Charlottesville Breaking News
Dodd-Frank: Wanna make a $54K down payment?
Rare is the first-time home buyer with $54K in his pocket.flickr/aus_chickThere’s a big buzz these days in the real estate blogosphere about the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law last July. Including 16 titles that address everything from the regulation of hedge funds to the Federal Reserve System, Dodd-Frank has been described as the most sweeping change in financial regulations since the Great Depression. While few seem to disagree that the intent behind the legislation is indeed to offer protection to the consumer, many in the real estate community are concerned about the proposed rule that was released March 29 regarding Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRMs).
And just what is a QRM?
In an effort to shield borrowers from unscrupulous lending practices, Dodd-Frank requires lenders that securitize mortgage loans to retain 5 percent of the credit risk unless the mortgage is exempt. The logic behind this seems solid: if lenders have to retain a portion of the risk, they’ll be less likely to originate shaky loans, right?
FHA loans, which currently require a 3.5 percent down payment, are exempt, as are QRMs, which must meet the following criteria:
• The loan must be for an owner-occupied property, not an investment.
• The borrower must have no judgments, defaults, or bankruptcies for three years prior to application and must ha...
The Hook presents: A Restaurant Week guide to summer entertaining
It never truly feels like summer until you throw (or attend)
that first al fresco cocktail party; whether you look
forward to the tasty and fruity cocktails or the delicious hors
d'oeuvres to nibble on, summer entertaining is generally the
highlight of the season.
Just throwing together a few friends, lawn games, and beer in your
back yard? Don't be afraid to serve restaurant-quality munchies for
your guests to graze on. Summer 2011 is all about spoiling your
palate with pops of flavor, color, and class. The Hook
asks our favorite restaurateurs– with some of the best patios and
outdoor eateries in town– to plot the perfect cocktail party menu
for any summer soiree.
Rock Hill forever: Charlottesville's not-so-secret gardens
A view of the Rock Hill estate in the 1950s.Photo courtesy Daniel Bluestone
Meet our hostess, Carol Garges, one of hundreds of volunteers who've been working on restoring the gardens since last year...Photo by Dave McNair
...to reveal acres of elaborate stone walls and stairs...Photo by Dave McNair
...some preserved ...
...some built to last hundreds of years.Photo by Dave McNair
Deer roam just yards from the main road.Photo by Dave McNair
Garges then leads us on the stone stairs up the steep hillside...Photo by Dave McNair
Above a babbling Schenk's branch...Photo by Dave McNair
Even the crumbling sections have a kind of beauty.Photo by Dave McNair
Ah, to sit and ponder the wonders of the Rock Hill Gardens, where there's nothing to get hung about.Photo by Dave McNair
The chosen 250 Interchange design and its relationship to the Rock Hill Gardens.staff illustrationForget about the impending Meadowcreek Parkway and the 250 Interchange project for a minute, as well as the fabulous history of the nearby eight-acre Rock Hill estate, once the site of a circa-1820 two-story Federal style house (which, thanks to a mischievous youngster, burned down in 1963). Forget that famed architect Eugene Bradbury once called it home, and that the Rev. Henry Alford Porter, minister of Charlottesville’s First Baptist Church (Park Street), who bought the place in the 1930s, created the extensive rock gardens that one UVA architectural historian has called the "most complex residential garden landscapes in all of Charlottesville."
Assault history: Haskins gets 25 years for child sodomy
Robert Haskins, in 2010 and 2003 mugshots, is a candidate for civil commitment as a violent sexual predator.CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICEFor a 27-year-old, Robert Terrell Haskins has racked up a pretty lengthy rap sheet consisting largely of sexual assaults. His latest day in court June 28 resulted in his lengthiest sentence: 25 years on two counts of forcible sodomy of a minor. Yet some are wondering if that's enough.
Haskins began his notorious career on December 30, 2002, as the Greenleaf Attacker. He knocked down a 34-year-old mother who was in the park with her toddler, and told police he intended to have sexual relations with her; but when she fought him off and screamed, he fled.
In court a year later, police were outraged that instead of a felony attempted rape conviction, an out-of-town judge convicted him of misdemeanor sexual battery and sentenced Haskins to six months time served.
He picked up another misdemeanor sexual battery conviction for grabbing the buttocks of a female jogger in February 2003 on Locust Avenue, and almost immediately after his release from jail in October 2003, he allegedly chased another woman down that same street.
In 2005, he followed a woman who lived on Little High Street several times, asked to use her bathroom, kissed her, then attempted to break into her house, and stole her purse and a laptop, for which he was ...
Whatever happened? 10 updated stories
Whatever
happened after authorities slew the geese in Forest Lakes? Whatever
happened to Oliver Kuttner's remarkably light car? What's the
latest on the search for Morgan Harrington's killer? This week, we
look back at ten classic cover stories– dramatic tales, poignant
remembrances, investigative reports, and colorful profiles– to
learn the very latest.–Hawes Spencer, editorHistoric decision: Tax credit case stalls School rehab
When the Hook checked in a year ago on the project to rehabilitate a historic-yet-decrepit African-American school into a community and cultural heritage center, plans were drawn, tenants lined up, and the project was just waiting on a loan. Despite almost $6 million in city funding, the private partnership in charge of the renovation said there was one other essential: historic tax credits.
In March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit threw a wrench into that plan. Until now, Virginia's credits have been handed out to virtually any rehab deemed historic, but the Court is now declaring them taxabl...
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