For the Love of Trees!

It’s March 1, time for gardeners to smile because spring is peeking around the corner.

It’s time to prune your roses, cutting them back to three to five strong canes. Knock Out and Flower Carpet roses can be easily pruned with hedge shears, taking all the canes back to about 12 inches above ground.

Despite the cold, daffodils are growing and showing color. They will be fine in this cold because daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs are smart … they grow when it’s warm and stop growing when it gets cold. To keep your spring bulbs cozy and warm, pull a little mulch around, not over them, and they will be OK.

Trees are also budding. Maples are the first to leaf out, putting on little shows of reddish new growth. Watch these … a parade of pinkish, reddish hues across the landscape, followed by greens and golds. Trees are magnificient creatures, something to cherish and save, not loath and take down.

March is a good time time to plant new trees, and shrubs, especially in our area. Early planting allows roots to establish themselves before summer’s heat and dry days settle in. Many local garden centers already have a decent stock of trees and shrubs, and trucks will be bringing more weekly.

If you want to plant a spring-flowering tree in your yard, choose something suitable to the environment in North East North Carolina & Hampton Roads. Good candidates include redbud, white fringe tree, Kousa dogwood, sweet bay magnolia, weeping cherry, saucer magnolia, flowering apricot and Japanese snowbell. Japanese maples, especially small weeping ones, make excellent specimen plants in your yard or a large container on the patio.

To plant your tree, dig a hole two to three times wider than the rootball and as a deep as the rootball. Planting a tree too deep is a leading cause of death because the roots suffocate. Loosen the rootball and remove any burlap before planting; tight, encircling rootballs do not reach into surrounding soil, thereby stagnating a tree’s growth.

Once the rootball is loosened, place the tree in the planting hole and shovel the soil you dug out back into the hole. Lightly tamp … don’t stomp or trample .. the soil to ensure there are no air pockets.

Water thoroughly, mixing a little fish emulsion in the water. Mulch with 2-3 inches of shredded hardwood mulch, but keep the mulch 1-2 inches away from the tree trunk. Staking a tree is not necessary unless it’s located in a very windy spot; remove stakes in about six months.

I hope you plant a new tree in your yard this spring. Trees give us oxygen to breathe, wildlife places to live and beauty for everyone to behold.

Air Station Elizabeth City

U. S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City was commissioned on August 15, 1940 with four officers, 52 enlisted men and ten aircraft. The old Holowell Plantation near Elizabeth City was selected by the Coast Guard in 1938 for its potential strategic value as a seaplane base. During World War II, the Air Station was under U. S. Navy control conducting Search and Rescue (SAR), anti-submarine and training missions. Since then the Air Station's missions and assigned aircraft have shifted and grown with changing national priorities and technologies. In 1966 Air Station Elizabeth City expanded after absorbing the Air Stations in Bermuda and Argentina. In addition to the Air Station, Elizabeth City's Coast Guard complex includes the Aircraft Repair and Supply Center (AR&SC), Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC),  Support Center, and Boat Station Elizabeth City.

Please be a Fan of our Coast Guard Base!

Buy Now, Rates AND Home Prices are LOW

The first time that home prices are low and rates are too. This makes for a great time to buy.

The real estate meltdown and credit crisis have slammed a huge segment of society, but first-time homebuyers could be in the best position to take the leap into homeownership.

A few years ago, information inundated potential first-timers about how to take the leap via first-time homebuyer programs and other avenues that would make down payments affordable and escalating home prices feasible.

In today's turbulent real-estate environment, renters might think the days of first-time home-buying assistance are over. But that couldn't be further from the truth, experts say.
"The programs for first-time homebuyers that were always tried and true are still there," says Robert Baker, education manager for Housing and Credit Counseling Inc. in Topeka, Kan. Combine that availability with low interest rates and low home prices, and you have one of the best times in recent history for first-time buyers to take advantage of these programs.

Great Time for First Time HomeBuyers!

North Carolina Appliance Rebates

The State of North Carolina will implement a two-phase rebate program to help residents replace older, inefficient appliances with ENERGY STAR^® qualified appliances. The first phase of the program, tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2010, will be a limited-time, instant rebate for refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, and dishwashers. A Phase 2 mail-in rebate for several types of water heaters, as well as gas furnaces, and central air conditioners is tentatively scheduled to begin in June 2010 and will continue until remaining funds are depleted.

