun. 29, 2004, 01:39 AM

I am in contact with someone down there now for some general info. We only started the process up here for getting this place listed and sold.

Our budget is going to be whatever we net from here. We are looking for between 20-40 acres. Ideally we'd like to find some land and build it out.

I'll be teaching in Culpeper and we want to look in Louisa, Madison, Orange, Greene and Rapahanock. I think Culpeper already has too much development and there's a lot more in its pipeline.

We won't really start looking down there until we get this place listed which might be in August.

LisaB

Jun. 29, 2004, 04:06 AM

Ah, well then from Culpeper, try just heading down rte 15 and 522. Easy commutes. I live down on the off side of 522 and it took me 15 to get to work in Culpeper. Where I am, it's getting some suburban sprawl from Fredericksburg and I'm quite a commute to hunt territory but if you stick closer to those 2 roads, there's no development. Check out Rapidan area. There are some really nice farms and gorgeous hunt country there. Keswick and Bull Run go around that area.
And yes, 29 is getting built up. Greene and lower Madison are getting subdivisions up the wahzoo.

race_run_jump

Jun. 29, 2004, 11:59 AM

I'm in Culpeper - give me a shout - do you want land or a place that is already done? My husband might be able to help you - he's a realtor - but does more with raw land than finished stuff, however does hit the MLS daily. If you want a place to crash while looking or directions to a YUMMY mexican rest. in Culpeper - let me know too! Who will you want to hunt with? If you want to come out with Warrenton, let me know. Congrats for coming this way - it's great!!

WareMule

Jun. 30, 2004, 07:31 AM

I'm in Rappahannock, so if you want any info about this county, just ask and I will try to help. Our Realtor is Sherry Snyder...very laid back, no-pressure type person. We love her. She is familiar with requirements for horse properties and has helped a lot of our friends find properties. She's especially great when it comes to creative financing if that is needed. If you'd like her number, give me a shout.

breezymeadow

Jun. 30, 2004, 12:23 PM

Elghund - don't completely count out Culpeper County. Granted the "town" of Culpeper is fairly well developed, but while my place is in Culpeper (Rixeyville, actually), it's in Culpeper County - which is an entirely different ball of wax than Culpeper proper. Culpeper County is NOT Culpeper town.

Like I said before, I have 21 acres surrounded by non-development (& non-developmental) land, yet am 15 minutes away in both directions from "good" supermarkets (read "not Food Lion" here), as well as a reasonable distant from major equine sources.

I think that ALL OF THE closest counties to DC are getting developed. In fact, an article last year in the Wash. Post said that a survey they did stated that the majority of DC workers wouldn't commute any farther than Culpeper. (Yeah - thanks a lot - lol!) That said, my husband commutes daily to Reston, & on his worst day it takes him 1-1/2 hours. If you are actually working in Culpeper - geesh, can we say "minimal"??

I can shop at the big saddlery in Ruckersville (about 30 minutes away), &/or lunch in Middleburg later. I LOVE Culpeper County - can you tell??? http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Nootka

Jun. 30, 2004, 08:00 PM

DC is just soo expensive.. i am moving towards the culpepper area/ maybe thornburg... because of the expensive housing. I have a 29yr old home and less than half acre and it is selling for $325,000. I am in woodbridge about 20 miles from DC.

Prices just keep goin up

WareMule

Jul. 1, 2004, 09:40 AM

The prices are going up even way out here...when we were looking in Rappahannock 6 years ago, you could find properties all day long at $3000 to $4000 an acre. That would be rare to impossible now, you're looking at paying at least double that most of the time.

breezymeadow

Jul. 1, 2004, 11:52 AM

While that is definitely true WareMule, I think it's a matter of luck + being in the right place at the right time.

We looked for about a year, & in fact initially lost out on the place we have now because we had to sell our first house first, & the owner of the farm had a cash offer in hand with no contingincies. ("Contingincies" can definitely be deal breakers.)

Luckily for us, the original deal fell thru (buyers decided they didn't want a fixer-upper after all) & we were given a second shot at the farm. Didn't bother to dicker, offered him his exact asking price, sold our house in 48 HOURS (talk about the Lord smiling down on us. . . .), & moved 45 days later. Hallelujah.

