Walden Pond Apartment Homes Blog

In uncertain economic times, many people are considering where they want to live more carefully in regards to buying and renting. Everybody wants their home to be a safe haven and there is a great deal of security in renting an apartment in Lynchburg and sometimes buying a home comes with its own financial challenges.

Many younger people and new college graduates are struggling to own a home today because of difficulty in obtaining a mortgage or saving enough money to put down a deposit. This means that they are choosing to rent for longer, and they are additionally seeing the benefits of renting.

Many people who rent like the opportunity to cut costs. Whether you are renting with roommates in a two bedroom or three bedroom apartment or renting a one bedroom apartment on your own, it is always a cost saver to rent with no home maintenance costs or property taxes.

In addition if you have just moved to Lynchburg, this can be a great way to make friends and get to know others. The biggest advantage to renting however is if you have any maintenance issues as a renter you just call your landlord to get the problem fixed, saving money on plumbers, electricians and other handymen.

For information on renting in Lynchburg, contact Walden Pond Apartments.

Lynchburg is a beautiful place, and a wonderful place to live surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lynchburg is home to restaurants, nightspots, entertainment, and retail shops. If you are relocating to Virginia and looking for an apartment in Lynchburg, VA look no further than Walden Pond Apartments.

This apartment community sits in a quiet section of Lynchburg close to retail and restaurants centrally located less than a mile from Route 29, 501, and 460  and right near Lynchburg College and Liberty University. Walden Pond Apartments is in a section of Lynchburg that offers its residents a beautiful park-like setting with a city lifestyle.

We have one bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom apartments with luxurious apartment amenities. Make an appointment, and see what Walden Pond and Lynchburg have to offer.

It's time to take the plunge in Lynchburg to help Special Olympics.  If you are wondering what the plunge is, it's The Hill City Polar Plunge Festival.

The Polar Plunge will take place on February 25 from 11am-2pm at Camp Hydaway Lake, located up the mountain from Liberty University.

If you live in an apartment in Lynchburg and you want to take the plunge, you will need to raise at least $50.  You will also receive lunch and a T-shirt.

There will be live music, costume contests, and fund-raising and team prizes.  

You can register online at the plunge website, www.polarplunge.com/View/Page/Liberty_Polar_Plunge.
 
Special Olympics is a nationwide program for kids and adults with intellectual disabilities.  There are over 10,000 Special Olympics athletes in Virginia.

The Special Olympics organization provides athletic training and competitions in various sports all year round free of charge.  The large base of volunteers help with everything from office work to mentoring athletes.

Original Article - Examiner

More couples are saving cash by opting to rent rather than buy. The American dream of getting married and buying the perfect home is becoming a thing of the past. According to Zillow.com, apartment community vacancy rates have fallen from 8% in 2009 to just 5.6% at the end of 2011.

One new couple who bought a home just after they were married say, “You get married, buy a house, have kids, that’s the American dream; buying a house was the next step."
 
They thought the home would be a good investment, but looking back they admit that they didn’t know what they were getting into.
 
The job market puts the perfect newlywed home on an unsettling market. No matter what happens going forward, they will lose money on the house, “it has been 6 months, and we’ve got nothing. It’s a great house but we will have to take a hit just to sell it and just to get it out from under us so we don't have that financial burden any longer."
 
If young couples are thinking about buying a house that they need to be prepared to make a long-term commitment. If buyers cannot commit to settling down in the area they are looking to buy, you’re better off renting, “Renting offers flexibility and freedom and you can call someone else if something breaks or goes wrong.”
 
Many cities are seeing a big uptick in rentals. Renting an apartment in Lynchburg in this economic climate offer some big opportunity, “Renting is a way to have what you want right now without having to wait until you can afford it."

It afforded us an opportunity to live in an area where you could never afford to purchase a house.

Original Article - Fox

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 over buying a house.

