Are you into conservation?  Like to see the history of conservatation awareness and activities in the US and particularly Texas?

Here they are, courtesy of the Texas Legacy Project.  They are collecting videos and documents that capture the history and development of Texas and its relationship to conservation:

http://www.texaslegacy.org/m/index.html

If you're into conservation, then you'll be interested in our various green building technologies and methods.  Check it out at www.preferredbuilders.org/home or www.solarcertifiedhomes.com

Some key Events in Conservation History in Texas:

OK folks, here it is, that time of year: Thanksgiving.

And its time for AR's first virtual Thanksgiving party.

A blog party is similar in concept to a progressive dinner party.  In a progressive dinner party, each course is held at someone else's home.  In this case, each day of a party theme will be hosted by the last person to post a comment on each day's party.

This will be run along the same lines as the AR Halloween party: (In case you missed that party, you can follow that thread and see what people brought here: First AR "Blog" Party: Halloween )

Here's the rules for a Blog Party:

1. When you make a post, you have to "bring" something to the party.

It can be a picture of food, drink, decorations, a video, music, costumes.

2. In addition, you have to post something that you are thankful for.

3. Click on the "Notify me of comments" when you leave your post.  That way you'll know who else is coming to the party and you can engage in mingling!

4. The last person to comment on this post by midnight, will "host" the party by either re-blogging this post -OR- starting their own post and linking back to this one.

5.  Everyone who commented on this party post will go the next host's party and bring something to that party. 

6.  The party will continue at each host's blog until Thanksgiving.

So, to start this off, here's a little place to sit and enjoy each other's company:

BTW, join the AR Blog Party group and host your own party for what ever reason you like!  Celebrate something with all of AR!

(If you like this party, flag it below!)

And for all you "point hounds" there are points in this party.  Not bonus points or extra points.  With everyone carrying forward to the next party, the more comment points you get.  Who ever winds up hosting for the last day will have the most attendees (if everyone that shows up actually participates all the way through. 

Here's the story on Yahoo about auditing the Fed and making Wall Street pay for the bail-out:

What's interesting here is that once again, Barney Frank, while appearing to support something akin to Congressional oversight, actually is against a full-blown audit of the Fed. 

A lot of this mess can be largely laid at his feet.  Not because he intended for this to happen, but by him and his coleagues crafing financial legislation for cramming social engineering down the throats of Americans via financial institutions.  He has repeatedly been against cleaning up Freddie, Fannie and the Fed (our financial house) since the mid 90's.  Check out his voting record and bills and the results of those votes.

Why? One may ask.  Hint: Follow the money!

This Congress is so far in the hip-pocket of special interests, its disgusting.  And while the previous Congress was bad, we just put a lot more the this type of BS in office!

Ron Paul proposed the audit and has over 300 members of Congress on board.  But the Finance Committe Chair (BF) is against it.

Go figure.

This just in from the Think Big Work Small newsletter for the mortgage industry:

If you want to sign the petition, go to HVCCPetition.com.

There have been 117,394 signatures collected to kill HVCC.  This is as of 11/16/09.

Most have been validated, some a duplicates.

The breakdown on the petition signers is as follows:

39.6% of the petition signers were mortgage originators

29.8% of the petition signers were real estate professionals
17.4% of the petition signers indicated they worked in some other facet of the industry
The remainder of the petition signers were primarily homeowners or potential home buyers

The poll they conducted shows that about 2/3 of the appraisals done under HVCC came in under contract price.  An overwhelming majority said that the way to stabilize home prices was to eliminate HVCC.  And more than 90% had a deal killed because of HVCC.

So if you haven't yet signed the petition, get on the site and sign.   Its getting deader with more signatures! 

That's the only way politicians will pay attention to us.  Without speaking up, we're the bad guys.

Seems all the talk is about the first time home buyer's credit being extended and expanded.

If we're really going to see a turn around in RE, we need to get construction going. 

It was tough to get green projects financed before because of the extra costs up front to build.  However, from the first month an owner lived in the home, their total out of pocket to own the home was LESS than a conventionally built home.   However, that didn't impact how a property was appraised or the loan ratios evaluated.

So now with the stupidity from Washington codified into the new rules and regs, I'm curious:

What does it take to get a new construction loan approved in todays market? 

New homes, without the green technologies, are running about 10-20% more to build than a comperable existing home.  Add in the green features that make it cheaper to live in and more sustainable, and the up-front costs are even higher.

What programs are available, what credit scores, ratios, details, etc. does it take to build a home today?

If you are thinking you would like to build a home sometime next spring, you better get the ball rolling right now.

The success of your project and the satisfaction you'll have with your home is directly related to the preparation work you put in before any construction takes place.

Here's a brief overview of the steps you'll need to take before you can start building:

Location: Where do you want to build? Do you already have the land or will you need to buy?  Knowing where you are going to build and the terrain and landscape will have a big impact on how you build and the costs.  If you already own the land and it is big enough to have several locations to choose from, then check out the sites with an eye to all seasons and the position of the sun relative to the home.   Are there any shade trees to take advantage of?  What about the slope of the property, water drainage, access, views, neighbors, privacy?

