Before Disaster Strikes

Fires . . . hurricanes. . . floods . . . earthquakes . . . tornadoes.... Natural or other disasters can strike suddenly, at any time, and anywhere. Your first priority, of course, would be to protect your family and your property. But it's also important to protect against the financial consequences of a disaster. A disaster can damage or destroy your property, force you to temporarily live somewhere else, cut the flow of wages and other income, or ruin valuable financial records.
Listed here are some simple, common sense steps you can take now. Before you take any actions, however, you should be sure you have involved your family or friends whenever possible in decision making and planning. You also may want the assistance of an advisor, such as a Certified Financial Planner, insurance agent, or similar financial professional.
The important thing is to begin planning now, before the unexpected becomes a harsh reality.
Protect Your Property
One of the fir. ...

Virginia Beach One of the Best-Matched Markets in the U.S.
Are you having trouble finding the ideal home in your price range? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The market mismatch is the measure of search interest versus available listings and it’s impacting both buyers and sellers across the country.
Nationally, the average market mismatch score rose to 7.4% during the fourth quarter of 2016. When breaking homes down into starter, trade up, and premium, Trulia found that most shoppers are searching for starter and trade up homes while most listings are actually premium homes. Starter home searches accounted for 26% of all home searches when only 21.2% of listings were priced as a starter home. The lack of starter and trade up homes indicates an unbalanced market.
A Breakdown of U.S. Metros
Each metro tells a different story about mismatched markets, and it is affecting buyers and sellers in various ways. If a great number of home values in an area fall within the sa ...

2017 Best High Schools in Hampton Roads
Each year US News & World Reports does an in depth National study of our schools and ranks them. According to US News & World Reports, this is how they determine the awards:


About the Awards

Gold
Top 500 Schools based on highest college readiness


Silver
High-performing schools based on lower college readiness.


Bronze
High-performing schools based on state exam performance, listed alphabetically.



Award Distribution



Gold 2.4%

Silver 10.3%

Bronze 16.8%

No Medal 70.5%




How We Determine the Awards



STEP 1 | Students perform better than expected in their state.
We looked at reading and math results for students on each state's proficiency tests and then factored in the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, who tend to score lower.

STEP 2 | Disadvantaged students perform better than state average.
We compared each school's math and reading ...

You don't have to slave over your lawn to keep it healthy
 
If you’re an average homeowner (and of course you’re not!), you spend 3.8 hours a week on yard work and mow your lawn 30 times a year. And while you may not realize it, your lawn pays you back for all this hard work. It serves as a giant air conditioner to help cool your home. It releases a tremendous amount of oxygen and captures tons of dirt and dust to help keep you and your family healthy. It gives you a place to play croquet. And the healthier your lawn is, the better it keeps up its end of the bargain.
 

 
 
 
The good news is, you don’t have to slave over your lawn to keep it healthy. In fact, to a great extent, it’s not the amount of work you put into your lawn—it’s when and how you do it. The following five “ingredients” are essential for a healthy lawn. We focus on northern or cool-climate grasses like bluegrass and fescue, bu ...

There’s a lot to love about older homes, but one of the less charming features you may be dealing with is a small bathroom. Creating a comfortable area for bathing and grooming with enough storage for the essentials – all while keeping everything to code – is a tall order for a small space, but the following design ideas can make your diminutive bathroom a delight.

Let there be light
It’s no secret that natural light makes a space feel larger, which is why home stagers recommend opening your blinds or removing heavy draperies. When applied to a tiny bathroom, the trick is to maintain privacy while maximizing light exposure. Try frosting your windows to get the best of both worlds.
Looking for the perfect light fixture placement? If you plan to use this bathroom to get ready every day, make room for wall sconces on both sides of the mirror. This lighting configuration is more flattering and more effective than overhead lighting when it comes to grooming task. ...