[qkslvrsrfrboy]

So since i have decided that after i graduate in two years im going to be going to seminary at Liberty, My parents decided it would be best for me to buy a house in lynchburg, hopefully this summer if i can get some money for a down payment. My actual question has to do with when i want to rent the house to other people. I remember a while back reading on here, and ive heard about it but cant remember what exactly it is with some city ordinance about only three unrelated people can live in one house? What exactly is that and everything, like can someone explain more about that to me? thanks

[flamesbball84]

welli know of plenty of people who ahve more than three unrelated people living int heir residence...

[qkslvrsrfrboy]

yeah i know plenty of people who do too but i know theres some rule about it and id rather not be breaking any laws. also, if it is three, then it changes what house im looking at because it will change whether i look at 4 bedrooms or 3 bedrooms ya know?

[matshark]

you can always get one in campbell county...

[ALUmnus]

Actually, it was Campbell County that had that law, not the city. I can't remember, but I think they relaxed that when it came up, but I could be completely wrong.

[Sly Fox]

If you are wanting to keep costs to a minimum, consider Appomattox County. Yeah, I know. I'm just saying.

[matshark]

I would suggest getting one in the city or in Campbell depending on the zoning laws. Real Estate is through the crapper right now, but your highest value will be in Lynchburg city when it goes back up.

Also, you will have a continuous source of renters b/c this IS a college town. Also, I would make a note that the more people that live in a house, the greater the chance of the house getting damaged. So you may want to just limit your number of renters to 2 besides yourself.

2 already means a LOT less expense on the house payments.

Just my $.02

[Sly Fox]

City taxes. End of story.

[SuperJon]

but your highest value will be in Lynchburg city when it goes back up.

You sure about that?

Let's see, where would most people rather live:

a) In the city where it takes 20-30 minutes to get across town, the lots are small, houses are older, and taxes are through the roof

of

b) In the county where it's a 20-30 minute drive to any part of town, you can get more land, the houses are newer, and the taxes are nowhere near the city?


Yea, not so sure your statement was right on the money.

[olldflame]

Good call by Sly on Appomattox County. Easy access to LU via 460, lower taxes and lower property cost.

It is quicker to drive to LU from the city of Appomattox than from Boonsboro, and there are places in between like Spout Spring and Concord.

[Cider Jim]

But you get what you pay for: Appomattox County has no mountains but probably has more trailers, confederate flags, & old pickup trucks on blocks per capita than any county surrounding Lynchburg. And remember to stand to attention and salute everytime you hear "Dixie" played.

[TDDance234]

The rule about more-than-three unrelated people living in one house is wrong, I believe. Even so, Liberty doesn't check that kind of stuff (as far as I know anyway... Student Conduct may have more to do with that then you would think).

As far as where to live, I'd choose anywhere but Lynchburg. The tax rates in L'burg as opposed to surrounding counties are nuts.

[matshark]

SJ, I've lived in the burg for 23 years.

I think I know what I'm talking about.

I can get anywhere in town in 10 min or less. Although Lynchburg's road system is confusing at the least, if you know how to use 460 and the expressway, you can get pretty much anywhere you want to pretty quickly.

As for living downtown, the houses are smaller as well as the lots, BUT the city is so desperate to renovate them, that you can get many places downtown for pennies on the dollar and extensive tax breaks.

Lynchburg city is quite big, and there are many houses with nice sized lots around town. In fact, you would be surprised how many lots there are IN TOWN that have 5+acres of land on them. There are quite a few. (I know this because my friends have city archery permits to shoot deer from June-March - one of the requirements of which is... having 5+ acres of land. In fact, there are several particular places that I know of that have 32+ acres and 144+ acres and some places in town with even more property.

For example... currently I'm in a house that has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and is on almost an acre of land. I'm right in the middle of lynchburg and can get to LU in 5 min, downtown in 5, to boonesboro in 10, campbell co. in 7, bedford in 15, amherst in 6, forest in 15. The trick is to know how to get around town. Sure it can take 20 min if u sit at every traffic light on roads where the speedlimit is 25 or 35, but if you know what you're doing and what the local traffic patterns are, you can get from here to there pretty darn quickly.

[Sly Fox]

And you are paying taxes through the nose while have to deal with upkeep on an old house.

No thanks.

[olldflame]

But you get what you pay for: Appomattox County has no mountains but probably has more trailers, confederate flags, & old pickup trucks on blocks per capita than any county surrounding Lynchburg. And remember to stand to attention and salute everytime you hear "Dixie" played.

[blwall1416]

And remember to stand to attention and salute every time you hear "Dixie" played.

Wait, wait, wait........you mean we're NOT supposed to do that..??

[SuperJon]

SJ, I've lived in the burg for 23 years.

I think I know what I'm talking about.

I do this for a living and have studied the area. The state of Virginia also tells me I know what I'm talking about. Not to mention, trends across the region show that because of high city-taxes, most people are moving to the county because it's the same drive, less taxes, and more land.

[Cider Jim]

Qkslvrsrfrboy, with all due respect to Sharky & Sly, I'd have to defer to Super on this one: like he said, he does this kind of thing for a living, and I think his dad does, too. The man knows how to appraise a house and the property it sits on--but let Appomattox County be your last choice, unless you want to give the impression that you are living in West Virginia.

[Sly Fox]

Hey, I was just offering up a cheap alternative. Check back in 10 years and prove me wrong that Concord isn't a hot property.

I was looking at Bedford & Campbell County during my dalliance with the area a year ago. But a college kid has different needs than a family man.

[Cider Jim]

Check back in 10 years and prove me wrong that Concord isn't a hot property.

Sly, Concord is only a hot property if you leave in the Boston area, and I don't mean South Boston, VA.

[SuperJon]

Anyone else find it funny that the guy in Texas is trying to tell us real estate tips about Virginia?

[Sly Fox]

I've been following the real estate market in Lynchburg on a semi-regular basis for two decades. There hasn't been many surprises. Cider Jim can attest that Forest & Boonsboro held similar stature twenty years when he arrived that it does today. I just look at Concord and I see elements that make it an attractive growth area in the coming years. I realize it doesn't offer much now. But college kids really don't care much about school & utility districts. I'm not saying I would buy there if I moved ... just offered up a cost efficient option.

And unlike most on this board, I've bought more than my share of homes and witnessed how the market works. And thankfully I never had to pay for an appraisal (God Bless Texas).

[RagingTireFire]

And unlike most on this board, I've bought more than my share of homes and witnessed how the market works. And thankfully I never had to pay for an appraisal (God Bless Texas).

If you've bought or sold a house then you've paid for an appraisal.

[SuperJon]

And unlike most on this board, I've bought more than my share of homes and witnessed how the market works. And thankfully I never had to pay for an appraisal (God Bless Texas).

If you've bought or sold a house then you've paid for an appraisal.

Or refinanced.

[Cider Jim]

Cider Jim can attest that Forest & Boonsboro held similar stature twenty years when he arrived that it does today.

You do have a point there, Sly. My first 4 years in Lynchburg, I lived off of Timberlake Road ina couple of different apartments (on Laxton Rd. & Powtan Dr.), but when we bought out first house off of Route 221, we thought we were moving out in the country because 221 was a 2-lane rural road then; now it's a 4 lane road with a turning lane in the middle. My section of town has really built up, and it could very well be that 460 east of campus toward Appomattox County is next.