3 must-knows when pitching home addition to planner

always good to know.... Tips from an architect Inman News

No doubt exasperated by people asking how he came up with his brilliant designs, Frank Lloyd Wright once famously explained, "Why, I just shake the buildings out of my sleeve."

It was mostly Wright's puckish sense of humor talking when he claimed to conjure up brilliant concepts out of thin air. Yet today there's still a widespread perception that architects design by invoking some kind of arcane creative voodoo, and that ideas just flow onto the paper fully formed.

The fact is, there's a lot more hard work than magic involved in designing a building. This is a great advantage to non-architects, though you might not realize it: It means that if you're methodical and willing to perform the often-tedious procedure architects follow in the design process, you, too, could shake a decent design out of your sleeve.

Suppose, for example, that you want to build an addition onto your house. Long before you ever put pencil to paper or mouse to mouse pad, here's what you need to do:

• Come up with what architects refer to as the "program" -- basically, a wish list for your project. As a minimum, it should describe what kind of rooms and spaces you want to add, roughly how many square feet each will require, and which rooms will have to adjoin each other. The program can also include more abstract requirements, from general atmosphere (sunny, restful, dramatic or whatever) or any other characteristics you have in mind. In general, the more complete your program, the smoother your design process will be.

• Obtain a survey from a licensed civil engineer or surveyor showing where your home sits on your property, as well as major artificial and natural features such as outbuildings, utilities, rock outcroppings, sloping land, large trees, drainage swales, and so on. It should also show any rights of way, reserves or easements that could prevent you from building on the land.

• Add up the total square footage of the addition as dictated by your program and, if it seems that there's enough room on your property to accommodate it, proceed to the next step (if not, downsize your plans accordingly). Armed with your survey, set up an appointment with a planner at your local building department and describe your proposed addition. Begin by requesting the property setbacks -- the minimum distance you must keep structures from the front, side and rear property lines. Next, ask for the maximum allowable building height in your neighborhood.

As obvious as these steps may seem, they're commonly overlooked by do-it-yourself designers, who typically rush directly into drawing plans only to find out that they don't comply with one or more of these restrictions. Far from being an antagonist, a good planner will be a great help early on, pointing out such potential booby traps, and perhaps even suggesting alternatives that'll help you circumvent them.

What you'll take away from this meeting are the following crucial bits of information: How many square feet you can build, where and how high you can build them, and whether you need to notify your neighbors in order to do so. Next time, we'll use that information to begin -- finally -- designing your addition.

5 ways homeowners can protect against wildfires

Tactics also used to boost curb appeal, resale value                              
Inman News

Wildfires have become a tragic part of the daily news lately. They can strike anywhere, at any time, with no warning. State and federal firefighting budgets are stretched to the max as well, so it's more important than ever that you do everything you can to ensure that your home is as safe as possible. Should a wildfire ever come through your area, don't let your home become a statistic!

It doesn't take that much to protect your property against wildfire, and it helps with curb appeal and resale value at the same time. You might even consider organizing a neighborhood group to make the work go that much faster. Here are some of the steps you need to take:

Create a fire break

The single most important thing to do is create a defensible, noncombustible fire break around your home. If you have a noncombustible roofing material, such as metal, tile or composition shingles, then your fire break should extend out for 30 feet in all directions. To determine the layout of that area, simply measure out 30 feet from each edge of your home's combustible materials.

For example, you might need to measure from the edge of the roof overhang, or from the edge of a patio cover. If your home has a wooden deck, measure from the edge of that, but if you have a concrete or brick patio, you can measure from the house instead.

One of the biggest dangers during a wildfire is wind-driven embers. So if your home has a combustible roof, such as cedar shakes or shingles, you need to extend the fire break area from 30 feet out to 50 feet.

Within the fire-break area, you want to create a zone where things can't burn. That doesn't mean you have to clear cut and pave everything! You just want to create a well-maintained area that's as free as possible of combustible vegetation. For example, consider using fire-resistant landscaping such as grass, low groundcovers and low shrubbery. The other alternatives are hardscaping materials such as gravel, pavers or any other materials that won't burn.

Trim trees and remove dead material

Also within that defensible zone you need to thin out excess trees. During a fire, the flames will easily spread from tree to tree, so you want to thin them so they're no less than 10 feet apart. You also want to be sure to remove any dead trees.

All remaining healthy trees within the zone need to be limbed up to a height of at least 6 feet. This is done to prevent a fast-moving ground fire from being able to work its way up into the trees. For the same reason, all dead plant material should be removed or at least broken up so there isn't a fuel bed. Finally, be sure you cut dry grass to less than 4 inches high.

Clear your driveway

It's not something a lot of people think about, but in the event of fire, emergency vehicles need to be able to have clear access to your home if they're going to protect it. If you're on a piece of property with a long driveway that's more than 150 feet, fire officials typically request that overhanging trees be limbed up and back so there's at least 13 1/2 feet of vertical clearance and 12 feet of horizontal clearance. Protect your driveway from the fire by keeping vegetation cleared back for 10 feet from the driveway's centerline on each side.

Clean up your roof

Remove any dead branches that overhang your roof. Also, remove dead leaves and pine needles from the roof and gutters, including patio covers; those leaf and needle buildups are extremely flammable, and a single spark or ember can spread with amazing speed. Don't forget outbuildings on your property as well!

While you're up there, remember that sparks from your fireplace or woodstove are a real fire hazard. In addition to the cleaning, trim overhanging tree branches back a minimum of 10 feet from the chimney in all directions.

Be careful with outdoor storage

You don't want to store firewood right alongside your house, since it can become a real fire hazard and a source of a lot of retained heat during a wildfire. Move your firewood, as well as any lumber piles, at least 20 feet away from the house until fire season is over. Or, better yet, build a separate, enclosed wood storage shed a safe distance away.

The same is true for open areas under decks, which can be an inviting area for storing wood, gasoline and other flammable liquids, and all kinds of things that can catch fire easily and sustain a fire for a long time. Keep the underside of decks and stairs clear of anything and everything that can burn.

Top 5 homebuyer regrets

another interesting Inman News Article...

Top 5 homebuyer regrets

Mood of the Market                           
Inman News®

In life, and in real estate, there are decisions that, if we had them to do over again, we might do x, y or z differently. But all in all, we are not too upset about how things turned out. "C'est la vie," as they say.

