Harrisonblog

Private Mortgage Insurance, more commonly referred to as PMI, allows home buyers to obtain a mortgage with a lower down payment (typically less than 20% of the sales price). With PMI in place, lenders are insured against the risk of default on the loan. PMI charges are fairly minimal, running at around one-half of one [...]

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Are you in need of a new appliance? Heat pump? Gas furnace? Well, now is the time to buy! Virginians are now (as of April 28th) being offered rebates for the following items, as long as they are Energy Star certified. (Note: there may be some exceptions. Do your research before you purchase!)

Heat Pump - [...]

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Last week we wrote about the National Flood Insurance Program expiring at the end of March.
Good news! Congress took action yesterday to reauthorize the program. The program reauthorization was made retroactive to March 28, 2010 so all transactions keyed during the program suspension period will be completed as requested.
During the suspension, renewal offers on [...]

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The National Flood Insurance Program was allowed (by Congress) to expire on March 28, 2010, which means that if you tried to apply for this type of insurance this past week, you weren’t able to. And Congress is now in recess, which means this issue won’t come up again until they reconvene.
An interesting article in [...]

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If you’ve driven on Port Republic Road in Harrisonburg recently, you probably noticed that construction is underway. The road will be expanded from two lanes to four to accommodate for heavier traffic patterns going to and from the new Rockingham Memorial Hospital. Funding for this project actually came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, [...]

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I just came across a pretty cool blog published by some attorneys in the Arlington, Virginia, area. They post updates and information about Virginia real estate, construction, and land use laws and regulations. If you are in search of legal information regarding any of these particular categories for the Commonwealth of Virginia, you should check [...]

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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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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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