How do you know if you’re ready to buy a home? There are several major factors to consider.

Does it make sense for you to buy rather than rent?
Can you afford to buy a home?
Do you have the skills necessary to maintain a home?
Are you ready to commit to a home?

First, you must decide if it makes financial sense for you to buy a home rather than rent one.You can calculate the “breakeven horizon” of a potential home. The breakeven horizon is the amount of time it will take before paying off a home equals paying rent. If you think that you’re likely to move before you reach the breakeven horizon of a potential home, it may make more sense to rent.

Second, you must find out if you can afford to buy a home. There are several expenses to consider in home ownership. First is the down payment, or the lump sum that you pay upon buying a home. To get a good mortgage rate, it is often necessary to pay up to 20% of the total cost of the home as a down payment. However, it is also possible to find loans that will fully finance the total cost as a down payment. Next is the mortgage payment, the monthly payment you make to gain equity in your home. The mortgage payment usually includes a payment towards the price of the house, the interest on the loan, and homeowner’s insurance and property taxes.  It can be very helpful to talk to a local mortgage adviser.  Don't hesitate t reach out for recommendations! 

Third, consider if you have the skills to maintain a home. Can you make simple home repairs yourself or will you need to constantly rely on hiring an expert to make simple repairs? This can break the bank! For a handy list of new homeowner skills, click here.

Fourth, ask yourself if you’re ready to make the kind of commitment that home ownership requires. Once you make the financial investment in a home, you will also want to make an investment of time into maintaining your home, including yard work, maintenance, and weather proofing. There are also many decisions to make, from choosing the right neighborhood to decorating your home. You must feel confident in your decisions and ready to settle in one place for a while.

Finally, it can be helpful to talk to an agent about if it makes sense for you to make this move.  Feel free to call, text, or email me.

“Mashita” is Korean for “delicious” and the restaurant’s food lives up to its name. Slated to open at 105 North Liberty Street in downtown Harrisonburg the first week of October, Mashita will serve a wide range of Korean-inspired dishes as well as beer, wine, sake, and non-alcoholic beverages. Diners can take different approaches to the menu, whether they want a tapas-style experience with many small plates or a traditional meal. Mashita offers low prices in comparison to competitors, with many options priced at $10 or less. The space is clean and modern, but also colorful, with a bold mural and local art pieces as well as traditional Korean art and artifacts. 

Owner and chef Mikey Reisenberg started the restaurant as a food truck, which is still in operation at 105 North Liberty St., six years ago. Mashita gained a local following for its Shenandoah Valley brand of cultural fusion. Take Korean comfort food as your starting point, apply French cooking methods to locally sourced ingredients, add a Valley spin, and the result is Mashita. Mikey describes his cuisine as a mashup, equal parts traditional Korean, urban American, and classic southern. It may come as a pleasant surprise to diners new to Mashita that Korea and the American South share some favorite comfort foods, including melt-in-your-mouth brisket and crispy fried chicken.

Mikey credits his Korean heritage, his adoptive American family’s competitive cooking, and his French culinary training at The Joshua Wilton House as sources of inspiration for Mashita’s food.
His journey started with his family’s foodie culture, where he first learned how to identify good food. With seven aunts and great aunts who cooked, he describes family reunions as a competition to see who could make the best food. Although he’s worked in independent restaurants since high school, cooking at The Joshua Wilton House was a formative experience for him. Current executive chef Tom French and former chef and owner Mark Newsom critiqued his food and introduced him to Korean American chefs, like David Chang, who were innovative in adapting Korean comfort food to American palates.

To those who have not yet experienced this relatively new fusion, Mikey describes Korean flavors as savory, acidic, and “funky”. The funkiness he refers to comes from pickled and fermented food like kimchi, or fermented vegetables. In addition to a brisket sandwich and chicken katsu, or Korean style battered fried chicken, house-made soft steamed buns stuffed with juicy meats are staples of the restaurant. This author was delighted by the flavor and texture combinations of the food. Mashita’s dishes satisfy Korean and American cravings, and their menu items cater to vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free diners as well. 

Mashita’s Shenandoah Valley identity is embodied not only by locally sourced and house-made food, but by the decor of the restaurant and a mission to give back to the community. Mikey made the tables himself with rocks, live edge walnut, and food grade epoxy resin. The wood was sourced from Black Forest Saw Mill. Mike Arellano painted the restaurant’s striking mural, and Craig Snodgrass designed the logo. Even the succulents lining the windows are from David Sutton at the Harrisonburg Farmer's Market. Once the restaurant is in full swing, Mikey and the Mashita crew want to pay it forward by allowing diners to purchase five dollar tokens to give to those in need. The tokens can be redeemed for Mashita food, which Mikey points out is a very nutritious meal. Mashita has already found a home in Harrisonburg and in the Valley, now it's here to stay with a new location in downtown Harrisonburg that is sure to please regulars and newcomers alike.

