Yearly Archives: 2012

BURLINGTON - December 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) has taken two big steps towards making housing more affordable in the Green Mountain State.

December 21, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Washington County flood insurance questions will be addressed at five public meetings in Waterbury, Barre City, Northfield, Marshfield, and Montpelier. The meetings will focus on newly revised flood hazard maps and the insurance options available for structures that may be affected by the updated designations. Structures that have been identified for the first time as being at a high risk of damage by flooding may benefit by getting flood insurance now before the official map changes go into effect.

Charlotte - December 20, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Adam's Berry Farm is a popular farm business in Chittenden County. After 10 years of renting land in Burlington's Intervale, Adam Hausmann has built up a strong customer base for his organic berries and table grapes. Today he secured the future of his business by purchasing 56 acres of farmland in Charlotte. The Vermont Land Trust helped Adam buy the land from Nancy Hinsdale by purchasing a conservation easement on the property.

BURLINGTON - December 13, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced Seth Leonard of Winooski, VT has joined Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) as Homeownership Outreach Coordinator.

December 4, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced four winners of the 2012 Smart Growth Achievement Awards. In a national competition among 47 applicants from 25 states, the Brattleboro Food Co-op, the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and Housing Vermont won the Main Street Revitalization category for their development of a new, energy efficient building for the co-op with 24 apartments on the upper stories. The winning entries were chosen based on their effectiveness in creating sustainable communities, fostering equitable development among public, private, and non-profit stakeholders and serving as national models for environmentally and economically sustainable development. The EPA will recognize the winning organizations at a ceremony in Washington D.C. on December

November 28, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Announcement will take place on Thursday, November 29, 2012, 12:30 – 12:55 p.m. at the “Financing the Working Landscape conference”, sponsored by the National Bank of Middlebury, People’s United Bank, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Co-operative Insurance Companies, the Vermont Economic Development Authority and Yankee Farm Credit during the luncheon presentation at the American Legion, 49 Wilson Road, Middlebury, VT 05753. Keynote speaker Paul Costello, Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development, will speak at 12:30 to talk about the history of the Working Landscape Partnership, followed by the announcement of the Working Landscape fund availability

BURLINGTON - November 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A packed room of about 430 people gathered this morning at the Burlington Hilton to hear Governor Shumlin’s opening address and the plenary session of the biennial Statewide Vermont Housing Conference.

BURLINGTON - October 31, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced Diane Edson of South Burlington, VT has joined Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) as Homeownership Specialist

October 4, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, at a meeting for municipal public works employees and environmental engineers on innovative approaches to stormwater management, the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Deb Markowitz, and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner, David Mears, announced the kick-off of the “Vermont Green Infrastructure Initiative.” They also announced the receipt of a $245,000 USDA Forest Service grant that will help the state in this effort. The Green Infrastructure Initiative provides a coordinated mechanism for implementing green infrastructure practices throughout Vermont.

October 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Peter Shumlin and Vermont’s Congressional delegation announced today that the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) will receive a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund Healthy Homes Vermont. The new program will add to existing rehabilitation programs, providing assistance to correct building issues that contribute to unhealthy living conditions like mold, moisture and pest infestation, and particularly affect vulnerable groups, such as children with asthma and the elderly.

October 1, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Environmental Conservation’s Compliance and Enforcement Division today announced that it formally settled environmental violations involving Raymond and Danielle Laporte. The Laportes own rental property in Enosburg, Vermont. The settlement includes a $6,750.00 penalty

BURLINGTON - September 19, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- VHFA’s Chief of Program Operations, David Adams, is being inducted into the New England Mortgage Bankers Hall of Fame today at its annual conference in Newport, Rhode Island.

MONTPELIER - September 12, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Peter Shumlin and Vermont’s Congressional delegation today announced the availability of long-term disaster recovery funds for housing, economic recovery and community infrastructure projects. That announcement followed federal approval of the state’s plan to use $21.6 million in funding through the Community Development Block Grant Program.

August 8, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Vermont Department of Health has noted an increase in the number of people who are reporting bats (mostly big brown bats) flying through open windows and doors and getting trapped inside homes and camps this summer.

Weathersfield - July 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- With nearly forty different kinds of organic vegetables available for purchase, 80 enthusiastic CSA members, and six drop-off sites in towns ranging from Ascutney to Putney, new customers would never suspect Deep Meadow Farm just moved to its new location in Weathersfield this past April.

June 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Peter Shumlin today announced additional tax relief to help flood survivors who replaced mobile homes damaged or destroyed in either federally declared disasters that occurred in 2011, the spring flooding and Tropical Storm Irene. Specifically, a provision of Act 143 of 2012 makes purchases of these mobile homes tax-free for Vermont residents.

June 12, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce announced today that more than $8 million in new unclaimed financial property has been received by the State Treasurer’s Office since the fiscal year began July 1. There is now approximately $57 million in unclaimed property waiting to be claimed.

BURLINGTON, VT - May 28, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- This month marks the completion of three years of Vermont’s Housing Acquisition & Rehabilitation Program (HARP)—a program that has helped renovate 55 homes as of March 31, 2012, including the historic St. Albans colonial purchased by first-time homebuyers, Meghan and Joseph Swan. The purchase was the culmination of their quest to buy a home for their active family of five, made possible with help from Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and Champlain Housing Trust (CHT)