Green Real Estate Appraiser

Signs of a New Housing Bubble

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Um, don’t look now, but out there in the real estate trenches, they’re whispering the B word again. That’s B as in “bubble.”

That’s because agents in various parts of the country are using such terms as “overheated” and “buying craze” and “skyrocketing prices” to describe what they’re seeing in their markets, according to a recent trade journal report.

Is the value in your home in the “bubble?” Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your value questions.

It isn’t an isolated discussion: Redfin, a real estate brokerage that does business in 20 markets around the country, recently ranked 15 major metros it perceived as most vulnerable, and least vulnerable, to experiencing another housing bubble.

Redfin Chief Executive Glenn Kelman said he doesn’t see housing, as a whole, headed for another fall. But in an edited interview, he explained that although he’s advising clients in some places that now might be the perfect time to dive into buying, in others, he’s suggesting that renting might be a safer move.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

What is a B.I.Q. Building, and How Does It Being Covered in Algae Save Energy?

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

A new apartment complex in Hamburg, Germany, intends to generate heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient (B.I.Q.) building, which was expected to become fully operational on Wednesday, has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm.

The designers of the B.I.Q. building, which relies entirely on renewable energy, promise that their pioneering energy system will harvest fast-growing algae to create biofuel, produce heat, shade the building, abate street noise and make history.

Lukas Verlage, managing director of the Colt Group, part of the high-powered consortium that constructed the energy system, said in an e-mail that the building was “an outstanding and important development in the use of renewable resources in building technology,” comparable to advances in the space program.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

San Diego – Free Housing And Credit Counseling to be Offered Across the County

Posted on May 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

San Diego County residents by summertime will be able to access housing and credit counseling for free without having to visit several offices for help, thanks to technology.

The Housing Opportunities Collaborative, a local nonprofit group, has received nearly $300,000 in grants to set up computer terminals throughout the county that will connect homeowners and renters to housing professionals for virtual one-on-one meetings, said Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, the group’s president and executive director.

Need to know the value of your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com

The idea is to save everyone, especially low-income and underserved households, time and money.

Residents can expect to get help on foreclosure prevention, landlord-tenant issues, bankruptcies, buying a home for the first time and tax preparation. The San Diego terminals will be part of an 18-computer network that will also reach Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

“We want to ensure that folks are not sent from one physical location to another to get access to resources and counselors,” Pajanor said. “We also wanted savings for the community, saving time for clients and reducing the carbon footprint.”

One of the virtual counseling sites is live at the Jacobs Center For Neighborhood Innovation, 404 Euclid Ave. in San Diego. Seven other local sites, from Vista to Chula Vista, are expected to go online within about the next month, Pajanor said. Space will likely be provided by the county library system.

Signs of a New Housing Bubble

What is a B.I.Q. Building, and How Does It Being Covered in Algae Save Energy?

San Diego – Free Housing And Credit Counseling to be Offered Across the County

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