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 apartment home community in the Lynchburg area: HHHunt. For more information on apartments in Lynchburg, VA contact Walden Pond Apartment Homes.

National Multi Housing Council

It happens every year, after the holidays when mid-January rolls around. If you too are sitting around your apartment in Lynchburg and wondering “what can I do now?” here are some events taking place around Lynchburg this January.

Tuesday, Jan. 17

E.C. Glass High School’s production of the Tony Award-winning Children of a Lesser God will open at 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Studio Theatre. Other performances are at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18-21. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

Lynchburg College’s Daura Gallery will host an opening reception at 4 p.m. for Aggregations. The exhibit features new work by Korean-based artist Kwang-Young Chun, who specializes in monumental sculptural installations; it will remain up through March 2.

Friday, Jan. 20

The exhibit Mirror of a Passing World: Ephemeral Places, Vanishing Spaces will open with a reception at 5 p.m. at The Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College. The exhibition is the being curated by six students from the museum’s first-ever Curatorial Seminar class.

Sweet Briar College will also open a new exhibit, This Green Earth: Landscapes from the Permanent Collection, at 5 p.m. It will remain up through April 1.
 
Liberty University’s Department of Music and Humanities will present Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at 7:30 p.m. in the Tower Theater. Other performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21, 26, 27 and 28 and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 22.

Lynchburg College will hold a lecture and concert, Voices in Peril: Music of the Holocaust, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sydnor Performance Hall.

Saturday, Jan. 21

The American Shakespeare Center will bring its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the Academy of Fine Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $13 for students.

Thursday, Jan. 26

The Foreigner will open at 7:30 p.m. at Jefferson Forest High School, with other performances at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27 and 28 and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 29.

Saturday, Jan. 28

Opera on the James will present Love Makes the World Go ‘Round, a concert of opera and Broadway tunes and more, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy of Fine Arts’ Warehouse Theatre. Another performance is set for 3 p.m. Jan. 29. All seats are $30.
 
Richmond-based band Blue Line Highway, who play a mix of blues, contemporary pop and traditional country, will perform at The Hamner Theater at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $15, and reservations are recommended.

Appomattox Courthouse Theatre’s production of First Baptist of Ivy Gap, about a group of women planning their church’s 75th anniversary celebration and, later, its 100th, opens at 7:30 p.m. Other performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3, 4, 10 and 11 and 2 p.m. Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors.

The News and Advance

Many people are told when they are younger that renting is only for college graduates or people who cannot afford to buy.  Many parents hammer these ideas into their children and tell them that renting is equivalent to throwing money away every month.  Fortunately, today people are beginning to finally think for themselves and challenge these ideas.  Here are 4 reasons to pat yourself on the back for deciding to rent an apartment in Lynchburg, VA at an HHHunt Community!  

1.  Renting can save money

At the very minimum you’ll be shelling out PITI for your home. That is:

• Principal
• Interest
• Tax
• Insurance

The PITI doesn’t include property maintenance like maintaining the yard, paint, plumbing, repairs, decorating, etc… When you rent an apartment in Lynchburg at an HHHunt community, the monthly payment is almost always quite a bit less than the PITI in your area and there are no maintenance expenses!

2. Homeowners’ tax deductions are overstated

According to research quoted by MSN, “… half of homeowners don’t get a break, because even with mortgage interest and property taxes, their total deductions do not exceed the standard federal tax deduction ($11,900 for couples and $5,450 for singles)”.

For these folks, it’s like spending $100 to save $20. They’re better off saving the difference and investing it.   Even if there is a “break” on your taxes, you typically had to spend more than you would have spent to rent to get back that $20 for every $100 spent in interest payments.

3. Renting gives you flexibility

For the up and coming young professional, you’re better off renting and saving for a few years than to buy a small condo. Who knows how fast you will outgrow it?  When you own a home, you can’t always sell it when you need to sell it at the price you want to sell it in order to accept a new employment opportunity.  If you have owned a home and don’t want the constant maintenance responsibility, renting gives you the opportunity to enjoy your weekends instead of completing that “to do” list.

