Building a House Out of Straw

A house built from straw? Sounds like something the Big Bad Wolf would huff and puff over, doesn't it? But straw bale construction has a 200-year history in the United States, and it's more fashionable than ever as people seek to build eco-friendly homes out of renewable materials.

There are two types of straw bale construction: load-bearing and post-and-beam.

Load Bearing

This is when the straw itself carries the roof load. This completely eliminates the need for wood, but it's not a system that is used often today. The lack of strong structural support limits the number and width of window and door openings. Since most eco-friendly homes are being built to incorporate passive solar strategies (which require large expanses of glass), load-bearing straw bale construction isn't ideal.

Post-and-beam Structure with Straw as an Infill Material

This method is far more common. The straw is not relied upon for structural purposes, rather it is packed into a post-and-beam frame. The straw acts as a thermal skin, which provides insulation values ranging from R-25 to R-50. Post-and-beam structure straw bale can work in most climates and has been built everywhere from Alaska to the desert Southwest to the East Coast.

When you build a straw bale house, you finish it with natural plasters (no, you don't have walls with straw sticking out all over the place) that make it look fairly normal, though some say "straw bale walls create a comforting, soft enclosure of space that is more organic in nature than formed systems."

US Housing Woes - What Lies Ahead ?

Till the end of 2005 investors in real estate had never had it so good. Bankers were only too happy to lend whatever a borrower needed. They did not go into the details like the person's credit history, whether he had a steady income or not and also if he had any other assets. Most of the time they were not even asking for a down payment. Banks were able to get away with it because they simply sold the loan to Fannie Mae or to buyers of mortgage backed securities. Buyers saw their investments appreciating by double digit figures annually. The resultant feel good factor made them go out and splurge on their credit cards.

But such good times don't last forever. With an overheating economy Bernanke was forced to raise interest rates steadily and given the fears of inflation he is likely to keep them there in the near future. The results of continuously high interest rates on the housing market have been devastating. Real Estate prices started declining since the end of 2005 and continue to decline. This decline in asset prices coupled with high interest rates and a slowing economy has hit the sub-prime market real hard. Lenders have suddenly woken up to the fact that up to 25% of the loans given by them are at risk of defaultl.What is worse is that there are no prospects of recovery in the near future.

Although the US Treasury Secretary has come out and said that sub-prime mortgages do not pose any threat to the overall economy, most investors are not so sure. Some have gone so far as to predict another depression. Although a global meltdown is not likely the risks are growing. All it needs is perhaps a couple of large hedge funds to go under and the world financial system could go into a tailspin.

With October, which is historically the worst month for the US markets, not far away every body will do well to keep his fingers crossed.

Top 7 Advantages of New Construction Over Resale Homes

Once you start house hunting there is no doubt one of your first stops will be at a new homes website or community to see what they have to offer in the area you would like to live in. In fact, new homes have stepped up to win the hearts and minds of homebuyers for the better part of the past decade where we’ve seen an unprecedented explosion in new home construction and buying. What was once considered a luxury reserved for the rich and famous, new construction has opened the door to all price ranges and styles including luxury high-rise condominiums, townhouses, active adult communities and single-family homes.

There are a tremendous number of benefits to owning a new home including the ability to customize the home to your liking, meeting all the new neighbors as they move in and substantial savings in utility costs with new homes now being built to a higher, more energy efficient and green standard.

1. It’s your house. No, REALLY your house. – When you buy a resale home you are purchasing a home that someone else crafted to suit his or her lifestyle. Sometimes it’s just perfect and exactly what you are looking for but more often than not there are a few “Why did they do that?” issues with a home that you will have to renovate or remove when you move in to fit your lifestyle. When you build a new home you will be able to choose exactly what you want and where you want it so you can move in and not have to touch a thing.

2. Everyone else is new too! – Resale communities are great because you can see the neighborhood, how people care for their homes and everything is already established but those same benefits can prove to be cons when you are the only new neighbor on the block. Moving into a new home grants you the privilege of meeting the neighbors when they are also looking to meet new people and settle into the community. There won’t be any pre-established social circles to work your way into and you will be discovering new things about your neighborhood at the same time everyone else does.

