The meltdown in the subprime mortgage market is making it tough for many potential home buyers to find financing. Home buyers with damaged or thin credit histories may be shut out. But what about people with the best credit? Will the problems in subprime have any impact on how costly or easy it is to get mortgages for so-called prime borrowers? In 2004, 2005 and through early 2006, housing was still hot and home loans of all kinds were easy to come by. Investors were pumping money into the mortgage markets and they were willing to buy riskier loans in return for high yields; sometimes, it now seems clear, the risks were over the top.

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search for : subprime mortgage market, financing, Home buyers, subprime

We’re having some serious problems with the windows in our new house. They sweat, let dust blow in, freeze up, and are drafty — even the picture windows. In cold weather, water is running down the windows, and they won’t open. Our heating bill went from $30 dollars in December to $295 in January. The contractor has been out a couple of times, and I also had a representative from the window company come out. They are trying to tell me that this is “normal new-home moisture” and that the house needs a few more months to dry out. We paid for upgraded windows, and we’re also worried because the one-year warranty on the house is about to expire. Now the contractor won’t return my calls. What else can I do?

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search for : contractor, new-home moisture

I am planning a kitchen remodel. Based on all the bids, I have short-listed two contractors. One is a licensed general contractor who has given me good references; the other is an unlicensed one who says he will get the job done by himself and his family members. His bid, for the exact same materials that I want him to buy from my chosen wholesale suppliers, is almost 30 percent less than the licensed contractor’s. The unlicensed guy has given me good references as well. If I employ the licensed guy, he is willing to do all the permit work himself and has given me a full quote including those costs. The unlicensed guy says I can get the homeowner-builder permit myself, and he will ensure full building-code compliance and that the work passes inspections.

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search for : kitchen remodel, licensed contractor, homeowner-builder permit, uilding-code compliance

Evidence consumer ignorance is also contributing to the growing number of foreclosures, more than one in three home owners couldn’t tell you what type of loan they have if their home ownership counted on it. And sometimes it does. A new Bankrate, Inc. poll “Mortgage Ignorance Rampant” found 34 percent of home owners do not know what type of mortgage they own. Other findings include: nNearly one in three, 28 percent of those surveyed, worry either regularly or sometimes about how they will afford their payments next year, a similar percentage, 34 percent of homeowners with ARMs, do not know what they will do when their loan readjusts. “Given that homeowners could be looking at an increase of several hundred dollars each month, this is a staggering statistic,” the report, written by personal finance and real estate author Elizabeth Razzi, said.

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search for : foreclosures, Mortgage Ignorance Rampant

One of the state’s most powerful lobbying groups began a campaign yesterday to block legislation that would give counties the power to tax real-estate sales, arguing that the tax would harm working families. The N.C. Association of Realtors began running radio and television ads in major North Carolina media markets against the so-called “home tax.” The ads counter increased interest among some legislators who are trying to find new revenue sources for infrastructure needs in growing areas of the state.

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search for : tax real-estate sales

It is the green season, when the rains give way to a landscape of renewal, and gardeners clutching copies of Sunset magazine’s Western Garden Book emerge exultantly from their winter dens. In this place where the political climate, too, is green, it is perhaps not surprising to encounter a hardy new perennial in the world of horticulture — the green roof gardener. It is a growing movement that originated in Germany and now includes, to name a few, bottlebrush grasses and wild rye atop Chicago City Hall, succulents on the 10-acre roof of Ford’s River Rouge truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., flowering chives and dianthus on the Bronx County building in New York, and, at an office building for the Gap in San Bruno, Calif., a coastal oak savannah landscape.

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I’m preparing to start a new-home inspection business. My background is in aviation maintenance and home remodeling. In researching the topic, I see many more negative comments than positive ones concerning the effectiveness and competence of home inspectors. I believe the national average is 30 percent of new inspectors go out of business in the first year due to litigation. It also appears that many home buyers are unaware of the number of unqualified inspectors. Is there any good news out there for us potential inspectors?

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search for : home inspection business, home remodeling

A little time spent shoring up your credit, crafting your budget and organizing financial documents will go far in smoothing the way to a home purchase. Ideally, you can start working on your home-buying project before you even start shopping for homes. Keep in mind that most buyers take eight weeks to actually shop for a home, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors. Your financial prep work should start well ahead of those eight weeks.

