Developed and presented in collaboration with the Bennington Free Library, the Bennington Museum is pleased to announce a new program designed specifically for the younger set and their parents or care givers.

(more…)

Bennington VT — With all the choices in today’s market, how do you go about finding the right home? It seems the more research you do, the more alternatives you discover.

It’s important to visualize your needs and plan ahead. “Know what you want in a home, what’s important to you, and what you can live without,” Troy Richardson, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty says. “Many of us start out with a champagne taste and a beer pocketbook, so it’s important to be realistic,” he adds.
(more…)

HomeSteps “SmartBuy” expiring Oct. 30 Offers 2-Year Comprehensive Home Warranty

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) today reminded homebuyers they have less than a month left to take advantage of Freddie Mac’s offer to pay up to 3.5 percent of the buyer’s closing costs when they buy a single family HomeSteps® home as their primary residence under HomeSteps “SmartBuy.”
(more…)

Young people just starting to invest and buying their first homes are potentially the winners in this recession.

First-time homebuyers, most between the ages of 25 and 45, accounted for about 45 percent of home sales from January through July 2009, according to the National Association of REALTORS®
(more…)

Reprinted from the Battenkill Business Journal, October 5, 2009
By DANNY FRANK

Mack Molding Co. has launched a new medical products unit, which it has branded MackMedical.
“We have been aggressively developing the medical manufacturing sector of our business for the past nine years by refining quality and supply management systems, hiring specialized staff, and adding new technology,” said Jeff Somple, president of Mack Molding’s northern division in Arlington, VT.

The medical market now represents 30 percent of Mack’s business, including several class III medical devices, surgical equipment and disposables for the orthopedic sector, Somple said. About 50 employees work for Mack’s medical side.

Delving into medical manufacturing was a sound business idea, said Somple.

(more…)

No matter how large the problem may appear, the fact remains that each of us is a part of the solution. Every day, each of us makes decisions that can stimulate sustainability and a new energy economy. When we put all the pieces together, all of us — the Federal Government, private industry, and the public — have the means to shape our energy future and move our nation toward energy independence.
(more…)

Vacation timeshares are expected to fall 30 percent this year, according to the American Resort Development Association, a trade group.

“Timeshares are just very, very discretionary items,” says Chris Woronka, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. “It’s the perpetual vacation. I am prepaying for the ability to take a vacation every year. Under the current circumstances, people are more reluctant to pay for that.”
(more…)

A “buyers’ market” is just what it implies – a market in which buyers have the advantage and exploit it. It’s not a market that rewards foot-dragging, hesitation or indecision.

Unfortunately, all the factors that created the buyers’ market we have today have been reported so negatively and rampantly by various media outlets that buyers are themselves too spooked to even enter the fray. Strangely, people were buying like crazy during the previous sellers’ market, when the advantage was actually all to the sellers.

That’s when buyers didn’t fear paying too much, and now that prices are so low and inventories so high, suddenly buyers DO fear paying too much! However, it’s impossible to purposefully time the market to buy at the bottom and sell at the top.

Once the market begins to settle and subsequently improve (and it will), the amazing buying opportunities we’ve been seeing will begin to disappear. With decreased buying activity now, pent up demand for homes will explode when the market recovers, and buyers will once again be competing for the best homes.

Don’t rely on luck in the marketplace – rely on planning. Make a careful decision with a predictable outcome. Has the market dropped enough, right now, to make such a purchase? Absolutely! Forget about the top and the bottom and enter your “safe zone” with confidence.

Bennington VT, Selling, Buying