Harrisonblog

The EPA wrote a new rule that will take effect on April 22, 2010 that requires contractors doing remodeling work on buildings — homes, child care centers, and schools — built prior to 1978 have an EPA certification. The reason? Lead-based paint. It can be very harmful to children and adults when disturbed.
According to The [...]

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Going green is a big deal, believe it or not. It is important to keep our earth clean so that future generations will be able to enjoy it as much as we have. The first step to understanding how to improve the environment around you is to find your carbon footprint. How much carbon dioxide [...]

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When you purchase a home, one of the first things you do is acquire homeowners insurance. (Actually, this is usually done prior to closing so it is set in place the moment you are occupying your new home!) We’ve posted before about the basics of homeowners insurance, and what to expect when you look through [...]

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With the development of the new East Rockingham High School coming to completion, Rockingham County Schools are undergoing some redistricting. At this time, no redistricting changes are planned for the elementary or middle schools for the 2010 - 2011 school year, but the high schools will experience some changes.
East Rockingham High School

All 9th-12th grade students [...]

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Both the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have reassessed properties in their respective areas, which means your property value may have changed. When your notice of reassessment comes, if you think the City or the County are way off in their reassessment, know that there are ways to appeal your reassessment. Depending on whether [...]

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According to the Virginia Constitution, all real estate must be assessed at market value, so Rockingham County is performing reassessments again. The last reassessment occurred in 2005, and was effective January 1, 2006. Now that 2010 is here, its time for another round!
County officials actually began reassessing properties about 18 months ago. All sales since [...]

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In our last post, we informed you how to claim your first time home buyer tax credit. For those of you who own (or are thinking about purchasing) land in Rockingham County, there may be some tax benefits for you, depending on how you use your land.
If you meet these criteria, you may qualify for [...]

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Tax season is here, and will be gone before we know it! If you used the first time home buyer tax credit in 2009, or are thinking about claiming the extended tax credit this year, you’ll want IRS Form 5405. [Click here to download the form.] For a full set of details about the tax [...]

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When folks relocate to Harrisonburg, one of their first concerns is what the tax rates are in the area. Our Relocation Guide is chock full of information just like this, but as a refresher, here is a snapshot of the tax rates in the area:

HARRISONBURG

Real Estate:
59 cents per $100 of assessed value

Personal Property:
$3 per $100 [...]

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President Obama signed the extended home buyer tax credit bill on Friday. So, what does this mean? How does it work?
We’ve already gone over some of the major changes to the credit, but here they are again:

Both first-timers and existing homeowners would be able to take advantage of the expanded program through the end of [...]

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