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Real Estate

He said, She said

Our weekly round-up of  the talk in blogland. 

Bob Borson of Dallas, TX writes Life of An Architect about his own house, his work and, well, the life of an architect.  He’s a pretty funny guy.  Guess which one is him in this photo.

Speaking of building houses,the  Tiny House Blog has plans, resources, and tons of photos about “living simply in small spaces.”  Here small can mean  400 – 600 square feet cabins, sheds, huts, or bungalows.  It’s cool stuff.  

On a similar blog called  The Tiny Life, this post does a good job of explaining  the Tiny House Movement and this post discusses the question of raising kids in a tiny house.   

Anyone going thrifting this weekend?  It seems to have been a good week for finding stuff.   Heirloom Farmhouse showed off her envious stash and  Jen West at Jentrified shared some of her amazing estate sales finds, too.

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Last but not least, Real Estate Blog 360 offers up clear, easy to read articles about various real estate topics.  I like this one about about how to correctly price a home for sale and this one about the best free phone apps for house hunting. The apps list is a probably a little dated - if you’ve found any new apps we should know about, let us know!

Have a great weekend!   

by Lisa Oram

Written by editor on September 3, 2010 at 2:16 pm
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Pet-Friendly Features Boost Property Value

People are freaky when it comes to their pets. I’ve seen people carry their little dogs during the daily “walk,” little sweaters, baby carriages . . .you name it.

According to the latest report from Move, Inc., some of the latest, greatest pet features for the home include deluxe dog runs, custom dog doors, and private patios with personal fire hydrants. However, these items don’t just spoil Spot; they also boost your property value.

“Pets have become important members of the family, and their needs are often high on the list of must-haves for many buyers, sometimes even higher than priorities of the two-legged members of the family,” says Eileen Healy of Colorado’s Prudential Rocky Mountain Realtors. “Calling out features or local pet-friendly amenities can make or break a buyer’s interest in a particular property. If a buyer knows a home they love already has features the family dog or pet will also love, they’ll be more inclined to give that home a second look and consider it more than others on their list.”

Just a quick example: An Idaho seller is offering a heated doghouse as part of his $520,000 home package.

You don’t need to move or go doggone crazy with the budget to make your home four-legged-friendly. Here are a three of our favorite products for the pampered pooch.

PetZen DogTread Motorized Exercise Treadmill:   Fido doesn’t have to worry about bad weather ora bad owner. This treadmill allows him to walk all day and night. With prices starting at $550, there are treadmill models available for small, medium, or large dogs.

 

Autoelex Pet Pavilion:  This creepy little invention looks like a microwave for dogs — to cook them, not cook for them. Don’t get out the steak sauce. It’s actually designed so that Rex can relax or recuperate from illness at just the right temperature. That sort of pampering doesn’t come cheap or easy, though. Right now, this device is by inquiry only, but you’d better have $10K handy.

MTI Whirlpools Jentle Pet:  Most dogs don’t love to take a bath. However, very few have the Jentle Pet. Starting at $1,199, this hand-held shower and a self-cleaning whirlpool system also features five massaging whirlpool jets, shelves for shampoos and supplies, and a seat for your favorite human.

 by Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on September 1, 2010 at 10:10 am
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Newlyweds House on the Market

Remember the good old days, when Jessica Simpson’s biggest dilemmas included the pronunciation of “plata-ma-pus” and the presence of buffalo in her Buffalo wings?

Her MTV stepping stone, Newlyweds, is long gone and so is her marriage to equally perky pop star Nick Lachey. However, the Newlyweds house is still standing strong, and it’s currently up for sale.

If you have a cool $1.95 million just festering in your bank account, you could own the house that Jessica used to wax poetic in. Oh, what those walls could say… probably something along the lines of, “It’s tuna, you big dummy!”

Anyway, according to the listing, the house is even more gorgeous than Simpson’s pre-MTV self. Located in the gated community of Calabasas Park Estates, this 6,483-square-foot California spread has 5 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a wine cellar, a media room, a recording studio, a game room, two walk-in closets, stainless steel appliances, a walk-in pantry, and a built-in BBQ area. Of course, there’s a pool/spa, which you can probably see from every bedroom, since each one has its own balcony.

If you don’t have the cash to drop all at once, it’s no problem. Payments should only run you about $7,777 per month.

by Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on July 27, 2010 at 11:17 am
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Happy Father’s Day!

