Even though you are not guaranteed to be on the show, you have a pretty good chance to be a HGTV star! Not to mention the publicity your home will receive. The HGTV cameras will be there to capture all the work and excitement of prepping for sale, pricing, negotiating, and ultimately selling a home for the first time.

Ideal candidates will be motivated, financially candid people who want to share the experience and the purchase details with HGTV and their audience. If selected to appear on an episode of My First Sale, home sellers will receive a DVD copy of the episode to enjoy for years to come.

Well, ok, you are not doing it for the DVD, but you should for the FUN of it!

Some key points of interest are:

• Unit sales volume has increased by 9.2% in the first quarter of 2010 over the same time a year ago.
• Prices continue to show signs of a moderate recovery: 1st quarter prices in the metro are up from the same quarter in 2009. This is the second consecutive quarter prices have risen on a trailing 12-month basis, representing the first increases seen since the 4th quarter of 2007.
• An average of 71 days on market, a decline from an average of 110 days one year earlier, and the lowest time on market since 2006.
• The ratio of inventory to sales continues to decline in most jurisdictions from one year ago. The metro-wide ratio of 5.7 months’ worth of listings is below the normal, healthy standard of 6 months, (and compared to 7.7 months a year ago) signaling that demand is beginning to outpace supply.
• The gap between buyer and seller demands is closing with the average sales price in the 1st quarter of 2010 at 93.8% of list price, the highest ratio in more than two years.
• Sales prices posting gains in each of the first three months of the year, with prices in March 2010 increasing 3.3 percent over March 2009, and expected to continue gaining traction throughout 2010.

Even as lower-paying jobs are being lost, higher paying jobs are being added, which fosters housing demand. As the national economy gains traction, the Washington region’ housing market will strengthen even more.

It should be noted that in a similar survey back in 2003, when the market was racing higher, 66 percent of people felt the same way. If anyone subscribes to the theory of the wisdom of the crowds, then it is likely that we will see increasing prices over the next year. To be more accurate, in the D.C. metro area we have already seen prices increase at a reasonable rate.

The majority of the people polled believe they will have a harder time getting a loan than buyers of 5 or 10 years ago. I agree with that and I see it happening, however I also feel that lenders are slowly becoming more reasonable and flexible with their loan offerings. Over the next two years I am hoping that things will be more balanced.

One thing to keep in mind is that this survey, as well as most such surveys, are conducted at a national level. I won’t go on the record saying that the D.C. area is immune, but the D.C. metro sub-markets have been more stable and performed much better than the national average

Keeping in mind that this downturn is considered the worst since the 1930s, we are lucky that the market has started recovering. And I am particularly happy that it is doing so at a slow pace, as I believe that will create a more stable market for the long term.

In the meantime, even with the tax-credit expiring, this still is a great time to buy a home, whether you are a first time home buyer or a repeat buyer. Interest rates are low and prices are low. One word of caution: we have gotten used to low interest rates over the past 5-10 years and we don’t realize that such low rates are not normal. I doubt we’ll ever go back to 10%+ rates, but 6%-8% are to be expected eventually.

So if you are thinking about buying, why not make the move in 2010? Contact me to schedule an informal meeting and see how I can help.

Here is the catch: There isn’t one magic thing you can do, but there are many small steps you can take that will collectively add up. You can do several things without spending a dime, and you can do even more by spending a little bit of money.

1. Set your thermostat a degree higher for air-conditioning and a degree lower for heating. This could save you as much as $100/yr on your energy bill.
Cost: $0

2. Install a programmable thermostat for your heating and cooling systems. It can save you $100/yr or more, especially if you spend a lot of time away from home.
Cost: $80 more or less (example at Amazon.com)

3. Buy a Kill-A-Watt device to track the power consumption of any appliance in your home. You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, even an entire year. Also check the quality of your power by monitoring Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor. This little device could potentially save you many times its cost.
Cost: $20-$50 at Amazon (Manufacturer’s site)

4. Eliminate wasteful standby power and save on your energy bills by unplugging devices that you are not using. Ten percent of power consumption in your home  is from devices that are turned off or in stand-by mode. You can unplug these devices manually, or use a power strip with a built-in feature, such as Monster Digital with GreenPower.
Cost: $47 and up at Amazon.

