Archives for April 2013

How Much Food & Drinks to Serve at a Party

April 7, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Whether you are having a few friends over for dinner or throwing a full blown party for a holiday, one of the questions you will inevitably have to answer will be how much food and drinks to have for your guests.

There is nothing worse than having a party and running out of food…Ok, yes there can be worse but it’s pretty bad. Conversely, buying too much will leave you with lighter pockets and a fridge full of leftovers you probably won’t end up eating. So what is the magic equation for buying party food? Does one even exist? We think this chart created by Heather, who blogs at Chickabug, is pretty close to perfect.

Take a look:

You may want to print this out and taped it on the inside of your spice cabinet. Never again will I have to guess how much to serve.

Filed Under: Blog, Random Thoughts

The Rise of Small House Plans

April 6, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

For decades, new home sizes have been trending upward. But a changing economic climate, coupled with increasing concern for the environment, has launched a new trend: the small house movement.

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog, Real Estate

Cantilevered Vacation Home Takes in the Forest and Sea

April 6, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Rising above the grassy landscape, this vacation home in the seaside Argentina town of Cariló features a rooftop swimming pool and expansive views of both an adjacent forest and the nearby ocean. Wanka House by Galera Studio is characterized by a floating box supported on one end by a narrow column, giving it a sense of weightlessness.

The ramp leading up to the house gives visitors an opportunity to appreciate their surroundings, which include a garden and a series of lower-level reflecting pools as well as the trees and the ocean breeze. The architects intended for this gradual introduction to the home to be an opportunity to leave the chaotic stress of leaving in big cities behind, starting their vacation before they even step through the front door.

The house is situated to the rear of the plot to place inhabitants closer to the beach, and provide some privacy from passersby on the street. In addition to the large, high-ceilinged modern concrete interior spaces, Wanka House includes a number of recreational spaces like terraced outdoor dining and barbecue areas.

Reaching the rooftop, guests are greeted by a large deck with a swimming pool and skylights that peer down into the living spaces. An elevated viewing platform provides views that extend far above the rooftops of nearby structures, bringing the sea closer to make this vacation spot feel like even more of an escape.

Filed Under: Architecture, Blog

Immigrants to Fuel Next Decade of Growth

April 5, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The blossoming housing recovery stands to benefit from efforts to revamp U.S. immigration laws. A Mortgage Bankers Association study projects that the number of foreign-born homeowners will increase by 2.8 million in the 10 years ending in 2020, versus the 2.4 million gain in the previous decade.

Meanwhile, new research by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals concludes that the increase could be even bigger if more opportunities for homeownership are made available to undocumented workers.

According to that study, immigrants hold more positive views of homeownership than native-born Americans and, consequently, are more likely to buy a house the longer they live in the country. An immigration bill giving non-citizens legal status could generate more than $100 billion in new mortgages and create 3 million more home buyers over the next several years, NAHREP estimates.

The MBA’s study, which did not take the potential impact of new immigration laws into consideration, projects that by 2020, 61 percent of Hispanic immigrants who arrived here nearly 40 years earlier will own a home.

USC public policy professor Dowell Myers, who penned the MBA study, concludes, “We’ve probably underappreciated this powerful force that is already resident here and is so upwardly mobile that it pushes up the housing market from the bottom. There’s this incremental momentum that’s built up.”

Source: “Immigrant Dreams to Keep Sparking U.S. Housing Recovery,” Business Week

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market

Everything You Need to Know About HVAC Systems [Infographic]

April 4, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte 1 Comment

There’s a lot to know about HVAC systems, particularly if you want to avoid $400-plus energy bills every month. Line//Shape//Space’s latest infographic offers many insights on HVAC systems.

So whether you’re an HVAC firm in need of a quick, digestible way of showing potential clients what they need to know about fresh-air flow, or you just have an HVAC system in your house, this one’s for you.

source: LineShapeSpace.com

Filed Under: Appliances, Blog, Home Care

Check me (my website) out! I’m Responsive!

April 3, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, my friend Jason Fox, redesigned my website to a “responsive” website. My site is now much easier to navigate, no matter what device visitors use.

Responsive web design (often abbreviated to RWD) is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones) (Wikipedia.com)

Here’s Jason’s explanation: Responsive WordPress Design uses CSS media queries to trigger different layout sets at various screen sizes. No longer will you need to zoom and scroll around when browsing on your mobile phone. No longer will you need to use the WPTouch plugin to make a “Mobile Version” of your website.

In case you’re a visual learner (aren’t we all?), here’s an infographic for you.

Filed Under: Blog, New Media, Real Estate, Technology

Things I Would Tell My Younger Self

April 1, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Via: http://thedoghousediaries.com

Filed Under: Blog, Random Thoughts

GenY is finally in a mood to buy (houses)

April 1, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

The Millennial generation is about 90 million strong—forming the largest demographic wave in the country’s history—and some reports suggest they’re readying for home ownership.

Millennials’ entrance into home ownership has been delayed due to the recession, high unemployment, and high student loan debt. They’ve been living in their parents’ homes, as well as delaying marriage and having children, surveys show. But the pent-up demand from this generation is starting to surface, says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup.

Homebuilders, like PulteGroup and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, recently revealed surveys of what Millennials want in their future homes. In general, the surveys reveal that this generation isn’t wowed by luxury and prefers technology and flexible space.

Pulte Homes found in its research that more than half of Millennials who decided to buy a home last year from the homebuilder said their main reason was to invest and build equity.

As for what they’re looking for in a home, they appreciate an efficient use of space, an open layout for entertaining, ample storage space, and outdoor space that extends their living areas, according to the Pulte survey of 531 adult renters between the ages of 18 and 34.

“What may be different about this buyer is that they may have more stuff,” says Fred Ehle, vice president for PulteGroup. “It’s different kind of stuff: technological gadgets, gaming. They also do work from home.”

The Better Homes and Gardens survey of 1,000 adults ages 18 to 35 found that Millennials don’t like traditional floor plans and prefer unique spaces. They like to do home improvements themselves and are “fix-it” types.

One in five said that “home office” is a better suited name for their dining room, according to the Better Homes and Gardens survey. What’s more, 43 percent said they want to transform their living room into a home theater.

The survey also showed they’d rather have extra space in their kitchen for a TV than a second oven. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed say they wouldn’t purchase a home without up-to-date tech capabilities.

Source: “GenY is finally in a mood to buy (houses),” USA Today

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, real estate financing

Rent or Buy? Which is Better In These 10 Major Cities

April 1, 2013 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Figuring out whether it’s better to buy or rent rests on three main factors: where you live, how long you plan to stay and how home prices compare to rents in the area. Real estate website Trulia analyzed data from 100 major metro areas to help determine that last factor.

See where Seattle ranks. Look for homes in Seattle.

While markets vary wildly, prices are so reasonable and interest rates so low that buying is the better option in most major U.S. cities, said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist. Nationwide, home buyers who remain in their homes for three years will save an average of 19 percent over renting. If they hold onto their homes for 7 years, the savings advantage grows to 44 percent.

That means all of the initial transaction costs of buying — the broker’s commission, title insurance, legal fees and other closing costs — will be offset by benefits, like tax write-offs and price appreciation. And those costs will become cheaper than the total costs of renting, which include insurance and agent commissions.

But the math is changing. Home prices rose 7 percent year-over-year last month while rents went up only 3.2 percent, according to Trulia. “Buying is still cheaper than renting but the gap is closing,” said Kolko.

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, Real Estate Investment