This Neighborhood, Good or Bad?

(image courtesy of AreaVibes.com)

As a contractor and a Class-A builder, New Earth comes across different kinds of neighborhoods, if you're new to the area it may be a little bit overwhelming to figure out where is a good place to live. Even as a current resident of RVA, it may be difficult to keep up with all the neighborhoods that are up and coming and the ones that have deteriorated. For the most part, Richmond is growing, at an alarmingly exponential rate. This is great for anyone living here or considering moving to Richmond. The value of property is rising. This is especially important for a homeowner to know because home care and maintenance are more crucial than ever.

So what's the best way of knowing if your neighborhood or a neighborhood that you're interested in is worth living in? Thankfully the internet has a lot of different websites that offer all kinds of information including statistical facts about any particular neighborhood. One of our personal favorites is AreaVibes.com. They offer useful knowledge like: crime rate, average household income, property value and the amenities available in any specific area. The only problem that we find with Area Vibes is that you need to do preliminary research on an area that you're interested in since they want you to plug in the name of the subdivision, zip code or address.

Richmond.com breaks the different neighborhoods down for you, they tell you stories of what's happening in some of them so it offers a more personable perspective to give you a sense of what that place is like. They talk about upcoming areas and complexes, specifically what places are being built out. This is important because if different stores and shops see the value of building in a neighborhood, that means that others will follow and see the value in it too. This means more and better housing.

They also include Real Estate listings so you can check out what is available on the market, this allows you to make easy comparisons between properties and see what your competitors are doing if you are in the market to sell.

Even though we are partial to downtown Richmond and the Churchill area, we like knowing what is going around in the Richmond Tri-Cities area, so we find these two resources incredibly useful. You will probably find them useful too.

Are you working on home improvements? Check out what your neighbors are doing by reading about it online, see what works and what doesn't. Some properties will have better value than others and this could be a good way to find out why.

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Pros and Cons: Wooden Floors

As a Class-A contractor, New Earth gets often asked to install wooden floors in all types of homes. We have realized that people usually have quite a few questions about the process, the cost and some of the benefits and disadvantages of wooden floors. We've put together a list of things to consider when purchasing a new home or updating an old one to wooden floors. Let's start with the positive first:

Pro's

• Easy Clean Up - What makes this particularly important is that you can easily recognize dirt or dust and clean it up. There are plenty of ways to clean a wooden floor, from: items you can pick up at your local grocery store to steam mops that disinfect.
• Cost Effective Repairs - If a section of your wooden floor happens to be damaged, it is very easy to target the replacement of the floor. You don't need to replace the entire thing. 
• Environmentally Friendly - Wooden floors come from natural materials which means they are biodegradable and it is a resource that can be replanted. 
• Hypoallergenic - Suffering from allergies is no joke, wooden floors allow to measure the amount of dust and allergens that live on the surface. Other flooring options like carpet don't give you that level of control since carpeting is often considered a breeding ground for allergens. 

Con's

• Cost - It usually costs more money upfront to install wooden floors, although in the long run you might see the value because it is a low maintenance option. 
• Durability - Even though wooden floor tend to last for a long time, it can scratch easily especially if you have pets or kids in the house.

Although the our Con's list is not very extensive, price is something to consider that can be a major factor in your decision. Keep in mind that this is a long term investment and that you'll probably end up saving money in the long run. 

For more great tips and info visit our website www.NewEarthVA.com

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