The largest industry in the Northern Neck is certainly fishing.

In this picture to the left are Omega Protein’s boats and one independent.

Have you ever heard of Omega 3? Well that is one of the byproducts that come from the menhaden fish that these boats are after.

This picture was taken off of Smith Point just below the mouth of the Potomac River.

I love it this time of year when you see the boats move off of Smith Point. It means that there is plenty of bait in the Chesapeake Bay and it won’t be long before those BIG migrating rockfish (stripe bass) will be in here feeding.

In every area of Virginia or any state I ever been in I can always find a publication for local real estate being sold.

The same is true for Northern Neck Real Estate. Although the Northern Neck Real Estate Review offers you page after page of colorful pictures it gives you no idea of the location, water depth, or days on the market that the Northern Neck MLS can.

The Northern Neck Real Estate Review shows you the asking price of a property. By using a Buyer’s Agent (of course you want that Buyer’s Agent to be Ken Smith) that agent can use the Northern Neck MLS to tell you what a property sold for which is a powerful tool in determining what to offer for property. 

80% of all home buyers start their search on the Internet and close 100% of my clients are people away from the area who are looking for a waterfront property whether it be a waterfront home or waterfront lot on or near the Chesapeake Bay.  

With the Northern Neck MLS you can be notified when properties are listed or when prices change for properties that meet your criteria. Can the Northern Neck Real Estate Review do this? No and not only that the information you get might be as old as 60 days whereas the Northern Neck MLS is current.

One of the questions I always get asked being a Northern Neck Real Estate agent is about property taxes.

Throughout the Northern Neck property taxes are much lower than my clients have been accustomed to paying.

I love driving up to a nice home sitting on a beautiful piece of waterfront property and my clients ask what the taxes are. When I tell them their first reaction is astonishment and their second question is “Guess what I pay?”

Nowhere in the Northern Neck are the property taxes lower than they are in Northumberland County. As a matter of fact it might be nowhere in Virginia.

The residents of Northumberland County pay $0.36 per hundred of the assessed value of their property. In most cases the assessed value is much lower than the actual value.

The picture to the left is of the new school being built. Click HERE to see a rendering of the school.

What is really cool about all of this is that the people of Northumberland didn’t demand a new school and the county government is having it built without raising taxes!

I think they should send that bunch in Washington down here to take lessons.

1. A building lot with sailboat depth water ($400k or higher)
2. Heated swimming pool ($68k)
3. New pier with 8 ton lift and 10' water depth (at least $40k)
4. Well ($8k)
5. Septic ($4k)

Using those figures which are conservative it would put the house at $40 a square foot.

I guess politics are important wherever you go. As I get older I realize just how important they are on a local and state level and how much more of an impact they have on my life and the quality of it than what goes on in Washington (unless they raise taxes). 

Rob Wittman is our delegate here in the Northern Neck. I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever met anyone quite like Rob. 

In the picture to the left Rob is at the Heathsville Farmer’s Market enjoying the people and politicking. If there is any type of a crowd anywhere in the Northern Neck you will find Rob.  I know that’s not much of an accomplishment for a politician BUT Rob is running UNCONTESTED!  

I have never seen a politician before that makes himself so available to his constituents. He will listen to your concerns and tell you how those concerns are being met in Richmond. He’ll also tell you where he stands on those concerns and why.  

If you are thinking of buying some of the fine waterfront property here in the Northern Neck then you will want to know that you have a delegate in Richmond that has the same concerns for the quality of the water as you.  If you see Rob when you are out and about then introduce yourself. You’ll be glad you did..

Something that really upsets (that is a mild word for what I would like to say) me as a realtor is realtor.com. I really don't know why the National Association of Realtors affiliates itself with realtor.com.

The Northern Neck MLS is the intellectual property of the Northern Neck Association of Realtors. Somehow a deal has been made not only with our MLS but every association's MLS in Virginia and throughout the country to link through realtor.com.

This sounds like a good idea but here lies the problem. Realtor.com takes the MLS that I and other realtors working both as listing agents and buyer's representatives have paid for and then profits off of it.

Have you ever wondered while searching for Northern Neck Real Estate through realtor.com why some properties have multiple photos and others don't? It is because realtor.com charges the realtor for those extra pictures yet those pictures are in our MLS and will be seen by all that choose our MLS over realtor.com. Besides if you use the Northern Neck MLS you won't have all those pop-ups that realtor.com charges for.

 The information that you receive from our MLS is a little more detailed but if you see a property that interest you then working as your buyer's agent I can email you the MLS sheet on that property. That MLS sheet will give you such information as days on the market, water depth, directions to the property, and a ton of other information. Can realtor.com do that?

Many waterfront property owners between the jetties at Smith Point and Reedville can see the lighthouse at Smith Point.

The lighthouse is a true landmark. Not only does it mark the entrance to the Potomac River but it is a reference point for some great fishing.

Construction of the lighthouse began in Baltimore in 1896 and the following April it was towed to its present location. It sits in 24 feet of water and stands 52'. Three other lighthouses preceded it.

The lighthouse was manned until 1971 when automation was able to do the job of its keepers.

In 2005 the Smith Point Lighthouse was one of four lighthouses auctioned to the public. The Coast Guard still maintains stewardship over the beacon and the new owner is required to preserve access to it.

Many of my clients that are looking for Northern Neck Real Estate are looking for a waterfront property with a an expansive view. Well this is one that does and in 2005 it sold for $170,000. Sounds like a good price for a waterfront home but could you live the life of a lighthouse keeper.

CB and Jane Kemper with assistant Christy Rock are among the 110 exhibitors at the Farmer’s Market in Irvington, VA. The Kempers own and operate Kemper’s Nursery in Farnham, VA and every Saturday during the season you will find them at one of the local markets that rotate through the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.