9985 Pleasant View Dr., New Market, VA 22844

This custom built, brick home on a cul-de sac is near the New Market park, golf course & swimming pool.

To set up an appointment today call Florin at 540-335-8330!

3BR, 2BA.

Property Features

• formal dining room with fireplace
• new family room
• New roof
• maintenance free exterior

Life contains some unexpected trials. Without a conscious choice of your own, you may find yourself in a financially tricky situation. Due to health problems or unemployment you could suddenly be unable to pay for your mortgage. The worst thing you can do if you’re facing this kind of predicament is to do nothing. You need to do something and here are some tips that explain what exactly that something should be.

Talk With Your Lender

It’s uncomfortable and you may feel tempted to avoid their calls, but you need to be upfront with your mortgage lender. If you have extended beyond your grace period and are now more than 30 days late on your payment, you will not only have your back payments to come up with but you will also have a late fee assessed. Explain your situation and they will likely come up with a plan to get you on track again. If you are willing to make any kind of effort, they will be willing to work with you.

Refinance

You might consider refinancing to bring your loan current and to pay off your lender. If you don’t have any money left in savings, you also might consider taking the cash out of your equity. This would enable you to re-establish a cushion in the event that you find yourself in a similar situation down the road. This of course all depends on your ability to handle a larger monthly payment. Be sure to look at all the effects of a refinance before you sign the papers.

Sell Home

If you are unable to work out a refinance you should seriously consider selling your home before you go into foreclosure. The late payments on your mortgage will show up on your credit report, which will likely prohibit you from qualifying for a loan for the next 7 years, but in the end will be better than a foreclosure on your record.

If you’ve attempted all these steps and still have a financial puzzle that can’t be solved it could be time to look at declaring bankruptcy. This would also be relevant if you have multiple properties that are in default. Consulting with a lawyer is your best option at this point. There are specialists in any part of the country, anywhere from Tallahassee to Las Vegas bankruptcy attorneys, who know the specific laws in your state and will work with you to make the most of your situation.

Different sized feathers are going to give you very different decorative options. Most feathers you find locally are going to be quite small, allowing you to make only the most simple of display pieces. Others which you can purchase include stout fluffy ostrich feathers, large multicolored peacock plumes, or long slender pheasant feathers.

One popular thing to do with feathers is to glue them to everyday household objects in order to give them a little decorative energy. If you have glass items, such as decorative glass vases, bowels, or other containers, you have the option of gluing the feathers on either the inside or the outside of the piece.

Even if it’s a bit difficult to actually glue the feathers to the inside of a glass piece, you always have the option of simply slipping one or two in, letting their feathery touch grace the sloping side of the glass piece.

Another option is to glue tiny feathers around the border of a picture frame, or a mirror. You can also use them to decorate the outside of bowls, jewelry boxes, or other containers. Some brave decorators have even taken up craft projects where they coat an entire side table in small colorful feathery fluff.

Feathers are also very popular as stand alone applications, or when used in conjunction with other elements to create a display. One way to do this is to display a variety of feathers in a decorative vase, bowel, or other container.

These can take the place of flowers, lasting longer, and often being just as bright, colorful, and textually present.

Many people use various natural elements in table centerpieces. Pulling from twigs and leaves, branches and boughs, they create a cobbled centerpiece that glorifies the nature of the outside world. Feathers can easily be incorporated into this, adding color and hue throughout the piece.

Some people like to use feathers that they find in the area around their homes. This allows you to create a decorative piece which is intricately tied into the nature of your home, reflecting the living environment around you. However you have to be careful. Feathers can sometimes carry mites, or other small bugs and bacteria that can be harmful if brought into the home. Any feathers found lying open in the environment should be treated with a UV ray to eliminate bacteria, and or soaked in boiling water.

You can also simulate the colors and patterns found in particular feathers in the hues used throughout the room. Home furnishings, wallpaper, throws, cushions, and tapestries can all be purchased to match the color of your feathered centerpieces, allowing you to extrapolate the beauty and nature of your feathers throughout the environment.

Windows are important because they are the connection between your homes interior, and the world outdoors. They let in the sun, they let in the breeze, and they let in the visual beauty of nature and life. The way you decorate them will influence how these elements affect the entire room. Curtains are important and luckily, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to make them look great. You just have to use a little creativity and keep your mind open to the decorative possibilities that your windows present.

A curtain can technically be made from any square piece of hemmed fabric. An old sarong can also be used as an alternative. Simply attach curtain clips to the material, and then hang it from the shower rod.

