"EMPOWERHOUSE" The Future Of Living

   
The term "energy efficient home" just acquired an entirely new concept, and that is the "Empowerhouse". Engineered and developed by students at Stevens Institute of Technology, Parsons The New School for Design, and Milano School for International Affairs; the Empowerhouse won the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition for its cost effectiveness. The Empowerhouse, located just outside of Washington D.C., has basically NO carbon footprint by using approximately 90% less energy for heating and cooling.

     The home is a 1,000 sqft duplex with 12 inch think walls and triple glazed windows. For proof of the homes efficiency it was given the passive house certification test and passed. To test the home a giant blower fan was positioned in one of the doors while all the other doors and windows were closed. The fan slowly sucked out all of the air until the house was pressurized at 50 pascals and then the amount of air that creeped its way back in was measured. The results on a typical home will have a reading of 7 air changes per hour which basically means that in one hour, all the air in the home is replaced 7 times. To pass the passive house certification test means you have recorded a reading of 0.6 air changes per hour. 

“That means that all the little leaks put together are smaller than a postage stamp,” said Orlando Velez (Manager of the Housing Services for Habitat for Humanity of Washington D.C.) “And if you wanted to, you could heat your home with a hair dryer quite easily.”

     Now to answer the questions that I am sure most people are wondering, what is the price tag on this housing innovation and how much will you actually save in energy costs? Well, the cost is approximately $200,000 for each half of the duplex and the estimated energy savings is almost $72,000 over the length of a resident's 30-year mortgage. A lot can be done with that amount of money freed up for your future. 

“I just remember thinking, we did it, a non-profit, affordable house developer can do this, even using volunteers with no construction experience,” said Velez. “And then I started thinking, what’s everyone else waiting for?”

C21 Adds New Search Option For Buyers' Convenience

     Not surprisingly, one of the most important factors for buyers is the quality of the school system they will be entering their children into. As a real estate agent I know first hand that one of the most popular questions from buyers with children is, "How is the school system" or "Which area has the best schools?" Seeing the significance this factor holds to a large amount of the buyer audience, Century 21 has just added a "Search by Schools" option on their website (century21.com). This option offers buyers a much more convenient method to search for a home location within specific school boundaries. 

“Selecting the right school is an important part of the decision to buy a home,” says Bev Thorne, Century 21 Real Estate LLC chief marketing officer. “We have now made the search easier by delivering data to consumers precisely as they want it.”

     Once buyers are on Century 21's website, they have the options of searching schools by location in a specific state, county, city, or even near a street address. The search options for the buyer go very in depth, including options such as student-teacher ratios, grade levels, public/private, or charter school types. Once the buyer has set all their search criteria, they can simply set a new listing alert and as soon as a new home pops up in their search area they will be notified. If you are a relocation buyer or simply do not know enough about the school systems to make a decision, Century 21 also provides a list of all the top rated schools right there so you do not have to wander the web for information you cannot always trust. 

Responding To Foreclosure Summons

Hey Everyone,
     I would like to welcome a guest poster Stephen K. Hachey, a real estate lawyer located in Florida. I am always looking to keep my readers informed on every aspect in real estate and I felt that Stephen's professionalism and knowledge on pertinent real estate law topics would be very beneficial to my blog, enjoy the read everyone!

     In 2012, nearly 2 million homes in the US were foreclosed on. Although this number has gone down compared to previous years, homeowners are still finding themselves being served with foreclosure summons.
If you’ve defaulted on your mortgage long enough, your mortgagor (or bank), will begin the law suit that the bank will file against you. This takes place roughly after 3 to 6 months of payments have been missed.
     Each state has different foreclosure measures but all fall within two categories: Non-judicial foreclosure and judicial foreclosure. Non-judicial foreclosure does not require a court proceeding and takes less time than a judicial foreclosure, which involves a judgment for money owed by the borrower and in most cases, leads to the auction of the home.
Even though you may have defaulted on your mortgage, being served with a Notice of Intent does not necessarily mean you will lose your home. You can negotiate with the bank and work on a Short Sale, apply to modify your mortgage, or simply pay the loan up to its current dues.
In the event that alternative action cannot be taken, you have between 15 and 30 days, depending on your state, to file an answer with the court. The lender will make allegations in association with your default. The best way to delay the foreclosure process is to answer all allegations thoroughly. Statements that you accept will allow the lender no further action against that evidence. However, if you deny statements that are brought up in the summons, you must provide supportive information as to why you are denying them. This will force the lender to provide additional information against you, which in turn will give you more time before the auction of your property.
You may be able to fight the foreclosure in court. A commonly used defense is that the bank participated in unlawful practices in association with your mortgage payments. If you decide to contest the allegations that the bank brings to the attention of the court, you will delay the foreclosure. However, court costs and possible attorney costs will need to be paid and it does not guarantee that you will halt the foreclosure.
     The Notice of Intent to Sell is the final attempt for the lender to collect the mortgage balance before the property is sold at auction. At this point, a judgment has already been made in favor of the lender. Failure to respond to the Notice of Intent to Sell will allow the property to go to auction.
The home is sold for the minimum price at auction. If the house does not sell, the bank becomes the owner by default. Then, the lender can take possession of the property and evict the resident. The entire process can take anywhere from 8 months to a year.
     
     This post was written for Stay Real Estate by Stephen K Hachey. Stephen is a Florida real estate lawyer at http://floridarealestatelawyer.org/ specializing in loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure and much more. He is also the owner of his own practice, the Law Offices of Stephen Hachey, PA. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/.