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Saving energy dollars let me count the ways. Utilizing the information below can make a significant positive impact on your budget. Some of the suggestions may not seem like they will save you energy dollars but add them all up and they will.
After reading my suggestions I am sure you are thinking about other ways you can save energy and dollars. Make a list of additional ways you can save energy and then implement them.
A great way to track them is to enter the bills from water, gas and electric into an excel spreadsheet. Then as new bills come in after your energy savings plan has been implemented you can create a graph that shows the savings. If you feel like sharing your success at saving energy dollars, feel free to email me the information and I will include it on my blog.
Bathroom Hardware and accessories pull things together they are the finishing touches. Gone are the days when this hardware and accessories were of similar textures, materials and finishes. Today the trend is toward simplicity. Clean looks, simple soft lines without anything too ornate is the trend. Clients are also looking for bathrooms that function as relaxation centers. Designs that provide a calm and serene environment are being asked for more and more. People are under more stress every day and want to bring the spa into their home. Towel warmers, heated floors, media and larger overall bathrooms are being seen, in every type of new home.
Universal design and aging in place elements are being seen with more frequency in large part because of the aging market place. Grab bars once seen as a tool for the elderly are now being featured in contemporary bath design. They are being recognized as a feature that everyone can use for safety.
Featured materials that are trendy include glass, crystal, brass and metals that were found outdoors are now being brought into the bathrooms of today. Brushed nickel, polished chrome, and oil rubbed bronze are the top 3 finishes. Also in demand are living finishes that age or develop a patina over time. Raw copper and brass are two such metals that age and develop the type of patina that gives a piece that aged look and some added character. Recycled glass is also another material that is being used more in bathrooms.
In the past newer style materials were not quite as bold; consequently remodeling a bathroom often entailed renovating the entire room, replacing everything. A great advantage to using these newer types of materials is that they tend to give the bathroom a whole new look without a full blown renovation, which requires a much smaller budget. Changing the faucet, towel bars, and light fixtures, coupled with adding some glass tile and paint can give a bathroom a fresh and trendy feel while staying within a reasonable budget.
Many of the bog box home improvement stores have displays of coordinated tiles, paint and fixture selections, already made for you, making it much easier for you to have a professional look and feel to your bathroom renovation project.
Vacant apartments in the US have dropped to 5.2%, a 10 year low in the 4th quarter. This may be good news for the construction industry, but for people who rent it can only mean 1 thing, rent increases are on the horizon. The average monthly rent has already climbed 2.3% from the previous year to $1009.00.
Tight lending standards for the millions of potential home buyers whose credit has been dented because of the economy, Couple that with rising foreclosures and you can see why more people are choosing to rent. In fact rental housing has been the best performing segment of the market for the last 2 years. The vacancy rate has fallen for 7 straight quarters. A total of 8,865 new units became available in the fourth quarter, the second fewest of any 3 month period since 1999.
The National Association of Realtors, NAR, has corrected and published the long awaited existing home sale numbers from 2007 to the present. As we learned in an earlier statement the previously published sale numbers were to high due to a faulty method of tracking sales.
There are a few factors that entered into the faulty process, among them the “For Sale By Owner” (FISBO) portion of the market. When the housing market dropped dramatically, so did the FISBO portion of the market, something the NAR had not factored into their calculations.
As you can see from the chart below the revision was significant.
| Existing Home Sales Before & After | |||
| Original | Revised | % Changed | |
|
2007 |
5,652,000.00 |
5,040,000.00 |
-11% |
|
2008 |
4,913,000.00 |
4,110,000.00 |
-16% |
|
2009 |
5,156,000.00 |
4,340,000.00 |
-16% |
|
2010 |
4,908,000.00 |
4,190,000.00 |
-15% |
| 4 yr avg. |
5,157,000.00 |
4,420,000.00 |
-14% |
The Dryer Box has been around since 1995 and has solved a problem that has been with us for a long time, What to do with the dryer hose.
The dryer box as you can see fits in the wall cavity between the studs, and creates a vertical recess for the dryer vent hose. Gone are the days where the hose is laying on the floor smashed between the dryer and the wall. The shorter and more direct the exhaust run is the better the efficiency of the dryer becomes. Lint buildup is a real cause of home fires and with the Dryer Box the majority of this problem is eliminated.
Another added feature is that you can stub the gas pipe into the Dryer Box for easy connection. As you can see in the picture the dryer vent hose is offset to allow ample room for the gas pipe placement either in the top, bottom or the right side.
Check out the specifications on the Dryer Box at their website DryerBox.com and order this great product today.
One would think you were to support the brave man and women who serve in the military. One would think, especially the government would do everything it could to help returning vets, right? Well if you did think that you would be WRONG!
More than a few home builders are shying away from or have quit dealing with veterans who use the VA loan program. The VA appraisers have become so conservative with their appraisals the homes rarely close, and those that do take an incredibly long time. “Builders tell us the VA appraisal program is broken and so frustrating that some may eliminate sales to buyers using the VA program” summarizes Judy Kahn a VP with JBRC (John Burns Real Estate Consulting).
The major problem is that the VA appraisers are procedurally mandated to err on the side of caution when evaluating properties, supposedly to protect the veteran. This causes appraisals to be far below other conventional and FHA appraisals and the actual market. Relevant and recent conventional appraisals are being overlooked as a comparison.These practices assure the deal does not close. These low appraisals further depress the general market, which is already in a fragile state. You would think the government would be part of the solution and not part of the continuing problem.