Alternatively you can purchase inexpensive tab-headed curtains made from a variety of materials including voile, muslin, or fine cotton. These simple curtains can then be turned into stunning home décor accessories by customizing them in a variety of ways.

Tiny pompom’s are one way to give an otherwise drab curtain a sense of fun and frivolity. They are rather easy to stitch in along the leading or base edge, and since they can be purchased in a variety of sizes and colors, you can get creative making patterns trail along the edge of the fabric.

Lengths of ribbon, or braid, can also be stitched along the edge of the curtain to give it a more reserved, formal version of decorative interest. You can use different lengths or colors to create patterns here as well. If you’re feeling bold, try stitching the ribbon across the face of the curtain for an exciting striped effect.

There are a variety of tiny decorative elements that can be either stitched or glued across the surface of your curtains. Shells, buttons, stones, agate, crystals, wooden wheels, mirrors, beads, or silk flower heads can all be added to enhance the beauty of the material. Here’s where you can get creative, arranging items in patterns of swirls or geometric squares, or just alighting them randomly across the face of the piece.

Small mirrors are particularly effective on very light, sheer curtains that let in a lot of illumination. The mixture of the soft fabric filtered sun with the glistening reflections of the mirrors can create an attractive interplay.

Floaty voile curtains can be weighted down by attaching small decorative objects along the bottom edge. Small stones, crystals, or wooden decorative objects can be used to help weigh down those flighty curtains, while also creating a unique fringe.

Another interesting craft project is to sow tiny decorative pockets into your curtains. Take pieces of matched material and cut them into squares. Press the edges under, and then pin them in place. Then machine stitch the tiny squares to the curtain, sealing only the bottom and side edges, leaving the top open. Then you can place a variety of decorative pieces, ornaments, shells feathers, or dried flowers in them.

Windows are important because they connect a room with the rest of the world, bringing natural elements into our homes. The way you dress your curtains can affect the way these windows influence the space. Even drab, plain, boring curtains can be dressed up with a little creativity, adding small touches to the edge and fringe, or going bold and stitching decorative features across the face of the fabric.

Coffee is more than a single color. It is an entire palette, stretching out from dark to light and breaking even those boundaries to pull in ancillary compliments. And yet beyond the mere sight of the color, there is a whole philosophy, an energy that coffee has, which it draws both from its invigorating nature, and its exotic origins. These colors are rich, lush, and brightly contrasting, allowing you to fill your home with both warmth and vigor.

Coffee colors tend to range from dark to light, with one end sporting the midnight browns of a black cup of Joe, and the other displaying the pale perfection found in café au lait. Adding to this charm are the colors of the coffee beans themselves, which are earthy and ruddy looking when first plucked, but which can also take on a burnt oily appearance when roasted.

A good way to find colors which compliment coffee tones is to look at the plant that produces the delectable brew. The coffee plant is a miniature tree, with thick green leaves which droop downward in layers, punctuated by briefly blooming pure white flowers. Bright red berries also dot the foliage of this plant, and these “coffee cherries” are actually where the beans used to make coffee are produced.

This plant is sort of a natural cheat sheet, because all of the colors represented in it actually compliment coffee tones quite well, giving you a pattern template that you can follow in your home. Forest greens will merge with the earth tones hues of coffee quite well, while bits of red can accent the whole, and touches of white provide contrasting clarity.

Coffee beans are transported in distinctive bags made of a material called hopsacking, which has a unique texture, and a rugged natural appeal. If you can find old coffee been bags, they can be used to create coffee themed decorative items, such as liners for trays, or serving dishes. You can also cut the label out of the bag, and sow it into a decorative pillow as a panel, simulating the look of your own fluffy, overstuffed bean bag. If locating authentic hopsacking proves difficult, you can always use hemp or jute, purchased from the local fabric store to simulate the look.

There are a variety of materials that will naturally evoke and or compliment coffee colors. Many hardwoods come stained in tones that will match such a palette, and wicker, and rattan both easily flow in a space where such hues are predominant. Try to match light tones against dark in contrasting layers to create room effects throughout the space.

There are also a variety of coffee themed accessories that can be purchased to make the entire style more overt. Aside from the obvious novelty prints and accessories, you also have posters of some of the exotic locations where coffee is grown, framed pictures of coffee plants, drink coasters printed with coffee images, or maps of exotic destinations.

