If you move out of your home while it’s on the market, you’ll expect your real estate agent to handle showings in your absence. But how do you avoid the unwanted attention that a vacant home can attract from uninvited intruders? (more…)

If you’re a parent, or plan to have children, then you already understand the advantages of a good school system. Any real estate agent will also tell you that a home in a good school district is a gem when it comes to resale value.As you scope out locations for your next move, there are some basic barometers for judging the quality of education near your home. Begin by checking out test scores. There are standard tests for grade school, as well as the ACTs and SATs in high schools. All you have to do is ask for the results. (more…)

You may be aware that you can avoid capital gains taxes on the sale of your home if it was your primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to its sale. Individuals may qualify for a $250K tax exemption, and married couples up to $500K.But life is funny, and sometimes throws you a curve ball you weren’t expecting. What if you’ve moved into your Bennington VT “forever home,” and suddenly get laid off from your job, or need to move for unforeseen family or health reasons? Do you lose your big exemption from profits just because you couldn’t remain in your home for two years? (more…)

It was reported today that Americans as a whole are only 0.3 percent healthier than they were at this time last year, according to the 17th annual edition of America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People & Their Communities™, released today. This increase is significantly lower than the nation’s average annual improvement of 1.5 percent documented between 1990 and 2000, and only keeps pace with the 0.3 percent average annual national improvement since 2000. The report also observes that the United States continues to trail other nations in important statistics such as healthy life expectancy and infant mortality.

This year, the report ranks Minnesota as the healthiest state in the nation for the fourth year in a row. Vermont comes in second, followed by New Hampshire, Hawaii and Connecticut. Louisiana is ranked as the least-healthy state, while Mississippi (49), South Carolina (48), Tennessee (47) and Arkansas (46) complete the bottom five.

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