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search for : home-buying project, National Association of Realtors

When you pay your mortgage, do you know everything that’s included in your mortgage payment? Oftentimes, it can be more than just the standard monthly principal and interest. When you own a home, you are also required to pay for your annual property taxes and home insurance. But this can become tedious. So lenders require you to deposit money into an escrow account to make sure your taxes and insurance are paid. It is possible to avoid escrow and pay your own taxes and insurance. Usually, this is done if your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is less than 80 percent. If it is more than 80 percent, you may be required to escrow until the mortgage is paid down to less than 80 percent LTV.

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search for : mortgage, escrow account, loan-to-value, LTV

The real-estate slowdown has forced some investors to change tactics. Gone are the days when an investor could buy a single-family home or condo, flip it, and walk away with a sizeable profit just weeks or months later without much effort. But there’s one niche that continues to show promise for investors undaunted by the slumping housing market: college-town real estate. U.S. college enrollments are expected to increase by a minimum of 13% to 19.5 million between 2004 and 2015, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Meanwhile, tighter budgets at many state schools are likely to limit construction of new on-campus accommodations. “Colleges don’t have the capital they need to develop student housing,” Mr. Bayless explains. Already, students are increasingly being forced to find housing elsewhere — a major advantage for investors looking to get into the rental market, says Mr. Zaransky, author of “Profit by Investing in Student Housing; Cash In on the Campus Housing Shortage” (Kaplan Publishing, 2006).

search for : real-estate slowdown, U.S. college enrollment

Out of 131 million 1040s filed for 2004, there were 4 million math errors. If you make one of those 4 million errors, then mailing off your return is only the beginning of your headaches. Ernst & Young compiled a list of common errors. Some errors are simply careless. The easiest error to check if found with a a double-check of your math, the IRS does not give partial credit for getting the right formula but adding wrong. You might have done everything right, except for forgetting to carry a one, but the IRS doesn’t care. It will fine you for the difference. If, on the other hand, your careless math error leads you to overpay, who knows whether you’ll get that money back. It certainly could take a while.

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Many homeowners went a little crazy during the recent real estate boom. Convinced that prices would continue to rise indefinitely, people felt free to supersize their homes; the median size of an American home has increased 16 percent in the past decade, to 2,227 square feet. Bigger homes, of course, come with higher property tax bills, and they cost more to wire and keep heated and cooled. Meanwhile, lenders churned out new types of loans with low initial payments and, as the real estate market spiraled to new heights over the past few years, loosened borrowing restrictions. Stretching the limits of affordability wasn’t a problem when interest rates were plummeting and home prices were zooming. Then, homeowners who had trouble making payments could easily refinance or unload their home for a big profit. That’s no longer the case. Recently lenders have begun tightening their standards, and if your home hasn’t appreciated, you may not be able to refinance easily.

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search for : homeowners, real estate boom, lenders, refinance

In these times of depressed home sales, excess inventory, foreclosures, bankruptcies, short sales and a general real estate down turn, inventory of for-sale homes is at an all-time high. With sellers doing everything they can to move property, this article from Homes101 discusses the consequences of non-disclosure. So, what if you determine that your seller knew about the upcoming assessment? Does that make him legally obligated to disclose this to you?

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Every year, millions of young Americans leave the loving embrace of their parents’ home or student housing for an apartment of their own, and it takes only a little education to keep this rite of passage from turning into a hazing. Here are 10 things that experts say you should know (and that experienced renters say they learned the hard way).

· Location Matters. Visit potential neighborhoods a few times, at different times of day, before settling down. “It might look fine on a Wednesday afternoon, but factors like noise, parking and security can change at night or on weekends,” said Peggy Luers, coordinator of off-campus housing services at California State University at Sacramento. Luers’s office, and others like it at universities around the country, are great places for first-time renters to find legal information, advice, even apartment listings. These offices also have insider information you won’t get from friends or family — for example, that neighborhoods near college campuses might not be the best places to rent.