Coffee is a symbolic substance in our culture. It evokes a sense of rugged individuality, of adventure, and of excitement. At the same time there is something comforting about the brew, it has warmth that can help to beat back the coldest winter morning. By using these colors in a decorative endeavor, you are lending these symbolic qualities to the space itself.

819 Battlefield Bluff Dr New Market, VA 22844

This one of a kind home home has so much to offer!

Located in an excellent neighborhood, and having river front, you must see it!

To set up an appointment today call Florin at 540-335-8330!

6BR, 4.5BA.

Property Features

• Open floor plan
• 2 fireplaces
• New roof(2009)
• Full basement with exercise room with cork floors
• Bordering State Park
• New addition of sun room overlooking the river

237 Battlefield Bluff Dr New Market, VA 22844

This home, located in a park-like setting on 3 acres in a very nice neighborhood, has a lot to offer.

All on one level, it has a recently remodeled large kitchen, sun-room with separate AC/heating system, hardwood floors, new roof, 30X30 garage/workshop with several extra rooms, and a half bath. To set up an appointment today call Florin at 540-335-8330!

3BR, 2.5BA.

Property Features

• Workshop
• Bedroom on 1st Level
• Cable TV Available
• Storage Building
• Formal Dining Room
• New Remodeled Kitchen
• Sun-room

Buying your first home, is a very joyous, and emotional time, and for good reason too. The thought of ownership is a major part of the American Dream, and everyone should experience it at some point in their lives. But beware! The safe road to buying your first home is riddled with danger, marked with signs written in other languages, like Legalese, and Salesmanese. If you can’t avoid the danger, decipher the signs, and pick the best route, you will be in trouble.

The first thing you will need on the road to ownership, is of course, to know where you are going! You need to do your research and pick a correct budget. Find out how much you can afford to spend, and how long you want to pay on a mortgage. You Do Not Need To Be House Poor, no matter what anyone says. Once you have this budget, the next thing you will need, is a guide. The choice to not have one is one of the first mistakes younger home-buyers make. Two people are suited for this kind of journey…

1. A Buyers Agent: a buyers agent is experienced in all aspects of the home buying process, and can show you where the Real deals are (notice I said said real with a capital R). One of the biggest mistakes is using the sellers agent to do the negotiating. That doesn’t work because the selling agent is getting a paycheck from the sellers, not from you. So use a buyers agent and don’t get lost.

2. A Home Inspector: You don’t want to fall into a treacherous Money Pit, do you? The home inspector’s job is to make sure everything is in proper working order, and that it won’t cost you money down the road, so having one of these men or women around is of great benefit to you. Most first time Home-Buyers try to save a couple hundred dollars by either doing it themselves, or having a construction worker friend do it for them. Now, this is not to hate on construction wokers, since the author of this article used to be one, but we are good at building things, and fixing problems, not at finding minor evidence for impending the problems of the future. So, GET A HOME INSPECTION!

The second thing you will need to do, is learn how to read the road signs. This means learning a few foreign languages, the first being legalese. Legalese is the language used on contracts, and you want to make sure you know what you are reading so you know how to escape a bad situation, or bad purchase. You don’t want to be responsible for all the problems in a home that you did not know about, So watch out for homes being sold As-Is. You also do not want to be signed into a exclusive buyers agreement, so if your buying agent is not up to snuff, you can fire him.

The next language is Salesmanese, you need to know the that buying your first home is a very emotional experience and every agent makes money when you purchase. So, they will try to get you into every home you see. If you have a good agent, they won’t be that bad, but you still want to keep a level head, and understand how salesmen can manipulate your emotions.

The last issue I want to write about is the objective itself. Many first time Home-Buyers keep looking until they find the “perfect” home. They pass up many a good deal, and sometimes land in a home they did not want because they waited to long to purchase. You should be looking at a homes potential, not just what it looks like currently. Other than that, HAVE FUN, it’s your first home… It’s my hope that you take this information and get into a first home safely and end your journey with a home that fits you and your family.

If you are looking to purchase a new home, there are several ways to go about it. One way that has become increasingly popular is to do so online. It can be incredibly time consuming traveling with your agent to house after house if you have not been able to pre-screen them before hand. By searching online for a home that fits all your criteria, you will be able to shave off hours and hours from your quest for a new home. There are several ways to find good homes online.  The question is, what are they?

One way to go about it is to conduct a simple search on Google.com. This search engine is a powerful one and can pull up some great results if the right search is done. One of the best ways to search for houses when using search engines is to type in the type of house you are looking for and then type in the area. For example, “lakefront property Utah” tells Google someone wants a property that is on a lake but also located in the state of Utah. Of course, searching on search engines is a rather outdated method of browsing for homes online. These days, most people choose to use realtors’ websites.

