Tag Archives: South Salem Real Estate

How to Insulate a Slab Foundation | South Salem Homes

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In Texas where I build the most common foundation type is Slab on Grade. In effect, we pour a big rock of concrete on top of the ground (also mainly rock) then build a house on top.

 

My Project Manager Ryan on top of this newly poured Slab Foundation.

I just completed my first house with Perimeter Slab Edge Insulation and I thought I’d walk you through the process. First, let’s talk about why to insulate the slab. As we build tighter and better insulated houses the uninsulated slab becomes more of a heat loss in the winter time for these High Performance Homes. Check out this Manual J energy loss chart from a house we remodeled recently.

Check out the BTU loss through the un-insulated concrete slab on this house.

The chart above is from a house with R-19 walls, and an R-40 roof. As we build better that slab becomes a larger % of the loss of heat!

This is for a house with an R-11 Insulated Slab.

Now look at this chart with a house with similar specs for walls/roof but it has an R-11 Perimeter insulated slab. Big difference! As a percentage of heat loss the floor went way down compared to the un-insulated slab house.

So, let’s look at the mechanics of actually insulated the slab. One of our first concerns for this process is Termites! Adding foam to the outside of a slab is a big no-no in Termite country. First, we used Borate impregnated foam from Nisus Corporation. I’ve been using their Bora-Care on my framing lumber for about 10 years now, but I only recently realized they make a termite resistant foam aptly called Bora-Foam. Our local Termimesh dealer sourced it for me and did the install.

I want to thank Joel Roeling from Termimesh for his help in this project. Also want to extend a big thanks to my Energy Rater/Tester Kristof Irwin of Positive Energy here in Austin, TX. His modeling really helps us decide what approaches will yield benefits long term for the houses I build. Last, but certainly not least was the amazing Architect/Client on this house Scott Ginder of Dick Clark & Associates. Scott and his wife Andrea are wonderful clients and it was such a pleasure to build this beautiful high performance home with them!  Here’s some detail photos but be sure to watch the video too.

 

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http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/31642/how-to-insulate-a-slab-foundation

 

HARP refinancings dip in second quarter | South Salem Real Estate

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Higher mortgage rates caused refinance volumes to edge down in the second quarter as fewer homeowners filed refi applications.

When compared to the two prior periods, 2Q refinance volumes fell slightly, according to the latest housing agency refinance data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

In the second quarter, 279,933 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages refinanced through the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), representing 22% of total refinance volume.

The slight drop in refi volumes occurred as mortgage rates rose sharply to 4.07% in June, up from 3.57% in March.

The total number of HARP refinances from the inception of the program to now totals 2.65 million.

Market analysts expect the trend to continue, as mortgage rates are likely to trend higher once the Federal Reserve begins scaling back its monetary stimulus.

“I think once rates begin their return to normalcy as the Fed starts to taper, refinance demand is likely to further decline,” explained Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) markets and international banking analyst Sarah Hu.

She added, “The tapering of refinance activity may have already occurred as evidenced in this week’s refinance index (< 2000), the lowest since Jan 2011.”

On a similar note, Compass Point Research & Trade analyst Kevin Barker noted that HARP refinance volumes will remain under pressure given the higher rates.

“If borrowers have less of incentive to refinance at higher levels, it’s going to effect volumes and how aggressively originators will target HARP borrowers,” Barker stated.

He continued, “I would point out that the drop in refi activity compared to HARP volumes will be relatively less because they’ll be more resilient to rates.”

Of the loans that refinanced through HARP in the second quarter, 19% had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125%.

While taking a look at year-to-date figures through June, 18% of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15- and 20-year mortgages, building equity faster than traditional 30-year mortgages.

In Nevada and Florida, markets that analysts have been keeping an eye on since the recovery began, HARP refinances represented 59% and 50% of total refinances, respectively. This is more than double the 21% of total refinances throughout the country over the same time period.

