Month: January 2020

Affordable New Home Construction - 5 Tips on Getting the Most For Your Money
Interior Design Styles

Affordable New Home Construction – 5 Tips on Getting the Most For Your Money

- by Christian Harris

With the real estate market floundering in many areas nationwide, this may be the best time to build a new home rather than buying an existing home. Building a home can be affordable, if you follow these tips:

Affordable New Home Construction Tip #1: Estimate First – Plan Second

Just like a kid in a toy store, it’s easy to get carried away once the idea machine is turned on. Extra bedrooms, an exercise room, a studio, a home office – all of these add-ons will have a dramatic impact on your new home’s price tag. Subtracting them from your building plan because they put your project over budget, even if that plan lives only in your imagination, is painful. Better to add them in if your budget allows after you’ve gotten several estimates.

Affordable New Home Construction Tip #2: Location Still Matters

There may be a very good reason that lot is priced so much lower than the others in that new development. Your building lot location is no place to skimp. If a lot is filled with trees, rocks, or has exceptional drainage challenges, your construction costs will go through the roof. Make sure the lot you choose will be easy for your builder to work with – consider utilities, grading, and clearing before you set your heart on a lot.

Affordable New Home Construction Tip #3: Keep Your Home in Shape

Those “interesting” home shapes you may have seen while you were on vacation make for a …

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Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction
Home Improvement Ideas

Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home Construction

- by Christian Harris

As a real estate professional, I can remember the time when at the top of a homeowner’s wish list were things like a master bedroom suite or a gourmet kitchen, but times have changed, and so has the buyers wish list.

While buyers still have these wonderful amenities on the list, they are asking for energy-saving options as their must have items on their list.

Here is a list of options that are affordable and provide immediate savings. Some of these items are: 2×6 walls, house wrap, energy-efficient windows and energy-efficient appliances.

Construction:

Make sure the walls of the home are framed with 2×6 lumber. Using 2×6 lumber for framing allows extra room for more insulation, which will keep the home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

House wrap:

It is installed right after framing, and it literally “wraps” the entire house to create a thermal barrier that keeps the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The wrap also acts as a vapor barrier between exterior materials and the framing lumber.

Windows:

More home buyers today love windows, as they bring in more natural light, open up rooms and provide a connection to the outside. But there is thermal transfer with windows. A quality builder will know how to balance the homeowner’s desire for “walls of windows” while still meeting the new more stringent code requirements.

Appliances:

Appliances account for for a sizeable percentage of electric usage in a home, especially the refrigerator, …

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