Harrisonblog

Downtown Harrisonburg will soon be home to yet another new restaurant! It is called Brooklyn Cafe and Lounge, and is located in the former Franklin’s Cafe at 20 S. Mason Street. They’re having a grand re-opening on March 5th.
Brooklyn Cafe and Lounge will be serving up Middle Eastern, Turkish, Mexican, Italian, and Southern American cuisine. [...]

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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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So far, 2010 has been an eventful year in terms of snowfall. In late 2009, the snow fell in huge amounts around Christmas time, and again fell in bundles starting a few weeks ago, and continuing yet again today. According to WHSV, Harrisonburg will experience record snowfall for this winter if we get 1/10 of [...]

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The Farmers Insurance Group has again published their Top Safest Places to Live list, and among small towns in the United States, Harrisonburg ranks #9 out of 20! Just one more reason to relocate to our town in the Shenandoah Valley.
Other towns in close proximity that are ranked include:

Lynchburg: #6 among mid-sized cities
Charlottesville: #16 among [...]

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If you are a homeowner, or are thinking about becoming one, you should definitely check out HouseLogic, a new website by The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Although the site is still in beta mode, it provides a wealth of information and how-to’s for homeowners. Currently, the navigation consists of these categories:

Improve
Maintain
Engage
Taxes and Incentives
Finances and [...]

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Effective January 1, 2010, changes will be made to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which will improve the client experience with regards to choosing a mortgage loan. Essentially, these changes will allow the client to make a better informed decision about which loan to go with. Less confusion, and more peace of mind! [...]

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The housing market is strengthening, not only here in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, but also around the rest of the nation. In fact, there are four regional sectors that the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), and Virginia is in the “South” region, which experienced a 12.7% increase in home sales from September to October of [...]

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The President and CEO of the nationally-known (but based in Harrisonburg) Rosetta Stone, Tom Adams, has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also the national winner of the Retail and Consumer Products category. Hats off to Tom!
“Tom Adams’ efforts at Rosetta Stone have helped change the way the world [...]

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Yep, homeowners who are facing foreclosure can stay in their homes — as renters. Fannie Mae just designed a new program called the Deed for Lease Program that allows homeowners to stay in their own homes as tenants. Here is the gist of how this works, according to Market Watch:
Participating borrowers voluntarily transfer their property [...]

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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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