Monday, May 19, 2008
Finding the Engery Leaks
The best way in finding energy leaks in your home is to get an energy audit conducted by a professional third-party efficiency certification company. What you can learn about your house can be invaluable.
The audits, which take about two-and-a-half hours, are designed to identify major energy leaks in a house. Home owners are given a thick report showing where the top leaks are and how to fix them.
Surprisingly, drafty windows and doors are typically not the greatest sources of energy loss. The biggest culprits are construction shortcuts such as:
- The absence of external building wrap around the joists between the floors and walls
- Improperly insulated attics
- Improperly insulated basements and crawl spaces
As you'd expect, homes that are 40 or more years old are typically far less efficient than newer ones that have been built to updated codes.
Both older and newer homes tend to be inefficient when it comes to the places where pipes and wires come into them. Another problem area, even in new homes is recessed lighting. Recessed lights sit in big ceiling holes and carpenters rarely think to seal around the edges.
By the end of the audit, clients should know the house's main problem areas. The inspection report will give them suggestions for repairs. It's unlikely the auditor will recommend that everything be fixed, they usually focus on repairs that will provide the greatest efficiency at a reasonable cost.
"It doesn't make sense to spend thousands of dollars to get small improvements in efficiency." "But it does make sense to spend a few thousand to get efficiencies that'll pay for themselves in a few years.
Reducing utility payments is just one of the benfits you'll see: you'll also enjoy more creature comfort and-down the road-potentially a greater resale value.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Credit Restrictions getting into specialized niches
WASHINGTON-Restrictions on credit are moving into new and more specialized niches of the mortgage market.
The latest to feel the pinch:
- Cash-out refinances.
- Loans with anything less than full documentation of borrower income, credit and assets.
- Mortgages for certain second-home purchases.
- Investment loan applications where the buyer already owns at least three other rental properties.
- Mortgages to borrowers with "nontraditional" credit, such as "thin files" with scant information at the three national credit bureaus.
- Short-term construction loans that convert to permanent mortgages.
- Adjustable-rate mortgages where the first rate adjustment occurs within 60 months after closing.
Scheduled to take effect for all loans delivered after August 8, Freddie Mac said it plans to restrict financing to second home and investment real estate purchasers who already have "individual or joint ownership" interests in multiple properties. In the case of second-home buyers, they will be ineligible for new mortgages through Freddie if they have ownership interests in more than a total of four properties securing debt, including the one they propose to finance.
Similarly, loans for rental houses, rental condos, and other investments properties will be ineligible if the borrower has ownership stakes in a total of four units. Previously, Freddie allowed investors to own up to 10 rental properties carrying mortgages.Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Decorating your home on the outside!
Decorating your home on the outside is just as crucial as keeping things together on the inside. With warm weather comes an opportunity to create out-door spaces that will expand the square footage of your home, at least temporarily.The following are common items that should be checked all spring and summer long.
- Check for chipped paint on exterior of your home.
- Does concrete need a face lift?
- Clean and repair outdoor furniture.
- Replace umbrellas and pillows now while selections are still good.
- Clean out old foliage and get pots ready for planting new flowers and shrubs.
- Scrub your fountains and plug them in to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
- Power wash your patio and if needed apply a fresh coat of stain.
- Check slates on fences and make sure you don't have any rotten wood.
- Trim shrubs and tress away from the house and outdoor grills.
- Lay sod and get rid of muddy patches in your yard.
- Replace bulbs and check all your outside door lighting.
Spring has sprung. Take pride in creating an outdoor space that reflects the interior of your house.
Friday, May 09, 2008
RE/MAX Franchises, Nations Most Productive
Two National Surveys Find RE/MAX Agents Average More Transactions
Two industry surveys of the nation’s top brokerages reveal that RE/MAX Sales Associates outperform their competitors. RE/MAX Sales Associates were also ranked the highest of all national real estate franchises, averaging 19% more transactions per agent than their closest competitor.
“There are many ways to measure success in real estate, but the bottom line is how productive your Sales Associates are,” These two very prestigious surveys prove once again that RE/MAX Sales Associates lead all their competitors.
RE/MAX also recognizes the power of the Internet. Today, most people start their home search on-line, and we’ve devoted a lot of resources to our web site. We’re proud to offer more than 90% of all home listings and that the site attracts more visitors than any of our competitors’ web sites.”
“There are many ways to measure success in real estate, but the bottom line is how productive your Sales Associates are,” These two very prestigious surveys prove once again that RE/MAX Sales Associates lead all their competitors.
RE/MAX also recognizes the power of the Internet. Today, most people start their home search on-line, and we’ve devoted a lot of resources to our web site. We’re proud to offer more than 90% of all home listings and that the site attracts more visitors than any of our competitors’ web sites.”
Even though the real estate market was experiencing a down turn in 2007, RE/MAX increased its net number of offices by 4.05 % and sold franchises at a rate 12.3% higher than its seven year average (since 2000).
Friday, May 02, 2008
America's Recession-Proof Cities
Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly-or even contract-in the first half of the year.
But some cities are doing fine.
Take Oklahoma City, Okla. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metroplitian areas to ride out the current crisis.
10 Recession -Proof Cities
San Antonio is right behind. It also features solid employment figures and affordable home prices that continue to rise. The others holding steady or improving include Austin & Houston Texas: Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.
To find them, Forbes.com examined the country's 50 largest metro's and looked at several key measure.
They examined unemployment data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year ending in Feb. 2008 to see which areas are most adding or subtracting jobs. Next, they looked at the BLS data on growth in non-farm payrolls, through Feb. 2008, for construction, education and health services, financial activities, information, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, natural resources and mining, professional and business services, trade, transporation and utilities, and the BLS's catch all category, "other services."
Also taking into account median home price data from the National Association of Realtors to see which area posted the largest annual gains.
Finally, the rankings were adjusted using data from Nov. 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis." It lists each city's estimated gross metropolitian product growth by projecting how rising foreclosures and falling home prices would effect overall levels of productivity in local economies.
Texas cities fared best under the measure, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth have benefited from historically lower home prices. The availability of land-and, in some cases, little zoning-helped keep prices in these cities low. Instead of competing for homes, Texans could move to a new subdivision a little further out.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Edmond's New Forsensic Center
Edmond is proud to be the new home for the state's most sophisticated forensic science crime-fighting work. The new OSBI Forensic Science Center is set for dedication at 2:00 pm today, located on 2nd Street, just south of University of Central Oklahoma campus between Boulevard and Bryant.
This high-tech 86,000 square foot building is the new work center for 70 criminalilsts, evidence technicians and support staff members. It is expected to take care of the state's crime analysis needs for the next 20 years. Charles Curtis, Director of the center said the building was constructed so that it can be expanded.
One of the many features of this center is the secure, light-controlled garage available to analyze vehicles involved in crimes, as well as an indoor firing range to analyze distance determinations.This grand opening is a much anticipated conclusion to a long hard road of budget cuts, bad weather and skyrocketed fuel & building costs which all began in 2002!
