By Ken Torrino
Every year, when January rolls around, we make a resolution regarding our diet or spending to live out a better year. So often we let the needs of our home slip through our mind, but a home could use some New Year’s resolutions too!
In 2013, home renovation is focused on improving safety and efficiency in the home. Whether you are in a high-end market like New York City real estate or not, a home can become even more valuable with home renovations.
Here are some suggestions for a few New Year’s resolutions to increase energy efficiency for homes in 2013. Continue reading »
Case Remodeling recently featured several ideas at its blog on how to make those remodeling projects more budget friendly. Here are a few ways to trim remodeling costs:
1. Don’t change plumbing or electrical configurations. Keep your plumbing fixtures and electrical work where they’re at. Instead of moving the plumbing or electrical all over the room, Case recommends for remodelers to “think about supplementing and extending your existing wiring instead of ripping it out and starting over,” which can be much more costly.
2. Find savings in materials. “The cost of cabinets, counters, fixtures, paneling, etc. can constitute up to 70 percent of your remodeling budget,” Case Remodeling notes in its blog. “While labor costs may be hard to reduce, the choice of materials is within your control.” For example, solid surfaces can look similar to marble, and granite tiles may be an option over stone to curb costs.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Spread the word this holiday season to your clients: They only have a few more days left in the month to take advantage of tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements–so ’tis the season to upgrade!
Tax credits up to $500 are available for home owner’s to claim until the end of the year, but they better hurry. Congress has yet to renew the tax credits for 2012.
“Making efficiency improvements this year will lower home energy bills and improve home comfort for years to come, while also reducing 2011 federal income tax bills,” Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, said in a statement.
The allowance for the tax credits that home owners may be eligible for include: Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
About 130 million homes were built prior to energy codes and are in need of an energy retrofit, panelists said Saturday at the session New Tricks for Old Homes during the REALTOR Conference & Expo in Anaheim.
“There’s an opportunity to revitalize the older housing stock and refresh them as green homes,” Bob Sahadi with the Institute for Market Transformation told attendees.
“Green” retrofits could add up to a potential 30 percent savings, on average, on utility bills—not to mention, increased home owner comfort (in fixing drafty homes) and achieving better air quality circulating throughout the home, panelists said.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Home buyers are increasingly reporting they want more energy savings, and plenty of homes are promoting “Energy Star” home appliances to help satisfy that desire. But some say that too many appliances are earning the “Energy Star” designation, and it’s starting to lose its impact.
To counter that, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, which jointly run the Energy Star program, have recently announced the new “most efficient” label, which is reserved for the utmost energy efficient washers, dryers, and other appliances. Only the top 5 percent of energy-efficient products will earn the designation.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Green building and products continue to gain traction in real estate, and some of the latest “green” products not only are helping home owners trim energy bills but also making their homes work smarter.
ONE ‘SMART’ GREEN HOME
The Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has unveiled its fourth version of its “Smart Home,” a 2,200 square-foot home that boasts some of the latest innovations in green construction. Here are a few of its features:
Photo Credit: J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
–Monitor energy usage. This home was wired to keep a constant close watch on its energy usage. The home features a large flat-screen television that displays a room-by-room measurement of the home’s energy consumption. The home’s automation system also controls the lighting and can track daily and hourly use of energy.
Photo Credit: J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
–A mirror not just for your reflection. The Cybertecture Mirror in the home’s master bathroom is no ordinary mirror. You can use a remote to turn it instantly into a computer monitor where you can even check your Facebook page. You can also use it to display time, traffic reports, news, temperature, and even keep track of your weight.
–Movable solar panels. Located in the front of the house, a 45-foot wind turbine provides some of the energy to power the home from the sun. The Smart Home’s rooftop solar panels also are an energy source. Unlike typical solar panels, these panels are soft and roll out on the home’s flat roof so home owners can even take it with them if they ever move. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Remodeling a kitchen, bathroom, or other room to increase a home’s value can be a good idea, but home owners need to be careful when undergoing a remodeling task to ensure they don’t fall for some of the common traps. CNNMoney.com recently highlighted a few such common mistakes:
1. Being too trendy. The home will look out-of-date a lot faster if you just reach for today’s trends, according to design experts. As such, you might want to bypass such trends as glass tiles, wire-hung track lighting, and vessel sinks, says Curt Schultz, a real estate professional and architect in Pasadena, Calif. Instead, opt for classic choices that compliment the home’s original style, he says.
2. Going overboard in the kitchen. Kitchens can help sell houses but that doesn’t give you a green-light to spend big bucks in giving it a total redo. You still want to be practical, or you likely won’t recoup the cost of all your upgrades when selling. The kitchen usually makes up 5 percent to 15 percent of a home’s value so limit your kitchen remodeling budget to that range, says John Bredemeyer with the Appraisal Institute. And don’t gut the kitchen if it’s already in good shape, he adds.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Spread the word to your sellers and clients: Time is ticking to complete home renovation projects if they want to cash in on a tax deduction that expires at the end of the year. Tax credits are available for home owners who do upgrades that help them save energy and reduce their utility bills such as with more energy-efficient windows and doors, insulation, and heating and cooling equipment.
You can qualify for up to $1,500 in tax credits when filing 2010 income tax returns. Home owner have until Dec. 31 to qualify for the tax credit.
Home owners can take advantage of the tax credit (Internal Revenue Code Section 25C) for efficiency upgrades made to existing homes, such as for certain types of insulation, windows, roofs, water heaters, heat pumps, furnaces and air conditioners. Tax credits are available for 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 for 2009 and 2010.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Coinciding with a sluggish housing market, home owners have changed their preferences about how space is used and designed in their homes. Function over extravagance has reigned in recent years, along with affordability, when it comes to home features, according to the latest American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2010.
Here are a few highlights from the report, based on nearly 300 residential architects who were surveyed about the design preferences of U.S. households.
WHAT’S IN
Home offices: More people are working out of their home or telecommuting, prompting more home owners to want a dedicated workspace in their homes.
Outdoor living areas: Home owners want to expand their living space into the outdoors and are seeking to incorporate more outdoor living elements into their lifestyles, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said in a public statement about the survey. Continue reading »
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