Yes, a fixer-upper is work & $$, but hell, I have 21 beautiful semi-wooded acres with great pasture-land, about an acre devoted to a vegetable garden, NOT in a development & surrounded by non-development properties in a totally horsey neighborhood. Gravel road, & the house is situated somewhat in the center of the property, so no matter what anyone does around me, I am sheltered from it. Wraparound deck that is terrific for sipping coffee or wine while watching the "kids" graze.

And all for well under $200,000. Yeah, I'll probably have one foot in the grave by the time I have the place fixed to where I want it, but what the heck - I'm not a stranger to sweat equity.

WareMule

Jul. 2, 2004, 06:57 AM

Too true, Breezy! Sounds like you got a great deal on your place. We got lucky, also--your place sounds similar to ours, but we're over in Castleton which is a bit further out. We originally thought when we saw the listing that either the price (in the 160's) or the number of acres was a typo. But no...the guy had it listed at 199K for a long time and got no action so he dropped the price; we just happened to be looking and took a chance on coming to see it. The biggest drawback to the property is an easement in the form of a private lane that goes through the property to three other houses up the mountain behind us. I think it put potential buyers off. We don't like it either but hey...at that price, who's complaining? Three of our four neighbors are wonderful and we socialize lots with them. Of course the ones who are jerks are the only ones we can see/hear...right across the lane from our driveway. If they would move, I would jump for joy.

There was no barn, fencing, or anything when we moved here...just 21 acreas of trees on the mountainside and an okay 4 BR 3 BA raised ranch. I hate the house, the guy who built it did everything on the cheap and yeah, it all works, but we replace/upgrade at every opportunity. We've built a couple of not-fancy but quite workmanlike barns (4 roomy stalls total), cleared and fenced about four acres (want to do about 2-3 more and then just leave the rest of the trees alone), put in a pool and a bunch of terraced decking, done lots of landscaping, painting, etc. Now we're in the process of putting up a 30x40 storage shed/workshop with a 10' overhang. There seems no end of projects! I blame my hyper husband!

It's getting to be an okay property, but nothing fancy, so I'm staggered that my Realtor said she wouldn't list it for any less than $350K and possibly more, should we want to sell. We think about moving to a place that has more open land and is somewhat flatter but that probably won't happen til we pay this place off in about 8 years. The thought of packing all this accumulation of stuff makes me feel ill anyway.

siyafunda

Jul. 2, 2004, 08:39 AM

Elghund - I too would suggest Susie Ashcomb. She lives in Culpeper, she hunts and she's very nice. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

SaddleFitterVA

Jul. 2, 2004, 12:05 PM

Elghund,

As I'm still in the process of building...I KNOW what you are signing up for. It is a lot of work, but SO gratifying.

Congrats on the new job. I'd love it down there, but my hubby would prefer CLOSER in, still. So, until we take up separate residences, this is our expensive compromise.

Mel

Elghund2

Jul. 3, 2004, 02:19 AM

Mel,

I was down your road a few weeks ago and I think I know which house is yours. It looks nice. A couple of friends of ours are in your area.

breezymeadow

Jul. 5, 2004, 12:26 PM

WareMule - yup, we are kindred spirits in property!!! In fact, before we found this place, we looked at a couple of properties in Castleton. One we were shown was on about 5 acres & had a decrepit old house on it that was truly above & beyond the term "fixer upper". I literally stood at one end of one of the 2nd story rooms & couldn't beat a rolling marble to the other end - talk about structural problems. Of course the realtor kept telling us how "exquisite, quaint,& historical" it was. Right. It had a 4-stall center-aisle barn with ceiling fans & a hay storage barn. Board-fenced riding ring & a couple of board-fenced paddocks. I think at the time they wanted $140,000 or $150,000 for it - which was ludicrous.

Maybe you know the place - I believe there's a farm across the street with Morton buildings.

A couple of years later we heard that the place had eventually been bought, & as soon as one of the fireplaces was lit the whole place burned down. Owners replaced it with a rather odd-looking job - but tastes differ.

I liked the area of Castleton in general, but have to admit that I do like being where I am - equidistant between Culpeper & Warrenton.

Elghund2

Jul. 5, 2004, 06:02 PM

We've officially started the sales process. We signed off on the listing paperwork today to put the five acre parcel up for sale. This was an adjacent piece of land we bought five years ago. We'll see how it goes.

The remaining portion of the farm will go up for sale around August 1. That should give me plenty of time to get some final painting done around the place.

The idea of actually moving this operation is still pretty daunting but we'll get it done.