5. Lighting represents about 25% of home energy costs. The obvious solution is to turn off the lights in your home that you don’t use. Zero cost, big savings. Go a step further and, as your incandescent bulbs go out, replace them with CFLs, or even better LEDs. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use as much as 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs and can save you as much as $10 per bulb per year. LEDs (light emitting diode bulbs) are slowly becoming widely available, although still a bit expensive, however they use 80% less energy over traditional bulbs and last 25 times longer.
Cost: $0 (turn off the lights) to $10 per CFL bulb (more for LEDs).

Introduction:
Until fairly recently builders considered each part of a house – walls, roof, windows, doors, plumbing and electrical systems, etc – independently. Over the last two decades experts have gained a lot of experience with energy-efficient building, resulting to an understanding that the house works best as a system, and that changes in one part of the house affect other parts.

A home energy audit by a certified professional will test your home’s energy performance based on the principles of the house as a system. The results can save you 30-50% on your energy bills and improve the comfort, energy efficiency, and air quality of your home.

What does a Home Energy Audit entail?
A home energy audit conducted by a professional certified HERS Rater is a comprehensive analysis that includes a Blower Door Test, which measures the extent of air leaks in your home, an Infrared Camera Scan, which reveals hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation, and a visual Airflow Evaluation, which checks your duct work for visible signs of leakage.

A home energy audit takes anywhere between 2-4 hours to complete, and costs an average of $300-$500, depending on the size of the house. The energy auditor will provide you with a report listing the issues observed and their recommended fixes.

What are the benefits of a Home Energy Audit?
Almost all homes can benefit from a home energy audit and almost all homes could be more energy efficient. As a general rule, the older the home, the less efficient it is.

Do you feel cold or drafty places in your home? Do you feel big temperature differences from room to room? Would you like to know what changes to can make your home as energy efficient as possible? Do you want to reduce your utility bills?

Energy efficiency. Save in utility bills:
Even if you implement some of the auditor’s recommendations, you will see significant savings in your utility bills. Depending on the extent of the issues identified and repairs that you do, it is possible that you see as much as 50% savings.

Better health. Improve your indoor air quality:
By sealing your home’s envelope (walls, windows, roof, etc), you’re improving indoor air quality. When the warm air rises, it escapes out of various gaps in your home. This creates low pressure in the lower part of your home, drawing cold, unconditioned air into the house. Often this air increases moisture levels and might result to mold growth, or bring in otherwise poor quality air.

Comfort. Improve heating/cooling levels throughout the house:
Through a combination of air sealing, duct sealing and air balancing, you can get rid of drafts and cold spots in your house and achieve the right amount of heating or cooling making all rooms equally comfortable.

Contribute to the environment:
Based upon your potential energy savings, you could reduce green house gas emissions, thus helping the environment. By improving home efficiency by 30%-50% (which is a realistically achievable goal), we could achieve a 5-10% reduction in total U.S. emissions.

Bonus: If you are planning to re-finance or sell your home there are Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) that you, or the prospective buyer, might qualify for, which take into consideration the home’s reduced energy costs, therefore making the home more affordable. Furthermore, there are tax incentives to improve the energy efficiency of your home which can significantly reduce the cost of any energy efficiency upgrades.

Can I do a Home Energy Audit myself?
Yes and no. You can certainly follow certain basic guidelines and identify major air leaks in your home. You can use weatherstripping to seal air leaks around movable joints, such as windows or doors, or caulk some of the cavities in the walls.

However, you won’t be able to perform a proper energy audit of your home the way a professional energy auditor can, since auditors use expensive equipment that can identify many more issues in places where you wouldn’t even think of looking.

In conclusion
A home energy audit can save you much more than it costs to perform one and it is definitely worth it. Beyond just the savings, think of the potential improvements in comfort and air quality. Many people have gotten rid of, or minimized their allergies due to a healthier indoor environment. If you have questions or are interested in an audit, please contact me and I’ll be happy to refer you to a certified home energy auditor.

