Old Mill Townhomes

That is what smart money columnist advises. Forget the conventional wisdom about renting. It turns out that renting is one of the smartest investments you can make.

In fact when economists run the numbers they find that renters save an average of $560 every month just by choosing to rent rather than buying.

And don't worry about losing out on the investment potential of a house. Renting allows you to use your "down payment money" for other investments, which provide a higher return than real estate, even in a booming housing market.

As a case in point, a $100 investment in housing in 1985 would be worth $293 today, while that same $100 placed in stocks would be worth $1146 - nearly four times as much.

When you add up all of the potential liabilities of home ownership - hidden maintenance and insurance costs, rising property taxes and potential price drops - renting is a smarter choice from the start.

Live smart; rent from the leading Lynchburg apartment home community: HHHunt. For more information on apartments or townhomes in Lynchburg, VA contact Old Mill Apartment Homes.

National Multi Housing Counci

If you live in a townhome in Lynchburg, VA, and you are looking for a way to get into the holiday sprit the Visulite Cinema has the answer: watch the most famous holiday movies of the season, and give to charity.  Visulite Cinemas is hosting a weekend-long film festival next month to celebrate the holidays and help out several local charities.

“It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Polar Express” will show all weekend Dec. 9-11. Anyone who brings in items to donate to one of five local organizations — the Lynchburg Humane Society, the United Way of Central Virginia, the Lynchburg Daily Bread, the Salvation Army and Presbyterian Homes and Family Services — will be admitted for free.

The films are great, hopefully people will want to get in the holiday spirit and watch the movies and, in the process, help out area charities.

These movies were picked because the staff at the Lynchburg cinema thought they were the most festive, and they are staff favorites.

‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ is shown every year but seeing it on the big screen, the way it was intended, is pretty cool. It’s the same with ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ There is something kind of neat about not only seeing it big, but also seeing it with, you know, 150 other people. That makes the experience a lot more special”, says cinema owner Adam Greenbaum.

The films will run each day of the weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving from Old Mill Living, a community of townhomes in Lynchburg, VA. We thought we would share some of our favorite fall cookie recipes.

As the holiday party season approaches, it gets harder and harder to find the time to locate a different and great cookie recipe. Do you have a go-to recipe? We invite you to share those favorite cookie recipes with us.
Here is one of ours: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, they are a real crowd-pleaser.

The recipe is from cooks.com. People are always surprised how light and airy they are. But the best two attributes: they are easy to make and they have chocolate chips.

Here is the perfect recipe if you are going to a holiday party or cookie swap at your townhome in Lynchburg, VA.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. canned pumpkin (1/2 a small can)
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips

Dissolve baking soda in milk, set aside. In large mixing bowl add pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. Stir. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix well. Stir in vanilla and chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Share your favorite holiday cookie recipe with us here at Old Mill Townhomes by clicking on “comments” below.

One of the most popular home ownership myths in Lynchburg, VA is that owning a house is a huge tax break as compared to renting.  I don’t know how many times people have personally told me that they want to buy a home because they NEED a tax deduction!  I just shake my head in disbelief because I have done the math.  

If your mortgage interest and other qualifying expenses such as charity contributions aren’t more than the standard deduction, ($11,600 for joint filers in 2011), there is no tax advantage to owning a home as opposed to renting a townhouse in Lynchburg, VA.  Assume that you buy a $200,000 house with a 5% downpayment at a 6% interest rate.  Your mortgage interest for the year would be $11,336.  The Standard Deduction for joint filers is $11,600.  

In this example, there is NO TAX BENEFIT.  Even when there is a tax benefit, you most likely paid much more money to maintain the house than you are saving in taxes.  If your mortgage interest is more than the standard deduction and you choose to itemize, there is little to no advantage.  

For example, assume that your mortgage interest in 2011 is $15,000.  You would get to deduct an additional $3400 if you itemize BUT you spent $15,000 in mortgage interest to save $850 on your taxes (assuming 25% tax bracket).    

Don’t forget that you would also have all of the other expenses of home ownership that you would not have incurred when renting a townhouse in Lynchburg, VA in an HHHunt community.