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You are here: Home / Archives for Financing

May 9, 2014 By Rob Myers Leave a Comment

The Home Market Isn’t Back Yet

A  slew of recent articles have been focusing on the financial make-up of home-buyers in the last quarter. Over 40% of home sales were to cash buyers. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101654929#_gus That is a whoppingly huge number, by any measurement, and it points to a few things that make this housing recovery feel so different.  And, what truly makes that number so freakish is it isn’t representing a lot of institutional buying- which has been going on for the last year (Wall Street Banks and hedge funds have been swooping up foreclosures from coast to coast by the thousands using Other People’s Money)-but has lately been tapering off as the deals have been getting more scarce. No, this represents something different, and is due to a few factors which might represent a structural change in the home-ownership equation in the US. First, I think that a lot of people were burned by their banks when those supposedly friendly banks called and cancelled home equity lines in 2008 and 2009. What were supposedly rock-solid loans and relationships were cast aside and cut apart- severing any type of positive feel people had for their banks and bankers. And, now in the aftermath, the lending requirements, paperwork, and regulations are so burdensome, many of us would choose to just leave banks out of our business all together.

Secondly, I think that there is a systemic fear of the future, which translates into a reluctance to borrow money stretching out into that future. Those of us fortunate enough to have owned a home have some basic grasps of economics- and a country that owes over $17Trillion sounds like a risky place to be. The stock market being at an all time high should be making people feel more secure-instead, it seems to make us all look at the horizon, waiting for another shoe to drop. Still, with super-low interest rates, amazing home-owning opportunities are still out there. A decade from now, I have a feeling we’ll be looking back and, for those that took advantage of these low interest rates, we’ll be thankful that we were courageous when others were fearful- just like Warren Buffet advises. And, for the lucky few that we build for, they’ll be enjoying their homes that we built for them well into that future.

Electrical Repair

Filed Under: Building a home, Financing, Home Values, Maintenance, Remodeling

May 2, 2014 By Rob Myers Leave a Comment

Affordable Home Sales Slow-Luxury Strengthens

It’s been my prediction for years that the new home market would splinter into first-time buyer priced homes and luxury homes. I predicted this because I saw a real shortage of available sites for mid-priced homes. Tat shortage is especially hitting home now, as the market warms up, and people are asking me to help them find sites. It isn’t impossible to find suitable sites, but it isn’t easy either. I think that the market will continue  to splinter, and what’s been an area-wide issue will spread nationally. So, there’s never been a better time than now to get started! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-02/luxury-home-sales-jump-as-low-end-falters-in-u-s-rebound.html iNRYs7cIlXqA

Filed Under: Building a home, Financing, Home Values

April 21, 2014 By Rob Myers Leave a Comment

Collaborative Building-A Common Sense Approach

I just became acquainted with a very technical sounding term- Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). IPD is a construction industry term that means that the design and construction teams collaborate cooperatively to create a project to deliver to the client. This is something that we’ve been doing for years. IPD is a reaction to a loss in productivity in the construction economy related to wasted money and time due to current somewhat adversarial design and building procedures. It seems, as we’ve known all along, that Architects and contractors have finally figured out that working together, rather than against each other, delivers a better project to the client. The typical project scenario:Design-Bid-Build-Complain (DBBC) hasn’t produced happy clients, and has produced massive cost over-runs, litigation, and ill-will for projects in both the public and private sectors of the economy. This comes as no surprise-imagine what automobiles would be like if one company designed them, then another company bid out the designs, and a third company built the cars!! I think we can all agree that would be disastrous! Well, that’s what stands for typical in construction. IPD is a way for construction to move away from those roots, and into the world that all other producers of goods live in-customer-centric and delivery based. We’ve been operating IPD and didn’t even know it for over 20 years! There we are- at the cutting edge of our industry-just by using Common Sense (CS)!!IMG_1506-Sig-reduced

Filed Under: Building a home, Financing, Home Values, Remodeling

April 14, 2014 By Rob Myers Leave a Comment

Raising Mortgage Rates, Dropping Interest?

The latest figures show a sharp dropoff in applications for new mortgages in the quarter ending  March 31st (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-14/lending-plunges-to-17-year-low-as-rates-curtail-borrowing.html ). As a builder, rising rates are always bad, and for borrowers the higher rates mean higher costs and payments. But the dropoff in applications might have a silver lining- namely it gives lenders a chance to get re-acquainted with a concept called Customer Service! Since the downturn in 2008, I have heard consistent comments regarding the total lack of customer service on the part of banks especially. The mortgage process, starting with applications and winding through appraisals and approvals, has become a draconian and serpentine (love the animal references!) pathway to purchasing-frustrating professionals and amateurs alike. There are seemingly no rules of common sense any more- the amount of paperwork required has grown exponentially, and the lackadaisical attitudes an the part of some participants is breathtaking. Appraisals, which used to take a week or so, are now assigned by kangaroo court and regularly command weeks of calling, reminders questioning and frustration. Loan committees now ask for the most arcane information about borrowers, leading me to wonder sometimes if you have to donate your brain before taking a banking job. Maybe a slowdown in work will help these people to re-focus on what is the only important relationship they need nourish- that with their customer!!

Filed Under: Building a home, Financing, Home Values, Remodeling

March 8, 2014 By Rob Myers Leave a Comment

New Energy Code requires Blower Door Tests

The adoption of the 2009 building code last year introduced blower door testing to all new home construction starting this January. What’s a blower door test- well, a blower door is a contraption that blocks the front door and has a big fan in it. The tester turns the fan on and sucks air out of the house, measuring how much air comes back in through leaks and things like that. Couples with new insulation and building requirements, this means that new homes are tighter and more energy efficient than ever before. We’re finding energy use levels are about 30% lower in a home we built to the new codes vs. homes we built prior to the new code- which were already awesome sippers of energy! You can factor that savings into your monthly carry costs when you are thinking about how much a new home might cost every month-blowerdoor_house

Filed Under: Building a home, Financing, Home Values, Maintenance

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