We're always encouraging new homebuyers to attend a class given by the NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Centers of Vermont. The knowledge you'll gain will be well worth the modest price.

Ludy Biddle, Executive Director of NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, has outlined the nine topics covered by her organization's "Housing 101" course in an article that appeared in the Rutland Herald this weekend.

"With fluctuating interest rates, legal language barriers, confusing contingency clauses, home buying — your most important purchase ever — is a daunting adventure," she writes.

"The best way to begin is by getting an education."

The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation is taking nominations for its Vermont Downtown Awards.

The awards will be presented as part of the 2009 Vermont Downtown Conference, Friday, Nov. 6, at the Middlebury Inn and Town Hall Theater.

Deadline for nominations is Oct. 1.

Our friends at Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) in Burlington are playing host to 25 housing leaders from 13 countries and six continents this week. The guests are here all week to study CHT's model of housing delivery.

The week starts today with current and former mayors of Burlington greeting the guests, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (invited), Mayor Bob Kiss and former Mayor Peter Clavelle.

The Burlington City Council will officially welcome the delegation Monday evening at their Council meeting.

Throughout the week, there'll be tours of CHT properties in Chittenden and Franklin counties.

The National Housing Conference (NHC), an affordable housing advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., has released 10 suggestions to help repair the mortgage market and reduce the rising number of foreclosures.

The "Ten Key Principles" that require action by Congress and the Obama administration are available on the NHC Web site. They're the result of an NHC-commissioned industry-wide task force that studied the issue.

"Bold, strong actions are needed," NHC President/CEO Conrad Egan (pictured) said in a statement released yesterday.