Eligible products include

• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Clothes washers
• Dishwashers
• Gas storage water heaters
• Gas tankless water heaters
• Electric heat pump water heaters
• Solar water heaters
• Gas furnaces
• Central air conditioners

Retailers are required to recycle old appliances in accordance with state laws.

Contact: North Carolina Department of Administration, State Energy Office

Total Funding: $8,849,000

Daily Real Estate News  |  March 30, 2009  |   Share 6 Reasons Why It's Still a Good Time to Buy
The housing market is looking healthier. Here are six reasons why now is the time to jump into the market.

1. Uncle Sam is willing to help. First-time buyers (defined as anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years) are entitled to a maximum $8,000 tax credit; interest rates are at record lows; and the Federal Reserve is doing its best to make mortgage loans available. (Sign up for a Webinar to learn more about the home buyer tax credit)

2. People have to live somewhere. About 800,000 new households are formed each year in this country, ensuring that the housing market will tighten, even if the economy doesn’t soar.

3. Borrowers leverage their investment. If you put $10,000 into the stock market and it earns 10 percent, you’ve earned $1,000. If you put $10,000 down on a home and its values increases 10 percent, you’ve made $10,000.

4. When prices come back up, you’ll have instant equity. In parts of the country where foreclosures have driven down prices, better times will mean the price of the home you buy will rise rapidly.

5. Mortgage costs stay the same. If you get a fixed-rate mortgage, the monthly payment stays the same – while everything else, including rent, goes upward.

6. You own it. There is something comforting in the notion that your home is your own. You can paint it any color you want, let the dog run in the back yard and hang a swing for the kids in the front.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (03/27/2009)

Read More
April 28 Webinar: Build Your Business Using the Improved Home Buyer Tax Credit

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Landscape designer Michael Glassman has cooked up a recipe for guaranteed curb appeal.

 

1. Add splashes of color. With every changing season, a landscape should provide a new display of colors, textures, and fragrances. "It’s best to use one or two and repeat them," Glassman says. Example: white iceberg roses that bloom in spring, summer, and fall as a backdrop; in front, a contrasting punch of purple salvia or lavender that will flower at the same time; and as an accent, a crape myrtle tree that provides changing leaf colors in fall and interesting branches come winter.

 

2. Size trees and shrubs to scale. These should be planted in the right scale for the house so that they don’t block windows, doors, and other architectural features on the home’s facade. A large two-story house can handle a redwood, Chinese pistache, sycamore, or scarlet oak, but a one-story cottage is better paired with a flowering cherry, crabapple, or eastern redbud. Too many trees cast too much shadow and cause potential buyers to worry about maintenance and costs.

 

3. Maintain a perfect lawn. A velvety green lawn demonstrates tender loving care, so be sure sellers’ homes don’t have brown spots. Some rocks, pebbles, boulders, drought-tolerant plants, and ornamental grasses will generate more kudos, especially in drought areas.

 

4. Light up the outside. Good illumination allows buyers to see a home at night and adds drama. Sellers should use low-voltage lamps to highlight branches of specimen trees, a front door, walk, and corners of the house. But less is better. The yard shouldn’t resemble an airport runway.

 

5. Let them hear the water. The sound of water appeals to buyers, and you shouldn’t just reserve this for your backyard. A small fountain accented with rocks provides a pleasant gurgling sound, blocks street noise, and is affordable.

 

6. Use decorative architectural elements. A new mailbox, planted window boxes, and a low fence wrapped in potato vines add cachet, particularly during winter months when fewer plants blossom. Colors should complement the landscape and home. Just don’t overdo it: Too much can seem like kitschy lawn ornaments.

 

 

Source: Michael Glassman, landscape designer, Michael Glassman and Associates, Sacramento, Calif., www.michaelglassman.com

Is Your Listing Really “Green”?

By Erik Fowler

This is the second article in a series designed to help you make sense of the green landscape as a real estate professional. In the last article, we covered the big picture – defining “green,” concepts of sustainability and what it means to be green (read it here). Here, we examine green homes and real estate.

WHAT IS A “GREEN” HOME?

Essentially, green homes (or buildings) strive to integrate into the environment, use sustainable design and construction concepts, and have a positive impact on occupant health and comfort.

