Tag Archives: real estate appraisal

Seminar Explores Solar Home Real Estate Transactions

Posted on June 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

Rene Seabourne is one of the professionals that will be speaking at this event.

CSE is presenting a seminar on solar home sales for real estate professionals focusing on the realities of how solar may affect pricing and time on the market from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, June 13.

More than 79,000 single-family homes in the San Diego area, or approximately 10-15 percent, are outfitted with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and the number continues to grow exponentially as solar contractors engage more customers with lease agreements. Known as solar leases or power purchase agreements, it’s a financing option typically offered with no upfront money and low-cost monthly payments while the solar installer or a third-party financing company owns the system. Nationwide, more than 70 percent of residential PV systems are sold this way.

While research conducted by CSE in 2015 shows leased solar has a minimal impact on home sales, either in terms of pricing or time on the market, buyers are often skeptical and unsure about how the lease agreement will transferred or bought out. The study showed that real estate agents play a key role in educating buyers about solar leases.

The real estate seminar will feature a panel of local and nationally recognized industry experts presenting on solar home valuations and real estate transactions in the San Diego area. Speakers will include experts on real estate sales, solar adoption, real estate appraisals, green building and financing – including solar loans and property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans.

Dream bathroom features that won’t break the bank

Posted on June 3, 2016 | Leave a comment

With $20,000 in your budget, you can easily turn a run-of-the-mill bathroom into the stellar space you’ve always dreamed it could be. By adding a key feature – from a sunken bath to a floor-to-ceiling glass wall – your bathroom can become your home’s most popular room.

Will a remodeled bath add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value questions.

Some features and fittings in the collection of ideas listed below, like the encaustic tiles and marble floors, are easily accessible but are of a high quality. Others are features that have been created structurally, and therefore need to be considered at the start of your new build or renovation process. Pick up on one structural idea as the focal point of your bathroom, or select two or three other options, so your design ideas will still fit into your $20,000 bathroom budget

WALLS

Tiles
Let your tiles do the talking in your bathroom, but in an understated and elegant fashion. Encaustic cement tiles, where the pattern is made with the use of different coloured cements rather than a glaze, are perfect for a sophisticated look that will display an appreciation for craftsmanship. With the matt finish and slight imperfections of each handmade tile, a feature wall like this becomes an individual work of art. This can be the focal point of the bathroom, with your other surfaces remaining neutral and uncluttered for an exotic yet elegant space.

DESIGN TIP: Give your bathroom the Marrakesh touch with a range of designs in the same colour, or a range of colours with the same design to create an eclectic and stylish look that is still cohesive.

COST: Expect to pay between $165 and $240 per square metre for a range of vintage, Tuscan, Spanish or Moroccan-inspired designs.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

New search page lets you know how your neighborhood home values are doing

Posted on May 26, 2016 | Leave a comment

The Post analysis, based on data from Black Knight Financial Services spanning 2004 through 2015, shows how the nation’s housing recovery has exacerbated inequality, leaving behind many Americans of moderate means. It also helps explain why the economic recovery feels incomplete, especially in neighborhoods where the value of housing — often the biggest family asset — has recovered little, if at all.

While a typical single-family home has gained less than 14 percent in value since 2004, homes in the most expensive neighborhoods have gained 21 percent. Regional factors such as the Western energy boom explain some differences, but in many cities the housing market’s arc has deepened disparities between the rich and everyone else, such as in Boston, where gentrifying urban neighborhoods have thrived and far-flung suburbs have fallen behind.

The findings of The Post’s analysis underscore another way in which the economy, despite its improvements over the past several years, continues to deliver better returns for some Americans than others.

In good times, housing converts income into wealth. It turns a paycheck into the next generation’s inheritance. But in neighborhoods that haven’t weathered the past decade as well, homes have become a source of debt, a physical trap and an obstacle to life’s other goals.

Enter your zip code at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/wonk/housing/overview/?hpid=hp_no-name_graphic-story-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory