Where are Mortgage Interest Rates Heading?

Where are interest rates heading?

    http://goo.gl/zVmMTP

When do most homes come on the market?

When do most homes come on the market?  WHY is knowing when most come on the market for sale important for Buyers and Sellers? MORE homes is great news for home buyers.  MORE homes is bad news for home sellers. Discover when home inventory is highest here and plan accordingly.

Zero Net Energy Real Estate

Zero Net Energy: Homes consuming only as much energy as they produce by renewable means.

A Hardworking-House Term to Know

Zero Net Energy is a goal for builders; learn what ZNE means for you.

If you have not yet heard the term “zero net energy,” or ZNE, you will soon be hearing it everywhere. Most simply it means that a building consumes only as much energy as it can produce by renewable methods. Since buildings consume about 25 percent of our nation’s energy, the savings and implications of ZNE are enormous. For several years the U.S. Department of Energy has supported innovation in this area by sponsoring the Solar Decathlon. The biannual competition invites contestants to design and build a house that runs primarily on solar power and produces as much electricity as it consumes.

California building codes have already mandated implementation of ZNE by phasing in complete compliance by 2020 for all new homes, and remodels and additions that significantly upgrade a house, constructed in the state. Since California has at least 10 percent of the nation’s population and the ninth largest economy on the planet, its influence in this area is quickly scaling and spreading across North America. However, California codes prioritize renewable energy production last on the list of requirements that can assist with a home’s compliance. Energy consumption reductions and improved building design performance standards and technology are being phased in first.
 
Here are a few things that can be and already are being addressed by innovation to achieve this goal.

Caddis Architecture

Financing the investments. When ZNE applications show a return on investment in a relatively short amount of time, financial entities are keenly interested in supporting them. California has built incentives into its programs to promote them. Yet the savings on energy consumption alone has propelled lending institutions to support them, as they clearly see the payoff. The trend is spreading. The Colorado residence seen here, by Caddis Architecture, was designed to be ZNE. While its progressive and innovative design embraces a contemporary aesthetic in conjunction with achieving ZNE, vernacular home design, as illustrated in the Florida home below, can be adapted to meet this goal just as easily.

Energy Smart Home Plans

Crisp Architects

Reducing consumption. Probably the most obvious energy-saving consideration is doors and windows. In the past the glass-enclosed sunroom seen here, by Crisp Architects, would have been impractical during New York’s winter months. Dual- and triple-paned glass, along with other techniques and advances in window design, allows configurations to reduce energy use. In the Seattle house below, awnings with automated systems that sense rain and shading requirements provide a more passive solution to energy consumption at doors and windows.

Mohler + Ghillino Architects

Divine Design+Build

Regulating consumption. The incandescent bulb is gradually being phased out. First, compact fluorescent lamps took their place, which cut energy usage significantly. Lately, LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, have been cutting energy consumption even more. These compact and long-lasting fixtures not only greatly save energy, but they also allow innovative and dramatic lighting effects to be achieved.

The flush and elegant undercabinet fixtures seen here have been mounted snugly, keeping the crisp, clean lines in this modern kitchen. Dramatic lighting effects define the contemporary bath design below. In addition, LEDs can be designed to change color, adding another dimension.

Brilliant SA

Paragon Kitchens

Managing consumption. If you think all of your home electronics and mobile devices that need electricity are contributing to a larger electric bill, you are correct. Utility companies estimate that about one-third of an average home’s juice is consumed by such equipment.

Most appliances and electronics with power cords plugged in draw some electricity even when their power button is off. One of California’s goals is to require switches on all electrical outlets so that electronics that normally stay plugged in can more easily and conveniently be switched off.

Even if you just can’t live without the soft yellow glow of the incandescent bulb in your favorite lamp, you can save energy by installing a dimmer switch on that light fixture or on a hardwired light switch that controls it. Dimmers can save half or more of the energy of a bulb’s full capacity.

Legrand, North America

Another California requirement is that lights in certain rooms, such as baths and garages, be connected to motion sensors. This helps, for example, to keep the kids in check when they go around the house turning on the light in each room they enter without turning if off when they leave. In addition, depending on the type of room, incandescent fixtures are not allowed to be installed. The state requires that any hardwired fixture be “high efficacy.” This can be types with compact fluorescent bulbs or LEDs.

Greenstar Technologies

Usually on the higher end, there are systems with control panels, like this one, or ones that can be coordinated with a smartphone application. The ability to manage systems throughout the home will allow consumers not only to monitor their own habits, but to coordinate with peak energy demands in their regions. Utility suppliers place a premium on consumption during the hottest days of the year, for example, when demand surges. Being able to use less air conditioning on those days and planning to spend time out of the house can be a strategic method to lower your bills and help the system meet demand where it is needed most.

Norocom Smart Home

In addition, lighting that can respond to daylight, building designs that allow in sufficient daylight to minimize or eliminate the need for artificial lighting, and windows and ventilation that can be automated to respond to desired interior conditions are other features that can help to reduce and manage energy consumption.

Nest

Employing technology. A good example of such technologies is the Nest thermostat, which works with smartphones to assist in the management of a home’s climate. A good example of how Nest can save you energy is to consider a time when you are out of town for business. Let’s say you are in Los Angeles for three days, and a heat wave has enveloped Dallas, where you live. You set the temperature in your house to 82 degrees Fahrenheit while you are away, which keeps your electricity consumption down. When you board the plane in L.A. to return to Dallas, you open the app and set the temperature in your house to 72 degrees. By the time you get home, the temperature in your house will be just right.

Nest

Daedalus Design Build

Daedalus Design Build

One of the best advantages of California’s implementation of energy codes is that the price of photovoltaic technology is falling dramatically. While California will always have abundant sunshine, it is likely that future household mechanical systems will use several technologies in unison to achieve a home’s energy demands and climate control. The urban Philadelphia residence seen here employs geothermal, solar electric and solar thermal systems to provide comfort. The Montana home below uses geothermal and solar systems for a large and sprawling design.

Teton Heritage Builders

Teton Heritage Builders

Solar panels double as shade devices and overhang protection for the doors of this Seattle house. Traditional architecture, as seen below, can include solar panels just as easily. Look for a future in which any house can be retrofitted with a myriad of technologies, as the solutions likely will be fluid and flexible.

Albertsson Hansen Architecture, Ltd

Energy storage. Probably the biggest challenge at this time is energy storage. It is currently difficult to achieve on an individual scale. Our public energy grids are still primarily dependent on power generated by fossil fuels, which can be readily adjusted based on demand. There are already problems with utilities wishing to maintain control of the energy grids and how they will handle the influx of individually generated supplies. Flexibility, on both the individual and public levels, will probably solve all of the challenges. Zero-net-energy homes may sound complex, but imagining zero dollars for electric bills, for at least a couple of months a year, seems simple enough.

Steven Randel, California licensed architect & contributing writer at HOUZZ

Will You Buy Your Next House On Your Smartphone?

Feb 18, 2015

 

We know that the mobile revolution is well underway and is becoming a major player in ecommerce. The Starbucks app, for example, has become very central to the coffee purveyor’s success.

However, mobile ecommerce is beginning to impact far bigger and pricier purchases than a Venti Caramel Brulée Lattee. According to aBankrate survey, almost half of everyone who surfs the mobile web has already made a “major financial commitment” like acquiring a car, insurance, stocks, or a mortgage on their mobile devices.

If you watch live television and aren’t able to zip past all the commercials, you have probably noticed how heavily TrueCar is promoting itself. And if you check out the company’s website, you’ll see that they put a huge emphasis on their mobile app.

The money trail

Watching where ad dollars are going is one of the best ways to get a handle on trends and TrueCar is investing heavily right now. (By the way, when Amazon experimented with online car buying back in 2000, it didn’t work out for them.)

Although about half of all mobile users say they have made at least one major purchase in this way, only 12 percent say they use their phones or tablets “always” or even “most of the time” for these big-ticket items. We can expect that number to go up dramatically as mobile device sales continue to outpace desktop and laptop sales.

Further, in the 30-49 year age group, 58 percent reported making a major purchase via some kind of mobile device. On the other hand, more than 60 percent of those age 65 or above said they neverbought a big-ticket item through a mobile device.

We can also expect these numbers to increase when Millennials get north of 30 years old. Right now, many Millennials aren’t heading up households, so they are less inclined to be the persons who make these buying decisions. When they become homeowners, have families and start building up investment accounts, we can expect them to rely heavily on their mobile devices.

The mobile app alternative

Normally at this point, I’d put in a pitch for creating a mobile app for your business – and I do think that’s a good idea. However, we’re finding that mobile users spend 80 percent of their time on just five apps. In other words, many specialized apps are seldom used. They often end up living on deeply buried screens or deleted entirely.

This highlights the importance of your mobile website. You may not be able to convince a mobile user to keep your app on his or her device, but if you have a great mobile website, you may be able to capture those eyeballs anyway.

