Here it is a new year and maybe this is the year for your new home. Whether you’re looking for your first mortgage or you’ve been down this road before, it’s crucial to review the ins and outs of the mortgage world. Here are some questions you need to ask to be sure you get […]
It can chill, it can challenge, it can soothe and inspire. It’s a spot to relax, and explore, and a place to have fun and just let loose. Twice named Best Ski Resort by readers of the Washington Post, Nelson County’s four-season, 11,000-acre Wintergreen Resort is an all-in-one sports playground, conference center and nature retreat, […]
The outlook for commercial real estate in the Charlottesville area remains strong according to local agents who cite declining vacancy rates and robust activity throughout the region. While demand is especially high in the downtown area, we are seeing growth in the commercial market all over town and in every sector from retail and office […]
Yes, we know you’ve only just put away the pumpkins and plastic bats, but we’re already hearing “Frosty the Snowman” in shops. The Big Holidays are on the horizon and it’s not too soon to be laying your plans. Are you having company this year? Will you be hosting people with disabilities? Are there children […]
Historic and heartwarming (Loving). Family-friendly and inspiring (The Eagle Huntress). Searching and shocking (The Promise), romantic (La La Land) and jaw dropping (Liv Ullmann, Werner Herzog and Shirley . .. that’s right, MacLaine)—if it boasts more than 125 films, and way too many admiring modifiers to choose from, it’s the 2016 Virginia Film Festival, screening […]
They served us bravely, and so we thank them. Having defended our homeland, they deserve to own their own homes, and happily there is help available to make that easier. Established in 1930 but carrying on work dating back to the Revolutionary War, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs supports service members, veterans, and […]
Not so long ago, the best wine was European, and good American wine was Californian. Period. Virginia oenophiles knew that Thomas Jefferson had tried and failed to make a drinkable beverage from Old World vines on Virginia soil, and if the Renaissance man of Monticello couldn’t do it, it obviously couldn’t be done. End of […]
If you regularly run out of money before the month is over, it’s time to consider some economies. Here are concrete ideas to help stretch your money farther. First, build an emergency fund—enough to cover three months expenses to start and building to six months. Then if an emergency strikes, you’ll have funds to cover […]
When Norma Rafferty’s father passed away, it made sense for her and her husband, Bob, to have a modest apartment addition for her mother built onto their home. A few calls showed neighborhood zoning and homeowner regulations allowed it if various permits were granted. They hired an architect to design an addition to fit well […]
Like George M. Cohan, composer of such patriotic favorites as Grand Old Flag and Yankee Doodle Dandy, Charlottesville’s Hiromi Johnson was born on the Fourth of July. Well, sort of. Cohan’s birthday was actually July 3rd, and Johnson calls Independence Day her second birthday. “That day,” she says with deep feeling, “is my birthday of […]