Uproar Over Appraisals: Property Owners Chafe at Change in System Designed to End Fraud
Appraisers, mortgage brokers and others blame new appraisal rules, which change how appraisers are assigned, for lost revenues, delayed and faulty appraisals, collapsed deals and other problems, even in some of Atlanta’s toniest neighborhoods. Atlanta mortgage broker Steven Alexander of National Guaranty Mortgage Corp. said an out-of-town appraiser hired to evaluate a Buckhead mansion he handled recently came up with a value $500,000 below the $2.1 million he thought the house deserved. He said the appraiser ignored the fact that the home was designed by a well-known architect, was located in a more desirable school district than comparison homes and included luxurious features such as copper gutters, a patio fireplace and a basement entertainment center. As a result, the owners, who were refinancing, ended up having to get a loan with a higher interest rate because the lower appraisal made the loan appear riskier, Alexander said. (www.ajc.com)
Atlanta Journal Constitution (10/18/09); Russell Grantham
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Energy Savers: Incentives to Help You Take Advantage of Home-Energy Upgrades
As the weather turns chilly in many parts of the country, home owners are looking at improvements to help them keep their energy costs down — and the government can help with part of the bill. Upgrading insulation, windows, doors, roofing, heating and air conditioning systems or water heaters can provide home owners with a federal tax credit for 30% of the purchase price of the product — up to a $1,500 maximum. To qualify for the credit, those purchases must be placed in service between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010 and must meet specific product guidelines.. “It’s a good time to be thinking about this,” said Ronnie Kweller, spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy. The alliance notes that a more energy-efficient home, along with the lower fuel costs and the mild weather expected for this winter, should make for lower heating bills — a blessing for many cash-strapped consumers. For typically more costly improvements — including solar water heaters, solar panels, small wind-energy systems and geo-thermal heat pumps — the credit is for 30% of the purchase price, with no cap, according to the Energy Star Web site. Fuel cells also are covered , at 30% of the cost, up to $500 per 0.5 kilowatt of power capacity. Credits for these improvements are available through 2016, but must be claimed for the tax year in which the purchase is made. And all but the fuel-cell equipment can be used for a vacation home as well. To qualify, the products must be used inside a home, which means equipment used to heat a pool or hot tub doesn’t qualify. (www.marketwatch.com)
MarketWatch (10/12/09); Amy Hoak
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Clairmont Empowers the Client; Custom Builder Offers Tours of Home at Each Stage of the Process
Hinsdale, Ill.-based builder and remodeler Pat Franz says his clients request “low-maintenance, secure, efficient houses with open floor plans. They want to come home to comforts like steam showers and home theaters,” he says, “but don’t want to have to have engineering degrees to use them.” Franz says he named his company Clairmont Ltd. because British names lend an air of trust. Dozens of houses with the Clairmont name now dot the Chicago suburbs. Franz is an NAHB Certified Green Professional and says “building green” is a goal for each of his projects, including practices such as recycling construction waste. “Every house is a tighter shell, so we use products like cellulose or spray-foam insulation,” says Franz. “We caulk the heck out of every conceivable opening with caulk that stretches as the house expands and contracts.” Only trades people who keep up on green building make the Clairmont team, he says. The staff includes a trim carpenter who knows how to create a three-layered, coffered ceiling. Like most custom builders, Franz prizes his trim carpenter like a restaurateur prizes his pastry chef, whose kitchen skills must match, at least, his presentation skills. To keep the client informed of the house’s progress, the Clairmont team schedules tours at each stage. “We empower them with information,” says Trish Wojcik, the company’s vice president. “And, we understand that not every client is used to thinking in 3D. So we make their changes along the way, when they can actually walk through the house.” (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (10/16/09); Leslie Mann
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Hot Spots in a Cool Market