Realtors’ websites provide complete details and pictures along with access to a real estate professional who can answer any questions you might have. This is the new and improved way of searching for a home online. All relevant information about homes in the area you want and that fit the criteria you have can be pulled up with a few simple keystrokes. Many realtors have their own personal websites and blogs that are continually updated with new listings in their areas.

For those who are looking for homes in a variety of areas, they can take a virtual tour on the MLS. The MLS stands for the Multiple Listing Service.  It’s a huge database of houses on the market all over the country. This system can be viewed by anyone; although, only real estate agents are able to list houses for sale. With the help of your agent, you can easily find the best house for you while spending a minimal amount of time on the search. Indeed, when it comes to finding your new home, the internet and your real estate agent can make the process fast, fun and efficient.

Creating a theme is a great way to add a whimsical sense of wonder and creativity to a child’s room. Unfortunately purchasing boxed sets of kid’s items from the store is often prohibitively expensive, with decorative pieces being charged at a premium just because they bear the image of some licensed cartoon character. Luckily, there is away around retail home décor storeprices. Using creativity, and a variety of crafting techniques, it is possible to design a room for your kids with just about any theme you can imagine, at a fraction of what it might otherwise cost.

One of the great things about crafting your own custom kid’s room décor is that this is a process you can share with your children. Not only can you get their input as to what they want, and what they are enthusiastic about, but you can also let them take an active roll, helping you to color, cut, draw, paint, and paste the various elements that will be placed throughout the area. This method of decorating can be more than a means to an end: it can actually be a chance for you to build lasting memories with your children.

Before you start gathering resources, you should come up with a theme. Discuss this with the child, batting ideas back and forth, and trying to get a real sense of who the truly are. Once you’ve settled on an idea, brainstorm ways that you can make the various component parts of the theme. Once you have a vision of how you want the room to look, you can start to contemplate ways to actualize that vision.

Many of the basic materials that you will need can already be found lying around the house. Cardboard is great, because it’s soft enough to cut and bend, but hard enough to stand up on its own. Old cereal boxes, shoe boxes, and even rolls of wrapping paper are all useful when crafting whimsical item for the rooms theme. Even items such as rolls from the center of a tape gun, or old milk, and or egg cartons, can be used to craft a variety of decorative elementsin the space.

Aside from this, brightly colored construction paper, a pair of safety scissors, markers, paints, pens, and all the other basic crafting and art supplies can be used. If necessary, Styrofoam balls can be bought in a vast array of shapes and sizes to make up the more intricate pieces.

A space theme is one design that’s relatively easy to simulate. Find pictures of planets, galaxies, stars, and other outer space entities and either print them out, or draw them onto large pieces of construction paper. Color them in with marker or crayons, and then carefully cut them out. You can then stick them to walls or to the ceiling using scotch tape. Rocket ships can be constructed from paper towel rolls, cut to size, and then covered in white paper, with tin foil used to simulate the look of metal.

These can be hung from the ceiling with pieces of kite string. Glow in the dark paint, and stars, is a great way to complete the effect.

If you’re interested in more of a fairy tale theme, then you can use cereal boxes and milk cartons, thoroughly cleaned, and then covered in gray paper to create an elaborate magical palace. Lofty towers can be crafted from paper towel rolls treated in a similar manner. Use the same method of printing, then coloring and cutting out images of strange and whimsical magical creatures to hang from the walls.

If you want to get really elaborate, an enchanted forest can be crafted using construction paper, rolled into tubes, and then affixed to cardboard bases. The tubes can then be outfitted with strips of green or brown paper to act as leafy branches reaching out across the space.

Creating a mysterious jungle is rather similar, with a variety of trees being scattered throughout the environment. Bushes and shrubbery can be simulated by cutting out images on construction paper, and then affixing them to the side of larger cardboard boxes.

Paper towel tubes also make great legs for fanciful jungle animals. Cut them into four pieces, and then affix them to part of a milk carton, or even just a small box. Use cotton balls or even rolled up socks for the heads, and decorate them with glue on beads, buttons, and rhinestones for facial features or patterned spots.

There are an infinite number of themes that you can create using inexpensive craft materials and recycled cardboard boxes from around the home. You just have to use a little creativity, and be willing to spend a little time on the project. If you enlist your child’s help, this can be even more rewarding and can lead to a series of memories that will last a lifetime.