Well recently I toyed with the idea of having a make over. No, not the type of makeover that requires plastic surgery or a day at the salon, but a make over for my business.  I hired a consultant to help me identify areas in which my business could benefit from a new look.  So I had a new head shot taken by a professional photographer, I purchased a new website and had did some major alterations to the the content and I began doing some of the things that my consultant has recommended.  Who knew having a makeover would be so painless.  I am off on a fresh start with a fresh look.    Check out my new website and let me know what you think.  08/31/2009

Have you purchased your ticket for the HRRA Hoorah yet?  (HRRA is the Hampton Roads Realtors Association) September 24, 2009 4-8 pm 638 Independence Pkwy Chesapeake, VA 23320 Tickets are only $25 This is going to be a fun afternoon of networking, food, music and chili cook off!    New American Mortgage is going to sponsor the drinks at the event.  Make sure you stop by and say hi if you are planning on attending!   08/25/2009

                                  Bergey's Breadbasket - Bread, Pies, Ice Cream, Milk,Flowers and More                                                 2207 Mount Pleasant Rd, Chesapeake, VA 23322 Bergey's Breadbasket-  The store which sells Bread, Pies, Ice Cream, Milk, Flowers and More has been around longer than most people reading this blog.  Titus Bergey founded the farm in 1931 and it has been owned by his children and grandchildren eve since.  It used to be a working farm, but the City of Chesapeake made it impossible to continue running the business as a dairy farm circa 2007.  I used to take my kids to feed the cows, turkeys, chickens, pigs and some times sheep.  Now you find a beautiful store with produce brought from local farmers.  The milk is from Yoder's, and it is as good ... 07/30/2009

2415 Meadows Lndg Chesapeake, VA Click For Listing Website Click For Interactive e-Tour Welcome to Meadows Landing. The location of this 3 bedroom and 2.5 bathroom townhouse cannot be beat. One is within walking distance to shopping and restaurants galore. This home has been tastefully updated with wood laminate floors upstairs and downstairs. The kitchen has been updated with new counter tops and fixtures. The kitchen is large enough for a center island. The den is huge with a wood burning fireplace and french doors leading to the backyard. The backyard has a new deck and fence and backs up to a meadow perfect for children and pets. MLS# 0927164 $198,900 3 Bed, 2.5 Bath 2415 Meadows LndgChesapeake VA, 23321 Robin Gauthier EXIT REALTY SPECIALISTS 757-739-7754 RobinSellsHomes@cox.net 07/30/2009

1121 Norcova Ct Chesapeake, VA Click For Listing Website Click For Interactive e-Tour Welcome to Norcova Court. The location of this home cannot be beat. One can access the Greenbrier shopping district within 5 minutes. This home is spotless with 3 spacious bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. There is upgraded flooring of tiling, wood laminate and berber carpet throughout this home. The eat in kitchen is large and bright with skylights. The backyard is large with a huge deck. The master bedroom has a sitting area and very spacious closet. Don't delay. This one will not last long. MLS# 0928198 $325,000 3 Bed, 2.5 Bath 1121 Norcova CtChesapeake VA, 23320 Robin Gauthier EXIT REALTY SPECIALISTS 757-739-7754 RobinSellsHomes@cox.net 07/30/2009

  Map of homes for sale in Ravenna - Chesapeake - Virginia                                          Ravenna - Chesapeake - Market Report, Homes for sale information has good news for the neighborhood.  Once again, priced right properties are selling.  Most neighborhoods have a long list of stagnant listings, but in Ravenna we find very few listings that have expired.   The blue line only tells us how long the houses that sold where on the market.  - Of these listings 11 are New Construction.  - Of the Sold homes only 1 has been New construction. - Homes are selling close to asking price, but this doesn't take in to consideration prior price reductions.  It olny takes in to account the asking price at the time of the offer.   A total of 5 houses sold from January to June 2009 as shown by... 07/29/2009

           There are still new homes for sale in Ravenna - Chesapeake -VA.  Ravenna is a newer neighborhood that was built starting in 2003-2004.  As you come in the neighborhood, you find beautiful  manicured brick homes.  About half the houses  have swimming pools.  There are about 250 lots, and there are about 18 lots left for sale.  There are several builders actively building homes for sale in Ravenna - Chesapeake- VA. Across the street from Ravenna you find Butts Road Intermediate.  Butts Road Primary and Hickory High Schools are the neighborhood schools.  Ravenna - Chesapeake - VA is conveniently located to Mount Pleasant and Centerville Intersection..  Farm Fresh, Bloom, Subway, Hickory Grill, Rudy and Kelly, Navy Federal Credit Union, Anytime Fitness, Bennets Bakery  are some o... 07/27/2009

Memories of my childhood home - Los Apartamentos _ is the result of Jason's Crouch contest in Activerain.  I grew up in the first planned apartment complex built in Bogota, Colombia.  Even back then "La Carrera 30" was a busy street.  My group of apartment buildings were made with brick exteriors and the neighborhood next door had white walls. We lived n in the red buildings.  There were three buildings a 15 story "La torre" (The tower) a group of building with 3 or four stories "Los Planos" ( The flat buildings) and the building where I grew up with 8 floors. ( Can't remember if it had a nick name.)  We lived on the top apartment, and as there was a Mezzanine ( The second floor seems that had been intended for.... who knows what)  we really lived on the 9th floor.  I lived there, until... 07/25/2009

I am 100% on board with technology, social networking and making things easier to communicate by emailing, texting and even skyping.  I have been teaching and speaking quite a bit lately around Hampton Roads for various groups and organzizations.  Well yesterday I got a handwritten card in the mail from a real estate agent thanking me for speaking at an event.  I thought it was so thoughtful and something that I will keep in my binder of recommendations.  Thank you Robin McIsaac! When was the last time you took the time to say thank you the good old fashioned way?   07/17/2009

