Real Estate Unit

Archive for September, 2009

San Diego offers many benefits to the homeowner, whether it is the wonderful, year round temperature, the sunshine and proximity to some of the best beaches in Southern California or a variety of industries that call this area home. It is time to add one more quality to this area and that is the promotion of green building to potential or current San Diego homeowners.

If you are considering building a new home in San Diego, you need to be aware of the focus and the push that the San Diego County Administration has started for homeowners to build with environmentally friendly and sustainable products. The county administration has named this initiative the Green Building Program. This is a series of incentives, rebates and credits for the homeowner who chooses to outfit their new home with items like a tank-less water heater or a weather based sprinkler system. In addition, this program is so progressive and forward thinking it has received attention from the United Stated Green Council.

There are many benefits to outfitting your new home with energy efficient, green products. To start, while there is an initial investment, you will also see that investment be paid for several times over through savings in your utility bills as well as rebates and credits from federal and state governments during tax time. Therefore, you won’t only be reducing your carbon footprint, but you will also be lining your pockets with the extra cash you would have been shelling out to water, electricity and gas companies.

Outside of the savings you will be experiencing with your green home, you will also be reaping the benefit of living a healthier life. Studies show that homes that are made with green materials are toxin-free and there is less of a chance of exposing yourself or your family to harmful internal pollutants and chemicals. In addition, when natural ventilation is included in the construction of your home, you and your family will breathe easier as fresh air from the outside will be brought into your home while stale, recycled air is blown out. Think of it this way, when you live in a healthier home, you will also save on expensive doctor’s visits because your family will not be as susceptible to flu and cold germs.

Finally, you will also be doing your community and your environment some good when you build a green home. You will be creating less pollution that contributes to climate change and global warming and you will also be doing your part to cut out unnecessary waste that heads straight to a landfill during the construction process. Studies show that for a normal 2,500 square foot house, over two tons of garbage is produced just during the building process. Green homes only produce one fourth of the garbage in comparison to a home built through standard construction processes.

Analysts are bracing themselves for a stream of highly negative news in the Commercial loans department very soon. Failing businesses who have pre-existing loans agreements and are not meeting their rent payments are causing development companies and other banks a lot of drama.

The Federal Reserve and other officials have done their best to try and cool down the problems but as the economy tumbles so to to peoples job and incomes. This is only going to make the situation worse. Like a domino effect almost all industry sectors will be affected, both commercial and industrial.

Some of the lenders are totaling up their losses but these have not been reported in the mainstream media just yet. As residential foreclosures mount up what no one realizes is that at the same time businesses have been suffering just as bad and there was a big surge in commercial property carrying organized mortgages that were sold as bonds on wall st many years ago. Before the market crashed at the end of 2008 there was allegedly $700 billion dollars in these mortgage securities and now some of them have lost as much as 40% of their value.

Officials are still tallying up all the numbers and analysts say that when these figures come out in the media it won’t be pretty. It could even be the next catalyst for a downturn / sell off on the equities market again.

Those with bigger loans in the commercial industry realize that if the economy takes anther bigger hit at the end of this year (as feared), they are at a bigger risk of not only losing their business but their livelihoods as well. Time will tell.

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American theorist who studied the needs of humans and how satisfying these needs can motivate people to work harder and be happy. He started his studies observing the behaviour of monkeys. Whilst researching the monkeys he realised that some needs took priority over others. He took these ideas and produced his famous hierarchy of needs.

At the bottom of this hierarchy were the physiological needs of the person. These needs included water, oxygen, heat, vitamin C, rest, avoiding pain and having sex. The lack of these physiological needs leads to the body craving for things that have satisfied these needs before.

Above the physiological needs are safety needs. When most of the physiological needs are met people start to worry about security. Things such as having a home in a safe area, savings for the future and job security all satisfy this need.

After the previous two areas are satisfied love and belonging needs set in. The need for friendship, a lover, children or just a sense of community are what the person desires at this stage.

At level four esteem needs are required to satisfy the persons happiness. Maslow split this into a lower and higher level of need. The lower is a need for respect, status, attention and recognition. The higher stage concerns self-respect and independence. These are valued as higher in the chart as they come from within the person and are harder to lose.

At the very top of the model is self-actualization. This stage is where a person has a constant aspiration to fulfil their potential. The need to feel complete and be all they can be. Maslow suggested that only two percent of the worlds’ population ever reach the self-actualization stage.

