Holding Up a Tradition
Builders in the Carolinas and other Southern states say columns are in high demand as home buyers look to recreate the nostalgia of the Old South. Once crafted from wood, columns are now made out of fiberglass to make them rot-resistant. They range in price from $100-$10,000 or more each, depending upon the size and design. "Spend a couple hundred dollars on a set of columns and [home buyers] fall in love with them," remarks Vincent Del Donna of Architectural Products by Outwater. "They don't fall in love with sheetrock." One example of how the Old South is being recreated is I'On, an upscale subdivision under development near historic Charleston. The community is a product of the New Urbanism movement that aims to bring the small-town life to the suburbs. The 762 homes — priced at $400,000-$2 million and set for completion in 2006 — will feature columns, sleeping porches and tall windows, among other things. (www.latimes.com)
Los Angeles Times (10/11/04) P. A1; Barry, Ellen
Super Energy-Efficient Homes Go Tankless
California-based energy consultant Rob Hammon says home owners who want to cut their energy costs need to look beyond added insulation. They can use 60% less energy, for example, with a system comprised of insulation, solar panels and tankless water heaters, among other things. Tankless water heaters heat water only when needed, rather than keeping it hot all the time. The devices have been installed in a 73-unit Zero Energy Home development in Fallbrook, CA, where home owners can expect to slash their gas and electric bills by 50% and 70%, respectively. (www.ap.org)
Associated Press (10/11/04) Bradley, Dave
Cost of Building Materials on the Rise
Prices for building commodities have been unsteady in 2004, thanks to bad weather, global demand and the strengthening domestic economy, and contractors are trying to lock in prices as they struggle with suppliers and clients. Some construction materials cost 50% more than they did last year, and Cleveland-based Austin Co. reports that in the Upper Midwest, overall commercial construction costs rose 8% during 2004's first half. The cost of lumber has increased some 40% from last year, and plywood prices are over 90% higher than in 2002. Associated Builders & Contractors President Stephen Stone says that many project owners and contractors are becoming more aggressive in locking in material costs as they get closer to construction. Contractors have altered or delayed plans to ease the pain of higher costs. Metropolitan Builders Association Executive Director Matt Moroney says that contractors fear that some people will no longer be able to afford new homes, and adds that low interest rates are keeping the effect from deepening. (www.jsonline.com)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (10/09/04) Barrett, Rick
Well-Insulated, Efficient Homes Becoming Trend
Home builder Jim Mackin of Monroe, MI, lives in a five-point Energy Star home, which is certified with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an energy-efficient structure. Such homes' prices are typically boosted by 25% due to special energy-saving techniques, but the homes consume 30% less energy for heating, cooling and water heating compared to conventional homes. That translates into savings of about $200-$400 annually on utility bills, and involves such high-efficiency appliances as washers and dryers, air conditioning systems and furnaces. Other features include Peachtree windows that permit light to enter but not heat, one-inch thick Styrofoam insulation around the exterior foundation and an attic insulated with 12 inches of Nu-Wool cellulose. (www.ap.org)
Associated Press (10/11/04) Slat, Charles
Relative Proximity; As Boomers' Parents Age, 'In-law' Living Options Grow
Separate but attached apartments added to a home to accommodate aging parents are still relatively rare but are becoming increasingly popular among home owners, according to builders of high-end residences, who say it is only a matter of time before the trend expands to the middle market. The units, called "in-law suites" or "accessory housing," can be added to an existing home by a modular-home builder, such as The Home Store, which reports tripled demand for such units over the last decade. The Home Store charges between $70,000 and $100,000 for attached cottages designed for elderly parents. Owners can also opt to have in-law suites included in their plans for newly built homes at an extra cost of about $12,000-$35,000, according to luxury home builder Toll Brothers. The company also is incorporating smaller homes designed for elderly people into its planned communities, according to spokeswoman Kira McCarron. Despite the growing demand, some barriers to widespread adoption of in-law suites remain, as tight zoning restrictions prohibit the addition of apartments to homes in many areas of the country. In addition, seniors are increasingly reluctant to move out of their longtime homes and depend on their grown children for assistance. (www.cbs.marketwatch.com)
CBSMarketWatch.com (10/07/04) Coombes, Andrea
More New-Home Buyers Get Pinched by Impact Fees
As more and more of the nation's cash-strapped communities levy "impact fees" against home builders to help fund infrastructure to serve new residents, contractors are passing those costs on to buyers. Because just a few thousand dollars can make the difference between renting and owning in some markets, impact fees — which range from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands, depending on the state — are a major consideration for some shoppers. Moreover, points out Ellen Roche of the National Association of Realtors®, "most people think of the fee as a one-time assessment, but people who move frequently and choose to live in newly built homes may find themselves paying the fees more than once." To prepare for the purchase of a new home, buyers are advised to ask about impact fees upfront and find out how they will be levied and what they will be used for; pay the costs in cash rather than rolling them into the home loan, to avoid paying finance charges in addition to the impact fee; consider buying in a nearby town if the first-choice community imposes impact fees; or, if the buyers are likely to move again within a few years, avoid new housing altogether and focus on existing homes. (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (10/07/04) Cullen, Terry
AARP Touts Senior-Friendly Home With Universal Design
