By Tyron Mcdaniel Now more than ever, there are more people building their own dream home all around the country! You can drive through inner city America in most cities and experience the rapid redevelopment of the inner city with dense townhome construction and McMansions. (McMansions are semi-custom homes from 3,500 to 5,000 sq. ft) Likewise you can take an evening drive to the outskirts of town and see more McMansions and estate homes being built on acreage and waterfront home sites. Many of these homes are being built by families fed up with the low quality inefficient tract homes and are opting for a more custom and personal approach to the homebuilding process. Most people consider the merits and even dream of building their own home but never really grasp the true financial benefits and the reality of being able to design and build their Dream Home! The allure of being able to build the home of your dreams with your favorite amenities is quite a temptation to resist however most get equally (if not more) excited by the tremendous savings that can be realized! Building your Dream Home for less has nothing to do with cutting corners or building a home that lacks quality and first class workmanship. In fact, you will find that most Owner Built homes are superior in quality and design to many tract homes and overall provide a better quality of life for their owners. There are several pieces to the custom dream home puzzle however, I have found that there are (3) primary strategies to employ to help you build your Dream Home for less! #1 - Secure favorable terms from a local Construction Loan Expert first! - Working with a lender who is well versed in the various construction loan programs available will go great lengths in helping to save you thousands of dollars when constructing your dream home. In most cases, your Construction Loan Expert will be able to provide you with referrals of reputable builders, real estate agents and architects as well as contractors who work with owner builders. And because you have the money in advance of securing any of the other respective members of your Custom Dream Home "Dream Team" it gives you an unfair advantage in negotiations, not to mention the added savings of providing you with the best loan terms available. #2 - Eliminate the retail builder "markup" by managing certain aspects of the building process! - Most people think the largest cost savings are realized via sweat equity, however the time you spend planning and managing the process has proven to be 3 times more profitable than sweat equity! The best way to eliminate the retail builder mark-up is to hire an independent builder or general contractor to handle the day to day operations and management of your construction site. Generally you will be paying this construction professional based on the scope of the overall project or on a per square footage basis. People who build in this manner generally realize savings of 22-30% or more on the total construction costs of their Custom Dream Home. #3 - Build your Custom Home in a relatively new, growing community with strong demographics! - We have all heard that location, location, location is the key to success in real estate. Location is especially important when constructing your Custom Dream Home. It is important that you really study the building and development trends as well as the demographics of the areas that interest you before making the final decision. I have seen cases where a $400k home increased in value to $750k in a 5 year period while a comparable home in a comparable community in that same time period only appreciated $75k. So as you can see location is truly key and it could have a drastic impact on your overall net worth. I have found that upper middle class suburban communities and urban inner city areas tend to outperform over time so start your search there. Using these tips as a guiding point, you should be well on your way to planning and eventually building your Custom Dream Home for Less! I trust that you find this article informative and helpful and I wish you the best with your Custom Dream Home project! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