3. Newer homes are more attractive when you resell… - Life happens. You might have to relocate or you make a lifestyle change a couple short years after you move in. The good news is that newer homes are more attractive to prospective homebuyers because it’s their opportunity to buy a newer home without the price premium associated with new construction. Better yet, you’ve already purchased all the appliances and upgrades for the home and many parts of the home are still under warranty making the home a great inclusive value. This will compare favorably to older resale homes that may require renovation or updating to make it livable for the modern homebuyer.

4. Location, Location, Location! YOU choose! – When you shop for resale homes the homes you find are obviously fixed to their current location. How many times have you seen a great resale that would be absolutely perfect if it were a little closer to the community clubhouse or offered a larger back yard for the kids to play? New homebuilders typically offer a range of model homes to choose from and you can usually place that model on a lot of your choice. Now you can have the home of your dreams in the cul-de-sac you’ve always dreamed of!

5. In the current market new homes may be a better deal than resale homes. – That’s right, the market shift has turned the tables. Now buyers have the market in the palm of their hands and can get some really outstanding deals on homes but you have to know where to look. Resale home owners may be willing to deal but in the past thirty days I have been able to successfully negotiate $69,117 off the asking price of a new home for a client and then shortly after located a home for another client and negotiated $91,000 off the asking price and we are still in negotiations to get even more from the builder. By the way, these home prices included upgrades! I have never met homeowners who were willing to accept a substantial reduction on the price of their home to the tune of more than $60,000. As a matter of fact, many homeowners have overpriced their homes on the market because they owe more than the home is worth and they cannot afford to go lower in price.

Buying Tip: To score a new home deal you can’t walk in and offer builders $400,000 under what they are asking for the home. Fantastic deals can be found however if you find the right buyer’s agent who specializes in new homes because their experience, relationships with builders and negotiating ability will help you save thousands of dollars.

6. That brown carpet and tiny kitchen? Soooooo 1970s! – Kitchen big enough for one? Small closets, shower only bathrooms and carpet everywhere? Not for today’s homebuyer! The modern lifestyle is drastically different from what it was even ten years ago and resale homes often lack the oomph and space to satisfy. Today’s homebuyer wants a bright, open kitchen with breakfast bar and high-end appliances. We now do most of our living in the kitchen! Soaking tubs in the master suite and walk-in closets are now considered standard staples of the modern home. New homes often feature these amenities as a part of their standard offering and are even starting to prepare homes for the future including the addition of whole house networking and walk-out basements that can be finished as future living space.

7. New homes save money with efficiency and green building techniques. – Many new homes are taking advantage of the Energy Star standard which sets forth a number of requirements that products like windows and doors must adhere to in order to achieve an Energy Star rating. In addition to Energy Star many builders are now offering green building and living options like the installation of solar panels on the roof of a home to harness the sun’s energy and convert it to electricity. If you install enough solar panels you may just have the electric company paying you for the electricity you are producing! These features are often very costly to retrofit a resale home with if it wasn’t initially built to these standards.

The next time you start searching for homes be sure to consider all of your options including new construction. When buying new construction you should take into account the fact that most new homes take approximately four to six months to build. You will also devote more of your personal time to building the home as you will need to choose home upgrades and work with your agent through the inspection and financing processes.

Happy hunting!

Miami Real Estate And The Effect Of Hollywood On Sales

Miami is a major city in the state of Florida, which covers 55.27 square miles, and is the seat of Miami-Dade County. This urban enclave is the largest city within the South Florida metropolitan area and the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States with a population of 5.4 million. Miami and its surrounding cities make up the fifth largest urban area in the United States.

The importance of Miami as an international financial and cultural, and real estate giant has elevated Miami to the status of world city. Miami's cultural and linguistic ties to North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean is well-entrenched, and this city is often times referred to as "The Gateway of the Americas." Florida's large Spanish-speaking population and strong economic ties to Latin America also make Miami and the surrounding region an important center of the Hispanic world.

Miami also has enshrined itself among TV and movie buffs, and on a large number of occasions has the city been the set of a wide array of blockbuster television and movie projects. Emmy-award winning drama shows such as CSI: Miami, Nip/Tuck and Dexter all take place in Miami.