Underwater borrowers accounted for a large portion of HARP refinances in a number states, representing more than 61% of HARP volume in Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

From the program’s inception through June, 2.34 million loans refinanced through HARP were for primary residences, 78,756 were for second homes and 307,272 were tied to investment properties.

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26598-harp-refinancings-dip-in-second-quarter

 

Protect your data from cloud-based storms | South Salem Realtor

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The recent crash of the dotloop e-signature platform highlights the challenges related to going paperless and relying on someone else’s server for your protection. Whether it’s your email, your website, your e-signature platform or anything else that you store in the cloud, what can you do to protect yourself from cloud-based storms?

In my recent series of articles on the differences between the various e-signature platforms, I outlined the dangers of using a PDF-based e-signature platform such as dotloop that relies exclusively on its company website to track document changes in the cloud. A dedicated web server is one of the basic requirements for any organization in today’s business world. It is used to host the websites of the company or the whole enterprise and possesses the requisite resources for the task. The bandwidth and storage space provided by a dedicated hosting server can never be matched by a shared server, and the exclusivity provided by this server is unparalleled. These servers are usually hack – proof, and are not targeted by malwares, viruses and spywares due to the heightened security provided by the web hosting company. Now that you have finally decided to go for a dedicated server hosting and selected one that suits your business’ demands, you have to think about managing it. You can either manage it yourself or give this task to the firm which is providing you with the server. It is always advisable to hand this task over to the dedicated web server company, which will deal with all the nuances involved in setting up, hosting and managing the server. Even though you can always learn how to manage it, the task will be arduous and take a lot of your time, which is precious for your business’ growth. Typically, Fully Managed Dedicated Server Hosting consists of server monitoring, software updates, reboots, security patches and operating system upgrades. This provides you with ample time to concentrate on other tasks while the hosting company handles your server managing demands. Also, the firms which hire the services of the dedicated web server are provided with individual server administration add-on tools in the standard deals. Therefore, you can be at ease with even the standard deals and see your business achieve new heights due to the fully managed hosting option. Most people choose shared hosting for their website at the beginning. Shared hosting is a hosting account on which you host your website on a shared server with hundreds of other people’s websites. Shared hosting is usually very affordable due to the number of websites sharing the space and resources on each server. The downside of this is your website has to share the resources on the server such as processing power and memory. This means if particular websites are very busy and getting loads of traffic, they will obviously draw more processing power and server memory. This can lead to your website being slow to open and your potential customer won’t wait for your website to display; they’ll just go elsewhere! The other drawback with sharing a server with so many websites is a server is only as reliable as the scripts being written to it. If a particular website uses a bad script it can take the whole server down. Your website will go down as well and through no fault of your own. If your online business is mission critical and you want to avoid suffering any downtime or slowness, your best option is your own dedicated server. And if you are not at all technical then the best option of all is a fully managed dedicated server.You can visit https://www.knownhost.com/managed-wordpress-hosting.html for more information.

A fully managed dedicated server is managed for you by your hosting provider. You won’t have full root access to it but you will get a control panel which you use to set up your website space and that’s it. So in a way, similar to a shared server, except it’s yours with only your websites using it. This used to be quite an expensive option but prices have come down and there are wide ranges of hosting providers who offer fully managed dedicated servers from as low as £50 or £60 a month. The other advantage of your own dedicated server is you can install any software you want. On a shared server you are only able to use the pre-installed software and components provided and this can be limiting. If it’s fully managed your hosting provider will install the software for you and they may make a small installation charge. You also get far more web space to use – if the hard drive on the server is 80GB then you can use about 74GB of that for your websites and software. And with a dedicated server you will get far more bandwidth to use than you would on a shared server. In fact, there are a number of hosting providers who now offer 1 terabyte of monthly bandwidth use which is more than enough for most online businesses.

When I was researching the articles, I posed the following question to dotloop’s CEO, Allison Austin: “What happens if your system goes down, is hacked, or if you go out of business?” His response cited dotloop’s multiple backup systems and that it would be highly unlikely that that would happen. At RadiusBridge we help your business manage internal and external data with a focus on the best use of data to grow your business.

