Green Real Estate Appraiser

Homes Made from Recycled Materials

Posted on May 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Cob House

Where: Rutledge, Missouri
Made From: Sand, Clay, Straw
To build his snail-shaped “cob house,” Brian “Ziggy” Liliola used 219 batches of cob, a wet mixture of straw, clay and sand. He chose the rustic building material used on 500-year-old thatched cottages in England, because of “how creative you could be” and “the flexibility and low cost and sustainable benefit” of building with local materials.

How would these properties be appraised? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisalserv.com for your appraisal questions

See more at: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ekkl45ekl/beach-box-home/

Quick Housing After a Disaster

Posted on May 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by flooding in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, developers have built a prototype house that’s aimed at providing a quick housing solution for areas blown away by hurricanes and tornadoes or knocked down by earthquakes.

Have you had recent damage to your home due to a Natural Disaster? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com to order a retro-appraisal. We determine what your home’s value was before the disaster. The insurance companies order their own appraisals to determine value; it is recommended that the homeowner have one done by an independent appraiser. Have ammunition before negotiating with the insurance company; they sure will have theirs.

The dwelling in the Lakeview section of New Orleans is somewhat box-like, with a roof that slants inward and an arched structure in front that forms a covered front porch. But style isn’t the purpose of the house that’s meant to go up quickly after disasters and then serve as permanent housing that can withstand future calamities. It’s designed to be environmentally friendly, survive outside damaged utility grids and can be shipped in pieces in a single container and assembled like an erector set.

The house is the first of its kind, but its designers believe that there could be demand for tens of thousands of them in areas around the world that need to quickly rebuild after disasters.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Demand Spikes for Zero-Energy-Cost Homes

Posted on May 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

A rising trend of super-efficient, solar-powered new homes allows homeowners to combat rising energy costs by giving back to the power grid. Some owners are even realizing a small profit from their home’s power-generating capacity.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com to assist you with determining the value of purchasing an zero-energy-cost home.

Intelligent house layout and design, and home features such as dual-pane windows, air-tight duct work and high-caliber wall and attic insulation are curbing energy consumption. And when coupled with solar energy, captured through photovoltaic panels, these homes are becoming their own mini power plants that feed electricity to the grid.

In 2009, U.S. homeowners paid an average $2,200 for energy use in their homes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A growing number of homeowners have the opportunity to zero-out that cost.

“It’s too good to believe,” said Dave Spencer of his net-zero-energy home in Gainesville, Fla. Last month, his energy bill was $2.01 — and that was just because of service fees — after receiving over $10 in credit for energy his home generated. Both semiretired, Spencer and his wife, Sandy, moved into the 1,752-square-foot home last October and have not paid for any energy yet, he said.