Then there are the decisions and actions we actively regret, worrying over their long-term consequences, wishing we could have a cosmic do-over, stewing and ruminating over what we did wrong. (In truth, it's a sign of emotional maturity to see every experience as an education, and to be free from ruminating over even the worst of our regrets. But I digress).

Contrary to popular belief, my experience shows that the vast majority of homebuyers commit what they see as the first type of mistakes, but not those deep, dark regrets. However, those that do have serious regrets can lose many hours of sleep and many thousands of dollars trying to remedy them. Their only gain? Experience and gray hairs.

Here are the top 5 true, deep regrets of homebuyers and some insights for how to prevent them from taking over your own life:

1. Premature buying. This is not at all about timing the market or making sure you get in at the "just-right" moment. There's not much you can or should do about that. But buying before your life or your finances are ready for homeownership is a transgression that ends up causing serious, long-term regrets for those who end up doing it. Premature buying takes several forms, the most common of which includes jumping the gun and buying before you've saved as much as you really need, or before you've paid your debt down to the level you really needed to.

Another pervasive form of premature buying is to buy before you've truly, deeply, seriously run all your own personal financial numbers, which puts you in the position of forced reliance on what the bank, lender or someone else thinks is affordable, which is often wrong.

Similarly, buying because you feel pressure to get in while the market is keeping prices and interest rates low, rather than because you want and can afford a home, is a surefire path to real estate regret.

2. Buying too small of a house. People who buy too large of a home often realize, several years in, that they simply aren't using all of their rooms and many either sell and downsize or find ways to put the extra space they have to better use. People who buy too small of a home, on the other hand, are acutely aware of it from the moment their children start fighting, they find themselves and their energy levels deactivated by clutter or they end up realizing that there is no room at the inn for the family members or friends they'd like to house, short or long term.

Buying too large of a home is potentially wasteful of the money spent maintaining, heating and cooling the place; buying too small a home is uncomfortable and frustrating, sometimes intensely so, on a constant basis -- hence, the regret it can create.

Avoid this regret by starting your house hunt with a visioning exercise: What do you want your home life to look like in 10 years? Who will live with you? Do you entertain or have overnight guests? What activities do you want or need to be able to do there? Do you want to practice yoga, crafts, have kid-sized homework spaces, work at home, collect classic cars or move your parents in? If so, seek to buy a home that can comfortably fit all these people and their activities, even though they might not all exist -- yet.

3. Buying a home you can't truly afford. You might think that one of the top 5 regrets of homebuyers would be buying at the top of the market. But that's not the case -- I know plenty of buyers who bought at the top, paid top dollar and are still upside down on their homes, yet are still happy with their homes because they can well afford the payment and bought homes that will serve their families very well for the very long term (which will allow their home's value to recover).

It is much more problematic to simply overextend yourself on a home -- no matter what the market dynamics are at the time you buy. People who both bought at the top of the market AND overextended themselves made up the large majority of folks who lost homes, as the mortgage gyrations they went through (i.e., taking short-term, interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgages) in order to qualify for the home in the first place also caused them to be utterly unable to sustain the mortgage once the market declined and their mortgages weren't able to be refinanced.

If you can't foresee being able to make the mortgage payment on your home 10 years in the future without refinancing it, that's a sign you might be approaching the unaffordability danger zone.

4. Incompletely resolving co-buyer conflicts. Many co-buyers are couples, but I've also seen parents buy homes with their children, siblings buy homes together and even good friends team up to co-buy a home. Any time there is more than one buyer, there is a chance that the co-buyers will have one or more disconnects in their wants, needs and priorities. Often these are resolved almost effortlessly by the realities of the homes that are on the market (e.g., neither party's dream home turns out to actually exist, or pricing realities require everyone to compromise); other times, people simply work things out like mature individuals, seeking first to understand their co-buyer's position, then working out a compromise that works for everyone involved.

But in still other cases, the conflict is never truly, deeply resolved; even on closing day, one side feels completely misunderstood, or caves in for the sake of avoiding conflict, or someone simply throws a tantrum, insisting that they get their way. In these cases, it's common for the party who feels undermined and trampled on to ruminate on it as they live in the property every single day, ending up with great resentment and anger over the years.

5. Taking on fixing beyond their skill, patience and resource level. It can be heartbreaking to tour one of the many homes on the market that was clearly the subject of a previous owner's fixer-upper dream but was abandoned in the middle of a remodel. Often, these abandonments happen because the owner simply underestimated what the project would take and ran out of time, energy or, most commonly, money to get the remodeling completed. But it's even sadder to tour the home of a frustrated fixer whose owner and family still lives in a half-done, very dysfunctional property, and who are getting more and more disgruntled with their situation every time they make a mortgage payment.

3 hot home-design trends

interesting insight...

3 hot home-design trends

Maximize your space for socializing, storage
Inman News...

At San Francisco's annual Pacific Coast Builders Conference in June, which is always chock full of new products and ideas, a group of architects and other home design experts discussed what's new and hot in home design trends.
Some of it represents a bit of a departure from past years, and if you're thinking of building or you're planning on a remodel -- either for yourself or to make things more attractive for a potential buyer -- these trends might offer some valuable insights to help with your planning.

Garages are doing a lot more

Many home designers are looking at ways to design smaller homes with spaces that serve multiple uses, and that's now including the garage. With space in many homes at a premium, it's not too much of a stretch to consider cleaning up that vast cold expanse of concrete and making it more than a place to park the car. Garages are now sharing space with exercise areas, hobby rooms and other uses.

One of the most important uses for the garage is storage, but not just shelves tacked to the wall. Built-in storage cabinets with doors achieve a clean and uncluttered look that also protects the contents. There are a number of companies now offering sleek and sturdy garage cabinets, workbenches, and wall-mounted storage systems that are versatile and quite attractive. There are also ceiling-mounted platform lifts for even more storage.

Walls should be drywalled, textured and painted with a washable paint. Use ample lighting, especially in work areas. Consider an epoxy coating for the floor, or even a garage mat surface, which creates a brighter, more attractive area that's easier to clean.

Ditto for the laundry room

Another space in the house that's doing double and even triple duty is the laundry room. Rather than having a single room that's used solely for laundry, many of today's designers are looking at making this room larger and allowing it to handle multiple chores, which lets other rooms be smaller or even be eliminated.