When the dotloop system went down, its users lost access. All digital transaction management platforms send users their documents via email, where they can be archived and accessed for future use.

But unlike DocuSign, Instanet or zipLogix’s Digital Ink products that provide the double protection of both a PDF document trail and independent tracking of changes within the document itself, dotloop users had no backup unless they did one of three things prior to the outage: (1) printed the documents to paper beforehand; (2) downloaded the documents into a separate PDF file on their computer; or (3) stored the documents in another cloud-based solution.

It’s not if they will fail, it’s when Of course, whether you are Google, Amazon, Microsoft or any other technology provider, sooner or later the system goes down. On Aug.16, Google went down for a few minutes. The blackout was “unprecedented.” The result: a 40 percent decrease of global traffic on the Web, according to a CNET article.

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http://www.inman.com/2013/08/22/protect-your-data-from-cloud-based-storms/#sthash.MlrkSiPy.dpuf

Ugly Houses Boom as Foreclosures Dwindle | South Salem Real Estate

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While declining numbers of foreclosures are slowing down most investors, the leading homes-for-cash company is expanding into new territories.

HomeVestors, the number one buyer of houses in the U.S. opened 64 new franchises in the past three months, which is almost double the highest number of franchisees that have previously enrolled in a single quarter.  “This number is remarkable and attests to continued strong interest in real estate investment and the opportunity for investors in today’s market,” said HomeVestors Co-President David Hicks.

Hicks said a lot of their growth is coming from properties in older neighborhoods where houses are 30 years older or more, not newer homes more typical of those that have dominated distress sale inventories.

“Our franchises are buying from homeowners who are selling for a variety of reasons.  Hedge funds don’t have access to those homes and mom and pop investors want to buy in newer neighborhoods,” he said.

HomeVestors’ rapid growth comes amid the housing comeback. “The number of additional new franchisees during the second quarter of 2013 is an indication that investors increasingly believe what we know is true — that there is continued opportunity in the market,” said HomeVestors’ co-president, Ken Channell.  “We are committed to our franchisees to help encourage continued growth and success this year.”

Among the new franchises HomeVestors have added are in new territory for the company such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Lower Hudson Valley, New York; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. HomeVestors of America, Inc. is also known as the “We Buy Ugly Houses” company.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08/ugly-houses-boom-as-foreclosures-dwindle/

 

 

 

South Salem NY Weekly Real Estate Report | South Salem Homes

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South   Salem NY Weekly Real Estate Report8/21/2013
Homes for sale85
Median Ask Price$629,000.00
Low Price$205,000.00
High Price$12,200,000.00
Average Size2863
Average Price/foot$332.00
Average DOM161
Average Ask Price$995,112.00

Are local housing markets recovering too quickly? | South Salem Homes

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While housing bubble concerns are overblown, there are cities where the pace of recovery is perhaps too strong, given current market dynamics, CNBC reports.

The news publication is sounding the alarm on potential bubble territories:

“Nationwide, the housing market is not in a bubble. But there are probably some markets that are at risk for getting into bubble territory if they continue at the pace that they’re going,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

                    Source: CNBC

How Do Digital Marketers Engage On Twitter? | South Salem Real Estate

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Social media has made it possible for us all to be digital marketers.How do digital marketers engage on Twitter

The reality is that if you are on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ you “are” a digital marketer whether you like it or not. You are publishing  and promoting a brand. It might be brand “you” or it maybe be a  business or organisation you represent.

If you publish you are a digital marketer.

Publishing is now marketing and the mind share that content marketing has  garnered reveals the power of social content and crowd sourced sharing.

Marketing also involves two key activities.

Publishing and promotion

Social media provides the means, the technology and the platforms to do  both.

Don’t underestimate Twitter’s brevity

Twitter’s role in the digital marketing pantheon was often seen as about  breaking news. Used correctly it can accelerate your brand message and content  to a global waiting audience that will pass it on. Don’t underestimate Twitter’s  marketing horsepower because of its 140 character brevity.