The NBC show Good Morning, Miami was fictionally based around the workings of a Miami television station, as well as popular sitcoms The Golden Girls and "Empty Nest," were also based in outlying Miami Beach. In the 1980s however, one TV show, Miami Vice succeeded in revitalizing the city's image as the 'place to be' for the new generation.

The remake of the new Miami Vice film takes a colder, darker look at the city's underworld, although laid out in a cool and exciting manner. Video games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories also take place in Vice City, which is a fictional city inspired by Miami, and includes some of the area’s architecture and geography.

Miami is also a mecca for Latin television and film production, owing to it's proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. As a result, many Spanish-language programs are filmed in the many television production studios, predominantly in Hialeah and Doral. These include game and variety shows, news programs, and telenovelas, as well as daytime talk shows Cristina Saralegui and El Gordo y la Flaca. All these add to the glitzy, seductive and sweetly sinister look most folks would crave of Miami.

Throughout the past decade, Miami has emerged as one of the most vibrant real estate markets in North America. People from overseas have descended into the city and have made an unprecedented revitalization of this long neglected southern jewel. The new dynamism has carried across Biscayne Bay to Miami's worn-out downtown area, up Biscayne Boulevard, and throughout its historic east side neighborhoods.

Currently, along Miami's bay front corridor, there are around an estimated 17,000 new luxury high-rise and loft style condominiums being built or awaiting permits. That upswing has been overflowing into the adjacent Miami neighborhoods. The past decade has seen the Miami cityscape changing dramatically.

A large part of these changes have been made just over the past three years, as the city's skyline is now crowded with a mix of high rises and construction cranes. The city's real estate market has been extremely dynamic, the main Miami preconstruction condos development areas are, Downtown, Brickell, Edgewater, the Miami River as well as Coral Gables. A large number of older Miami buildings are disappearing to give way to luxury hi-rise buildings.

The city's commercial real estate market has also been very strong; it is estimated that over 4 million square feet of brand-new retail space will enter the market in the future. A flurry of real estate investments come from Latin America, the north east of the United States and also from Europe, where European investors are banking on the emerging Euro to acquire large pieces of the Miami real estate market.

Maintaining Your Homes Value - Six Quick Tips

In todays real estate market, selling your home may not be as easy as in years past. The home that stands out as "better than average" has the advantage.

One way to insure that your home sells for top dollar in the future is to keep up with the repairs and maintenance every home needs. Not only will your home remain attractive, but it will likely sell more quickly and for more money some years down the road. Being proactive about handling routine beautification and maintenance tasks will help your home retain its value over the years, and will be less costly in the long run than putting things off.

Here are six things you can do to stay on top of home maintenance issues:

1. Maintain your interior. If you have the carpets cleaned regularly it will not only improve the appearance, but will improve their wear as well. Check wood and vinyl flooring for warping and tears and replace it when needed. Make sure wood cabinets are properly cleaned and finished to improve the longevity of the wood.

2. Check for plumbing leaks. Small leaks can often be overlooked until they become large leaks. Repair the plumbing problems early. The cost of repairing water damage is often ten to twenty times the cost of repairing the leaking plumbing itself. Don't wait until the problem shows itself with a water spot on the wall or a soaked carpet. Leaks are most damaging on the second floor of a home, as the water runs inside the walls or first floor ceiling and causes extensive damage.

3. Paint your home before it really needs it. Don't wait until the paint is cracked and peeling, or you can't remember the color of the stucco. By that time you may be looking at costly repairs in addition to the painting.

4. Keep your yard in good shape. Trim the bushes and maintain the lawn and shrubs. Keep mature trees trimmed from overhanging the house so they don't deposit leaves and debris on the roof, which accelerates the aging of shake roofs. Follow your community's rules for brush clearance for fire safety.

5. Check the roof often. The rainy season is not the time to find out you have a missing or cracked shingle, or some other unseen damage. If you don't know how to check your roof, call in a roofing inspection professional.

6. Inspect your home. Walk around your home and yard frequently to look for things that need repair or replacement. Be objective. Put yourself in the place of a home buyer. What would you be looking for as you walked around the house and yard of a home you were about to buy? If your home is more than 10 years old, it is a good idea to call in an inspector and have a "Whole House" inspection. This will give you an idea of things that might need attention and can save you money on more costly repairs in the future.

