People spend a large portion of their time inside homes and offices. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that most people spend 90 to 95 percent of their time indoors. This makes indoor air quality very important to health. Harmful gasses and particles can compromise indoor air quality. Ensuring that combustion sources and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment are working properly is a great place to start. Ensuring that new furnishings, carpets, and cabinetry contain safe, low-emitting materials helps protect the quality of air in homes and commercial buildings. Taking a careful look at cleaning and maintenance products also helps reduce the likelihood of unintentionally compromising indoor air quality.
Improving ventilation (increasing the amount of outdoor air coming in) can significantly reduce the concentration of indoor air pollutants. Air cleaners can remove particles from air, but may not be equipped to reduce the amount of gaseous pollutants in air. Another method for improving the quality of indoor air is source control, removing individual sources of pollutants. There are a variety of means to help improve indoor air quality.
Estimated Cost Savings & Benefits:
Typically the most cost-effective option for improving indoor air quality is source control. Any new combustion sources, materials, furnishings, or cleaning products in the home or in a building are potential sources of indoor air pollution. Careful analysis of products prior to purchase can help. The operating myth is that improving home and/or building ventilation systems can actually increase energy costs. Proper sizing and cleaning of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can actually save money on energy costs and improve indoor air quality. Even simple filter cleaning and/or replacement helps HVAC systems operate more efficiently and improves indoor air quality.
The benefits of protecting indoor air quality are significant. Improved indoor air quality can have positive effects on human health, productivity, and comfort. Canadian researchers have measured the relationships between employee productivity and indoor air quality and found that reduced indoor pollutant levels resulted in reductions in absenteeism.
Issues:
Improving indoor air quality in an apartment building can be more challenging if the building owner or manager is the only person who can address sources of indoor air pollution. The first step is to alert management, in written form, of any potential issues with indoor air quality and encourage building management to follow EPA's IAQ Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM). It is sometimes possible to help building owners and their managers see the financial benefits of improving indoor air quality in the form of increased tenant retention and lease rates, reduced liabilities, and improved resale value.
As people spend a significant portion of their day in office buildings, IAQ is an issue in these environments as well. Office buildings can have significant air quality issues. If you or others in your office are experiencing problems with health and/or comfort and you suspect poor indoor air quality is the cause, EPA recommends that you talk to your supervisor, your personal physician, and/or the state or local health department.
The good news is that sometimes solving indoor air quality problems is possible and not always unreasonably expensive. With proper analysis of HVAC systems and other sources of indoor pollutants, building managers can sometimes turn "sick" buildings into relatively healthier environments.
Regional Issues:
In cooler climates, outdoor temperatures can make it more challenging to improve ventilation by simply opening a few windows in your home or in commercial buildings. Mechanical ventilation systems, proper cleaning, source control, and air cleaners may be good options.
In warmer, humid climates, high temperatures and humidity levels can increase the concentration of some pollutants. There are some additional climate-related challenges with respect to windows and mechanical systems.
Installation (Getting It Done):
A range of professionals address indoor air quality issues. Selected HVAC contractors are capable of helping homeowners and building owners make decisions that can result in improved indoor air quality. Selected interior designers are now more cognizant of the types of design decisions that contribute to indoor air pollution or to healthier homes and buildings. As with any design, construction, and/or maintenance decision, it is a good idea to get two or three bids from different contractors. Even though this may be a bit more time-consuming, the end result is usually a more cost-effective and informed decision. There are no guarantees with indoor air quality, but informed decision-making can result in substantial improvements to health and productivity.
More Information On This Topic:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Indoor Air Quality in Large Buildings
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality
Regardless of market statistics, good, bad, indifferent, residential home sales always follow a seasonal trend. And we are coming into the beginning of that trend.
Typically, the number of home sales and active buyers hitting the streets start to increase around mid April, then spike during the summer months, followed be a decline starting around October.
Much of this can be attributed to home buyers with children who want to have them situated in their school prior to the new school year, which for the most part revolves around September or late August in some cases.
The cool thing is homes are typically showing at their best on the exterior due to Spring making everything so beautiful. Trees are full of fresh, new leaves. Flowers are blooming. The weather is usually warm and inviting. Agents usually love showing property during this time period.
It's probably a good time for sellers to put their home on the market also. You'll find the largest pool of buyers available during these months, and once again, your home is probably going to be showing at it's best on the exterior during this time.
Just as a note: As an Eco-Broker certified agent I can certainly say there is a definite science to the foliage around your home. If you plant the right type of foliage in the right places, in can dramatically improve your utility bills if you center the planning around where the sun is positioned at certain times of the day and your desire to have sun exposure or non-exposure when it is desired and/or not desired at these times. This is called "Passive Solar Heating"
Yes, you can add solar elements to your home without anything mechanical or altering construction!
Tis' the season........fa lah...lah...lah.....lah..............
It is not uncommon at all for buyers to not have an understanding as to what the escrow process is during a transaction or how it all works, so I decided to post this blog to help clarify.
Escrow is a neutral third party that controls the flow of the purchase transaction. In many other states, the sale of a property is directly between buyer and seller, and may have attorneys representing both parties, but nonetheless still between buyer and seller directly.