· The landlord is not your buddy. Your landlord might be perfectly nice, but your relationship is about business, not friendship. “First-time renters tend to be somewhat naive,” Boysen said. “You need a dose of cynicism.” That means checking into your potential landlord’s reputation before you sign a lease. Even if the landlord passes this test, Boysen cautions that you still shouldn’t let your guard down. Get everything in writing, even something as simple as an assurance of when a problem will be fixed, and keep copies of all documentation and correspondence between you and the landlord. (more…)

search for : student housing, apartment

Alexis Idone is so committed to buying organic that she recently went to three different stores in search of an elusive item: organic cotton balls. With organic food surging in popularity, retailers are now taking the concept beyond the grocery aisle. A flurry of companies are pitching organic furniture, linens, cosmetics — even so-called organic leather. But organic nonfood products aren’t as tightly regulated as food. And even if something is made with organic material, some industry experts say, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s 100% environmentally friendly.

Consumer sales of organic fiber for things like clothes and linens totaled $160 million in 2005, up 44% from the previous year, according to the Organic Trade Association, an industry group based in Greenfield, Mass. Demand is being driven by retailers all over the country who are introducing or expanding lines of “green” or “eco-friendly” products. Williams-Sonoma Inc.’s Pottery Barn is rolling out a new line of duvets, sheets and towels made with organic cotton this spring. Furniture and textile designer Q Collection will soon introduce a line of organic bedding for children. Retailer Gaiam has even added organic cotton shower curtains to its product line. The industry is catering to people like Ms. Idone, a 42-year-old creative director from New York. Besides the organic cotton balls, Ms. Idone also has her eye out for an organic sweater for her dog. “I don’t want chemicals going into my body or the environment,” she says. (more…)

The popularity of some finishes — paint colors, for example — simply depends on the cyclical comings and goings of fashion. Color fads are largely created by the industries involved, although clever marketing makes it seem like consumers are driving the demand. And since the prior color fad must be portrayed as unappealingly dated before the “new” colors can perk up sales again, successive color trends are intentionally extreme, running from pastels to primaries to whites to deep saturated tones, the better to differentiate what’s hip from what’s hopelessly passé.

New technologies bring other types of finishes to the fore. In the mid-19th century, for instance, raw brass, which tarnished to a clove-brown color if it wasn’t kept polished, was the usual material for hardware and plumbing fittings. In the late 1880s, though, the introduction of nickel-plated fittings quickly made tarnished brass obsolete. Despite nickel’s propensity to wear through to the metal underneath, it remained popular until the arrival of more durable chromium-plated finishes around 1930.

Chrome has had an exceptionally long popular run because of its ease of maintenance. Still, when earth-toned colors were being pushed during the 1970s, brass came back for an encore. This time, though, a clear lacquer coating was used in an attempt to keep it permanently shiny. Eventually, in their never-ending pursuit for fresh offerings, manufacturers also came up with artificially patinated finishes — brushed brass, antique brass, and the like — that tried to mimic the warmth of natural patination. (more…)

Two senior Democratic lawmakers said on Tuesday they were considering legislation to restrict risky mortgage lending practices and protect borrowers after news that foreclosures in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector were rising. Lawmakers joined U.S. banking regulators and federal prosecutors in focusing on the widening problems in the subprime lending industry that provides mortgages to consumers with weak credit.

n the U.S. Senate, Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record) said he may offer a bill to protect consumers who were “victimized” by subprime mortgages they can no longer afford. “What I’m worried about is we may have as many as two million foreclosures in the next 18 months for mortgages written after 1998. And we may have to do something to protect these homeowners that could otherwise lose everything,” Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, told Reuters. “It’s potentially $164 billion at stake.” On the other side of Capitol Hill, the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee said he planned legislation that would restrict overly risky mortgages now that the subprime market is in turmoil. (more…)

search for : mortgage lending practice, foreclosures, subprime mortgage

About 10 years ago, a large Manhattan real estate firm bought an apartment building that contained a few rent-controlled units. Deregulated, those units would be worth perhaps five to seven times more on the open market — if the developer could nudge the remaining tenants down the road, that is. One of them, a senile older woman who had been living there for decades, refused to leave.