A person that goes through the training, passes an exam and receives a real estate license from the state, is a real estate licensee and can work as a real estate agent. But that person is not a REALTOR®.

What is a Realtor®?
A REALTOR® is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the largest professional association for real estate licensees in the country. The word REALTOR® is a registered trade mark of NAR and can only be used by members of NAR. a REALTOR® can be a real estate agent or a real estate broker. The term REALTOR® does not signify the type of license a real estate licensee has but rather that person’s affiliation with the National Association of REALTORS®.

And what about a real estate licensee?

A person receiving a real estate license is authorized by the state to work as a real estate agent. The official term states typically use for a real estate agent is real estate “salesperson”. A real estate agent can become a REALTOR® by applying for membership to their local association of REALTORS®. One may not become a member of the National Association of REALTORS® directly, but rather through their local  association. Every state has a state association of REALTORS® as well as several local or regional associations.

For example, in Northern Virginia, for a real estate licensee to become a REALTOR® one must apply for membership to the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® (NVAR). The licensee pays dues to NVAR and automatically becomes a member of the Virginia Association of REALTORS® as well as the National Association of REALTORS®. In turn, NVAR shares the licensees dues with the state and national associations.

Ok, so why does association membership matter?

As a real estate licensee, one is bound only by the laws of the state he/she operates in. On the other hand, REALTORS® have to follow a strict code of ethics, which if they don’t, can be fined and penalized. The REALTOR® Code of Ethics imposes more requirements and in certain cases sets higher standards than state laws do.

It is worth reading the Code of Ethics to understand the responsibilities REALTORS® have to the clients, customers, other REALTORS® and the public.

In the D.C. metro area the majority of real estate licensees are REALTORS®, so as a real estate buyer or seller you are most likely to work with a person who subscribes to this higher standard of practice. In rural areas however, that is not always the case. Not being a REALTOR® does not mean that one is not honest and ethical, however being a REALTOR® shows that one has made that extra commitment.

When planning to buy or sell a home, don’t hesitate to contact me for highly ethical, committed representation.

]]> http://www.calltheo.com/realtor-real-estate-agent-whats-the-difference/feed/ 0 http://www.calltheo.com/homestar-program-on-track-to-be-enacted-into-law/ http://www.calltheo.com/homestar-program-on-track-to-be-enacted-into-law/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:06:39 +0000 Theo http://www.propertylicious.com/?p=761 HOME STAR is a proposed federal program that would provide direct incentives to American homeowners who invest in improving the energy efficiency of their homes. The basic structure of the HOME STAR program was developed by an ad hoc committee of private sector advisors and presented at a meeting of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) on Nov. 2, 2009.

In his State of the Union address, the President called on Congress to pass a program of incentives for homeowners who make energy efficiency investments in their homes. Today, while touring a training facility at Savannah Technical College, the President outlined more details of a new “HOMESTAR” program that would help create jobs by encouraging American families to invest in energy saving home improvements. Consistent with the President’s call for a HOMESTAR program, the Senate Democratic leadership included a proposal of this kind as part of their Jobs Agenda released on February 4, 2010.

Key components of the HOMESTAR Program include:

• Rebates delivered directly to consumers: Like the Cash for Clunkers program, consumers would be eligible for direct HOMESTAR rebates at the point of sale for a variety of energy-saving investments in their homes. A broad array of vendors, from small independent building material dealers, large national home improvement chains, energy efficiency installation professionals and utility energy efficiency programs (including rural utilities) would market the rebates, provide them directly to consumers and then be reimbursed by the federal government.
• $1,000 – $1,500 Silver Star Rebates: Consumers looking to have simple upgrades performed in their homes would be eligible for 50% rebates up to $1,000 – $1,500 for doing any of a straightforward set of upgrades, including: insulation, duct sealing, water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing and doors. Under Silver Star, consumers can chose a combination of upgrades for rebates up to a maximum of $3,000 per home. Rebates would be limited to the most energy efficient categories of upgrades-focusing on products made primarily in the United States and installed by certified contractors.
• $3000 Gold Star Rebates: Consumers interested in more comprehensive energy retrofits would be eligible for a $3,000 rebate for a whole home energy audit and subsequent retrofit tailored to achieve a 20% energy savings in their homes. Consumers could receive additional rebate amounts for energy savings in excess of 20%. Gold Star would build on existing whole home retrofit programs, like EPA’s successful Home Performance with Energy Star program.
• Oversight to Ensure Quality Installations: The program would require that contractors be certified to perform efficiency installations. Independent quality assurance providers would conduct field audits after work is completed to ensure proper installation so consumers receive energy savings from their upgrades. States would oversee the implementation of quality assurance to ensure that the program was moving the industry toward more robust standards and comprehensive energy retrofit practices.
• Support for financing: The program would include support to State and local governments to provide financing options for consumers seeking to make efficiency investments in their homes. This will help ensure that consumers can afford to make these investments.

The program’s goal is to create tens of thousands of jobs while achieving substantial reductions in energy use – the equivalent of the entire output of three coal-fired power plants each year. Consumers in the program are anticipated to save between $200 – $500 per year in energy costs, while improving the comfort and value of their homes.

Twenty three percent of local companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, an increase over the first quarter  of 2010 when just 14 percent of companies said they planned to hire more.

Perhaps even more important is the fact that seventy three percent of employers expect to maintain their current staff levels. In the second quarter.

This is certainly good news for the local housing market since job stability gives people the confidence to purchase their first home or upgrade to a bigger home.

At the same time increased hiring certainly helps the unemployed get back on their feet, but it also means more people are moving into the area and will be looking to buy sooner or later.

Read details in the Washington Post

The 18th annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, March 16 through 28, will present 155 documentary, feature, animated, archival, experimental and children’s films selected to provide fresh perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet. The vital connections between food and the environment are a major theme of the 2010 Festival, which features cinematic work from 30 countries and 66 Washington, D.C., United States and world premieres. Fifty-six filmmakers and 94 special guests will discuss their work at the Festival.

I made a list of films I will try to see. If you are planning to go to any screenings, definitely consider the first one in my list which showcases a local effort to build a carbon-neutral home.

The Green House: Design It. Build It. Live It. (Visit the film’s page at the EFF website)
This documentary chronicles the building of the first carbon-neutral house and the designing of the first green show house in the Washington, D.C. area. The building, furnishing and showcasing of The Green House created a community of developers, builders, designers and community organizers. All came together to create this special home that once you experience, you will want to change the way you live.

Also, Split Estate and Last Call for Planet Earth discuss issues relevant to property and living. Here is the rest of my list:

Split Estate (Visit the film’s page at the EFF website)
Imagine discovering that you don’t own the mineral rights under your land, and that an energy company plans to drill for natural gas two hundred feet from your front door.

Last Call For Planet Earth (Visit the film’s page at the EFF website)
Twelve leading architects and urban planners from around the world share their vision on architecture that respects nature.

Carbon Nation (Visit the film’s page at the EFF website)
The film shares personal stories of conviction, of dollars and sense and, ultimately, of vision and leadership to tackle the defining issue of our time. One thing is certain: everyone will have a part to play in the creation of renewable, clean, sustainable energy – from citizen activists to board rooms, from city halls to state houses and from Congress to the White House.

Bag It (Visit the film’s page at the EFF website)
An average guy makes a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. Little does he know that this simple decision will change his life completely.

In fact, seven of the top 25 richest counties lie on the outskirts of Washington: Loudoun County, Va., Fairfax County, Va. Arlington County, Va., Stafford County, Va., Prince William County, Va., Charles County, Md., and Alexandria City, Va.

With the federal government generating a wealth of jobs, unemployment in the D.C. metro area has been at a low 6.2% (the national average is still near 10%). Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in Loudoun County have grown 4% between the second quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2009.

Read the full article at Yahoo Finance.