Finding a lot or land to build on takes time to do the research and get it right.  Choose the wrong neighbors or neighborhodd and you've just made the biggest financial mistake of your life (for most of us).

Plans/Design: This is where most people start the process, but the land can have a major impact on design.  Especially if you are wanting an energy efficient and green home.  Take advantage of nature provides.  Besides the usual number of bedrooms, etc., how do you design to take advantage of natural light, passive heating for the winter, shading in the summer and window and porch placement for minimum solar heat gain in the summer and maximum solar heat gain in the winter?  

What energy performance do you want from you home?  There's much more to that question than how much insulation to use.  There are so many different and more cost effective ways to build than conventional stick framing.  What impact does material selection have not only on energy performance, but on safety and insurance premiums?  Do you use ICF, SIPs, steel, bermed, domed, timber, logs, underground?

Getting your plans done generally takes several months of going back and forth.  The fastest I've ever seen done has been about 30 days.  You can use some of the DIY software, but I highly recommend that once you play with the design yourself, you have the plans redone professionally.  In some places, you will have to have stamped plans anyway in order to get your permits.

Get your professional team together: Once you have an idea of what you want to build and how you'd like to build it, its time to call in the professionals.  You will need at least 5 before you find a builder or do it yourself:

1. Architect or plan designer.
2. Soils Engineer.
3. Foundation Engineer.
4. If you're in Texas, and your in a development, then you'll need a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan engineer, otherwise known as SWP3.  
5. An Energy Audit Company. 
   

Most of these professionals are not part of a builders quote to build your home, but they are critical if you are serious about getting the best home and value you can. 

Interviewing and selecting these people can go smoothly or can take a while.  The toughest fit is you and the architect or plan designer.  If the personalities and working styles don't mesh, there will be a great deal of frustration.  I know because I've had to help untangle some of those hair-balls.

For the full explaination of who these people are and what they do and why you need them, check that out here:

Blog Entry: Building Quality Custom Homes: The 5 professionals you need BEFORE you need a builder

Get your financing:  (Note to all mortgage types: please comment on your programs, processes and timelines for new custom construction.) This used to be pretty easy to do, but in today's market, this is the hardest part of the process unless you can pay all cash.   Remember, not only do you have to get the construction financing, you also have to have the permanent financing in place for when the home is completed.  And market conditions will change during the construction of your home.  So be prepared to pay more on your permanent financing than what you're quoted today.

Find your builder:  This is not the first step, it should be the last.  The reason for this is you want to have all your plans and requirements nailed down so you know what you are interviewing for.  It is easier to see if you have a fit with your builder if you already have all the details and requirements laid out.  You can have a direct and unambiguous discussion about your project, requirements, timeframes and costs.  Nothing causes more heartburn than to wing-it on the cost of some line-items only to get to the actual construction and find the costs are way over the budget.

Does your builder have the experience with the green technologies you want?  Different building materials or do they only do "sticks".  What about solar panels, wind generators, backup generators, radiant heat flooring, geo-thermal systems, rain water collection systems, . . . ? (Hint: we do)

Too many times I've seen an owner leave major decisions to a builder only to have the project get into trouble on costs, timeframes or features. 

At this point, some of you may be saying "But wait, isn't this what a builder should do for me?"  That depends on who you select as a builder and how much trust you have in their abilities to get it done properly.

Remember, a builder's goal is the build the least home they can for the most money.  A home owners objective is to build the best home they can with value.  These two sets of objectives are worlds apart. 

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Another way to approach building your home is to hire a home construction & consulting company.  That is what I do here at North Texas Help-U-Build.  I provide the assistance, information, network and guidance to help you through the critical first steps of home construction, all the way through actual construction and to move-in. NTxHUB specializes in green building technologies such as ICF, SIP, Timberframe, Log, Bermed, Steel and even the lowly stick-frame technique.

NTxHUB provides different levels of service to fit your needs:

• Consulting only
• Set you up to be your general contractor (no experience needed)
• Shell construction.  We build the shell, get it in the dry (walls and roof), and you do the finishout.
• Turn-key, full General Contractor services, all you have to do is move in.
  

NTxHUB is also part of the Preferred Builders Network of Texas.  No matter where you're building, your new home starts here!

Here are a few more posts on the different construction technologies that you can use:

Green Home Building 101: What is ICF and what does it do for my home?

Green Home Building 101: Just what exactly are "SIP"s?

Green Home Building 101: Steel Framed Homes

Green Home Building 101: Log Homes

6 Reasons to use an Independent Energy Audit Company for Your New Home

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Need to sell your home before you build your dream home?  Want to sell it faster and for more money?  Then have it Solar Certified!  Check it out at www.solarcertifiedhomes.com.

I just posted a reply to Jennifer Marks' post regarding the credit card companies and how they're screwing their clients:  Why pay on time? Stabbed in the back again

And that is the inspiration for this post.

The credit card companies are creating a much larger problem for all of us.  And its affecting everything, especially RE. 