It can be a focused marketing platform that drives brand awareness and  content discovery. It is a low friction network that moves multi-media content  in real time….fast.

Some questions

So if you see yourself as a digital marketer then you may be asking some  questions. This will provide you with some ideas on the sources you may need to  be reading to keep up to date. It will also enable some insights into the  sources, apps and people that you may need to follow or check out.

  1. Which social networks are they on?
  2. What apps and platforms do they use to share on Twitter?
  3. What mobile apps do they use for sharing ?
  4. What types of content do they share?
  5. What are the mainstream media sources?
  6. What industry sources are they sharing?
  7. What are the social media media sources are they reading, viewing and  sharing?
  8. Who are the people most retweeted by digital marketers?
  9. Who are the people that are most mentioned?
  10. What are the brands most retweeted?

A recent report on  Leadtail looked at 143,856 tweets and 69,657 shared links to provide a  snapshot of how digital marketers engage on Twitter. It also provided  answers to those 10 questions.

How do digital marketers engage on Twitter?

Here are some insights into Twitter engagement as performed by digital  marketers. It reveals resources, tools and people that you may not have heard of  that you may want to add to your reading, viewing and watch list.

 

Read more at…

 

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/08/13/how-do-digital-marketers-engage-on-twitter/#lDMbWKAz2bVfL841.99

4 Ways Marketers Can Use Facebook Hashtags | South Salem Real Estate

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Have you started using Facebook hashtags for your business?

Are you wondering how to best use a Facebook hashtag?

In this article, I’ll reveal four important benefits of using hashtags on Facebook.

I’ll also explore important considerations when putting together your hashtag strategy.

Why Facebook Hashtags?

As you’ve undoubtedly seen, hashtags are now clickable and useable on Facebook.

Using a hashtag # (or pound symbol) in front of a word or phrase turns the word into a clickable link.

When you click on the link, you’ll see a feed of public posts (or posts that are visible to you due to a friend relationship on Facebook) that include that hashtag.

Here’s how you can use Facebook hashtags:

#1: Expand Your Reach

As hashtags gain momentum on Facebook (they’ve been in use on other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+), they’ll help you expand your reach to people who are looking at posts in your topic.

Hashtags have been a great way to help people interested in niche topics find each other and find the conversation.

walking dead hashtag

The #WalkingDead hashtag connects people interested in this show.

By including a hashtag in your post, you can possibly get in front of people who may not have seen your post otherwise.  But you’ll have to monitor this in yourFacebook Insights.  Make sure you watch your Reach and Engagement Numbersto see if your hashtags are making a difference in your posts.

reach column

Click the Reach column in your Facebook insights to see which posts are getting the highest reach.

#2: Amplify Your Brand

Branding your Facebook Page with your own special hashtag can help an idea or new product catch on.  By branding all your posts about a new product, you can break this information out into a separate stream of information and give people an easy way to share information about that product or idea.

Think carefully about what types of things others would also be interested in sharing.  If the posts are too promotional and not valuable, you may have a hard time getting people to share them with their friends.

 

 

4 Ways Marketers Can Use Facebook Hashtags | Social Media Examiner.

4 sexy trends to add fun and inspire visitors to your real estate website | South Salem NY Homes

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Sometimes it’s just too easy to let your website presence slack off a little. Especially with today’s fast-moving market. There are many mixed messages about what you should have on your website; content; videos; or even if you should HAVE a website. Blogging falls off; we don’t add our listing photos or videos; and there it sits. Yawn.

But, there are some exciting new trends happening, and, truth be told, agents are business owners who need to market their services online. It’s the billboard, the storefront, the treasure trove of your expertise and personality. It could be time to find ways to inspire your website visitors in NEW ways, with new content, and shift the perspective of the old website. Engaging your visitors in new ways can increase traffic, inspire them to take action, and give them a little fun at the same time. Below are some colorful finds with fresh ideas that turn old websites into new, sexy, trendy places to find a home.