At its annual convention in Las Vegas last week, AARP displayed a model home promoting "universal design" features such as wide doorways; step-free entries and showers; and energy-efficient, flicker-free lighting. The concept behind universal design is to create a living environment that is "usable to the greatest extent possible by people of all sizes, ages, abilities and preferences," according to Larry Weinstein, national livable homes consultant for AARP in San Diego. The three-bedroom, 1,750-square-foot home on display in Las Vegas featured wide doors with lever-set handles and cabinets set low with easy-to-grasp knobs to increase access for children and older people who have difficulty reaching and grasping. Similarly, the model home's low-pile carpets and no-step showers are designed to accommodate people using wheelchairs or walkers. Weinstein says these simple but important design features should not add more than 5%-10% to the price of a home; a residence similar to the AARP model would be priced around $110,000-$130,000. (www.cbs.marketwatch.com)
CBSMarketWatch.com (10/07/04) Gerencher, Kristen
Home or Work Problem Floor? Stick Cork on It
More and more home owners are installing cork floors as an alternative to hardwood. Cork floors are just as durable, but they make walking more comfortable. A staple in high-traffic commercial spaces for years, not only does cork absorb noise, it also makes floors more energy-efficient. Moreover, none of these benefits is lost when the cork is finished with wax, matte or gloss. Cork is available in a wide array of colors, ranging from natural browns to blues and greens; and home owners can choose between either tiles or panels that lock together like laminate. (www.philly.com)
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/03/04) P. J1; Dulley, James
Fund Will Collect Donations to Help With Home Purchases
Financial Counselors of America has launched a fund that helps cover downpayments and closing costs for active members of the armed forces, Reserves and National Guard. The nonprofit organization based in the Memphis, TN, area has formed the Military Housing Assistance Fund (MHAF) as a national program and now is accepting individual and corporate donations. Military men and women must qualify for a mortgage that accepts gift funds in order to take advantage of MHAF assistance, and the home builder or seller must consent to pay a $600 administrative fee that covers the fund's overhead and enables 100% of the donations received to be transferred to beneficiaries. The MHAF hopes to provide assistance to 1,000 military families by January. (www.commercialappeal.com)
Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN) Online (09/28/04) Morton, Kate Miller
Our Wireless World
Optimistic predictions of a wireless home with universally accessible digital media within five years are undercut by the reality of current wireless technologies, which are marked by implementation and maintenance difficulties, susceptibility to interference and quality of service issues. Still, developing wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) could resolve these problems. Consumers of home wireless networking products usually employ them to share high-speed Internet connections, and some are also using them to transfer digital files from hard drives to other devices. However, errors and information resending can slow down wireless data transmissions to 50% or less of their rated speed, while neighboring wireless networks can interfere with transmissions. Quality of service remains the biggest headache, and new iterations of current Wi-Fi standards aim to fix these deficiencies by modifying network operations: existing 802.11 standards apportion bandwidth equally among all devices on the network, but developing standards promise to throttle down some kinds of data in favor of signals that should not be disrupted, or double current data rates to support wireless TV transmissions. Complicating the deployment of these standards are such factors as copyright issues and the incompatibility of many media appliances wireless networks are supposed to link together. UWB, which avoids signal interference by distributing high-speed data across a broad range of radio frequencies, has run into trouble because of fears it could interfere with other devices in those spectrum bands. Another home networking approach uses traditional wires and cables for data transmission, but its rollout could be constrained by speed limitations as well as concerns about cluttered power grids among foreign governments. (www.usnews.com)
U.S. News & World Report (09/27/04) Vol. 137, No. 10, P. 48; LaGesse, David
PC Backup Is a Must Now
Computer experts continue to stress to users the importance of frequent data back-up, especially now that hackers and viruses are becoming more commonplace. Though many people complain that back-up procedures are lengthy, boring and sometimes costly, an add-on hard disk and automated back-up software can simplify the process. Copying files manually to blank disks is laborious, and Web-based services often charge a lot of money for a minimal amount of space. Extra hard disks, however, provide a sufficient amount of space; and back-ups can be scheduled for the middle of the night without the user present. Users can choose from the $35 SmartSync Pro and Maxtor's OneTouch II, which is priced at $329 for 250-gigabytes and $379 for 300-gigabytes. SmartSync Pro copies specific files and folders, rather than the entire hard disk, and makes it easy to retrieve deleted files. Users of OneTouch II also have access to retrieval tools, but the initial backup can take more than 12 hours to complete. (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (10/07/04) P. B1; Mossberg, Walter S.
Wireless All the Way
A growing number of small businesses are going wireless, but only 3.7% have disconnected their traditional phone lines in favor of mobile phones. Though mobile devices boost productivity by allowing employees to communicate with clients and colleagues while away from their desks, most businesses prefer to maintain their land-line connections to keep their place in the phone book. Those who decide to go wireless, however, can do so and remain in the directory at the same time by having land-line calls transferred to employee cell phones. They can also pay more to have their cell phone numbers displayed in the phone book or rely on the Internet to attract customers. (www.jsonline.com)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (10/10/04) Romell, Rick |