Once again, storage is emphasized, with lots of cabinet space for everything from cleaning supplies to extra toilet paper. Space can be provided for just about any part-time use that doesn't require a large amount of square footage elsewhere, such as crafts or even a small home office.

For most situations, unless the bulk of the living space is on the second floor, the design pros felt that a first-floor laundry room was preferable. One designer adds a doggie door in her laundry room designs that goes through the wall to the backyard. "The laundry room is a great area for the dog during the day, and the doggie door provides direct access to the yard," she said. "It's been one of our most popular options!"

The designers also emphasized the importance of a transition area between the garage and the house: "The garage wants in," was the way one architect put it.

This transition area might be the laundry room, or it might be another intermediate space such as a mud room area, with a sink for washing up. The transition area should contain a bench or other seating for removing shoes, as well as storage for hats, coats, gloves and other outdoor essentials. It should also include convenient storage for things like keys, and perhaps a charging station for phones and other electronics.

Some thoughts on kitchens

Kitchens, of course, are one of the biggest sellers in home design. Some designers are getting away from traditional "work triangle" design, and are looking more at designs that work for specific users.

But one thing that all the designers agreed on was a growing emphasis on islands. Islands are very popular, and may incorporate a cooktop, prep sink or some other element that makes it easier for two cooks to operate at the same time.

Eat-in kitchens remain popular, with space at the island or at a peninsula for eating. But what's definitely changed is the arrangement of the seating. Designers are getting away from the "picnic bench" seating arrangement, with all the stools or chairs in a row, which is not conducive to conversation. That's being replaced by 90-degree seating, with stools along two or even three perpendicular edges of the island, the way they would be at a conventional table.

Billionaire's new Colorado town is a private Old West marvel

wow....

Billionaire's new Colorado town is a private Old West marvel

The Denver Post

KEBLER PASS —There's a new town in Colorado. It has about 50 buildings, including a saloon, a church, a jail, a firehouse, a livery and a train station. Soon, it will have a mansion on a hill so the town's founder can look down on his creation.

But don't expect to move here — or even to visit.

This town is billionaire Bill Koch's fascination with the Old West rendered in bricks and mortar. It sits on a 420-acre meadow on his Bear Ranch below the Raggeds Wilderness Area in Gunnison County. It's an unpopulated, faux Western town that might boggle the mind of anyone who ever had a playhouse. Its full-size buildings come with polished brass and carved-mahogany details and are fronted with board sidewalks and underpinned by a water-treatment system. A locked gate with guards screens who comes and goes.

Koch's project manager has told county officials that the enclave in the middle of the 6,400-acre Bear Ranch won't ever be open to the public. It is simply for Koch's amusement and for that of his family and friends — and historians. It is the ultimate repository for his huge collection of Western memorabilia.

"It's the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. It's like something out of a 'Gunsmoke' movie set," said Ramon Reed, chairman of the Gunnison County Planning Commission.

The commission recently OK'd a 22,000-square-foot residence for Koch above the town that already has two buildings in excess of 11,000 square feet.

Koch, known as "Wild Bill" to some of his friends, is the founder and president of the energy company Oxbow Group, which operates the Elk Creek Mine near Somerset. Forbes estimates Koch's net worth at close to $4 billion.

Bill Koch is the brother of David and Charles Koch, two other billionaires who have made headlines in recent years for shoveling money to conservative causes, including the Tea Party movement.

But Bill Koch has mostly made waves for collecting rare wine, winning the America's Cup sailing race and, most recently, buying up every bit of valuable Western memorabilia that comes up for sale.

He paid $2.3 million for a photograph of Billy the Kid at an auction last year. He bought out the Buckskin Joe Western town near Cañon City for $3.1 million in 2010. He owns Jesse James' gun, Wyatt Earp's vest, Sitting Bull's rifle and a flag that belonged to Gen. George Custer.

He has more Charles Russell paintings and Frederic Remington bronzes than most museums.

In fact, he has crammed part of a museum with his collections this year. His Western art and artifacts were on display at the Society of the Four Arts at the Palm Beach Museum in Palm Beach, Fla. Palm Beach is where Oxbow is based.

In an interview this past spring with arts blog the Fine Art Notebook, Koch noted that he would be moving the collection to the Centennial State and told the interviewer, "I shouldn't tell you this, but I am building my own Western town in Colorado."

He also revealed that his wife told him he should go on the television show "Hoarders." It's a show about people obsessed with amassing things.

Koch will have a lot of room to keep his collections in Colorado. Around 50 buildings, along with a water-treatment system, have been permitted by Gunnison County in the past two years. Recently, the mansion — a home that will be the largest in Gunnison County — made it through the planning process.

Reed said Gunnison County has no restrictions on the size of residences, but the Koch home came before the planning commission because of a regulation that a residence of that size must not be "obtrusive."

Reed said they took into account that a third of the Koch mansion will be underground and it will be blocked by a hillside. Koch's designer and project manager agreed to tone down lighting so it won't be shining into the Raggeds Wilderness.

Koch also agreed to downsize a bit. The home is expected to come in at closer to 21,000 square feet in the final plans when one wing is removed.

Koch, who was not available for comment, also owns four properties in upper Castle Creek Valley near Aspen, including the 17,000-square-foot Elk Mountain Lodge that he turned into a personal residence when he bought it and the other three properties for $51 million in 2007. Elk Mountain was formerly a high-end hunting lodge.

That residence is along a county road, so it doesn't have the privacy of Bear Ranch.

Koch is trying to sew up more privacy at Bear Ranch through a land swap that brought his name into the public eye in Delta and Gunnison counties.

The controversial swap would give the government properties near Blue Mesa and in Dinosaur National Park in exchange for a public swath that cuts through his ranch.

Home Prices Climb as Supply Dwindles

interesting article from WSJ
Wall St. Journal
8.6.12

Home prices rose by their largest percentage in at least seven years during the second quarter, propelled by low inventories of properties for sale and high demand for bargain-priced foreclosures, according to two reports Tuesday.