4.  Our superb service teams!

Most apartment communities offer 24 hour emergency maintenance and technicians who are skilled in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.  At an HHHunt Community, our service teams take great pride in offering prompt and professional service to you.  Whether you need a light bulb changed or a new compressor for your AC unit, we are there to take care of you as fast and efficient as possible.  We are always a phone call or email away and most service requests are performed on the same day or within 24 hours!

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be limited to losing weight. Do something for yourself and your apartment in Lynchburg this year.

Get organized
Who doesn’t want to be better organized? Whether it’s paper clutter, closets that are overflowing, or a room that has stuff everywhere, an excellent New Year’s resolution is organizing your life.

Clean more often
you have to admit that quality of life at home improves when your apartment is clean. Figure out how to stay motivated to keep your home clean. Set a cleaning chore chart. Make keeping your apartment cleaner part of your goal-setting plan for the year.

Redecorate
Is your apartment décor tired? Or maybe you never got around to actually hanging pictures. Make decorating your apartment home your New Year’s resolution. Get inspired, set your priorities, write up a budget, and start making it happen. This will let you create the apartment you can’t wait to come home to!

Resolve to keep these New Year’s resolutions by writing them down. Make this the year you move away from procrastination and toward happy new beginnings for you and your apartment in Lynchburg!

Moving Today

There are a lot of questions out there now about renting or buying a home. If you are in the market for a home, what should you do?

The common opinion is that making a rent payment instead of a mortgage or purchasing is like “throwing the money in the wastebasket.” At some point in time before the recession, homes were incorrectly considered an investment that would “always” go up rather than one that “may” go up.

When you consider all the pros and cons, buying may not be the best choice in all situations.
 
Avoid big money commitments: Usually, one can rent for the same or less than the cost of buying and they don’t have to come up with large fees like closing costs or taxes. Also, if a mortgage is taken out, the first several years of payment are dedicated mostly to the interest, not the principal.

Many apartment  communities cover the costs of maintenance, landscaping and general repairs that a buyer would be responsible for themselves. A renter’s biggest expenditures are often moving and furnishings.

Flexibility: Since renting requires no substantial long-term investment, the renter has choices more often about their living situation. Moving from a bought home involves planning and costs such as commissions to real estate brokers. Also, if a home buyer wanted to sell, they could be at the mercy of the markets or not be able to sell their home at a profit.

If house values continue to decline, the worst scenario for a renter is only paying until their lease expires. People who rent can’t place a value on having that freedom.

Investment Considerations: Large down payments or home purchases can make it difficult for home buyers to maintain savings and investments specified for retirement and related activities.

In some cases, the money saved by not buying could outweigh the money earned on a purchased home, depending on the investment and property appreciation. For a home buyer, the risk is higher if an unexpected sickness or injury occurs causing financial strain.
 
The rent vs. buy decision is more than comparing lease and mortgage payments. The reality is there are pluses and minuses to each option.

For more information on our online specials or renting an apartment in Lynchburg, VA, contact Walden Pond Apartments.

Original article – Bradenton.com

Make the season special for someone who needs a home for the holidays. If you live in an apartment in Lynchburg, VA and you love animals, you are the perfect candidate.

Fostering a pet for the Holidays will bring you joy.  Our local Humane Society is seeking foster families so no pet will have to spend Christmas in the shelter.  Have you been thinking about getting a pet to keep you company? Has your son or daughter been begging you for a dog? This is a perfect opportunity for a no-strings test run; and a lot of families end up  adopt their foster pet.  

During December Walden Pond Apartment Homes is waiving the $200 pet fee for any residents who want to adopt a pet from a local shelter.  We are also holding a Pet Drive for food, blankets, paper towels and toys for the homeless pets.  We are encouraging all residents to do what they can at this time of the year.