Real Estate articles

Five Important Questions New Home Builders Must Answer Before Construction Starts
As a homeowner, you've decided to have your new home built from scratch for a variety of reasons-to be able to customize the design, select features that preexisting properties can't provide, or perhaps live in a specific location. Before starting on the home construction project however, it's important to consider your options and ask your new home builders a few important questions.

Finding A 'Green' House Builder
These days, awareness of our impact on the environment is rising, which has led to an increase in people looking at environmentally sustainable and friendly home design and construction. If you are one of these people, you may be wondering how on earth you should go about finding a 'green' house builder. It really is no different to hiring any other professional - you just have to know where to look and what questions you should be asking.

Anti-Flipping Waiver Extended
Though the nation's housing stock continues to slowly decrease, there is still an estimated 8 to 9 month backlog of homes available for sale. Market saturation causes home prices to remain low, and makes potential buyers hesitant to invest in private property. At the start of 2010, the FHA issued a waiver to it's anti-flipping regulation, in hopes of spurring housing market activity. The waiver was set to expire at the end of 2011.

Four Things to Consider When Designing Your Modular Home
Modular home building has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. Improvements in technology and efficient building practices make modular homes the premier choice for homebuyers. When potential buyers come to the design center, they are so impressed with all of the design options available to them. Three of the most important considerations they must make when designing their new home include energy efficiency, home layout, specialty features and foundation options.

Ensuring Your Luxury Home Will Be an Architectural Masterpiece
There has been a growing trend among to-be homeowners that are interested in creating custom luxury mansions to celebrate their financial arrival-many are choosing historical estates designs that emulate the grand and majestic homes found in Europe or from American gentry of the mid 19th and 20th centuries. The homes of American entrepreneurs and like Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and Randall Hurst are being recreated across the country, and many buyers are including the architectural elements of Tuscan, Italian, and Spanish style homes into their home design. As a buyer, how to you ensure that your luxury home, whether...

What About a Timber Framed House?
In contrast to traditional masonry construction, timber house construction is light in weight which allows the building envelope to heat up very quickly. In a house, where heating is intermittent, this fast response can result in increased comfort and energy saving.

The Benefits of Off-Site Building
Off-site building is a term used to describe the building method where buildings, structures or parts thereof are manufactured and assembled remotely from the building site. The building structure is manufactured under factory conditions and delivered to the site where it is ultimately erected.

CDBGs Benefit Post-Katrina Rebuilding
Few of us will forget the images of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees broke. So much of the city was underwater - homes and businesses destroyed. It was hard to imagine what it would take to rebuild after such extensive devastation. Some questioned whether the city could be rebuilt at all. In the wake of Katrina, and again after Hurricane Rita, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) available for use in rebuilding personal property. Recently, HUD released a report assessing the CDBG program's impact on the Gulf Coast.

How to Get a Construction Loan for Your Small House
If you are looking to build a home, looking to update and remodel your home, or you want to add some green features to your home, chances are that you will not have all the money that you need up front. Home construction can be expensive and drain a lot of money out of your bank account. Fortunately there are ways where you can get a substantial amount of money to help you in your construction of your home.

Why Professional Home Builders Are a Good Choice
There are many companies out there offering house building services, but not many of them are professionals who can pull off a great job. While on your search for home builders, you have to be very careful in choosing companies that can give you a good money value return. Though professionals may cost a bit more than usual, it's better than opting for cheap services with unreliable operations. Here are several reasons why you should opt for professional home builders.

Budgeting for a Self Build Project
Building your own home can be one of the most rewarding yet testing ventures of your life. One of the most common issues which blight many a self build is poor control of the budget which can result in frightening overruns on costs. For many embarking on such a venture will often mean risking just about everything they have.

Save Energy With an Airtight House
Air tightness is an increasingly important part of the 'whole house' approach to building dwellings. Airtight houses are more energy efficient and more comfortable for families to live in than conventional homes.