Landlords also may try to whack you extra for taking on a roommate or an extended house guest — even though federal housing statutes prohibit landlords from raising rents on tenants who do so. There are limits, of course, so you can’t pile in your whole extended family. What’s typical is two individuals per bedroom, plus one. So, up to three people (including children) can reside in your one-bedroom apartment before the landlord can jack up the rent or issue an eviction notice. If your landlord really gives you the creeps, consider buying renter’s insurance. The cost is minimal (maybe $10 to $30 a month) compared with what you might lose in repair costs and lawyers’ fees. (Read more about renter’s insurance, here.) Really fed up with your landlord? Extract your own pound of flesh by knowing the law. Example: Tenants in Chicago can collect twice the amount of their security deposits if they can prove that landlords stick rent checks and security deposits in the same bank account, says attorney Aaron Krolik. (Most banks can help you track down this information.) If that doesn’t work, Chicago renters can double their pleasure if their landlords blank on paying the stipulated interest on security deposits, currently 1.7% a year. (more…)

search for : apartment building, rent-controlled units, landlord, security deposit

Normally, I am turned off by real estate books with clever, cute titles such as “Prefabulous” by Sheri Koones. However, I am “turned on” by this great, new, beautiful book that completely changed my mind about so-called “prefab” homes, which are custom built in factories to the specifications of the buyers. A better name for the homes described and photographed in this beautiful book is “modular.” But even that term doesn’t fully reveal the many different types of homes that can be designed by your architect to fit a specific lot or adapted from plans found in catalogs. So called “manufactured homes” are not included in this book because they are covered by a separate building code.

Reasons for building a prefab home, rather than a “stick-built” traditional residence, are many. They include cost savings, fast construction time, greater energy efficiency, better structural integrity and improved warranties. Author Sheri Koones has compiled a photo gallery of dozens of prefab homes of all styles, located throughout the United States and Canada, which show the flexibility of prefab houses. Not only are the finished homes shown, but the factory construction processes reveal the exacting standards, including computerized, highly accurate machinery to save time and labor.

Unless you knew the homes pictured in this book were built in modules in a factory, trucked to the site and then assembled into unique, one-of-a-kind houses, you would never believe what can be done by setting the modules on foundations in one or two days. The largest home in the book was delivered in 15 modules, but most are much smaller. Lest you think modular prefab homes are only for low-income housing, the architect of the 40,000-square-foot Xanadu house for Bill and Melinda Gates in Seattle, James Cutler, now designs prefab custom homes for Lindal Cedar Homes. (more…)

search for : Prefabulous, modular, manufactured homes

I want to purchase a home that my parent own. It has a mortgage in the amount of $250,000 and has been appraised for $499,000. My parents want $200,000 out of it. Should I ask them to refinance and get the money they want and then just arrange to put the house in my name? Or should I purchase the home and give them the money? I want to put an addition on the property and would like to have money to do this without stressing out financially.

We have to analyze this from two points of view: you and your parents. I do not know what your parents paid for the property, but if they have owned and used it for two out of the five years before you buy it, they will be able to take the entire up-to-$500,000 exclusion. Since the price you plan to pay will not exceed $500,000, it would appear that your parents would not have to pay any capital gains tax. If your parents refinance the property, how can you be sure that they will get the $200,0000 they want? They currently own $250,000, which means that they will have to get a refinance loan in the amount of $450,000 in order to take out that amount of money. And even if their credit is pristine pure, I doubt that a lender would agree to such a large loan. Furthermore, your parents will have to be concerned about a gift tax. Currently, each of your parents gave give you (tax free) up to $12,000 per year. However, if they give you the house, that clearly exceeds the free gift amount and they must determine how this will impact on their own tax and financial situation (more…)

search for : mortgage, refinance the property

A look at a U.S. county map of population change from 2000 to 2005 reveals that most non-metro – or rural – counties grew at a slower rate than the national average. Half of all these places lost population. In Nebraska, 84 percent (56 out of 67) of the counties of under 10,000 residents lost population. Kansas lost 28,392 in non-metro population, Iowa 21,697, Illinois 18,673 and North Dakota 17,866. Almost all the farm communities in the Midwest experienced similar population stagnation or loss. According to Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol is now revitalizing many of these rural communities – and not just in the Midwest.