By David Beart If you've watched the news or read a paper, chances are that you know the real estate market is in trouble. So what can you do to make your home one of the ones that will actually sell instead of lingering on the market with the others? The answer is staging. Staging is the term that real estate professionals use for arranging and decorating a home to show it off and make it as attractive as possible to prospective buyers. In this market, buyers have many houses to pick from, and they aren't willing to compromise. If you want to sell in a timely manner and for a profit, you need to make your home into a real "dream home". Luckily there are some inexpensive and easy ways to do that without hiring a professional. Cut the Clutter The most important thing that you can do to stage your home is eliminate as much clutter as possible. Before you put your home on the market, do an extensive clean-out. It can seem daunting, but take it one room at a time. And remember that you'll eventually need to go through everything anyway when you pack up to move, so you're really just getting an early start. A good rule of thumb is to get rid of anything that you haven't used in over a year. If you haven't used it in three months, box it up. You might want to consider renting a storage unit, or asking a friend or family member to allow you to store some excess items in their basement or garage. Remember that the fewer things you have in a room, the larger it will seem. Arrange your furniture in a way that clearly shows off the traffic flow from room to room. Keep unsightly but necessary items in decorative baskets or bins. Also, don't forget your closets. Buyers will want to look at the closet space, so shoving your clutter out of sight won't work! Impersonal Touches While you're eliminating clutter, there's one other thing you'll want to eliminate from your home: Yourself. Replace family photos and portraits with neutral artwork. Take your children's school projects off the refrigerator and hang appointment calendars or family message boards inside closets or cabinets. Consider removing overtly religious or ethnic art or objects as well. Contrary to what some might think, this isn't to avoid offending buyers or to protect your family's privacy. It's simply to create a "blank slate." When buyers come into your home, they immediately begin wondering where they'll put their favorite chair or hang their own family portraits. By removing yourself from the home, buyers will be able to imagine themselves and their own families living there. Let the Sun Shine In Proper lighting is essential to staging your home. Make sure that all the curtains and blinds are open to let in as much natural light as possible. Consider replacing heavy drapes with airy sheers. Also make sure that you have plenty of lamps and other lighting. Some buyers may want to see the home in the evening, so make sure it's well-lit. Replace all the bulbs in your fixtures with the highest wattage allowed for the fixture. Make sure there are no dark corners by moving lamps around in the room for the most coverage. Also clean all of your windows. Removing dirt and grime from the outside, as well as smudges and fingerprints from the inside, will improve the quality of light and enhance the overall feeling of brightness. Keep it Clean It might seem self-evident, but when you're showing your home, you need to keep it spotless. Do a big "spring cleaning" before you begin showing. If you're short on time or if you just hate to clean, many house-cleaning companies offer a one-time deep cleaning session. Call around to get an idea of price and decide if it's worth the money to avoid that task. Once your home is clean, dedicate twenty or thirty minutes a day to maintaining. When you're selling your home, especially in a down market, you'll want to be able to show your home to buyers at the drop of a hat. If a buyer requests a showing and you ask them to wait until the next day so you can clean up, they may just move on to your neighbor's house, taking their money with them. Focus on the kitchen, bathroom, and floors. These are the most obvious "dirty" areas. Make sure you wipe down all counters, appliances, sinks, and mirrors in the kitchen and bathrooms. Vacuum all rugs, fluff cushions and pillows, and run a dust cloth over shelves and televisions. Make sure you make all the beds each morning and pick up any accumulated clutter. If you take the time to stage your home before you put it on the market, and spend a bit of time maintaining your staging, you can sell your home quick and profitably, even in a buyer's market. Article Source: Ezine Articles

By Matt Euler You picked the perfect site for your new home but now you're mired in indecision. Building "green" sounds noble (who doesn't want to help our planet and create a healthy environment for our kids?) but it also sounds expensive, difficult and confusing. If you're like most people, you probably assumed that a green home is a simple assemblage of eco-friendly products like recycled timbers, bamboo flooring, and oderless paint - but in fact, choosing products like these is only a small part, and perhaps the least important, of sustainable building. To demystify what it means to build green, we have to start with a primer of basic principles as outlined by Andy Engel in Tools of the Trade - what I like to think of as the Seven Green Building Blocks. But first, a definition: What is a Green Home? A green or sustainable home is one that is built and functions with a reduced impact on the environment by using resources efficiently, and that provides a healthy, non-toxic environment. Green Building Block #1- House Design Here's a surprise - the size, siting (orientation to the sun) and shape of your house have the greatest impact on how energy-efficient it will ultimately be. The larger your house, the more materials it will take to build and the more energy to maintain. This is your most critical decision. Resist the urge to super-size. Solar orientation is the second most important factor in determining your home's energy needs. This is called passive solar design. Try to place the longest walls of the house on an east-west axis. This will give your south facing windows sun in winter and shade in summer. You can also place your garage on the west side of the house or use a porch, roof overhang or trees to shade your west walls. The simpler the shape of your house (think New England Salt-Box) the more energy-efficient. Protruding wings and bays increase the exterior skin of the house and let heat escape from the core, much like our own fingers and toes. Green Building Block #2 - Durability Like our bodies, houses age, sag and eventually collapse. Water and moisture are the two culprits responsible for the premature aging and final demise of our home, beginning with mold and ending in rot.

• Water can be kept away from the structure through proper drainage, gutter and downspout design, as well as use of special rain-screen walls.
• Moisture can be controlled through carefully installed window and door flashings and with thorough sealing. By minimizing air loss, you keep moisture out and heat in, reducing energy costs by as much as 20%. When moisture is no longer allowed to travel through the exterior walls, it eliminates the danger of condensation in the framing, thus extending the life of your home.
• Use paperless sheetrock to allow any moisture to wick out of damp drywall.

Green Building Block #3 - Energy Efficiency Your home uses energy such as electricity and gas for light, heat or cooling. You can reduce your need for heat and cooling through passive solar design, which provides a kind of built-in thermal protection. But you also need to reduce thermal loss or leakage with insulation and air sealing. If possible, install your own energy supply.

• Use insulation and builder's felt in the walls, floor and ceiling to reduce heat loss. Close cavities such as areas behind showers and tubs, soffits and recessed lights with a moisture barrier to prevent heat loss.
• Seal all openings and cracks where air can pass in or out of the house.
• Don't run HVAC ducts in unconditioned crawl spaces or attics - 20% of the energy can be lost. Fully insulate areas around your ducts and thoroughly seal them.
• Lighting accounts for about 15% of a home's energy use, but you can reduce that percentage in several ways. Replace inefficient incandescent bulbs with cooler, longer lasting CFLs (compact florescent lights) or the new LEDs (light emitting diodes). LEDs use 1/3 the electricity of CFLs and are more directional for task lighting.
• Decrease energy waste by installing a home automation system with motion sensors to turn lights on and off as you enter or exit a room. A home automation system can also reduce your heating and cooling needs by automatically opening or closing your window shades depending on the outside temperature, and by turning down your thermostat at night and when you are away from home.
• Use energy efficient appliances.
• If possible, invest in solar panels to generate much of the energy your house consumes. Your power company will even buy back any excess electricity from you during times of low use (like when you are on vacation).

Green Building Block #4 - Reducing Waste You can reduce excessive waste in 2 ways: by using materials more efficiently (and thus, needing fewer of them) and by reusing old materials. In either case you help the planet and your pocketbook at the same time.

• Size your house sensibly. Design your house in four foot multiples to conform to standard wallboard and plywood sheets. You will also dramatically reduce piles of scrap lumber.
• Recycle and reuse building materials such as old concrete and stone as a base for a parking lot.
• Be an avid recycler of glass, plastic and metals in your household. Set up a compost bin to turn your food scraps into rich mulch.

Green Building Block #5 - Water Conservation The aim here is twofold: you need to both reduce the amount of water your family consumes, but also channel the rainwater that falls on your lot back into the soil.

• Use low-flow shower heads and toilets to reduce water usage.
• Use automatic sprinklers with moisture sensors to regulate water use and prevent over-watering.
• Use native and drought-tolerant plants.
• Use porous concrete pavers on driveways to allow rainwater to percolate down into the earth and recharge aquifers.

Green Building Block #6 - Indoor Air Quality We've already mentioned how proper sealing and insulation can prevent moisture and mold in the home, but an air-tight home has its own problem - it traps all gases and fumes inside the home, thus polluting the air you breathe. Particle board and OSB off-gas formaldehyde; paints, finishes and car products contribute VOCs (volatile organic compounds); gas stoves and poorly vented gas appliances contribute carbon monoxide to the stew. There are two ways to clear the air and breathe easier: use products that are less toxic, and change your ventilation system.

• Use building materials like plywood in place of OSB to reduce formaldehyde buildup. Some carpets are not only made from recycled nylon, but also boast no VOCs. Natural floor adhesives, paints and finishes also offer zero emissions.
• Use a dedicated air supply for furnaces and water heaters to prevent gases from back-drafting into the house.
• Install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) system to bring fresh outside air into living spaces while exhausting air from bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms.

Green Building Block #7 - Green Products We've already shown how using green products can make a difference to the environment and your health. With more and more eco-friendly products to choose from, let's sort out the various types and shades of green on display.