Inverness

Jul. 6, 2004, 06:16 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hunter's Rest:
Patti Brown is with ReMax. Again, in your general vicinity and she's a Jack Russell of an agent.
. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ROTFLOL

dressageandtrailrider

Jul. 7, 2004, 04:09 PM

Oh! I HAVE to reply! Have you thought about Reva? It's part of Culpeper County (hmmm...half of it is in Madison). Kind of a blink and you miss it, has one stop sign kind of place. Nice though and very quiet back here. I know of a 20 acre place here that's for sale about a mile in from Route 29. I have no idea what your price range is, but it's listed online for a little over $600,000. Large house (about 3,000 square feet I believe), pond, in ground pool, really cool manmade stream with waterfalls, three stall center aisle barn with two storage rooms and a tack room and two (maybe three) pastures/paddocks. I think it's listed with the Holden Group Realtors (Janet Holden). You can probably do an internet search to find the Holden site. The owners are friends of ours and are moving. We'll really miss them. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif I'm hoping another nice horse family could move in. Oh, and a side note...it's on a really nice site...surrounded by massive fields. You would have great neighbors too!
Anyhow, I love Reva. Not too much in the way of development. My farrier lives back here, my hay supplier, a few police officers (husband is an officer and one by one, they keep moving out here), Oliver Brown (does something with hunters and pony breeding I think...his name was on a Devon list of champion pony breeders recently), and several medium/small horse properties. I think there's something called Riverbend Equestrian Estates a few miles away from me as well. Anyhow, I live about two miles in from the Reva Market and it takes me about oh 20 minutes to get from my house to the center of town. Let me know if you are interested and/or need more info! It's definitely worth a drive through. Coming from Culpeper on Route 29, just turn right at the Reva Market (about 8 miles from Culpeper) and then make your next left (or heck...go straight too...). It's a beautiful drive.

LisaB

Jul. 8, 2004, 05:19 AM

Hey DandT, I think we have a clique going on here. Women who have horses and hubbies who are cops!
And Elghund2, GRAB THAT LAND. Where she's stating is absolutely IDEAL. Yowza! I want that place! It's beautiful up in there and plenty of different horsie sets. There's a good contigent of field hunters, a GP jumper barn, dressage place(I think?), and an all around everything English place right in that area. It's hilly and rustic but within commuting distance to civilization.

dressageandtrailrider

Jul. 8, 2004, 06:26 AM

Oh shoot, I meant to add that I think the people I mentioned above might also have some land for sale. Not sure of the sizes, but it was several acres. You could check to see if they've sold that yet.

Hopefully this link will work...
http://www.janetholden.com/MyHomeDtl.asp?lstPages=2&HomeID=167848

Hi LisaB! Yes, yes! We should start some sort of clique. I can't think of a really catchy title though. Wonder how many others on this board could join. Also, your description was perfect about this area i.e. "hilly and rustic, but still within commuting distance to civilization." That's how I like it as it's a nice little "oasis of calm" after working with people all day long. Not much traffic (three cars in a row at one time is considered "traffic") http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif and your neighbors aren't right beside you.

SaddleFitterVA

Jul. 8, 2004, 01:25 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Elghund2:
Mel,

I was down your road a few weeks ago and I think I know which house is yours. It looks nice. A couple of friends of ours are in your area. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The tall green one!

With the psycho neighbors!!!!!!

Well, today they are psycho. Went ballistic on me last night because they hate my arena. The base went in yesterday and they decided I've ruined their property value, their view and after they've tried to be such good neighbors. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif Yeah...calling the county to complain and the electric company, and anyone else they could think of is being a "good" neighbor.

I totally did not need that last night. Got home to admire the unlevel base (they tailgated the gravel for the base and did it quite nicely) and my second barn half, and what do you know.....they come zooming out to yell at me.

The arena has been stripped of topsoil since March. I only put down the base. They'll get over it or plant a LOT of trees.

Ugh.

Stop by if you are in the area on a weekend.

Mel

WareMule

Jul. 9, 2004, 06:21 AM

Breezy...oh, that is a terrible story about that Castleton house burning down...yikes!! I've no idea which it is...but anyway, Castleton is improving...I think. Either the hillbilly shacks that seemed so prevalent are disappearing, or else the new and/or improved places are making them less noticeable, LOL! A lot of new horse properties have come about since we moved here, thankfully. We're doing our (small) part in that.