By trying to get in front of the new legislation that is supposed to take effect early next year regulating credit operations, they're screwing their customers as fast and for as much as they can.  I personally have been a victim of their new policies.  Once I had stellar credit.  Then the crunch hit, so they dropped the card levels to just above what was due.  In that process, credit scores take a big hit because you are now using most of your credit limit. 

Guess what?  Interest rates go up because your credit score has dropped.  And the snowball starts.  5% preferred becomes 12%, which becomes 18% then 22% then 35%!!!!!

In no time at all, you're really screwed.  And our customers are having a hard enough time getting approved.  Put something like this on their record and the party is OVER!

Jennifer's post asks the question, "Why pay on time?". What're they going to do, ruin your bad credit?

And being from Texas, here's where the Ghosts of Gonzales come in. 

A little bit of Texas history:  In 1835, the town of Gonzales had a cannon for defense.  The Mexican government wanted the cannon back and out of the hands of the Anglo settlers (who were Mexican citizens).  Given the unrest that was brewing, this wasn't going to happen.  The reply given to the Mexican authorities was "Come and take it!"

Thus, today we have the obverse and reverse side of the Seal of the Great State of Texas:

On the reverse is the Lone Star of Texas, the six flags that have flown over Texas, a depiction of the Alamo, the "Come and Take It" Cannon of Gonzales, and Vince's bridge, which was destroyed in order to prevent Santa Ana's army from escaping the Battle of San Jacinto.

Texas is a homestead property state.  Which means that no creditor can take your home unless they are a secured creditor for the purchase or improvements to your homestead or a home equity line of credit.  Credit card companies have no legal interest in your home.

And that leads me to the point of saying to these companies: If you won't treat us right and abide by the original letter and intent of the agreement, then I guess the agreements that we had to repay are now null and void, so you can "Come and Take It!".

What do you think?  Too far over the top, or the ground-swell of a financial revolution? And noone is to blame but the financial institutions who have their snouts in our pockets with the bail outs AND in our private pocket books.   Thank you Congress, the Obama Administration and the whole DC mentality.

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If you want more history on the Gonzales "Come and Take It" cannon, you can find it here:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/qvg1.html

How's this for "Green":

This is a 2'x2' piece of old barn roofing tin that has been flattened out and stamped with this design and then white-washed.  It can be used for ceilings, wainscots, door or cabinet inserts.

This is the ultimate in green: recycling.  Taking an old piece of building material that has come off of a structure that is being taken down and then repurposed and reused in new construction and other applications.

If you would like to order these in quantity for your project, you can drop me an email. 

This is through my reclaimation company: Texas Heritage Timber and Wood.

Regardless of your take on the market, when you are selling homes, your listings are competing for attention against a lot of competition.  Especially in the markets we're experiencing.

Look at your competition:

REO's, short sales, "investor" properties, "retail" sales, desperate sellers. 

In this market, you have to make your listings jump to the top of the buyer's list of "Must see" properties.

How do you:

• Make your clients’ homes stand out in a sea of “me-too”?
  
• Get a home noticed in the flood of competition even if the home is quite unique in and of itself?
  
• Attract retail buyers, not “investors”?
• Get prospective buyers wanting to look at your clients’ homes first?
  
• Get your clients’ homes to move to the top of buyers “must see” lists?
  
• Have clients willing to pay a premium relative to the competition?
• Do all this BEFORE the client even knows the details of the home or has seen it?

Market statistics tell us the answer: Alternative, specifically Solar Energy.

Market research show that 9 out of 10 American's want solar energy options when they buy a home.  And they're willing to pay for it.  But solar is almost never an option on any existing homes and very rare on new homes. 

So how do you offer that option without your seller's coming out of pocket on the front of the deal and provide your buyer's with the ability to purchase the equipment at discounts as steep as 80%!?

Easy, you have your clients enroll their homes in the Solar Certified Homes program. 

For a small inspection and enrollment fee, the home, if qualified, will be put in this very unique marketing program and the benefits extended to the buyers, should they choose to take advantage. 

If you're in Texas, check it out at www.solarcertifiedhomes.com.  If you're in other parts of the country, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do.  Its a bit early, but we're looking to roll this out to the rest of the country in a few months.

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For more supporing information on the market statistics on "Green", check out these other posts:

New Poll out show 96% of Americans want Solar and 43% want it NOW!

Does "Green" Really help sell homes in THIS market?

Price concessions, do you join the parachute race for the bottom or use them to get the buyers you really want?

Selling your listings faster and at a higher price: Secret revealed: Get out of the box in your head.

This is one of the coolest places I know in North Texas.  I came to know this place because they had contacted me about building a wine storage building for them with ICF technology.  Like a cave, only above ground.

Anyway, they have really cool events all the time and the one for tomorrow, Sunday, November 15th is their jazz Sunday.  Its going on from 4 - 7 PM.  

If you live in North Texas, you have to check this place out.  It reminds me a bit of the hill country.  You'll like Caris and Terry and what they have going on there. 

If you want more information on the winery and all their events, you can check them out here:

http://www.lightcatcher.com/

If you go, tell them you heard about here on AR from me.  They may not remember me, but I sure remember their operation.  And if you do go, please send us a report card here.

If you are looking for someplace special to take your other or your clients, this is it. An experience you'll remember.