Prices rose by 2.5% in June from a year ago, and by 6% from the previous quarter, said CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana, Calif., data firm. The quarterly jump was the largest since 2005.
Separately, Freddie Mac, which uses a different methodology, said home prices du

ring the second quarter jumped by 4.8% from the previous quarter. That was the largest jump since 2004.
Rising home values helped lift Freddie to a $3 billion profit, its best showing since the mortgage-finance company was taken over by the U.S. government four years ago. Freddie's larger sibling, Fannie Mae, which hasn't yet reported second-quarter earnings, posted a $2.7 billion gain for the first quarter.
The main force behind the home-price gains appears to be a shortage of homes for sale. The number of properties on the market is down sharply from a year ago. Meanwhile, demand is up, as mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest levels in at least 60 years.
Prices are rising because "there's not enough supply, given higher levels of demand," said Ivy Zelman, chief executive of Zelman & Associates, a research firm. Last week, Ms. Zelman revised her 2012 price forecast to a 5% gain. At the beginning of the year, she predicted a 1% decline. "With every passing month, distressed homes are being absorbed at better and better prices," she wrote recently.

Inventories are low for a handful of reasons. Investors who are scooping up homes have been converting them into rentals rather than flipping them, keeping the properties off the market. Banks have slowed their foreclosure processes in the past two years after they were found to be rushing through incomplete paperwork to repossess homes.

New-home construction has been at depressed levels for years, as builders have had to fend off competition from bank-owned foreclosures. That lack of new construction "has set the foundation for a snapback in pricing," said Michael Sklarz, president of Collateral Analytics, a Honolulu-based research firm.
Many traditional sellers are sitting on the sidelines because they are unable or unwilling to sell.
More than 11 million homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, meaning they are likely to sell only if they have to move. Others who have equity could be holding out for higher prices down the road.
In hard-hit markets, "only a little bit of the market is tradable because you have so much negative equity," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at real-estate firm Zillow Inc. "You have very few people willing to sell homes, and a big uptick in demand can create some real price appreciation."
Meanwhile, as inventories have shrunk, demand has picked up. "Everything is going to multiple offers," said Anthony Lamacchia, who owns a real-estate firm in Waltham, Mass. One of his agents has written 15 offers for four different buyers this summer, failing to land a property each time.
Lou Barnes, a mortgage banker in Boulder, Colo., said demand for mortgages to buy homes is even outpacing the levels seen during 2009 and 2010, when federal home-buyer tax credits spurred a burst of sales. "Main Street morale has brightened a great deal here," he said. "Sellers have lost their fear of giving away a house. Buyers have lost their fear of doing something dumb."
The Federal Reserve said Monday demand for mortgages to purchase homes jumped during the second quarter by the largest amount in at least three years, according to a survey of bank lending officers.
Investor buying in many markets also could help change the psychology for traditional buyers, creating momentum that becomes self-reinforcing. "People say, 'If there are good deals here, why are we letting investors take advantage?' " Mr. Sklarz said. "Investors are forcing everyone else to think about this logically."
For now, price increases appear to be broad-based. CoreLogic said 71 of the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas saw prices rise on a year-over-year basis in May, compared with just 19 markets in December. That was the largest number of rising metro areas since November 2006, when home prices began to tumble.

The jump in home prices is particularly notable at the low end of the market, fueled by investors making all-cash offers for foreclosures that can be rented out. Such rising prices allowed Freddie Mac to set aside less cash in reserve for loan losses. The company lost 38 cents for every $1 of debt that went through foreclosure during the second quarter, an improvement from 40 cents at the end of March and 42 cents a year ago.
That dynamic was evident in hard-hit markets such as Phoenix that this year have notched price gains. In Arizona, Freddie lost 40 cents for every $1 that it foreclosed on, compared with 51 cents a year ago.
Housing markets still face challenges. Many aspiring homeowners can't qualify for a mortgage because lending standards have tightened, with banks scrutinizing borrowers' income and assets or potential snags that might later require them to buy the loan back from Fannie or Freddie, were the borrower to default. Others simply have too much debt to take on a home purchase.
Another serious concern is the "shadow supply" of more than three million properties with mortgages in some stage of foreclosure or serious delinquency that haven't been taken back by lenders.
Freddie Mac, for example, said it still had $118 billion in delinquent mortgages, just below its peak of six months ago. "All the metrics are getting better, but the nonperforming inventory is still very large," said Jim Vogel, an analyst at FTN Financial. As a result, he added, "we wouldn't tell anybody that the corner has been turned yet."

Meanwhile, home sales are falling in some hard-hit markets where stocks of foreclosed properties are nearly empty. In Nevada, for example, a state law revamping the foreclosure process and imposing penalties for noncompliance brought bank repossessions to a halt. Sales of foreclosed homes in Las Vegas hit a 4½ year low in June, according to DataQuick, prompting home sales to fall by 16% from one year ago, the first decline in one year.
At the same time, some buyers "aren't happy with what's on the market, and they're staying on the sidelines," said Jon Mirmelli, a real-estate broker and investor in Phoenix. "It's a frustrating market right now."
Price gains also are likely to ease later in the year, when home sales traditionally slow. June prices rose by 1.3% from May, compared with monthly gains of 2.3% in May and in April, CoreLogic said in its report Tuesday. Freddie said its forecast calls for several more months of weak home prices.
But the biggest worry is still whether the economy can add enough jobs to keep sales strong. "At some point the global economy has to creep into people's thinking. I worry about that all the time," said Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin Corp., a real-estate brokerage with offices in 14 states.