There are already about 100 U.S. ethanol plants in operation, up from 50 in 1999, and 78 more are under construction, reports Dinneen. They range from Texas and California to New York and Florida. They use corn, sorghum, soybeans and other crops to produce ethanol. Development of practical cellulosic ethanol production plants (from switch grass, corn stalks, municipal solid waste and other sources) is underway. “I’ve had the privilege of going out to grand openings of several ethanol plants,” says Dinneen. “Standing in front of 1,000 farmers who have invested in these plants; the excitement is palpable.” These farmers benefit in three ways: They get profits from the ethanol sales, higher prices for crops and the acreage they own becomes more valuable. In Iowa, land prices have risen about 60 percent during the 2000’s, according to a report from Iowa State economist Mike Duffy. Compare that with Iowa single-family house prices, which have risen only about 4.5 percent a year over that period, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight figures. (more…)

I applied and was approved for a cash-out mortgage refinancing. The loan amount was for $260,000, which I expected to be enough to pay off the balance on my existing first mortgage, a home equity line of credit, a credit card balance and the loan’s closing costs. The lender provided me with a good faith estimate for estimated settlement charges of $3,617. On the day of closing, the closing attorney’s office called to tell me that I would need to bring a check to the closing for $5,029. After making some calls, I learned from an administrator in the closing attorney’s office that my existing first mortgage had a prepayment penalty.

I’m not with you on this one. A good faith estimate, or GFE, isn’t designed to show you the prepayment penalties on the existing loan; rather, it discloses any prepayment penalties on the new loan. It was your responsibility to know whether the existing mortgage had a prepayment penalty. The closing costs on a GFE are just estimates and are represented as such. Allocating loan proceeds with GFEs is never a good idea. It’s the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, not the GFE, that shows the actual settlement costs of the loan transaction. Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA, you had the right to request the HUD-1 or the HUD-1A one day before settlement. Here’s what the HUD Web site says about that statement: (more…)

search for : cash-out mortgage refinancing, home equity line of credit, credit card balance, good faith estimate, GFE

If your house has been on the market for quite a while (3 to 6 months), you may have already dropped your price and now you’re waiting for the buyers to rush in and make wonderful offers on this now-priced right property. And then it happens. The lone buyer does appear, like a bandit in the night and offers you even less than what you just agreed to. Quite a bit less — about 10 percent less. So on your $350,000 house, that you just dropped to $324,000, you now have an offer for $299,000. With a seller subsidy request of $5,000. At this point, your net is $294,000.

So how do you handle such a low-ball offer. Well, first of all — don’t panic, get angry or lose sleep. Especially, don’t reject the offer right off the bat and tell them to come back when they’re serious. Remember, it’s now a negotiation game and the buyer IS serious or he or she would not have made an offer. Several things have happened before this offer came in. The buyer, with his agent, has researched the market, walked through as many as 30 or 50 properties, conducted a study on the value of the property and written an offer for your house. Remember, you just won the lottery. They could have written on any other house, but they selected yours. So let’s get busy. First of all, do an analysis of your own goals and needs. How much do you really need to come out of this house to meet your goals of moving to your next home? What could you really live with and what amount are you going to counter. Remember this last point — what are you going to counter? This is assuming that you’re not rolling over and that you’re going to stay in the game. (more…)

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The strength of a homeowner association lies in the effective volunteer efforts of its members. While the heavy lifting often falls on the board of directors, committees can help lighten the load by focusing on specific tasks assigned by the board. There are two types of committees: standing and ad hoc. Standing committees exist indefinitely or until the board decides their purpose is no longer needed. Examples include Landscape Committee, Social Committee and Pool Committee.

The beauty of committees is that they can draw on specific member expertise, like a CPA that serves on the Budget Committee or an architect that serves on the Architectural Design Committee. Ad hoc committees do the same thing with the added attraction that the commitment time is limited. Committees are training ground for future board members. Since committees are called on to participate in board meetings to give reports, participation acquaints committee members with the board process. Proven and effective committee members are candidates groomed for board service. Whether a committee is standing or ad hoc, both should have a similar framework including: the purpose of a committee is to assist and advise the board in a given area of responsibility, a committee should consist of three or more members which may include a board member as a board liaison. The board president typically appoints the committee chairman. The chairman is the spokesperson for that committee, each committee should be provided a clear job description by the board that outlines expectations. A committee must obtain specific authority from the board to deal with any matter outside its job description. A committee cannot make policies or rules. Only the board is granted that authority. A committee may recommend a policy or rule to the board. If the board agrees with the recommendation and formally enacts it, the committee may or may not be given authority by the board to enforce the policy or rule. Enforcement authority is also under the discretion of the board. (more…)

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Light-emitting diodes were invented in the ’50s. They are semiconductor devices — a kind of computer chip — that give off light when current is applied to them. Depending on their chemical makeup, they can emit green, blue, red or white light. L.E.D.’s are now available with standard screw-type bases, so they can easily replace incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs in your home. They are also sold in “high-hat,” or downlighting, fixtures for the ceiling. The face of most L.E.D. bulbs looks like a circuit board and the light they put out resembles a cluster of brilliant dots, each about the size of an aspirin tablet.