Looking for a last minute gift idea?  If so, and if you have an extra $75 million handy, can you please adopt me as your father?  Then we can live happily ever after in this little hovel just outside of Orlando, Florida:

But wait.  No.  I don’t think I could handle living in such a small place.  I mean, s**t.  It only has 30 bedrooms.  Where will Scotty (my third cousin, twice removed—and possibly dead since last time I heard from him) stay if he comes to visit?

At least the 23 bathrooms would make it too hard to choose where to read the paper each morning.  They all have Jacuzzis, by the way.

But parking would be no problem;  the garage is designed to hold 20 cars.

You know I’m house hunting, right?  I suppose you could talk me into this one, if I happen to be in a good mood.

There’s plenty to do thanks to the built-in roller rink, bowling alley, ballroom, and theater.  When we want some sun, we can hang out by one of the three (!) swimming pools, hit some balls at the baseball field (or two tennis courts), or visit the rock grotto with three built in spas—behind an 80-foot waterfall.

And no—I’m not making this up.

When you get hungry you can wander around this giant expanse until you stumble onto one of 10 kitchens, or quench your thirst in the two-story wine cellar.

Yeah, you read that right.  TWO-STORY WINE CELLAR.

Houses like this scare me, if only because being alone in it would be akin to walking into an international airport empty of all workers and travelers . . . like a Twilight Zone episode. 

And by the way, I’ve heard this mansion is a bit of fixer-upper.  Estimates are that another $25 million is needed to make the place livable.

But that’s OK.  We’re fixer-uppers.  Right? 

Now stop reading blogs and go out to do something fatherly.

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 20, 2010 at 10:19 am
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Roller House

My girlfriend and I are looking for a new house.  As such, we both tool around on the Internet now and then looking for something in our price range.

This, however, came as quite a surprise:

Looks like a giant coffee can, I know, but there ya go.  It’s a house. The interior is much more appealing:

 It doesn’t hurt that a pretty girl is apparently provided with the house. . .

This experimental housing, developed at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany, is divided into three different sections, each dedicated to a specific function.  In one section, there is a bed and a table; in the second, an exercise area; and in the third, there’s a fully functional kitchen with a sink.

I have no idea where the bathroom is, so don’t ask.  All that I can say is that it better have one hell of a seal on the lid for when you’re rolling around in your house.  

 

Structurally, the house is designed around four support rings over an inner shell.  The outer shell is translucent—specifically designed for sponsor advertising logos.

It looks pretty comfy, and I love the idea.  But I can’t see how it would necessarily save space, as you would still need room to roll your lodging around to get to . . .I dunno . . .the refrigerator or something.

And, anyway, it’s not for sale. 

by John Barker

Written by editor on June 16, 2010 at 10:33 am
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Would You Buy a Home Based on Color?

Better Homes and Gardens says that color could give you an upper hand when selling your home. The magazine’s Real Estate side has partnered with Pantone, the “global authority” on color, to offer real estate agents and home sellers advice on color theory.

“If you are selling a home right now, chances are you have a lot of competition and are doing whatever you can to retain every bit of appreciation,” said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. “The strategic partnership program between Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and Pantone will allow our real estate agents and their clients to have access to the technical expertise and interactive tools that will enable them to accurately and effectively stage homes.”

So in other words, there’s a lot more to it than just matching. Check out this video:

If this has given you a few bright ideas, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has a slew of other videos available on its website. The series is designed to build better interiors using proven color techniques. Homeowners can find new ways to create a better color palette, without breaking the bank.

“Re-thinking your home’s color scheme to make it more sellable is perhaps the single most effective inexpensive home improvement you can make,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

by Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on May 17, 2010 at 10:42 am
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Country Living Builds City Home

Country Living magazine is looking forward to some big city living. 

The company recently announced its 2010 House of the Year, titled “Home Green Home.” It’s going up in the heart of New York City at the World Trade Center, right on the Hudson River. 

New York City and Country Living? It sounds a bit like the plot of a Sandra Bullock rom-com, but looks gorgeous.

The magazine’s editors worked with New World Home to design the 1,600-square-foot property and fill it with products that personify the “green” lifestyle.  The two companies formed a partnership earlier this year to develop modular homes under the Country Living Collection moniker. Other features of the 2010 home include two bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a 1,100-square-foot wrap-around porch. 

Country Livingplans to unveil the home on June 3, 2010. The property will then be open to the public starting on June 4,  if you want to get a peek inside. You can also wait and see it when the house is featured in the magazine’s November 2010 issue.