As you review and test your mobile website, put yourself in the position of a mobile user and make sure the site is useful, functional and friendly. Ask yourself this question: If a mobile user was about to buy a big-ticket item on a mobile device, does my website make that purchase easy?

Full Story

75 Dead (Occupation: Real Estate)

A Vacant house, a Stranger, an Urgent request to Meet there Immediately . . . Absurd? It happens all the time to Realtors. In the hyper-competitive real estate profession you know if you don't jump, the buyer will find another Realtor who will. You know this kind of call is unlikely to be fruitful . . . but the eternally hopeful optimistic adrenaline junkie inside you starts cheering from the back of your mind, "What if this is the exception? Go! Go help Buyer...Go get it sold..." As Realtors, closings feed our families.

63 Dead in 2013:  38 Accidental . . . 25 Homicides.  The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports an occupational average since 2003 of 75 fatalities per year industry-wide (real estate for sale, rent, lease).

As an industry, perhaps it's time Realtors re-educate the the buying public on the home buying process and implement professional courtesy standards requiring buyers to meet Realtors at their real estate offices for a Buyer Consultation prior to showing appointments and obtain from buyers a written pre-qualification/pre-approval for financing or proof of available funds for purchase prior to scheduling property showings. Perhaps the National Association of REALTORS® can amend the Realtor Code of Ethics to include a professional courtesy Article like this to promote Realtor safety, professionalism and productivity, buyer education and preparedness, and increased seller satisfaction by limiting showings to only buyers who have provided Realtor with a written verification of their ability to buy.  

Is expecting buyers to verify their ability to purchase what a seller has prepared for them, Realtor has researched and will devote their workday to showing them . . . too inconvenient for real estate buyers . . . or too radical to implement?  Or would serious buyers, sellers, local real estate boards/associations, state organizations like the Wisconsin REALTORS Association and Realtors across America benefit if such an Article is added to the National Association of Realtors' Code of Ethics? 

Until we take a stand together as Realtors and make such a pledge to each other, there will always sellers preparing their properties for "buyers" who cannot buy and Realtors who will feel the need to sacrifice professionalism, jumping to the urgent call and placing their personal safety at risk so they don't lose the potential sale to another Realtor.  

Certainly there are occupations far more dangerous than "Realtor."  Aside from cases where clumsiness and slippery walkways are involved, we shouldn't see any fatalities in this industry.  Homicides resulting from stranger-danger in our workplace can be avoided. 

This is an industry of professionals dedicated to helping people find and acquire "Home" -- a place of safety and security, where treasured memories are made, dreams come true and love abounds.  Can't we keep fear of occupational fatalities out of real estate by implementing a simple safety rule into the Realtor Code of Ethics?  

Maybe if the job description demanded we climb columns and peek in windows to avoid soiling sellers' carpets and save fuel by leaving the car at the office and hopping rooftop to rooftop to rooftop to show properties . . . then it might be difficult to avoid occupational fatalities.  Opening a door . . .  Homicide?

Let's stand beside each other and our seller-clients and take an oath to protect our professionalism, our safety, and our selling clients from the horrors and heart-ache that we create when bringing buyer prospects with unknown purchasing capabilities, unknown motives, and unknown histories into neighborhood properties.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.t02.htm

to Dream Fearlessly . . . The American Dream Lives

To dream fearlessly . . . to pursue our dreams with determination and courage . . . to believe we will successfully transform our dreams into our reality . . . to pick ourselves up when we fall, continuing the pursuit of our dreams . . . to overcome obstacles with creativity, sweat, faith . . . and persevere until we are living the dream (which inspires us to new dreams/goals) . . . is the heartbeat of America.


Home - Family - Career - Health - Joy - Love - Friendship - Education . . . The American Dream lives.  Pursuing my dreams while helping others pursue and achieve their dreams is my career as an independent real estate agent for Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group Inc., an affiliate of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.  More than profession, being a Realtor is an amazing experience.

To those who have given me the honor of helping them pursue their dreams during these seven years, Thank You!  You who are ready to pursue your dream of home -- be it the dream of your first home or vacation home or larger home or smaller home; be it a dream of extravagant luxury, the extravagance of "downsizing" and simplicity, and anywhere in between -- you can call on me to be your advocate and help you achieve your dream.

American Family Insurance, like Coldwell Banker, inspires us to Dream Fearlessly.   Enjoy the music video.  Be inspired.  Dream.