Green Home Appraisals

Green Home Appraisals

I just stumbled across this article, which is a great follow up to my blog from last week. We have all heard the woes of getting homes appraised.  These difficulties are even higher for new homes, and homes that incorporate green products, concepts and designs face the most hurdles of all.  This is due to the higher cost of green products and systems that are being compared to standard products in a depressed housing market. This article is...

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Home Financing Market Still Troubled

Home Financing Market Still Troubled

Builders, realtors, even some financing companies have been saying the same thing for quite some time now… “This isn’t working!”  “The changes didn’t make things better.”  “The system is broken.”  There are finally signs that our message is getting through… Can Anyone Save Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac? by CNN Money

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Housing Market Outlook for 2012

Housing Market Outlook for 2012

I’ve spent the past few days reviewing the 2012 housing market projections.  Most of the sources are saying the same thing.  2012 will continue to be a bumpy road… Good News for the market: mortgage interest rates continue to be at historic lows, and the foreclosures on the market are slowly working through the system. Bad News for the market: unemployment remains above 8%, and it is unclear how many more foreclosed properties are...

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Avoiding Cost Overruns When Building a New Home

We have all heard the horror stories of families building a home and the contractor going WAY over budget, or worse running out of money and not completing the home… How can people building a new home avoid this disastrous situation? Don’t go it alone.  So many people think that by being the General Contact of their own building project they will save money.  In 95% of the cases where customers act as the GC, the project ended up...

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Solar Energy… Is it finally becoming a viable option?

Solar Energy… Is it finally becoming a viable option?

At this point, I think everyone understands the advantages of solar power.  We all know that over time, a home powered by solar energy will cost a homeowner less in energy costs than its grid powered counterpart.  However, the cost of the solar energy system has made it cost prohibited for most homeowners.  Is this trend starting to change? A recent article published by Energy Circle indicates that the cost associated with solar energy is...

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