Clayton Alderfer further developed Maslow’s work. He suggested that the five stages identified by Maslow could be reduced to three areas. He called this his Existence, Relatedness and Growth theory. The physiological and safety stages in Maslow’s hierarchy became the existence category in Alderfer’s theory. The interpersonal love and esteem stages became the relatedness category and the self-esteem and self-actualization stages became he growth category. He also suggested that these categories all function simultaneously and the importance of each stage varied between people and even with their mood.

This theory can be applied in construction management by viewing the company as a whole and applying the stages of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to it. Stage one sees the project being undertaking as having resources, which are needed for it to begin. These may include tools, drawings and the relevant workers for the project. The company then needs financial backing or sufficient finances to begin the project, which relates to the security stage. They also need to have a feeling of security that they will be paid in full for the completed project.

There are three main points to this process. And it is very crucial that you hit all of these points to make sure you are making a good decision for yourself. To make this a positive process you must ask questions rather than just falling in love with a house and signing the papers. Here are the three major points:

• Offering price
• Condition of the home
• Location of the home

Here are some of the questions that should be asked for each area.

Offering price

• How much are similar homes in this area selling for? This is an important question to ask to make sure you are getting the best deal possible. If you are getting a house that is priced high for that area, not only are you spending money that could have still been in your pocket but this house may also be really hard to resell.

• How many offers have the sellers received on this home? The reason this question can be very important is because either the sellers are very firm on their asking price or it also could mean the house is overpriced. They could also be partial to making a decision to actually go through with the sale. This could very well mean a lot of unnecessary used time and stress.

• How long has it been on the market? This could be a good sign or bad sign. Let’s say the house has been on the market for a very long time but looks reasonably priced. This could mean that there are serious problems with the property. Anywhere from structural damage to location. Make sure you look into this kind of thing. If it has been on the market for awhile it could also mean it’s overpriced or that the owner having a difficult time deciding to sell. If the house has only been on the market for a little while this just might mean you are one of the first to get dibs on this home!
Condition of the home

• Does the home have insulation in the walls and attic? This is an important question because it could end up saving you loads of money. Insulation helps keep your utility bills low while also keeping you warm. This is definitely something you want to check into. It could end up saving you a lot of money down the road.

• What kind of foundation does the home have? Definitely get this part checked out by an engineer. Depending on the house’s construction and what kind of foundation it has, a lot of things can possibly go wrong. Foundation problems are a lot more stress and money than the average person is willing to deal with.

• What is the condition of the roof? Ensuring that the roof is in good shape can also end up saving you a lot of money and stress. Replacing a roof can be very costly and if it’s not taken care of the structural of the house could be in danger.

Selling your own home can be a lot more time consuming and stressful than you think. To try and save some money on your sale can actually cost you more in the long run. First of all you will have to set a price which means checking out the market to make sure you pitch your property at the right price. Next you will have to put together some sales particulars which have to be correct and you may have to pay for printing and posting of these to interested parties.

The next thing is the advertising side of the project. With an estate agent they will normally pay for the advertising of the property, however when you are selling your own property you will have to pay for your own advertising up front and to cover a large area you may have to advertise in the papers and the internet. The other thing is the large estate agents will advertise on places like “Right move”. Private sellers are not accepted to sell on these websites which means you could loose some coverage. Not only this but you will have to make your own For Sale board up if you decide to have one.

You will also have to consider having someone there to take the calls. There are some people who will not ring a mobile phone because they think it is too expensive. So make sure you have someone there to answer your land line phone. Viewings are the next thing you need to consider. with an agent sometimes you can trust them with a key to go and do viewings when you are not at home. When you are selling your own home you will have to be there every time you wish to do a viewing. This can be an advantage because you know where everything is, however some people may not find it easy trying to negotiate prices direct with the seller and prefer to do it through an agent so they don’t have to be face to face with a bartering situation.

Bear in mind when it comes to the actual sale and contracts to be drawn up you will probably need to employ a solicitor or conveyancer to handle this part. You will have to keep chasing the solicitors and other parties to make sure everything is going to plan where as normally your estate agent would do this job for you. Before you start to take on the responsibility of your own sale take into account all of the tasks necessary to see if it is worth the saving in money or if it is worth letting an agent get on with the job.