Archive for April, 2010

Feng Shui Home Design – What To Look For When Buying A Home

April 25th, 2010

There are many factors in feng shui home design that ought to impact somebody’s decision to purchase a house. When you go house hunting, it’s vital that you have some basic knowledge of feng shui principles to help with the decision making process. There are a number of things to look out for, all of which will help you establish whether or not the house has good ‘qi’ or energy linked to it. If there are too many problem areas, it’s a sign that you’ll be negatively impacted if you choose to live there.

Once inside the house, you will need to carefully observe the structure and entire floor plan of the house. Things to look out for include slanted ceilings, exposed ceiling beams, missing doors and corners. Other important structural features such as the position of doors in relation to windows, the location of stairs in relation to the front door and others are all factors to take into consideration. Problem areas will very likely create bad feng shui, but keep in mind that there are cures for these problems. These cures are usually very effective and they are accomplished by utilizing simple tools including crystal balls, wind chimes, water fountains and mirrors. The one reason to completely reject a house is if there are way too many problem areas.

There can also be a number of outside influences that you need to bear in mind . The surrounding community is just as important as the house itself. Go around the neighborhood to get an idea of some of the other things which can impact your life. Avoid buying a home that is found near cemeteries, police stations, hospitals, waste management facilities or any other sites that may adversely affect your home. Landscaping in the front of the house should be inviting for the ‘qi’ to flow right into your home. Make sure that the lawn and shrubs are fresh and never wilting, and in addition check for trees blocking the main entrance.

Remember to keep these pointers in mind when you are on the hunt for a new house. Another cool tip that should never be overlooked is to get to know the current homeowners. Find out the reason they may be selling, this can be a very good indicator of how feng shui will ultimately affect you if you select to live there. It’s an excellent sign if the current homeowners are leaving to move onto bigger and better things. When you already live in a home that you purchased, it is not too late to put these tips to use either. Learn more about the structure of your house along with the environment around you, then use your findings to determine the correct remedies to apply as a quick fix.

New Home Trends – Green and Smaller

April 5th, 2010

Recently the statistic came out that for the first time in 2008 the average new home being built in the United States is smaller by 200 square feet than two years previous. This trend shows a decline in desire for McMansions and square feet at any cost. Homebuyers are now considering whether they really need that extra 1,000 square feet. Further, smaller homes by virtue of size alone are more energy-efficient and are less expensive to maintain. There is no way of truly determining which trend came first, building green or smaller, but they work in tandem in my view as both offer similar benefits of energy-efficiency and decreased maintenance costs.

This week I had the opportunity to attend the McLean Chamber of Commerce private tour of the Charity Works Green House in Salona Village. The Green House was designed by Cunningham/Quill Architects PLLC who illustrated beautifully that great design can come in small packages. It was designed to exceed the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for houses. This carbon-neutral house was built in partnership by GreenSpur Inc. and West Group. It is expected to use 80 percent less energy per square foot than a comparable new house. The craftsman-style home boasts only 4,000 square feet of living space on almost ½ acre of land, which is small by new homes in McLean standards. Of greatest impact to me was the fact that the room sizes were intimate. This signifies a turning point in design, where bigger is no longer the default choice of architects and builders.

I was curious to know if this trend in smaller home design has come to McLean, so I did a market analysis of new detached homes built and sold the year they were constructed for both 2008 and 2009. The square footage numbers used came from the Fairfax County tax record for the property. In 2008, the average above-grade square footage for new homes was 5,268. In 2009, the average above-grade square footage for new homes was 4,861. In just one year that is a reduction in home square footage by 7.7 percent. It also signifies that the Charity Works Green House design is blazing a trail in more ways than one. In my view, both green and smaller are trends that architects and home builders should pay close attention to.

Why Commercial Real Estate Needs to Go Green

April 1st, 2010

If you own or manage commercial real estate or are looking to get into real estate investment then you are probably becoming aware of the need for offering green real estate solutions. Unless your property is let to a single occupier who have the responsibility to manage their own energy use your tenants will be looking to the building management company to be implementing energy efficiency measures for common services.

There are several main drivers for promoting energy efficiency in commercial real estate, environmental concerns, legal implications and economic considerations. Taking these in turn it is possible to apply each to an individual building to assess what measures are required, and which will be beneficial.

Environmental concerns

Whether you or your management company subscribe to the theory of global warming and the greenhouse effect, it is likely that your tenants, or potential tenants, or their investors will do. In the UK, all large public properties need to have a Display Energy Certificate and may also require an Energy Performance Certificate if it is newly constructed or refurbished. If a Display Energy Certificate is required then an advisory report is also required showing how savings can be made.

Whilst this regime does not apply to private buildings, it is a clear indication in the way that legislation is heading and how public perception is manifest.

Legal Implications

The legal implications have the most practical implications on Real Estate by way of changes to the Building Regulations and these effect both new build and refurbishments to existing commercial properties with more stringent regulations taking effect from 1 October 2010. Where there is a legal imperative on owners and property managers to make changes these of course must be observed although there are certain regulations that also allow for economic considerations to be taken into account, so that alterations only need be made where reasonable economically viable so to do.

Economic Considerations

With the cost of utilities and particularly electricity rising steadily any changes that can be made to improve energy efficiency will have an increasing and direct reduction on ongoing energy expenditure. Items such as passive infrared switching and heating and ventilating equipment with lower energy requirements or low water use appliances will have an ongoing financial benefit to the running cost of a building. In addition there may be grants available towards the capital costs of changing to better performing equipment.

The decision on whether individual improvements should be made needs to take into account all of the above, however it can be seen that there is pressure from a number of directions that means more and more real estate related decisions will have to be green orientated.