• Products made from recycled materials: concrete made from fly ash (a waste product of coal power plants), carpet made from recycled nylon (and recyclable after its life), synthetic stone counter tops made from recycled paper, glass and cement.
• Reused building materials: salvaged timbers, lumber, brick and stone.
• Products from sustainable resources: cork flooring from the cork oak tree (also durable, sound and heat insulating and hypoallergenic); bamboo flooring from fast growing bamboo.
• Energy-efficient products: solar panels, Energy Star appliances, home automation systems, CFL and LED lights.
• Non-toxic products (both in their manufacture and use in the home): low odor paints and finishes, carpets and plywood.

With this primer in hand, you now know the difference between a CFL and a VOC. As you can see, the most critical choices for a green home are made when you first sit down at the drafting table. Your dream home will be energy efficient, durable and safe if you design it using all seven green building blocks. Your friends might turn green with envy. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Author: Lee Dobbins Before, they were used to simply serve their purpose – hang curtains. Today, curtain rods are more than just a tool. They have evolved into a more functional, more sophisticated devices that do not just hang curtains but also compliment and enhance the overall effect of the drapes. Showing more skin, rods are no longer the typical metal or wooden sticks used to hang curtains. They have evolved into remarkable works of skill or talent, showing every design as an intricate sketch of masterpiece. Wooden curtain rods are now made more sophisticated and classy. Most of them are handmade and crafted with the most top-rated materials to bring out the beauty of the wooden material. Various designs were sculptured in the wood, with different glaze materials or varnish as the finishing touches. Hence, you can make either a Victorian or a Western-inspired window with rods that were made from high-quality wooden materials. On the other hand, the solid and powerful effect of metal curtain rods is no longer confined to the usual plain metal stick. With the growing popularity of metal rods, consumers now have more choices. They can choose from a wide array of metal rods such as solid brass, chrome, graphite with brass, and brushed chrome. With a wider range of choices, more and more manufacturers tried to develop newer, fresher, and more exquisite designs to compliment, contrast, or enhance the beauty of curtains. They can even modify plain curtains by transforming them into something more elegant. Installing curtain rods has also evolved into an innovation, bringing ease and convenience in mounting rods on walls, woods, or other types of surfaces. Hence, whether you live in a castle, cabin, or the classic abode, there is certainly a good curtain rod that will suit your taste, your style, and of course, your curtains. However, curtain rods do not just differ according to their designs or structures. They also differ in sizes and shapes. Hence, it is important to measure your windows first before you go out and buy your rods. Here are some things you must consider when buying curtain rods: 1. Your windows Your windows have different sizes, according to your plan when you were just building your house. And even if you have bought a ready-made house, window sizes are not standard for all types of houses. Hence, it is extremely important to measure your windows first before you start buying your rods. All you have to do is to measure the outside part of your window. This is where you will mount your curtain rods. It is best to have the correct size than to waste time and money by going back to the store just because you have to wrong size. Keep in mind that as a rule, your rods should always be longer than your window by as much as 5 inches. This ensures total coverage for your windows. 2. Your curtains Of course, you should never start buying the rods without looking first at the curtains that you will use. The types of curtains you will use will determine the type of rod that you have to buy. For example, if you will be using the typical designs of curtains that flow straight down the wall, you will have to buy a chrome curtain rod, for heavier drapes, you need to buy stronger metals such as graphite with brass or solid brass. 3. Strength of the curtain rod You would not want your curtains sagged unattractively down your windows, right? Hence, to avoid such dilemma, it is best to choose rods according to their strength and capacity to hold a certain type of drapes or curtains. For heavier curtains, it is best to choose stronger, more solid rods. Supporting devices should also be considered. These brackets provide end-to-end support for the rod, as well as support for the middle portion of the curtain rod. 4. Your budget Curtain rods can be very expensive especially if they were made from high-quality materials. Hence, if you cannot afford to buy those expensive kinds, it is best to stick the ordinary. Keep in mind that decorating your home with good sets of curtain rods can change the way people will look at it. However, it does not necessarily mean that you have to spend more than what you can afford just to decorate your house. So the next time you buy your curtain rods, consider these factors and you will definitely make a big difference. Even if curtain rods are generally seen as something that holds up your curtains, they can also reflect the kind of personality that you have. Article Source: Article Base