L.E.D.’s produce about 70 lumens (the standard measure for light) per watt, whereas an incandescent bulb produces only 10 to 15 and the compact fluorescent, only about 35. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, L.E.D.’s have no mercury, an important environmental consideration because most bulbs end up in landfills. L.E.D.’s cost more than either conventional or compact fluorescent bulbs, but they last far longer. Whereas the average incandescent bulb costs less than a dollar and a compact fluorescent bulb can sell for a few dollars, some L.E.D.’s run as high as $90 a bulb. But L.E.D. lights are typically rated as having a lifespan of 30,000 to 50,000 hours. So an L.E.D. bulb can last for more than 10 years, if you use it 8 hours a day. Compact fluorescents are typically rated at 7,500 to 10,000 hours, and incandescents at about 1,500 hours. Rather than burning out as incandescent bulbs do, L.E.D.’s light output dims over tens of thousands of hours. L.E.D.’s are also more resistant to vibration than incandescents or screw-in fluorescent bulbs, and do not flicker or hum. (more…)

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I am a first time homebuyer. I have found a house that is approximately 35 years old, and plan to submit a contract shortly. I have been talking to my realtor about the need for a home inspection and she has not been very supportive of this. She has suggested that if I make the contract contingent upon my obtaining a home inspection, the seller may balk at signing the contract. What do you suggest?

Unless you are a professional contractor, you definitely need to retain the services of a competent home inspector. Your contract must be contingent on your obtaining a satisfactory inspection. This means that you will have X number of days (the number to be spelled out in the sales contract) to have the property inspected. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you have the absolute right to terminate the contract and get your earnest money deposit refunded. In fact, many buyers give the deposit check to the broker, but add language in the sales contract that the check will not be deposited until the inspection contingency has been removed. There are two kinds of inspection contingencies; general inspection: here, if the buyer is dissatisfied with the inspection for any reason — in his or her sole discretion — the buyer may declare the contract null and void, specific inspection: under this arrangement, the buyer must provide the seller with a list of specific repairs to be made. The seller has a fixed number of days in which to respond. Let’s take this example: you list 8 items for consideration by the seller. The seller comes back in a timely manner and agrees to repair 6 of the problems, but not all of them. You then have a fixed number of days in which to either accept what the seller has proposed, continue negotiations for the remaining two items, or terminate the contract. (more…)

search for : obtaining a home inspection

“Today’s kitchen is more expensive than the living room,” says Christian Witt-Dörring, the Viennese decorative-arts curator and cultural historian. “You used to sit and work in the kitchen. Today, you put the kitchen in the living room so you can be with your guests.” Although luxurious designer kitchens can be had for less — at Bulthaup, one of Europe’s leading high-end retail design firms, a customer spends an average €30,000-€f40,000 to redo a kitchen — we wanted something special, from which you can take elements, or the full design, for your own kitchen.

Svenskt Tenn is one of the torchbearers of the Scandinavian design tradition, which seeks a balance between old-fashioned craftsmanship and modernist functionality. Founded in 1924 by pewter designer Estrid Ericson (”Svenskt Tenn” translates as Swedish pewter), the firm is closely associated with Josef Frank, the Viennese architect and designer who fled to Sweden in the 1930s after the rise of the Nazis. Known in particular for his textile and furniture designs, Frank oversaw the establishment of a joyful, but never frivolous, eclecticism.
Today, Svenskt Tenn is Stockholm’s most prestigious home-furnishings store, as well as the creator of highly regarded public and private interiors. In their design for our kitchen, Svenskt Tenn architect Martin Edvardsson and interior decorator Katerina Abrahamsson started by dividing the square room into a dining area and working area. “Square rooms are difficult,” says Mr. Edvardsson. “There is nothing to get hold of, and you have to center the furniture.” A significant portion of the budget — €64,500 — is spent on the basics: a set of Svenskt custom-designed kitchen cabinets, made of white-lacquered mahogany, with brass fittings and a stained mahogany top; a hearth-like island built around an Aga stove; and a Josef Frank sideboard. (more…)

search for : kitchen, high-end retail design firm

With the local real estate market uncertain and little free time, the couple are not eager to go through the work of selling their home and shopping for a new one. So Russell is using technology to test the market for him: He’s used a service by real estate web site Zillow.com to drum up interest in their home without officially putting it up for sale.