Unique Rotating Home

from www.rotatinghome.com

Perched high on the northern slop of Mt. Helix is the luxurious 5,300+ square foot home that rotates through 360 degrees displaying views from the Coronado Bridge, downtown San Diego, the Ocean north to La Jolla, Mission trails park and the Laguna Mountains.
This home is an example of the future of architecture "Kinetic Architecture". It is the only structure in the world, that we know of, that is a fully functional rotating structure with all the utilities in the rotating portion (unlike the Space Needle and rotating bars located in some hotels) along with many other unique features.
How It Rotates
The second rotating floor rides on top of the 50' in diameter first floor on 40, 8" bearings that each have a 50,000 pound capacity, a main bearing in the center of the elevator shaft carries 1,364,000 pounds and the drive wheels (two 16" x 3" wheels) are in pillow block bearings that carry 150,000 pounds each - that's a 3,664,000 pound capacity, the second rotating floor weighs 600,000 pounds. It is driven by a 1.5 horse power DC motor, it takes .8 hp to start and .75 hp to run the house in either direction anywhere from one revolution in 33 minutes up to one revolution in 24 hours, it can rotate in either direction as many times as one would want (it doesn't have to unwind). The motor drives the drive wheels through a 1564 to 1 dual worm gear transmission - very smoothly.
The first floor is close to the mountain but has a path all the way around it. The house could be built on flat land or on a central column (no first floor or the rotating floor could be on ground level) or several columns ours is the way it is because of the lot we choose to build it on.
Our home has one rotating floor, however, you could have a 2 or 3 (or more) story house where all floors turn together or independently from each other.
The home has a stationary 600 sq. ft. basement and a stationary first floor with a garage that has turntables for two cars to turn 180 degrees so they never have to back out, it also has a rec. room, kitchenette, full bath and the entry, it is 2,100 square feet and has a central elevator (to be installed in 2011) that will serve as a front door to the main portion of the home. There is a patio and putting green off the first floor. The main structure is 80 feet in diameter, 5,100 square feet and rotates; it is 3,700 square feet of living space, 1,400 square feet of rotating deck and has a living-dining room, kitchen, great room, office, laundry, pantry, elevator equipment room, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths.
Equipped with state of the art technology, finger print locks, 4.8KW of photo voltaic panels, gas and electric tank less water heaters, computerized lighting system that can be operated from cell phones from anywhere in the world and a roof that can be flooded in case of fire or a Santa Ana condition (local warm weather condition) for extra insulation and then recycled into the gray water system to water the yard. The second rotating floor also has 1,200 square feet of fixed deck all with stunning views. The glass is all laminated glass that provides excellent security for the home. The outside over hang over the rotating deck varies from 5' to 10' and because the house turns it creates shade or sun for additional help with heat and cooling.
The heating/air conditioning system has a seer rating of 22 (much like you would have if you lived in the hottest part of the Mohave desert) with four zones and return air vents in every room - thus you only have to heat or cool two or four or six or all the rooms, the system is also a three stag system so it starts at 5 then 8 then 13 amps to cool the entire 3,700 sq. ft. A normal air conditioner would pull 50 to 60 amps to cool 3,700 sq. ft. We also have a 16 camera security system that can again be viewed on our iPhone's from anywhere in the world. We have 45 items patented on three different patents for just the house we also have 26 additional item patented on 4 additional patents for our next project rotating towers where each floor of say a 60 story tower rotates independently from the others.

Vacancy rate for Denver area rental residential units up slightly

interesting article in yesterday's post...   Vacancy rate for Denver area rental residential units up slightly The Denver Post Posted:

The overall vacancy rate for rental residential units in the Denver metro area in the second quarter of 2012 was up slightly to 2.0 percent compared to 1.6 percent for the first quarter of 2012, according to the Colorado Division of Housing.

In a report released Thursday, the division said that the residential vacancy rate was 2.6 percent for the second quarter of 2011; 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2010; 5.2 percent for the second quarter of 2009, and 4.2 percent for the second quarter of 2008.

The report, called The Metro Denver Area Residential Survey, covers housing units with one to four units, including single-family, condominium, townhouse, duplex, triplex and fourplex units.

The report noted that in the second quarter of 2005, the residential vacancy rate was 9.5 percent.

Boulder/Broomfield had a vacancy rate of 2.6 percent; Jefferson, 2.5 percent; Denver, 1.4 percent; Douglas, 1.8; Adams, 2.2 and Arapahoe, 1.9 percent.

The highest vacancy rate was for five-bedroom residences at 5.5 percent while two-bedroom and four-bedroom residences had a vacancy rate of 1.8 percent. One-bedroom homes had a 1.9 percent vacancy.

The median metro area rent was $995. For Adams County it was $1,087; Arapahoe, $950; Boulder/Broomfield, $1,312; Denver, $946; Douglas, $1,400 and Jefferson, $950.

For those units that were vacant, the average days on the market was 25.8 in the second quarter down from 28.7 for the first quarter of 2012; and up from 15.7 for the second quarter of 2011.

Average time on the market were 47.2 days in the second quarter of 2010, and 54.7 days in the second quarter of 2009.

3 Things Many Condo Buyers Ignore but Shouldn't

Good things to consider...

3 things many condo buyers ignore but shouldn't
REThink Real Estate
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Inman News®
Q: We've just purchased an apartment in Manhattan -- a condo, not a co-op. We've yet to move in, but just received word from the real estate management company who represents the building that anytime we want to do even a minor repair or alteration (e.g., add a bookshelf, change a tap), we have to give them seven days' notice and pay them $150 for the privilege.
Is this common, or is this extortion? It is my place, isn't it? --Rachel

A: First, I just want to acknowledge your frustration, Rachel. It is actually very common for condo owners and owners of any unit or property located within a homeowners association (HOA) to have feelings of outrage at the lack of control they have. Unfortunately, there are costs that come as trade-offs for the advantages of living in a shared community, where the homeowners all share the costs of maintaining parts of the building or complex -- and one of those costs is that there are rules and regulations that must be imposed.

I wouldn't say that this particular fee is extremely common, in my experience, but HOAs, through their boards and their management companies, do have the power to impose all sorts of rules and fees that impact the ability of member homeowners to enjoy and improve their homes. It's unfortunate that this fee came as a surprise to you, after closing, rather than you having learned about it when you should have, during escrow.

Here are a few guidelines for buyers-to-be and new owners of condos and other properties in HOAs:

1. Read the HOA disclosures -- thoroughly. When you get into contract on a home that is located within an HOA, you receive a bulky stack of documentation about the association. It can be a mind-numbing, eye-twitch-inducing pile of bank account statements, historical documents and legalese. However, these materials are uber-important, as they provide the details and contours of this new business and interpersonal relationship you are about to embark on with your neighbors.

Things like the HOA's plans for ongoing maintenance and upgrades, the HOA budget, the cash they have in reserve -- all these things have the potential to impact your household budget.

For example, if the building needs a new roof and there's not enough cash to cover the costs, most HOAs have the power to levy a special assessment on each owner for their share of the cost! The fact that you own your place means you also own some share of the responsibility for the building. That's what owning in an HOA is all about.