1. Check out the newest website trends: FUN! Color! Action!

DCLifestyles.jpg

DC Lifestyles by Real Living at Home

Some of the newer WordPress or Tumblr themes (or custom-developed ones) have fun new layouts. For the most part, they take the “categories” of your website and turn them into visual destinations, rather than the old drop-down menus in navigation menus. Add in some fun graphics or photography, and suddenly you have eye-catching calls to action that are discoverable rather than just “Communities.” Check out DC Lifestyles’ new home page. As a site visitor, my eye draws me in to all the things I can search; I want to stay and play, and see what’s under all the fun “windows.”

2. Bring in your reviews from other sources.

Real Estate Reviews.jpg

GlendaleandBeyond.com

Reviews on sites like Google, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and Yelp are yours and yours to keep. Display them proudly on your website. Kendyl Young of GlendaleandBeyond.com has integrated her reviews with a WordPress plug-in, and then LINKS BACK to the original review on the associated site. This is a great way to add some extra SEO juice to your site as well. Alternatively, using your own user-generated reviews through a service like RealSatisfied, you can bring in widgets, plug-ins, and other tools to display your great service. Make your visitors search easier by giving them exactly what they want: information about you.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/4-sexy-trends-to-add-fun-and-inspire-visitors-on-your-real-estate-website/#sthash.UxHJVeH5.dpuf

 

4 sexy trends to add fun and inspire visitors to your real estate website | Inman News.

Mastering the new real estate rules | South Salem Real Estate

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The housing market is getting hot—and that is changing the game for both home buyers and sellers.

In many cities, including those hard hit by the downturn, bidding wars are breaking out and winning offers often exceed the asking the price. A relatively low inventory of homes for sale is feeding the scramble.

Existing-home sales were up 13% in May compared with the previous year, reports the National Association of Realtors, and the median home price was up 15%, to $208,000, the biggest jump since October 2005. Average home prices for the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index were up 12% in April over a year ago.

For first-time buyers and those eager to move up, it could be a good time to buy. Prices still are well below the mid-2000s highs. Interest rates have shot up, but they remain low by historical standards. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.37% for the week ended Thursday, up from 3.35% in early May, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. Until 2009, rates were above 5% going back to the early 1970s.

[Click to compare mortgage interest rates from multiple lenders now.]

Initially, rising rates could drive potential buyers into the market before mortgage costs climb more. But if rates continue upward, they could help put an end to the boom.

While an active market can be good for both buyers and sellers, a sizzling market poses challenges. In some areas, real-estate agents have been accused of holding back choice homes for sale from the Multiple Listing Service database so they can market them first to their own clients. Bidding wars can leave potential buyers feeling bruised and frustrated. And climbing home prices mean appraisals might come in below the agreed-on price.

Here are some tips for navigating this evolving market:

Cash matters. It helps to have a bundle of cash to get the home you want. Down payments today range from 3.5% for a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration to as much as 40% for homes over $1 million.

A typical down payment on a regular mortgage is 5% to 10%, says Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans. Buyers who need a “jumbo” loan—or one bigger than $417,000 or $625,500, depending where you live—might have to put down 20% or more.

If the lender’s appraisal of the home falls short of your purchase price, the buyer and seller must negotiate whether the seller will reduce the price or the buyer will pay the difference in cash—or some combination of the two.

Get prequalified. Mortgage lenders still carefully scrutinize borrowers’ ability to repay their loans, and sellers might be leery of bids that are contingent on getting financing. Potential buyers will be more attractive if they already have qualified for a loan, even in calm markets, like Connecticut, says Terence Beaty, director of the new-homes and land division at Prudential Connecticut Realty, based in Wallingford, Conn.

That means picking a lender and providing pay stubs, bank and brokerage statements and, for those who are self-employed, tax returns. Generally, you will need a credit score of at least 640 to get a mortgage, says Greg Gwizdz, executive vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, the nation’s largest residential lender—and it will need to be higher if you want the best rates.

 

Mastering the new real estate rules – Yahoo! Homes.