Green Real Estate Appraiser

Record Setting Rebound in Home Equity

Posted on January 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

The biggest story in American real estate in 2013 hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves, so let’s shout this out: Homeowners’ net equity holdings soared $2.2 trillion from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of this year, according to new data collected by the Federal Reserve.

This is a record rebound for a 12-month period. And it’s crucially important in personal financial terms for hundreds of thousands of owners who for years have been underwater on their mortgages, meaning their homes wouldn’t sell for enough to pay off the loan.

Has your home’s equity increased? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your equity questions.

They now have options they didn’t have before: They can sell their homes and not have to bring money to the closing. They may be able to borrow against their equity to help pay for college tuition, home improvements and other purposes. They may be able to refinance their mortgages without having to use a government-aided program.

Home equity is the difference between the mortgage debt outstanding on a residence and the current market value of the home. If your house is worth $300,000 and you owe the bank $150,000 — whether from a single mortgage or multiple loans — you have $150,000 in equity. If your mortgage debt totals $350,000 on a $300,000 house, you have $50,000 in negative equity.

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Solar Panels Charge Ford Car

Posted on January 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, is showcasing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that uses solar panels in the roof to recharge itself.

The C-Max Solar Energi will be on display at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that begins Tuesday, the Dearborn, Mich.-based company said Thursday in a statement.

The vehicle can travel about 21 miles (34 kilometers) using only electric power and has a total range of about 620 miles. It has 300 to 350 watts of SunPower Corp. solar cells in the roof and may portend a future of mass-produced rechargeable cars that don’t need to be plugged in, said Mike Tinskey, director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure.

The concept includes a canopy-like parking structure that uses Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight on the car and boost efficiency of the solar cells. It was developed with the Georgia Institute of Technology and shifts the car’s position throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.

“It’s a tracking concentrator without the costs of one,” said Tinskey. The car also has a standard port to connect to a charging station.

Ford estimates it sold more than 85,000 hybrids and electric vehicles in 2013.

New Home Shoppers Want Useful Spaces

Posted on January 6, 2014 | Leave a comment

New home buyers are coming back, but they don’t want the same old McMansion. They want a house they can use.

That means a “great room” where everyone can gather — and a spalike bathroom to escape from the crowd.

But usefulness also extends to lots of storage space for big-box buys. It means “drop-off zones” for recharging smartphones and pet-friendly “puppy showers.” It means a home office actually designed for work and media centers made for play. It means big closets and little nooks.

These new homes combine practicality with the way we want to live now, builders say.

Have questions about the added value. Contact the real estate appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your value questions.

“We’re rolling out all new designs,” said Jeff Lake, national head of architecture for major builder Standard Pacific Homes, which has new tracts under construction in Rocklin and El Dorado Hills. “We completely redid our entire inventory with a huge emphasis on design.”

These designs are the culmination of a three-year process, Lake said.

“We did a lot of research,” he said. “We studied how people actually live in their homes. We found they’re more connected than ever — and not just texting.”

They want to feel connected to their family as well as to their media, Lake said. In some places, including California, they also want to feel connected to the great outdoors with windows everywhere and patio rooms.

“We realized it truly is different the way people live now,” Lake said. “(Buyers) are not as formal. They want life to be simplified.”

According to experts, today’s home buyers are much more budget conscious, a natural consequence of the recession. They demand more value per square foot. They’re not interested in rooms they will rarely use such as a formal dining room. Most of all, home buyers want a house that “works” for them.

“McMansions put a huge percentage (of square footage) into hallways and formal spaces that are used infrequently,” Lake said. “It adds up to a lot of square footage. We’re building homes with 1,000 less square feet but every room feels bigger because the house isn’t so cut up.”

A walk-through of new luxury home models in Rocklin at Standard Pacific’s Manzanita at Whitney Ranch illustrates his point. Priced at $454,000 to $504,000, each home featured a mammoth “great room” combining a large kitchen with family, dining and living room space into one large area without halls.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Record Setting Rebound in Home Equity

Solar Panels Charge Ford Car

New Home Shoppers Want Useful Spaces

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