The beauty of an escrow is that it creates a fair and impartial system of checks and balances for the purchase transaction.
Once there is an accepted offer on a property, then an escrow is openend with an escrow company. You are usually assigned a single escrow officer who is in charge of that file. There may be one or two associates or assistant escrow officers from time to time also. You are then given an escrow number from that escrow company.
During the transaction, from beginning to end, both buyer and seller need to complete certain obligations by certain dates that are written into the purchase contract. It is escrow's primary responsibility that these obligations be met in the chronological order in which they were intended.
The buyer, at each step of the escrow, will sign off on what are called "contingencies". And those are written acceptance from the buyer that they are satisfied at that point with the seller's obligation or task at that point, and wish to proceed with the transaction.
As an example, if the buyer is obtaining a loan for the transaction, their lender will send an appraiser out to the property to make sure the accepted price is fair market value for the property. If the buyer is satisfied with the lender's appraisal, then they will go ahead and sign off on the appraisal contingency and move on to the next contingency. Other contingencies include, inspection, reports, confirmation of loan, etc.
IT IS NOT UNTIL ALL CONTINGENCIES ARE REMOVED BY THE BUYER THAT THE 3% DEPOSIT IS RELINGUISHED TO THE SELLER - NOT BEFORE THEN.
So, in essence, escrow can be considered your non-biased "mediator" of the purchase transaction. We are very lucky to have this type of procedure here in California. I feel that having the buyer and seller go toe-to-toe is just a recipe for disaster, so I really appreciate having an escrow process for real estate transactions.
Watch for my article on contingencies also for greater detail on that as well.
Now play nice....................
There seems to be some emerging markets that are heating up in the Southern California market.
More precisely, the $400,000 and below market for single family homes seems to be firing up. This is more than likely attributed to a combination of things the way I see it:
Realtors are talking amongst themselves and we pretty much agree that a buzz is starting in certain pockets and price ranges. We are all seeing properties going into multiple offers - 5.6.10, 15 and in some cases over 20 offers on properties that are either very aggressively priced, and/or show very nicely.
WE ARE DEFINITELY THUMPING AT THE BOTTOM, PEOPLE. THESE ARE THE SIGNS.
Don't wait until someone drops a house on your head before you're convinced we've hit bottom. NO ONE RINGS A BELL WHEN WE DO. And if you're waiting for that bell, it's probably too late!
Since I get asked this so many times, I thought I would post this blog explaining short sales.
A short sale is when the owner on title to the property is attempting to sell the property for below what they owe on the mortgage, or below what they owe on the mortgage plus selling expenses.
The owner of the property can accept any offer that they choose and sign off on a purchase agreement, but if there is not enough funds from the purchase price to cover paying off the mortgage, or mortgages if there is more than one, then the owner must have the permission of the lender(s) who hold the note(s) on the mortgage(s).
This can be a little more tedious if there is a first and second loan on the property, and they are two separate lenders because then you have to submit paperwork from the seller and a copy of the purchase agreement to both. The two lenders have to agree to the short sale.
It is CRITICAL that you have an experienced listing agent to handle a short sale listing properly. If they do not have a good amount of experience with short sales, then the whole deal can be blown due to time constraints and/or technicalities.
They must know how to properly assemble a sellers complete package with the buyer's complete package and submit it to the bank properly. If there is anything missing or wrong, after the bank takes a long while to finally get to the file, the whole waiting process could start all over again if anything is incomplete. And most buyers will not wait months and months not knowing if they're going to get the property while other properties come along in the meantime. So if you are not quick, complete and accurate as a listing agent, you may lose the buyer.
Ever had an experience where it seems like forever waiting on a short sale approval? Well, more than likely the listing agent, if they do not have experience with short sales, may have screwed up and had to re-submit something that was missing in the first place. They're probably not going to tell you that and just right it off as "the bank has so many short sales right now that it takes a while"...blah, blah, blah. Sound familiar???
The key to a short sale acceptance is hitting the right number. So many buyers think that since a property is a short sale that they will make a killing, so they offer ridiculously below asking price. WRONG!
99% of short sale listings are priced aggressively these days. And what the bank is looking for is the magic number. If you offer so low that the bank can actually wait to foreclose on the property, take the time and expense to rehabilitate and list it with a broker, and get closer to current fair market value for the property, then it doesn't make sense for them to accept a ridiculously low offer.
So you need to hit that "magic" number where according to the fair market value for the property, you are offering a price that is really good and a great deal for you as a buyer, but not so low so that the bank can "do it themselves" and get a higher return.
AND REMEMBER, ON OWNER-OCCUPIED SHORT SALES, ALWAYS WRITE INTO THE PURCHASE CONTRACT THAT THE LOAN WILL NOT FUND UNTIL IT IS VERIFIED BY THE BUYER THAT THE HOME HAS BEEN VACATED BY THE SELLER!!! OTHERWISE YOU MAY END UP IN A STICKY, INHERITED, LANDLORD-TENANT EVICTION SITUATION IF THE SELLER DECIDES TO SQUAT ON THE PROPERTY!!
 |
|
|
Realtor / EcoBroker Certified - One of the biggest benefits to working with clients is the end result - making new friends for life.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