Owning one’s own home is truly part of the American dream. Home ownership means many different things, being rooted and grounded in a community, having the freedom of one’s own space, establishing a legacy to pass down to future generations, and building wealth are a few of the key benefits of home ownership.

Buying a house is not just a matter of material ownership, of owning a piece of land with a structure on it, but it is also a matter of emotional groundedness, putting down roots in a certain place and calling it your home. Being rooted in a place enriches the community at large as well as the individuals who own the home. Having roots in a home kicks off a legacy that can last for many generations as the home is passed down. A well-made house can last much longer than any other material possession that the modern person owns.

Home ownership is also synonymous with freedom. When you own a property, you are at liberty to renovate, to add on, to change, to transform in the way you choose. In your own home, you have a sanctuary where you are able to truly be yourself and express yourself. From renovation to decoration, a home is an expression of the individuality of its owners. Owning a home gives you a space where you can do your own thing freely, whether that’s playing the tuba, dancing the tango, or making sculptures out of toothpicks.

Owning a home has multiple financial benefits as well. A homeowner’s monthly contribution to their mortgage goes toward building something of permanent value, as opposed to rent, which is only temporary. In some cases, a mortgage may actually be less expensive than paying rent. A well-kept home will also appreciate in value over time, so home owners who keep their homes in good shape over the long haul will end up owning something worth more than the price they paid for it.

There are many idioms about home-  a man’s home is his castle, home is where the heart is, there’s no place like home, make yourself at home, homesick, etc. This all points to the primacy of home, and home ownership, in our collective hearts and minds. A home is a wise investment on so many levels, financial, material, and emotional.

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A hidden treasure of Harrisonburg that many residents have yet to discover is the Sub Rosa Supper Club.
A private, invitation only club, it meets regularly in Harrisonburg and the surrounding area at uniquely appointed homes, local businesses, and recently, the woods!Each dinner has a different theme with a menu to match. While the dinners are invitation only, anyone can register for the club and request an invitation at http://www.subrosasupperclub.com/.

Sub rosa is a Latin idiom meaning “in secret”, whose literal translation is “under the rose”. According to the Sub Rosa website, roses were symbolic of secrecy in ancient Rome, and elegant houses featured paintings of roses to suggest that whatever transpired under the influence of wine at a dinner party was to remain secret. Most of the details of each event are not revealed, maintaining their air of secrecy. Invitees learn first the time and date, and later the address of the event. 

Each dinner is a carefully crafted experience centered on a unique theme, incorporating the location, the decor, and the menu. The multi-course dinners are small enough to be intimate, but large enough for lively conversation. The table is typically set for 30 attendees, and each attendee may only obtain two tickets, to ensure that a broad cross section of guests will encounter new people. While “casually elegant attire” is suggested, guests are encouraged to come as they are and express their individual identities.

A recent article on the Virginia Living website shed some light on Sub Rosa. It is the creation of Kirsten Moore and Jennifer Sodikoff, who started the club three years ago, inspired by the idea of bringing people together to explore new foods and new locations in their hometown. Moore is in charge of the food while Sodikoff creates the ambiance for the event. The inspiration behind each event is different and can come from finding a great location or a particular chef. The club meets semi-regularly, once a month or every other month.

Dinners are planned to balance opportunities for trying new foods with a sense of comfort that’s accessible to all palates. Food allergies and dietary preferences are gladly accommodated upon request. While the food is central to the event, the deeper purpose is community building. According to their website, “We want people to discover new spaces and foods, but more importantly new faces. Sitting around a dinner table with strangers can be a powerful means of community building. We think that's pretty important these days.”

Each event is documented on their website with a description, menu, and photographs. Events are beautifully captured by a professional photographer. A recent foray into the George Washington National Forest included a rustic menu themed Flora + Fauna. The six course meal featured ingredients foraged from the forest, such as berries and chanterelles, or wild mushrooms. The main courses were grilled rainbow trout and venison medallions, with a wild blackberry mousse for dessert.

 While the weather interrupted with a rainstorm that prompted a slight change of location, guests were also treated to a spectacular double rainbow. It was all in keeping with the adventurous spirit behind the events, which aim not only to introduce people to new places and flavors, but to bring strangers together around a table to find common ground.

For more information on Sub Rosa Supper Club, please visit http://www.subrosasupperclub.com/.

​Photographs by Sarah Featherstone
This blog is part of the Best of Harrisonburg Blog Series.

We at Harrisonburg Homeowner had the privilege of visiting with the founders of Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters. Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters is a local coffee roaster organization located right here in Harrisonburg, Va. Chestnut Ridge is not like other coffee shops within the area however. They are in fact not open most days. Their primary way of conducting business is by selling their phenomenal coffee to local businesses, catering, doing professional coffee cuppings, and other such events.  However, you can buy the coffee online with three different delivery options: by mail, by giddy-up, and free pickup during their Saturday hours. 
 
Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters typically offer between 4 to 5 different coffees including one decaf at all times. They are continually rotating their inventory in order to offer seasonal coffees from some of the top coffee producing countries in the world.  They also never repeat the same coffee twice. They choose their coffees by sampling between 30 to 40 different types and picking the best 2 to 3. 
 
Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters are looking to do more private events within the greater Harrisonburg area, so if you are interested be sure to reach out to them at the link below. If you want to swing by to try the coffee, tastings are offered every Saturday from 8am to noon. 
 
If you have any other questions regarding Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters be sure to reach out to either us at HarrisonburgHomeowner.com. Or Chestnut Ridge Coffee Roasters at https://chestnutridgecoffee.com/
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​A less exotic, but equally enjoyable activity that Massanutten Resort offers is golf. Massanutten Resort is home to two conventional golf courses: Woodstone Meadows Golf Course, and Mountain Greens Golf Course. Woodstone Meadows is an 18-hole course with 5,065 yards of golf, and a par of 65. Woodstone Meadows has generous fairways allowing for golfers of all capabilities. The Mountain Greens course is more challenging, and is generally recommended for intermediate to advanced golfers. It is an 18-hole course with a par of 72/73. A variety of different tees are available with the longest tees equating to 6,443 yards of true, mountain style, golfing. Apart from the two conventional courses, Massanutten also offers FlingGolf, a relatively new sport that essentially combines elements of golf and lacrosse. Instead of swinging a golf club, players use a FlingStick to fling or whip the ball down the fairway. Massanutten also has a driving range, lessons, and leagues available for those that are interested. 

Official Page for Massanutten Golf
This blog is part of a Massanutten Blog Series

​Massanutten’s Family Adventure Park is one of its most daring attractions. The adventure park is a one stop shop for climbing, tubing, ziplining, rappelling, and more. The largest of these features is the Mega Zip. The Mega Zip is an 800’ zipline fully capable of reaching speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. Another ziplining option is the Canopy Tour. The Canopy Tour incorporates four different ziplines in addition to a variety of other obstacles that takes up to an hour and a half to complete. The Ridge Rappel and Climbing Excursion is yet another great option for any daredevils. An enjoyable chair lift ride leads to a quick hike where participants are eventually able to rappel down two cliffs with the experience and guidance of a trained safety instructor. The largest of these two cliffs is an exhilarating 58 feet tall. After the cliffs, participants are guided through a rock climbing experience, based on physical ability and comfort level. If these options sound a bit intense, don’t fear. Massanutten also features a Kids’ Adventure Course targeted for ages 12 and below that still sparks fun and excitement, but in a well-controlled environment. Other great activities at the Family Adventure Park include a 16-30’ climbing wall, the QuickJump (a 30’ free fall sensation), summer tubing, and Kids Playland (play area complete with inflatable bounce houses and gem mining). 

Official Page for Massanutten Adventure Park
This blog is part of a Massanutten Blog Series

As shown, July was a strong month for home sales. There were a total of 149 home sales this July, up a significant 13.74% from last July. This July had the most sales of the past 6 years, by far. Interestingly enough, the number of homes listed for sale was 270 this year, which is 21.74% less than last year's 345. This shows that the market today still remains very much a sellers market. And homes are going fast! The median days on the market dropped from 22 days last July to 17 days this year, a decrease of 22.73%. ​The median sales price of homes has stayed fairly consistent since last year, dropping just a bit over 1%. We've seen 784 home sales so far this year, just 1 sale less than last year at this time. 

            Massanutten resort is a phenomenal option for interested mountain bikers. Whether you are a veteran biker, or a total novice, Massanutten has great trails for you! The Massanutten Bike Park is home to 7 different runs, with a descent of 1,100 feet. These 7 different runs host a pleasant mix of beginner to expert trails. The simplicity of two summer lifts makes the mountain very easy to operate. The convenience of having and using lifts also saves your legs from turning to jelly. Lessons, rentals, and affordable packages are all available for interested bikers. 
            The best thing about Massanutten mountain biking is the fact that the trails don’t end at the Massanutten Bike Park. Massanutten also has their Western Slope. The Western Slope has a total of 30 miles of cross country trail riding. While you do not get to use the convenience of the chair lift, the Western Slope provides a massive amount of trail riding for those interested. Plus, with the addition of Electric Assist Mountain Bikes to Massanutten’s rental fleet, you can take all the work out of climbing the mountain!
It should be noted that the Western Slope is recommended only for intermediate to advanced riders. 100 percent of proceeds resulting from the Western Slope are given to the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition for further improvements to the trails. 
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Western Slope Map
​Massanutten Official Mountain Biking Page
This blog is part of a Massanutten Blog Series