Additionally, as you've learned the hard way, there are loads of HOA guidelines that may impact your lifestyle and your plans for your home. I have received dozens and dozens of notes over the years from condo owners like yourself protesting HOA restrictions on everything from parking to pet size and even flooring material and paint colors! Yes, the place belongs to you, but when you buy into a condo you opt into following the guidelines the HOA has in place for ensuring every owner can enjoy their home and all can live in peace.

I suspect the fee of concern to you covers the management company's processing of your plans for modifying your home to ensure their compliance with HOA and other guidelines.

The ideal here is to read these documents thoroughly as part of your decision-making about whether to buy the property while you still have time to back out of the transaction if you don't want to be bound by the HOA's strictures.

2. Read more casual HOA member documents. Along with the formal HOA disclosures, condo buyers often receive a set of more casual documents, including a copy of the building rules and regulations, and the community newsletters. In my experience, these documents can actually be even more telling than the formal ones in terms of previewing for you the daily experience of living in the community. Yes, you're likely to see a fair amount of minutiae, like recipes and block party announcements.

But you're also likely to see things like board meeting agendas with line items like discussions of whether to raise the HOA dues, and conversations about any concerning, large repairs that might need doing. If you haven't read these documents yet, you should now, to prevent further nasty or costly surprises.

In the same vein, I encourage condo buyers and new owners to talk with the building manager about common complaints and community issues (including fee increases) that are on the horizon, as well as connecting with other homeowners in the building or complex about their experience and any surprise costs or unpleasant rules they have encountered.

3. Participate in your HOA. Read the agendas of your HOA's board meetings before they happen, attend the meetings and even participate on your board if possible. HOA boards ultimately have the power to impose dues increases, select the accounting and insurance vendors whose work and fees are so critical to the costs of living in the community, and select the contractors who do major building and community upgrades and repairs.

If you have a very strong issue with fees or rules that are currently governing your experience as a homeowner, the best way to address them is to become a vocal, active participant in your HOA board.

10 expenses you can deduct when renting out a room

interesting article from Inman News...

Real Estate Tax Talk
By Stephen Fishman
Inman News®

Lots of people are trying to earn a few extra bucks by renting out a room in their home. This can not only be a good source of income, but result in tax deductions.
If you rent out a room in your home, the tax rules apply to you in the same way as they do for landlords who rent out entire properties. This means you get to deduct the expenses arising from your rental activity.
There is one big difference, however: You must divide certain expenses between the part of the property you rent out and the part you live in, just as though you actually had two separate pieces of property.
You can fully deduct (or, where applicable, depreciate) any expenses just for the room you rent; for example, repairing a window in the room, installing carpet or drapes, painting the room, or providing your tenant with furniture (such as a bed).
In addition, if you pay extra homeowners insurance premiums because you're renting out a room, the full cost is a deductible operating expense.
If you install a second phone line just for your tenant's use, the full cost is deductible as a rental expense. However, you cannot deduct any part of the cost of the first phone line even if your tenant has unlimited use of it.
Expenses for your entire home must be divided between the part you rent and the part you live in. This includes your payments for:

• mortgage interest.
• repairs for your entire home; for example, repairing the roof or furnace, or painting the entire home.
• improvements for your entire home; for example, replacing the roof.
• homeowners insurance.
• utilities such as electricity, gas and heating oil.
• housecleaning or gardening services for your whole home.
• trash removal.
• snow removal costs.
• security system costs.
• condominium association fees.

You can also deduct depreciation on the part of your home you rent.
You can use any reasonable method for dividing these expenses. It may be reasonable to divide the cost of some items (for example, water) based on the number of people using them. However, the two most common methods for dividing an expense are either based on the number of rooms in your home or based on the square footage of your home.
Example 1: Jane rents a room in her house to a college student. The room is 10 by 20 feet, or 200 square feet. Her entire house has 1,200 square feet of floor space. Thus, one-sixth, or 16.67 percent, of her home is rented out. She can deduct as a rental expense one-sixth of any expense that must be divided between rental use and personal use.
Example 2: Instead of using the square footage of her house, Jane figures that her home has five rooms of about equal size, and she is renting out one of them. She determines that one-fifth, or 20 percent, of her home is being rented. She deducts 20 percent of her expenses that must be divided between rental and personal use.
As the examples show, you can often get a larger deduction by using the room method instead of the square footage of your home.

New Home vs. Old Home – Which Home Is Best for Specific Buyers...

New Home vs. Old Home – Which Home Is Best for Specific Buyers...
from: rismedia.com

The real estate market is full of a great variety of homes for potential buyers to choose from. One of the first decisions a potential buyer must consider is their preference for finding an existing home or building a new one. Keeping clarity in this situation means focusing your clients on their needs, budget and lifestyle. Consider the following:
Aggressive incentives are alluring. The common consumer urge to “never pass up a deal” can blur objective reasoning in this very important decision-making process. But, while many buyers would be good candidates for a brand new home, incentives are

Only Thing Standing in Housing Market's Way Is Rest of Economy

from the Denver Post...

Written by: Brian O'Connell08/06/12 - 1:28 PM EDT
NEW YORK

Banking My Way

It's been a long time since the U.S. housing market was the bright spot for the economy, but the long decline in home values seems to be ending.
That's the conclusion of Fiserv-Case Shiller's most recent home index reading, which makes the compelling case that the housing crisis is abating after six years and home prices for millions of American homeowners are once again gaining in value.
Home prices increased in 40% of 384 metropolitan areas tracked by analysts, and by the first quarter of 2014, analysts expect U.S. home prices to rise, on average, by 5%.

If Fiserv-Case Shiller is correct, the long road to recovery for U.S. housing won't be straight up: Before that 5% rise in home values its analysts are predicting, home prices may depreciate by 1% within the next 12 months.
Rising home values should reignite the real estate market, as more buyers jump off the fence and make an offer for a home before home prices rise any further.
The rising cost of home and apartment rentals is also helping push up home prices. Fiserv says it is now often cheaper to buy a home than rent one, and that's causing first-time homebuyers to househunt and accelerate demand for homes with "for sale" signs planted in their lawns.
The number of homes on the market is beginning to decline, and lower volume creates greater demand among buyers, which boosts home values even more.
"Inventories of single-family homes have dropped below 2.5 million units, the lowest levels since 2004. This shrinking supply of unsold homes is nudging home prices upward in selected markets," explained David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, in a statement.
There' still plenty of work to be done before housing truly and comprehensively comes back: "Negative equity remains a factor constraining supply in some markets, since many underwater homeowners cannot come up with the cash to cover the difference between their outstanding mortgage balances and the current market value of their homes. Many positive equity homeowners are also keeping their houses off of the market, waiting for price increases to boost their selling profits," Stiff said.
Metro U.S. areas with the biggest real estate value gains include Detroit (8.6%) and Miami (6.4%), while areas still suffering big declines include Atlanta (-17.4%) and Las Vegas (-7.4%). Fiserv attributes these price declines to the large number of foreclosures.
In a reversal, it's no longer housing holding back the U.S. economy but quite possibly the U.S. economy holding back a resurgent housing market.