I am very excited for this months meetup topic for the Hampton Roads Internet Marketing and Technology Meetup.  Thursday July 23, 2009 6:30 pm Vicotry Nissan Chesapeake 930 Battlefield Blvd N Chesapeake, VA 23320 So you finally got the much needed Blackberry or the iPhone because it is the cool thing to have. Well, now that you have it besides answering your phone, address book and maybe even email you are not sure what else to do with it. There are may tools available on these phones that can make your business more effective. And unless someone tells me about them - I am not going to know about them. Troy Glancy with LARIS technologies and Andy from the Greenbriar AT&T store here in Hampton Roads has offered to show us a few of the tools that you may not know about that can help you w... 07/13/2009

3 Ways To Increase The Power Of Your Business Card I had the great pleasure of meeting with Nikki Curry of Mind Body Image who gave me some great tips this weekend on branding your business card.  I do alot of networking and get a ton of business cards for future referrals and growing my business.  It is so hard sometimes that when you have a stack of business cards how on earth are you going to remember them later down the road?  I thought that these tips were simple and very helpful for everyone. A call to action on the back of card.  I have seen people ask for referrals, email for a free report, call for appt, receive free gift for booking a party(network marketers), etc... Don't gloss on back of your card.  They need to write notes on the back of the card.  Photo on your card.  It b... 07/12/2009

05/13/2009

I have gathered some interesting information that may help you decided to pick Chesapeake as your next city to call home. Ranked sixth best place to live in Money Magazine. Ranked by the FBI as one of the 5 safest cities with over 200,000 in population ( actual population is 220,798) Median household income is $57,814 Boaters Paradise!  There are more miles of deepwater canels in Chesapeake than any other city and it is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which stretches from Maine to Florida. You can find out more information by visiting the city website here.   05/01/2009

I am here to tell you that even though house values may have dropped recently in areas that you can still refinance.  If you have a VA loan ( Veterans Administration Mortgage) you are eligible to refinance and lower your payment with no appraisal needed.  Here are some of the benefits : NO appraisal needed No income verification No asset verification The process is simple.  You must be current on your VA mortgage.  We do the rest!  That means if you owe $250,000 on your mortgage and homes in your area are $240,000 then it is ok!  We can still lower your payments.       ********************************************************************************* About the Author :  Naoma Doriguzzi is a Senior Mortgage Consultant with New American Mortgage and has been originating mortgages since 200... 04/29/2009

   Taken 2 years ago              Taken a couple of weeks ago     I am just wondering from those that know me if I look the same as my profile picture that was taken 2 years ago.   I had 2 recent experiences lately that got me thinking about this and the power of having a complete profile on your social networking sites and blogs. 1.  I was leaving an office building during the day and passed a lady who turned around and stopped me and said - "Are you Naoma?"  I am usually pretty good with faces and not so good with names.  "I am your Facebook friend!"  And she told me her name and I instantly remembered her name and was glad that she recognized me from such a random encounter.   2.  Last week I went to a business luncheon and ended up sitting next to a realtor who said "Hey Naoma!" Ag... 04/13/2009

Is City Assessment of any real value, other than to the City? I like looking at numbers, specifically numbers that have some bearing on the real estate market in the cities that I work in.  I ran a simple MLS report looking for all the SOLD transactions in the City of Chesapeake between 3/9/2009 and 4/8/2009. The resulting report showed 181 Sold Listings, the average sold property is a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 2,095 Sqr Ft home with a sale price of $272,000 sqr feet with an average of 97 days on the market. I then looked at city assessments versus the sale price on the average home sold.  I ran my second report based on the average sold home in Chesapeake, Va., with a sales price between $260K and $280K, and a closed date between 3/9/2009 and 4/8/2009. The resulting report only identified 12 ... 04/08/2009

I know alot of people have already explained this but I still get daily questions on this new topic. All First Time Homebuyers who purchase a home in 2009 are eligible for the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Credit. Qualifications: A First Time Homebuyer is defined as you or your spouse have not owned a primary residence in 3 years.  You are a US Citizen You do not have income does not exceed $75,000 ($150,000 if married filing jointly) Benefit: You do not have to pay back the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Credit How do you claim? Fill out the IRS Form 5405 First-Time Homebuyer Credit and attach to your 2009 1040   With this in place and interest rates at historic lows - NOW is a great time to purchase a home.  Contact Naoma Doriguzzi at New American Mortgage for your FREE Mortgage consultati... 03/19/2009

03/18/2009

Do you like to look at new homes but don't want to stop in a model and get harassed by the on site agent?  One great way to see the latest features and techniques in decorating and construction is to visit the annual Tidewater Builders Association showcase of homes called Homearama. This year, as in prior years, it is in the fall. October 3rd is the starting date for 2009. Location is Culpepper Landing in Chesapeake. New this year is a focus on more affordable construction. Home prices for this neighborhood are expected to be in the $300,000 to $500,000 range. Looking for information on green building? Try the Tidewater Builders Association Green Building Council Site. Look for real estate in Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk and beyond?  Check my Website for h... 02/17/2009

I started working in real estate when my youngest son started the first grade.  I worked part-time his year in kinder garden, as his was a half day school. I see pictures of a lot of people crying because their kid went to school for the first time.  Not me, I was glad to have some time for myself, and go out and make some money. Years later:  My son is now eleven years old.  He still follows me around, and in general does as he is told.  This past Sunday, at church we were waiting for the service to start, and he told me that he was going to get some water.   Five minutes later when he didn't come back, worried, I got up to go look for him.  He was sitting by himself in the back of the church, and when I asked him what he was doing there, he said "you are embarrassing me Mom" He assert... 02/17/2009