Besides taking longer than conventional appraisals, the VA appraisals don’t take into consideration options and upgraded features in the home. Working with the VA in this process causes us to lose money in an economy where our margins are already stretched very thin, is a statement repeated by many builders. Many builders are reluctantly looking at not doing business where the VA loan program is involved.
As I, and many others have said, those suits in Washington don’t a clue as to what to do to fix this mess that they created. Instead of listening to the men and women in the trenches, those of us who are invested in the home building industry, they continue to throw things at the wall and hope something sticks. Not too smart Washington!
SolarPlaza an independent global platform serving the polycrystalline silicon solar PV panel community has recently published a report showing the top module efficiency of solar panels by manufacturers.
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As you can see the Solar Panel industry has a long way to go but has also come a long way. If you are thinking about investing in Solar Panels your home be aware that there are advances in efficiency made quite often and even if you purchase the leader today, in a couple a month’s your panels may not be the top in efficiency. There are other factors to be considered, which I will address in an upcoming article.
Bathroom Hardware and accessories pull things together they are the finishing touches. Gone are the days when this hardware and accessories were of similar textures, materials and finishes. Today the trend is toward simplicity. Clean looks, simple soft lines without anything too ornate is the trend. Clients are also looking for bathrooms that function as relaxation centers. Designs that provide a calm and serene environment are being asked for more and more. People are under more stress every day and want to bring the spa into their home. Towel warmers, heated floors, media and larger overall bathrooms are being seen.
Universal design and aging in place elements are being seen with more frequency in large part because of the aging market place. Grab bars once seen as a tool for the elderly are now being featured in contemporary bath design. They are being recognized as a feature that everyone can use for safety.
Featured materials are glass, crystal, brass and metals and typical materials that were found outdoors are now being brought into the bathroom. Brushed nickel, polished chrome, and oil rubbed bronze are the top 3 finishes. Also in demand are living finishes that age or develop a patina over time. Raw copper and brass are 2 such metals that age and develop the type of patina that gives the piece some added character. Recycled glass is also another material that is being used more in bathrooms.
One advantage to using these types of materials is that they tend to give the bathroom a whole new look without a full blown renovation. Changing the faucet, towel bars, and light fixtures, coupled with adding some glass tile and paint can give a bathroom a fresh and trendy feel while staying within a reasonable budget.
The real-estate market is very competitive, especially with the recent downturn in the economy. As a result of that we have seen a huge increase in the number of foreclosures and also occupied properties that are for sale.
If you have decided to put your house on the market, be prepared to wait, unless you are extremely flexible and your home is marketable. Gladly, there are a few things you can do to help your home get noticed and hopefully sell quickly.
You won’t ever sell the house if you can’t get them out of the car and into the house. Curb appeal is, in my opinion one of the most important aspects of marketing and selling a house. Many years ago I purchased an FHA foreclosure that needed a lot of work both inside and out. I began working on the inside and managed to make it a cute little home, but used the entire budget on the inside. I saw the outside needed some help, but thought wait until they see the inside, that will make up for it, wrong! The house was on the market for 6 months without anyone going inside. They simply drove by and saw the broken, cracked driveway, and patio, no landscaping, weeds all over, a roof that would need replacing in a couple years and no sidewalk to the front door.
I wound up renting it out and making improvements to the exterior over the next year and then put it back on the market and it sold to the first couple that saw it! Curb appeal is something not to be overlooked.
An experienced real-estate agent, with knowledge about your neighborhood and its market history can help in selling your house quickly. A quality real estate agent will have contacts and resources that you don’t have, resources that will enable them to sell your home quickly and generally for a higher price.
• Set a Reasonable Asking Price
Initial asking price is always important; it could either make or break the sale of your home. Your real estate agent will have a professional opinion on what should be the appropriate price for your house. A house which is too expensive may push away prospective clients, while a very low price may raise some questions on the credibility of the property. You should ask your agent to do a comparable market analyses (CMA) to get an idea on what other houses in your area sold for in your area, and then follow their advice.
• De-clutter
Potential buyers will want to live in a nice clean, roomy home, not a messy, cluttered one. Remove all the clutter and tidy up. Put away things that are not frequently used. Make your house look more spacious by getting rid of unnecessary furniture, clearing out cabinets, and removing items on top of tables and shelves. Do not smoke in the house and do not cook foods such as fish, and bacon, instead put an apple pie in the oven.
• Home staging
Home staging is an alternative if your home is empty. Home staging is about redesigning or arranging furniture around the home to make it more neutral, homey and comfortable for the prospective buyers. Home staging will help the client’s picture themselves in the house. There are staging companies that you can hire for this purpose, or you can contact a local interior designer.
• Minor Home Repairs
You should fix minor problems, such as broken or dripping faucets, torn screens, cracked glass, or non-functioning window treatments. Make a list of these types of problems and set aside a day to take care of them before you put your house on the market. You will be amazed at what can be accomplished in a day. By completing these minor repairs, you have removed some potential negotiating points from the table.
• Let the House Sell Itself
When prospective buyers visit your house, it is better if you are not there. The real estate agent will take care of showing the prospective buyers the house. Of course, you would like to meet the people and show them how great the house is, but it would be uncomfortable for both the buyer and you. If you are there, the buyers will not be able to talk to the real estate agent and express their honest opinion of the house. If you have taken the above advice the house will show well. If you must have a representative there your real estate agent can also be there.
In this, buyers market, flexibility is the key to selling. There are fewer buyers; therefore they can be more demanding. Remember above all, as hard as it is; don’t be emotional about the sale. You may be selling for less than you wanted or expected but you are also buying your next home for less than you could have several years ago.
September 15th, 2011 
Contractor John 