"The state of the overall economy presents the biggest risk to the housing market," Stiff says. "The economic recovery has stalled each spring/summer during the last three years, and last summer's economic stumble was accompanied by a sharp decline in consumer confidence, which cut into home sales activity and pushed home prices down a little further," he adds.
If confidence were to drop by similar amount this year, either because of the monetary crisis in Europe or the political impasse in Washington D.C., then another downward leg in home prices is possible, Fiserv concludes.
"However, given that owner-occupied housing is incredibly cheap historically and falling confidence would be accompanied by lower mortgage interest rates, we may be at a point where housing markets can finally withstand a weak economy," Stiff concludes.

That would be welcome news to millions of homeowners, if it comes to pass. But after wandering the desert, so to speak, for six years, a long, cool drink of water in the form of higher home values is refreshing.
Rising home values allow homeowners to breathe a sigh of relief, and that can in turn spur the uncertain economy, with many homeowners spending more money knowing their chief financial asset is on the mend, and others selling their homes for more cash, thus allowing them to downsize, which would presumably leave more money in their bank accounts, and more money to spend in the consumer economy.
It's been quite some time since home values were making Americans feel better about their spending power. Let's just hope they don't start mistaking their homes for ATMs again.

5 green energy projects with buyer appeal

5 green energy projects with buyer appeal

Real Estate Tax Talk
By Stephen Fishman
Inman News

In this difficult real estate market, one way homeowners can make their property more attractive to potential buyers is to install energy-saving equipment such as solar panels and solar water heaters.
This can not only increase the value of a home, it can also result in a tax credit for the homeowner. A tax credit results in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your taxes -- for example, a $1,000 tax credit reduces the amount of taxes you pay by $1,000. Moreover, you may claim tax credits regardless of whether you itemize deductions on IRS Schedule A.
The residential energy tax credit helps individual taxpayers pay for residential alternative energy equipment. You can get the credit for installing such equipment in your primary residence or second home, and for new construction. This credit is for residential property only, not rentals. It is scheduled to be phased out at the end of 2016, so you have some time to act.
This credit is substantial: 30 percent of the cost of the alternative energy property. There is no cap on the amount of credit available, except for fuel cell property. Generally, you may include labor costs when figuring the credit and you can carry forward to future years any unused portions of this credit.
Thus, for example, if you pay $50,000 to install solar panels in your home, you can get a credit of $15,000.
Not all energy-efficient improvements qualify. You can get the credit only for:

• geothermal heat pumps that meet the requirements of the Energy Star program.
• small residential wind turbines (these must have a nameplate capacity of no more than 100 kilowatts).
• solar water heaters (at least half of the energy generated must come from the sun; this credit is not available for swimming pools or hot tubs -- the water must be used in the dwelling).
• solar panels (such photovoltaic systems must provide electricity for the residence and meet applicable fire and electrical code requirements).
• fuel cells (residential fuel cell and microturbine systems with an efficiency of at least 30 percent).

Be sure you have the manufacturer's tax credit certification statement, which can usually be found on the manufacturer's website or with the product packaging. If you're eligible, you can claim this credit on Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits when you file your federal income tax return. For all the details, see IRS Notice 2009-41, which you can download from www.irs.gov.

10 Common Sense Real Estate Rules for Buying a Home

10 Common Sense Real Estate Rules for Buying a Home

Useful, funny blog post from a Florida agent, Gary Waters...

The below rules for buying a home is not an all-inclusive list of things to know when buying or selling a home.

10. The better the view, the higher the price. It does not matter what the view consists of specifically (water, preservation area, ocean, pond, etc.). When it comes to condos add this as well "The higher the floor, the higher the price. "

9. "As is" does not always mean "as is." Sellers will sometimes negotiate off a price, make some repairs, or give a monetary concession rather than find another buyer and start all over again.

8. "Gated" does not mean secure unless you have a guard on duty. Having a gate gives a homeowner a nice warm feeling but people can still get into your community. If you have a manned gate 24 hour a day and perhaps even a patrol then I would suggest you are somewhat more secure.

7. The outside of the house is almost an indicator of how well the inside is (or is not) maintained. If the yard is neglected, paint is fading, plants are dead...likely the inside will be neglected as well!

6. Golf course direct is more expensive than "in golf course community." If you have a home on or near the green or fairway you will pay more than if it is on the other side of the street in the same community.

5. A new coat of paint will not change the zip code. Check the crime statistics. Check out the school performance. The house may look great but it is still location, location, location!

4. Orange and blue colors will not sell a house except to a Florida Gator fan. Or garnet and gold or any other school's colors. Beige, neutral, non-personal sells.

3. Some words are the kiss of death. You have read them all...cozy, cute, TLC, fixer upper, compact, charmer, etc. Properties are best described by using facts only.

2. The price is low for a reason. People do not sell very many things including a house for a significant discount. There is always a reason for the low price and it is usually because of condition, location, poor view, etc.

1. Do not believe everything you read - period. The title said there were 10 common sense rules for buying a home here, didn't it?

Most second homes would escape new 3.8 percent tax

shedding some light on a new topic...

By Tom Kelly

Inman News®

The warm summer weekend at the lake brought out sailors, wake boarders and even some old-time slalom water skiers. The discussion on more than one dock also focused on an additional tax on second homes.

"I'm going to put this place on the market before Labor Day," a big, bearded man said. "And hope to close the deal by the end of the year. There's no way I want to pay the extra tax Obama's put on us for 2013."

The truth is, unless the man has significant income, he -- along with 97 percent of the United States population -- will pay no additional tax on a second home in 2013. The new 3.8 percent tax on some investment income that will take effect in January 2013 will hit those taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes over $200,000 a year ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly).

