Green Real Estate Appraiser

Energy Efficient Upgrades can increase your home’s value

Posted on November 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

Energy-efficient upgrades can not only shrink your utility bill; they can increase the value of your home.

Homebuyers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of energy-efficient homes. In fact, they’re often willing to pay more for homes with “green” upgrades, says Sandra Adomatis, a specialist in green valuation with Adomatis Appraisal Service in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Just how much your home will increase in value depends on a number of factors, Adomatis says, like where you live, which upgrades you’ve made and how your home is marketed at sale time. The length of time to recoup the costs of green upgrades also depends on the energy costs in your area.

Will it add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for “green” home value questions; they are forerunners in green property appraisals.

In 2014, upgraded homes in Los Angeles County saw a 6 percent increase in value, according to a study from Build It Green, a nonprofit based in Oakland, California, that works with home professionals. Upgraded homes in Washington, D.C., saw a 2 percent to 5 percent increase in 2015, according to a study Adomatis authored.

Consumer Reports suggests that upgrades like a gleaming new kitchen or a finished basement may give you more bang for your buck than energy-saving features. But if going green appeals more than adding quartz countertops, here’s where you can begin.

FIND OUT HOW MUCH ENERGY YOUR HOME USES

Getting a quick energy assessment or a more thorough energy audit can determine how much energy your home uses, as well as which upgrades would make the most sense for your home and your finances. An audit may include an energy rating, a number that indicates how energy-efficient your home is and how much it will increase if you make recommended upgrades.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

World’s Fair ‘Home of the Future’ up for sale

Posted on November 15, 2016 | Leave a comment

worlds-fair

In 1939, the part of New York City now known as the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was “The World of Tomorrow.”

After being hosted in London, Paris, Chicago and St. Louis, the Word’s Fair came to New York that year attracting more than 40 million visitors curious to see what the exposition’s architects believed the future would look like.

According to TIME, “the future, in many of the exhibits and pavilions at the fair, looked almost wholly urban, rather sterile.”

“But when one considers that the 1939 expo — the second-largest American world’s fair of all time — was conceived, planned and executed in the latter years of the Great Depression and on the cusp of the global cataclysm of World War II, there’s something refreshingly and almost audaciously positive about the overall vibe,” TIME writes.

One of those exhibits was “The Home of the Future,” a model house designed by architect Belford Shoumate. A livable version of the house, called the “Fore and Aft House” was built in Palm Beach, Florida in 1940, and now for sale at $7.995 million, according to toptenrealestatedeals.com.

The site, says the house was built to look like a house floating over water, mimicking the great ocean liners of the time.

“Its five bedrooms have outside deck entrances much like the way one would access their ship cabin, the roofline gives the impression of a sail. Tropical touches include ceiling fans, coral-rock walkway and extensive Florida foliage and palm trees to provide shade.”

see more photos: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/World-s-Fair-Home-of-the-Future-up-for-sale-10598795.php

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

San Diego – Rent or Buy

Posted on November 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

Right now it is cheaper in the long run to buy a home than rent in San Diego County, but the cost benefits aren’t as high compared to much of the nation.

It is about 32 percent cheaper to buy than rent in San Diego, said Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy study released Thursday. Buyers in 85 of the nation’s largest metros, however, see more of a benefit, including Boston, Salt Lake City, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit.

While San Diego’s rents are high, the gap between home prices and leasing isn’t as extreme as in other cities. For instance, in West Palm Beach, Fla., the median home price is $241,509 and monthly rent is $1,950 — making buying a home there 53 percent cheaper than renting.

Consumers gain the least from buying in Honolulu, where the $629,606 median home price and $2,500 monthly rent make it only 17 percent cheaper to get a home of your own.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Energy Efficient Upgrades can increase your home’s value

World’s Fair ‘Home of the Future’ up for sale

San Diego – Rent or Buy

Follow Blog