Two homes selling in this slow market are the Dorchester, a popular model in Ryan Homes’ Gilead Ridge neighborhood in Huntersville, N.C., and the Summit, which accounts for more than a third of sales in Pulte’s Sun City Carolina Lakes in Lancaster County, N.C. They’re strikingly different. The first offers lots of square footage for young families stretching tight budgets. It starts at $239,990 for 2,920 square feet and, with upgrades, averages about $299,900. The most popular options for the four-bedroom Dorchester include a bonus room and sunroom, along with hardwood floors, large kitchen islands, upgraded cabinets and granite countertops. About half the buyers are first-time home owners, and they have been taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. The second hot seller appeals to active retirees drawn by the lifestyle as well as the home’s layout. The most popular model in the Carolina Lakes active adult community for those 55 and older is the Summit series, which is available in four configurations. A loft can be added to increase space, and about half of Summit buyers choose the loft. The homes have averaged about 2,000 square feet, and have ranged in price from the high $200,000s to the low $300,000s. Depending on options, and how the loft space is configured, the homes have either two or three bedrooms. The loft wasn’t offered when Pulte’s Del Webb subdivision opened Sun City three years ago. It was added as an option to meet requests from buyers. Buyers use the space like an “upside down basement.” It’s flexible space that can be configured as another bedroom, game room or media room, just as a basement might be. Buyers often move to Carolina Lakes to be near grandkids in Charlotte, and the loft can be used as a bedroom or play area for them.(www.charlotteobserver.com)
Charlotte Observer (10/10/09); Allen Norwood and Stella Hopkins
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New Homes Built to Suit Smaller Budgets
As home builders compete for first-time buyers, amid a flood of foreclosures and resales at prices barely covering those homes’ construction costs, the industry is adjusting business models to bring down prices and grow profit. “Affordability is going to drive everything,” said Stephen Melman, director of economic services at NAHB. “People will be looking to buy the home they need.” Buyers are willing to trade down on features to get an affordable home, says Jim Zeumer, vice president of investor relations at Pulte Homes. For instance, instead of granite, they may choose cheaper Formica. “Three to five years ago it was much more high-end everything,” he said. KB Homes’ Open Series models combine living and dining areas into “great rooms,” and trim space elsewhere to keep the bedroom count up. Most hallways are gone. Such “value-engineered” changes have cut construction costs by 40%. Prices vary for the Open Series houses, which are built to order. In Tucson, Ariz., where the median price for an existing home was $174,100 in this year’s second quarter, KB Home priced Open Series homes starting at $89,999. The Open Series program ramped up rapidly in the second quarter and will likely make up about 50% of sales by the fourth quarter, the firm said. The series helped boost KB Home’s net orders in the third quarter 62% from a year earlier, to 2,158. The company’s average selling price fell 15% to $202,800, but net margins improved and losses narrowed. (www.investors.com)
Investors Business Daily (10/1/09); Marilyn Alva
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Privacy Please; How Home Owners Find Alone Time in Spaces They Can Call Their Own
Despite the supersizing of new homes, men are staking claim to their own spaces, report builders and architects. Ditto for women and children, although some men argue they already “have” the whole house. The compulsion can be traced back to the cardboard-box fort the average home owner built as a child, says architect/author Sara Susanka, whose “Not So Big House” series triggered a rethinking of new-home building. As adults, she says, box habitants find themselves in a roomy house with an open floor plan, but no privacy. The answer, Susanka says, is what she calls a poyo (place of your own), a version of which she includes in each of her Not So Big Architectural House Plans (sold through Houseplans.com) The adult cardboard box translates to a room or alcove that’s away from family activities. The greatest hurdle when acquiring a poyo, says Susanka, is not finding the space in a spare room, attic or basement. It is “giving yourself permission to have it,” she says. “It isn’t selfish. It isn’t being anti-social. It’s human nature. Everyone is calmer and there’s less friction in the family if they have their own spaces.” Susanka’s own poyo is a tiny book-lined writing room, sans telephone. Typically, a poyo for men serves one of the following purposes: collecting, entertaining, playing, sports or working. (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (10/2/09); Leslie Mann
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