Zillow is typical of a new generation of real estate web sites that offer gee-whiz visual appeal and much more information than just property listings and cool maps. With customers demanding more accurate information and competition heating up among sites sporting more sophisticated and powerful technology, today’s real estate Web services are trying to do more of the heavy lifting around marketing and selling a property. “Things have changed a lot,” said Celia Chen, director of housing economics at Moody’s Economy.com. “Ten years ago you couldn’t go in and stick in a zip code to find out how many houses are for sale.” In addition to one-year-old Zillow, other sites include: Cyberhomes.com, a research and appraisal tool; Trulia.com, a real estate search engine; and Redfin.com and My-Currency.com, Web portals for buying and selling homes in select US markets . Zillow has generated the biggest buzz. Its “Zestimate” service, which uses proprietary algorithms to calculate an individual property’s valuation, was a hit on the cocktail circuit, as neighbors and acquaintances could gossip about house values. (more…)

search for : real estate market, Zillow, Cyberhomes.com, Trulia.com, Redfin.com, My-Currency.com

Nearly 80 percent of home buyers start their search on the Internet – soon they’ll have more to look at. On its Web site, the Peninsula on Indian River Bay development in Delaware has begun using high-quality, television news-style presentation to sell homes. On the site, viewers take interactive tours of the property, led by two on-line hosts, through different site “channels.” Even now, the economics are such that a development of 50 to 100 homes could afford a Web site like Peninsula’s, according to Varesko. And big real estate brokers, such as Century 21, Coldwell Banker (both part of Realogy) and Re/Max, are quickly ramping up.

Sites are already getting souped-up. “A year ago,” Young says, “we were telling all our brokers about the need to put more [still] photos on their Web sites.” Today, if your site doesn’t offer virtual tours, mapping technology, neighborhood guides and a video library of buying and selling tips, it’s nowhere. Young connects the whole trend to the YouTube phenomenon, where seemingly everyone in America is making and posting their own videos. Putting together even an elaborate site like Peninsula’s is not expensive. The project’s developer, Larry Goldstein, says it cost only about $50,000. As a matter of fact, compared to more traditional forms of marketing, such as newspaper advertising, the site is a bargain and more efficient. “Our market is so broad,” says Goldstein, “from New York City through New Jersey, Philadelphia and the D.C. area, so how do you pick and choose where to put your ad money?” (more…)

search for : virtual tours, mapping technology, neighborhood guides, YouTube

In the past few weeks, the bodies have been piling up fast and furiously. Fallout from subprime mortgages – that is, home loans to borrowers with a blemished credit history – gone bad has wreaked havoc on the industry. Big names Washington Mutual (Charts) and HSBC have reported hits tied to their subprime business and there has been a nonstop barrage of bad news for major subprime lenders, including New Century Financial (Charts) and NovaStar Financial (Charts). Now the worry is what happens to the economy if enough homeowners go into default and to the financial markets if enough investors take a bath on mortgage-related securities.

As for foreclosures, they’re currently running 25 percent higher than they were this time last year, according to RealtyTrac. “We don’t have high unemployment, high interest rates or a slowing economy, but we’re seeing the number of foreclosure filings pushed above historic averages,” says Rick Sharga, a marketing exec for RealtyTrac. “You can’t underestimate the effect of higher risk loans.” Adding to the problem are jittery lenders who have suddenly begun to tighten their standards. “You’re seeing credit score requirements being increased. You’re seeing documentation firming up,” says Bob Walters, chief economist with Quicken Loans. “Fewer people will get loans and maybe rightly so.” The higher hurdles, while perhaps healthy for the long term, will cause a short- term credit crunch. Translation: delinquencies and foreclosures should rise, which will create more credit problems in a vicious cycle that will probably weigh on housing for the rest of the year. None of this is good news to investors in U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities, which now account for some 20 percent of the global fixed income market, the largest component. (more…)

search for : subprime mortgages, major subprime lender