Green Home Remodeling Tips

The Scottsdale Green Building Program offers a wealth of tips for homeowners, whether you're remodeling, building or looking for a green home. Even if you're just trying to reduce your energy costs, these tips can really help:


• Lighting – use compact fluorescent bulbs. Newer fluorescent bulbs offer a soft white light that mimics a regular light bulb, yet uses 75% less energy. The best targets are 60-100W bulbs used several hours a day.


• Appliances – The energy cost to run appliances over its lifetime is much greater than the purchasing cost. It makes good economic sense to buy energy efficient appliances. Your refrigerator is likely the largest energy consumer in the house, so think about replacing your refrigerator if it is old. Look for Energy Star labeled appliances.


• Water heaters – If you don’t have an insulating blanket on your water heater, consider getting one. It will pay for itself in less than a year. If you need to replace a water heater, think about an on-demand tank less water heater. A tank less water heater does not hold any water, so it does not need to be turned down for vacations, there is no risk of failure like that of a tanked heater that can spill many gallons of water and ruin your floor. They use less overall energy, since no water is kept hot in a tank. Gas tank less water heaters are generally more efficient. You will need to have your house checked to ensure your gas lines are sized properly. Whole house tank less heaters start at about twice as much in cost as a normal tanked water heater. Other possible disadvantages include limited hot water flow when there are multiple fixtures running at one time. As another alternative, consider a recirculating hot water system. This involves installing a pump to circulate hot water on a loop between the most remote plumbing fixture and the water tank. In order to conserve energy, the circulation pump only operates when hot water is required by means of an activation button or timer.


• Windows – South-facing windows offer a great opportunity to absorb free energy (winter sunlight) while north-facing windows provide uniform lighting throughout the year. East- and west-facing windows are subjected to intense morning and afternoon sunlight causing significant summer heat gain. Consider installing low-e double pane windows for at least the east and west windows. Look for a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of 0.40 or less. As a least-cost alternative, consider exterior shading devices such as an overhang (at least 10 feet), trellis, vertical/horizontal louvers, screen wall, or vegetation such a trees.


• Day lighting – Consider adding natural light sources to reduce the need for artificial light. Light tubes appropriately placed and exterior shaded windows are good ways to enhance natural light with minimum heat gain in existing homes. I have 4 of these in my home and the kight is amazing.

Staging on a Budget

Was reading Realtor Magazine and found these Great Ideas on home staging I wanted to share.

REALTOR® Magazine asked readers of our Daily Real Estate News e-mail to send in their best tips for sprucing up listings on the cheap. Here are some of the quick, creative ideas that poured into our inbox.

Ideas for:

•Living Room
•Bedroom
•Bathroom
•Color and Lighting
•Kitchen
•De-cluttering
•Exteriors
•Special Touches

LIVING ROOMS

Create a Focal Point

"Pick out the most visible corner and put a large plant—I've found that silk trees work best. Set up a spotlight behind it so it lights up the leaves and throws an interesting shadow on another wall. It really makes a difference in a person's perception of the space, especially if it's a large room without too much natural lighting."

—Izabela Stone, Keller Williams Realty, Apollo Beach, Fla.


Set Up a Chat Room

"Be sure that the living room furniture is positioned for conversation as well as entertainment. Potential buyers should be able to easily envision sitting in a space where they can easily talk without having to move a chair or turn completely around."

—Rana Lindhorst and Troy Schmidt, Prudential One Realty Centre, Edwardsville, Ill.


Get Rid of Carpet Dents

"Furniture often leaves indentations in the carpet. When a piece of furniture is moved, I tell my clients to put medium-sized ice cubes in the imprints. As the ice melts, it causes the compacted carpet to expand and erase those imprints."

—Shawn Moss, Century 21 C.R. O'Neil & Co.


Accent Special Features

"Place an accent by a home's feature, such as an attractive plant near a fireplace to draw the eye to it or a tall palm or two in place that directs the buyer toward another part of the home or suggests a separation of areas. This also ensures that someone often enters the home to care for it."

—Susan Cramer, HomeSmart Real Estate, Temecula, Calif.


Invoke the Outdoors

"Use a little nature in each room. I create a flow throughout the home using cuttings, flowers, dried flowers, whatever will work. Simple things, such as twigs to spell out a word or a small cutting tied with raffia around a pillow on a bed, draw the eye into the room but don't overpower it. I have even used a branch cutting to make a 'tree' in an empty corner. I try to use one piece of nature in each room to create an ongoing theme throughout the home. It works with any type of decor, whether it's modern or traditional. One important note: Always check for insects!"

—Lauren Scurlock, North Star Real Estate Inc., Virginia Beach, Va.

and of course here is mine, Linda Wieczorek Arizona Elite Properties., Phoenix AZ

Outdoor Space Takes Centre Stage in Phoenix AZ

Playing up the outdoor space can increase the use able square footage as well as highlighting a lifestyle, when I am out showing property it's is the out door living that wows me and most of my clients.

1st When a client drives up to your home, you want them to feel invited, to feel excited to view the inside of your home,and that happens by having a clean front yard.. Add a few flower pots,a door mat, hose the front sidewalk, get rid of the weeds, hose the house off, it gives the front of the home a fresh look. Just a little elbow grease goes a long way.

Personalize your outdoor living space with items such as: Yard art (fountains. unique walking stones, stakes, sculptures, wind chimes, weather vanes, flags and colorful windsocks. Use trellis and garden arbors or Stepping-stones to break up and to connect other areas of the space. Welcome birds by utilizing birdhouses and decorative feeders. Don’t forget to use colorful plants in the ground, pots, railings, window boxes, and/or hanging baskets.

Evening lighting will always add interest and drama so use candles throughout your seating space and string lights to accent an arbor, railing, umbrella, or put them in your trees for light and sparkle. There are solar lights that can be used as a floodlight to highlight trees or garden statuary or fountain. Also use solar lighting to line a walking path, pathways, around gardens, railings and window boxes. These are inexpensive and free to operate. A little goes a long way.

Fireplaces help to warm the space in many ways and are available in many different styles, from built-ins to small mobile types. These help to extend your comfort into the evening hours and add a lot of ambiance.

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Whats Going on in the Historic Willo Neighborhood in Phoenix

As of April 18,2009 ONLY 18 Homes for sale in the Willo. This is the best time to own that home in the Willo. contact Linda 602-391-8246

NAR ECONOMIC AND MARKET WATCH QUARTERLY REPORTS

This last month homes have been flying off the market. Check these charts out!!
it is nice to see the Phoenix market pick-up and properties starting to sell. NOW 2 land one of thos DEALS!!

View the number of Residential (Class 1) listings added monthly or view sales activity charted by Average List/Sales Price and Median List/Sales Price. These charts cover years 2001 - 2009.

2001 - 2009 New Listing Chart

2001 - 2009 Sold Charts
This report is produced by the National Association of REALTORS using data supplied by ARMLS.