Owning a home is a great joy. It's also a big responsibility. Taking on the responsibility pro actively will make home ownership more joyful, and prosperous, for you in the long run.

Investments In Property Verses Investments In Other Business

Ever since man has been earning money, he has been looking to invest his hard earned money in the right and most profitable channels. Investments have been on the minds of people since we can remember. Formidable investment options have competed with each other with shares, bonds and property leading the show. Of the three, property has always held the upper hand when it comes to a safe and sound investment option. Yet, despite all its risks, shares continue to find its own league of followers. If you are a new entrant into the investment market, you need to have a deep understanding of all the investment options in order to invest rightly. The smart investor is the one who spots the best investment option miles away.

Measuring returns:-

There are several ways to measure the returns that you get from an investment. One is to measure the net income and the other is to measure the change in the value of the asset. And of course you have to keep the risk factor in mind. In more recent times, the definition or the way by which you measure the returns has undergone a change. Returns is now defined as the percentage net income over a period divided by the value of the property or the net yield, and the percentage change in value over an equal or the same period of time. For example a property with a total yield of 15% and an increase in the value of 5% gives a total return of 20%. At the same time, the risk is defined as the volatility or the deviation over the same period of time.

Why Property?

In the US, shares were declared as the riskiest investment option in the last few years according to a survey. But they also gave the highest returns. The lowest returns were given by bonds and the risk was the minimum as well. While property fared in between the two. So wouldn’t you like to invest in a channel that does not have as much risk and at the same time, delivers a standard percentage of returns? A lot of investors look to invest a part of their income in each of the above mentioned assets. This is a smart investment policy because even if a bad situation were to arise, each one of the assets would react differently to it. Not all of them would go through a decline at the same time. The co relation of property with equities is quite less. Hence even if equities fall, it is not necessary that property will follow suit.

Sub classes within the same:-

Even within property there are two distinct sub classes. One is listed property and the other is directly held property. Of the two the later is the more stable option and also has less risks involved. So if you too are confused by the greatest investment debate of all times, then be rest assured that property definitely holds the upper hand. A two fold income source, least risks involved and an ever growing demand are what fuel’s the property market ahead. So what are you waiting for?

Why Property Is The Best Investment Option Today

Each and every person in this world works 24x7 to earn. A lot of us then look to stabilize and multiply the earned money by investing it in potentially lucrative avenues. There are a lot of investment options which can be chosen. But there are risks involved as well. For example the capital market was once the chosen investment option for most investors. But the risks involved were just too many and this led to a gradual decline in the numbers. Then people looked to invest in small businesses. Over time this investment option too failed to sustain the large numbers and is now fading away. But one investment option has stood against the test of time and stayed as reliable as it ever was. Yes, we are talking about property. Property is one of the best and most recommended investment options of all times. But what is it about property that makes it so lucrative an investment option?

The positive cash flow:-

Property is probably the only investment option which allows you to have a positive cash flow all along. After all what is more attractive than making money while you own the property? A lot of people are today looking for loans with low interest rates. The trick is to look for property which will then generate a positive cash flow. A lot of people look for three to four less expensive properties than looking for one which is rather expensive as it increases the positive cash flow. Interest only loans are another way of generating positive income. Since you will only be paying the interest for the first few years, you can easily use this loan to keep the cash flow going. Then by the end of the interest only term period, most people sell or refinance the property. There are of course several other ways by which you can maximize the income that you can generate with property.

The rules of the game:-

Like any other investment, property too has its own set of rules. If you play your right cards at the right time, you will be maximizing your profits. Have you ever heard of opportunity cost? Well, it is the cost of something in terms of a lost opportunity. For example if you invest an amount like $100K, in a property in Maine, the opportunity cost would be the amount of money you could have made by investing the same money in a city like New York. The opportunity cost would also be the amount of money that you would have made by investing the same money in some other business. In property, it is extremely important that a person understands the opportunity cost factor. A lot of people try to invest in a couple of properties and then keep it for a time frame of 20 to 25 years. But what they do not realize is that in doing this they are limiting the earning potential that the property has. There are options of selling or refinancing as well which might need to be looked into before investing in ay property.