Readers are also invited to purchase the home, although no asking price has been announced yet. Don’t form your bids around the location, though. Once the viewing is over, the home will be moved to Crystal Springs Resort near Vernon, New Jersey.

by Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on May 5, 2010 at 9:26 am
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Extreme Changes Coming

We recently reported on one of the many Extreme Makeover families facing foreclosure. Now it looks as though the show is going under construction.

Don’t start yelling, “Move that bus,” just yet. This makeover will probably take more than 7 days. However, changes are coming. The Wall Street Journal says that producers plan to scale back the show a bit. So instead of giving away mini mansions, recipients may actually receive houses which they can afford to live in.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has always strived along with our volunteer builders to create not only ‘extreme’ homes, but homes that work for the owners for years to come,” a show spokesperson said. “As always, we are striving to build greener, more affordable and environmentally responsible homes, and redoubling those efforts for years to come.”

 

So a bowling alley isn’t green? Probably not. Apparently, it’s also not very cheap to maintain. As a result, many Extreme homeowners have been struggling with tax and utility bills.

 According to producers, the show will attempt to downsize — in square footage as well as amenities. “I think our hearts were in the right place, but we just got carried way,” says Tracy Hutson, one of the show’s on-camera interior designers. “It can be extreme without being the biggest house you’ve ever seen.” They will also continue to look for economic and earth-friendly products to incorporate into each home.

By Rachel Cericola

Photo Credit: © ABC/Bill Matlock

Written by editor on April 7, 2010 at 1:06 pm
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HGTV Dream Home: We Have a Winner!

We all like to think about our dream home – and Myra Lewis can stop now.

Myra, 63, was recently crowned the winner of HGTV’s 2010 Dream Home. She has the type of life story that makes for a 2-hour episode of Extreme Makeover. How’d they miss her? It doesn’t matter because now she’s got something better than one of those 7-day quickie builds.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the home that Myra shared with her now-25-year-old son, Chris.  They bounced around before renovating the ravaged home, which now serves as a rental property. Chris is autistic and pursuing a degree in fine arts.

Myra’s new address and brand new Pueblo-style home is located near Santa Fe, New Mexico. We were ogling over the beauty that’s inside and out just a few weeks back.

 And Myra doesn’t just get the house – it’s actually part of a $2 million prize package, which includes a 2010 GMC Terrain and $500,000. Other housewarming gifts include a 5-day wireless forecaster, a Cuisinart food processor, a countertop popcorn machine, a few Bobby Flay-branded goods, a baking set, and much more.

“I’m blown away,” said the emotional winner. “I’m blown away. This is just unbelievable!”

She isn’t kidding, either. Myra’s name was picked from more than 40 million entries.

And there’s still another chance!  The HGTV Green Home is under construction in Plymouth, MA, and the sweepstakes begins in April. 

By Rachel Cericola

Written by editor on March 26, 2010 at 3:21 pm
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Ready for Anything

Need a quick, sturdy structure that looks like an armadillo, is fireproof, and waterproof, too?  If so, Concrete Canvas Ltd. has a solution for you.

Designed for both military and civilian purposes, Concrete Canvas Shelters require only water, air, and a small amount of time to construct.  Two models are available: the  CCS25 and CCS54.  Two people can build CCS25 in 24 hours.  That’s pretty darned fast for a semi-permanent (10+ years) concrete structure!

According the their web site, the idea for Concrete Canvas arose “from the idea of using inflation to create a purely tensile surface to use as the formwork for perfect compressive forms, thus using the properties of concrete most efficiently.”

That’s quite a mouthful.  I think it’s saying that they wanted to develop a surface that would cling to porous materials.  But I’m not sure.

Perhaps this video will help explain things better:

Concrete Canvas Shelters have excellent thermal properties thanks to berming—the use of earth or snow against the building’s walls.  Berming reduces heat loss, yet maintains a constant indoor temperature.  In the case of earth berming, it also makes the unit bulletproof.  But situations involving bullets are something us Fix-It-Yourself-ers hope to avoid, right?

These units are also designed for modular use; they can be connected together by the doorways of each section.

The same concrete cloth material can be used for other projects such as ditch-lining and pipe protection. 

Wave of the future?   I don’t know, but they are currently being factory-produced in Wales. 

by John Barker

Written by editor on March 26, 2010 at 1:42 pm
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