For over five decades, the Napa Valley Art Association has been supporting the creativity and work of local artists. Creating hope and a backing for artists both young and old, the Napa Valley Art Association has been a great support for the dreams of local artists.

According to their mission statement, the Napa Valley Art Association’s primary purpose is to foster and encourage creative art and its understanding and appreciation. Through workshops, classes, and various galleries, the Art Association has been doing an extraordinary job of staying true to this statement. The Napa Valley Art Association offers memberships that provide exposure to galleries, web, press, and education about art and artists.

Additionally, the Napa Valley Art Association has their very own gallery in downtown Napa called the Artists of the Valley. This gallery hosts the work of local and regional artists alike. Artists of the Valley displays a variety of art including: photography, prints, calendars, specialty papers, and jewelry, glass, monotypes, and textiles. This gallery is open daily and has live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Recently, the Napa Valley Art Association received a generous grant of $20,000 from the Board of Supervisors. Diane Dillon, District 3 Supervisor and vice chair of the supervisor board said, “Art brings people together and strengthens communities. This is why the Board of Supervisors designated funding for art, cultural and heritage organizations through capacity-building grants as one of three areas that receive financial support from our Special Projects Fund.”

The Napa Valley Art Association’s strong dedication to seeing a love for art grow in the Valley is beginning to prove very beneficial to their organization. Through various workshops, classes, and scholarships, the Napa Valley Art Association continues to have incredible influence over the Napa Valley.

The Napa Valley Art Association is always hosting exciting new events that cater toward art lovers everywhere. Through local support and citywide recognition, the Napa Valley Art Association will continue to grow and have great influence over the Napa Valley.

For more information on the Napa Valley Art Association, visit their website at www.nvart.org.

For most of the world, when they have visions of the beautiful and famous Napa Valley, their minds immediately race to the tempting wines, breathtaking scenery, and perfect climate. While, of course, the Napa Valley is without a doubt known for having the most sensational attractions in the world, there is so much more than that.

For those who may not be familiar, The Napa Valley has a very unique and attractive side for those who might enjoy a more nautical lifestyle. Established in 1987, the Napa Valley Yacht Club is located directly on the Napa Valley River. The Napa Valley Yacht Club is a membership-based nonprofit organization that caters especially to those who love to be around the water. With a community oriented atmosphere and a desire to connect boat lovers all over the Valley, the Yacht Club desires to further water recreation and create a side of Napa that is exclusively aimed at those who love the water.

The Napa Valley Yacht Club is one of Napa’s few gated communities and gives residence a sense of intimate community, security, and exclusivity. Over half of the homes in the Napa Yacht Club community are located right on the water. In fact, for the homes that do not have direct water access, there are 64 deeded slips at a private marina that are available to the entire Yacht Club community.

The Napa Yacht Club does not simply cater towards those with an exclusive membership, however. Rather, they offer the club’s space to host a variety of events and allow others to be apart of Napa’s water community. Additionally. about 10% of the homes located in the Napa Yacht Club are vacation rentals for those coming to visit the valley with water on their mind.

Spending your perfect Napa getaway enjoying the luxuries of the Napa Valley Yacht Club is one of the best ways to experience the incredible Napa Valley. Whether you are a local or a visitor and you love being on the water, the Napa Valley Yacht Club has everything you need to enjoy your time in the Napa Valley.

With sales and prices increasing in most regions of the country, it looks as though housing recovery is in full swing. There are more and more housing analysts declaring that we have turned the corner. A recent article on money-rates.comexplains that now may be the time to act if you are thinking of purchasing a home.

“Right now, conditions for buyers are exceptionally good, because current mortgage rates are at record low levels, and housing prices are still well off their peaks. Already though, recent numbers indicate that housing prices are starting to move. If this continues, mortgage rates might follow. In particular, if lower-end housing prices are now making the strongest gains, people looking to enter the housing market for the first time should prepare to act.” [Read more…]

 

 

 

 

It’s likely you’ve heard the term “short sale” thrown around quite a bit. But what, exactly, is a short sale?

A short sale is when a bank agrees to accept less than the total amount owed on a mortgage to avoid having to foreclose on the property. This is not a new practice; banks have been doing short sales for years. Only recently, due to the current state of the housing market and economy, has this process become a part of the public consciousness.

To be eligible for a short sale you first have to qualify!To qualify for a short sale:

• Your house must be worth less than you owe on it.
• You must be able to prove that you are the victim of a true financial hardship, such as a decrease in wages, job loss, or medical condition that has altered your ability to make the same income as when the loan was originated. Divorce, estate situations, etc… also qualify.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what a short sale is, there are some huge misconceptions when it comes to a short sale vs. a foreclosure. We take the most common myths surrounding both short sales and foreclosures and give a brief explanation. LET’S BUST SOME MYTHS!!

American home prices are expected to decline 1 percent from now through March 2013, according to the latest home price report by Fiserv Case-Shiller.

But over the next five years, home prices are projected to rise 3.9 percent.

We drew on Fiserv Case-Shiller data to identify the best housing markets for the next five years.

The top 15 cities are ranked by the projected annualized change in home prices between Q1 2012 and Q1 2017.

We also included the median home price, median household income, unemployment rate, and the change in home prices since their peak to give a better understanding of the local economy and housing market.

Note: The median family income and home price data is for Q1 2012. Unemployment data is for May 2012, and population data is for 2011.
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