Adjusted gross income is the number at the bottom of the front page of Form 1040. It includes dividends, interest capital gains, wages and retirement income, plus results from partnerships and small businesses. It does not include itemized deductions such as mortgage interest and charitable gifts or personal exemptions.

The tax is complicated, but it can be viewed as a flat tax on investment income above the $250,000/$200,000 threshold. While the tax applies only to investment income above the threshold, other income -- such as wages or Social Security -- can raise adjusted gross income, making investment income more vulnerable to the tax.

For example, let's say a widow earns a combined $60,000 from Social Security and her husband's pension. Needing to scale down, she sells her longtime home for a $400,000 gain, $250,000 of which is excluded from capital gains tax. Then, she sells their golf course condo for a $70,000 gain, all of which is subject to tax. The sale of the two properties would push her adjusted gross income to $280,000 ($150,000 plus $70,000) and into the new 3.8 percent extra tax bracket.

The new tax was passed by Congress in 2010 with the intent of generating an estimated $210 billion to help fund President Obama's health care and Medicare plans. It was recently upheld in a controversial ruling by the Supreme Court.

Second homes that are not rented out and used only as a second residence have always been subject to capital gains tax on any gain. Also, gain is a net number. It is not the simply the difference between the original purchase price and the eventual sales price. Homeowners can subtract real estate commissions, excise tax, and capital improvements before arriving at a net figure for capital gains purposes.

If the home is not rented out and thus not an "investment property," it is ineligible for a tax-deferred exchange.

A person's primary residence still retains its favored status -- even for those who have high incomes. The new "Medicare" tax still won't apply to the first $250,000 on profits from the sale of a personal residence -- or to the first $500,000 in the case of a married couple selling their home. The entire exemption on the sale of a primary residence remains intact and can be claimed every two years.

For example, let's suppose John and Sue McCarthy work full time. They own a beach home that they purchased for $275,000. They have never rented it out. They sell it for $335,000 in 2013. In 2013, they also have earned income from other sources of $225,000. The 3.8 percent 2013 tax would apply as follows:

Income from other sources:	$225,000
Adjusted gross income (AGI):	$285,000 ($60,000 + $225,000)
Excess of AGI over $250,000:	$35,000 ($285,000 – $250,000)
Capital gain:	$60,000
Lesser amount:	$35,000 (AGI excess less than second-home capital gain)
Tax due:	$1,330 ($35,000 x 0.038)

Rob Keasal, real estate tax specialist in the Seattle accounting firm of Peterson Sullivan, said he anticipates the new tax will send more high-wealth individuals to consider tax-deferred exchanges when selling their investment properties.

"Taxpayers thinking about selling property in 2012 on an installment basis (carrying a contract) may want to elect out of the installment method and recognize all gain in 2012," Keasal said. "They might want to take the cash now rather than have the installment gain in future years be subject to this tax."

The capital gain rate could go up as well. The long-term capital gains rate will remain at 15 percent for 2012, but it could go back up to 20 percent for 2013.

Right now, it's anybody's guess.

5 questions every buyer should ask their agent

more information for buyers...

5 questions every buyer should ask their agent

Mood of the Market
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Inman News®

In this day and age, one can easily get educated about homebuying online, on your couch and in your pajamas -- and while watching "House Hunters International," no less! Yet there are still nuances and insights on the process that are best communicated one to one, from a human professional who has been through this process dozens or hundreds of times. Accordingly, first-time buyers are frequently given the sound advice to vigorously interview agents before hiring them, and lists of interview questions are all over the Web.

That said, in the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers recently released by the National Association of REALTORS®, 81 percent of first-time buyers said the benefit of having an agent was that the agent helped get them educated about the buying process, and more than half of all buyers said their agent pointed out features or faults of a property that they would not otherwise have noticed.

So, I think it's time for a list of questions to ask your agent after you hire him or her, during the homebuying process, to max out the advantages you have from having this person on your side -- here are some starters:

1. Do you know a good mortgage broker, inspector, stager, painter, CPA, etc.? The NAR survey showed that 46 percent of buyers thought they got a better list of service providers from their agent than they could have come up with otherwise, and 20 percent found their agent's mortgage provider referral to be a benefit. Local agents simply know people you don't, and they have worked with them enough to know who gets the job done, well, and who doesn't.

To boot, vendors that work repeatedly with your agent may offer you faster turnaround times, discounted pricing or other VIP treatment you wouldn't get on your own, like doing an especially great job because they want to continue getting business from your agent.

2. What should I expect? Managing your expectations is essential to having a smooth homebuying experience, especially when it comes to the recurring themes of timing (e.g., how long something will take, when you need to do something, and when you can expect various milestones to happen) and cost.

This particular question and its cousins, "What happens next?" and "What's the margin of error on this cost estimate?" are questions you can and should ask over and over again, from the day you first "interview" your prospective agent, to the moment you sit down at the closing table.

3. What are the different ways to look at this? This, too, is a question you might want and need to ask often. During inspections, you might need to turn over the inspection report and any issues that arise in your mind to get a sense for how to react -- do you ask for more money, ask for repairs, get more bids? A good agent will help you explore the possibilities. This can also be helpful in the realm of negotiations.

For example, your agent can help you understand what you should be asking for in your offer, as he probably has a better understanding of all the possibilities and the various contract terms than you do. In the same vein, if you and the seller are at a price deadlock, asking your agent how else you can look at this might get you more creative suggestions about counteroffers and deal structures to propose.

While, ultimately, every decision is yours to make, if you have a good agent, you aren't all alone in trying to process the facts in front of you and factor them in. Related questions to add to the list: "What are the pros and cons?" and "What can I ask for?"

4. How do you buy a house? This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it bears stating that most of what you'll read in books and online about homebuying is neither customized to your local area nor is it tailored to your personal financial and lifestyle needs. The education your agent can give you is tailored in these two, really important ways.

5. What have I forgotten to ask? This wild card question really asks your agent to harness his knowledge of the market and his experience with buyers to position you to see what he sees. You're giving him carte blanche to be the expert (which agents appreciate!) with the result that you might be alerted to issues with the home, the financing or the transaction that you might not have otherwise. It's really just another way of asking the question, "What do you see that I don't?"