They achieve this by considering the home in two fundamental ways:

1. A system of interconnected parts that all affect each other (much like our natural environment);
2. A lifecycle—the design, building, maintenance/operation and demolition.

For example, consider how home design affects window choices, which affects lighting, which affects the heating/cooling system, which then affects energy consumption, which affects planet resources, pollution and, ultimately, potential climate change. Get the idea?

5 KEY COMPONENTS

Nearly all green homes consider the following key components essential to green building and remodeling:

1. Design and size: Good site design and just large enough, as opposed to larger is better.
2. Community connectivity: Located close to work, school, recreation and other basics.
3. Energy and water efficiency: At least 15 percent or more efficient than others.
4. Material selections: Use of some recycled and/or reclaimed products.
5. Indoor air quality: Limiting use of materials with potential toxic effects and increased ventilation.

You can research any one of these from the U.S. Green Building Council Web site or simply earn your GREEN designation from the National Association of REALTORS®, where each of these is covered in detail with case studies.

REMODELING CONSIDERATIONS

Consider that when remodeling your home, you can have a significant impact on energy efficiency and therefore utility bills—which in turn affects air pollution and your environment—simply by making your home more energy efficient.

For instance, adding more blown insulation (such as cellulose), ensuring a correctly sized and annually serviced HVAC system, and sealing doors, windows and leaks with weather-stripping and caulking, can all save as much as 15 percent on utility bills, according to many experts (when compared  to similar homes).

Include an Energy Star refrigerator, programmable digital thermostat, CFL or LED lights (instead of incandescent bulbs) and double-paned insulated windows, and you should see 30 percent to 50 percent greater energy efficiency!

Not only does this save on utility costs, but it also means less coal is extracted and burned to create your electricity, which results in better air quality and less greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly half of all U.S. electricity comes from power plants that burn coal, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

WHEN DO YOU GET A RETURN ON INVESTMENT?

When you consider the lifecycle costs and total costs of ownership when owning and operating a home over time—not just the initial sales price or upfront cost of an energy efficient upgrade—then payback could be immediate. This is often the case with a new Energy Star Qualified home where the lower utility bill offsets the slightly higher sales price and mortgage payment.

For an older home remodel or energy upgrade, the payback could be in a few years, depending on extent of upgrades and the current-plus-projected utility bills. The best strategy to correctly identify the highest return on investment for a particular home is to get an energy audit performed by a qualified professional. Many local energy raters will assess your home for a fee. Visit the RESNET Web site for details on how to find one.

OTHER REMODELING FEATURES

Although greening homes is a topic too big for one article, some other green home remodeling features include these and other practices:

• Recycling demolition waste to avoid landfill;
• Using sustainably harvested wood labeled “FSC” (Forest Stewardship Council);
• Using countertops made of recycled content such as terrazzo;
• Using a rainwater harvesting system for landscape irrigation and to reduce storm water runoff;
• Switching to low-flow water fixtures and toilets;
• Using low-carbon concrete;
• Planting deciduous shade trees;
• Using low-VOC paints and finishes (volatile organic compounds);
• Using formaldehyde-free interior products in interior paint, carpet and adhesives, etc.

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

We discussed one component—energy—in detail because energy efficiency is the largest single component of a green home (but certainly not all of the consideration). I encourage you to spend some time on the Web sites listed below and check back with us as we cover Green Buyers and Sellers, Listing and Selling Green, and Green Certifications and Rating Systems in upcoming articles.

Web Resources:

• www.energystar.gov (US Dept of Energy & EPA)
• www.resnet.us (Residential Energy Services Network)
• www.greenhomeguide.org (US Green Building Council)
• www.regreenprogram.org (American Society of Interior Designers & USGBC)
• www.greenresourcecouncil.org (National Association of Realtors)

Books:

• Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies (For Dummies, 2007), by Eric Corey Freed
• Green Building A to Z: Understanding the Language of Green Building (New Society Publishers, 2007), by Jerry Yudelson

About the Author: Erik Fowler is a Realtor® with Greenwood King Properties in Houston, Texas, with 10 years of residential real estate experience. He is a national member of the U.S. Green Building Council, a board member of the Houston Chapter, an instructor for GREEN (National Association of REALTORS®), and a certified Eco-Broker®.  He maintains a green building and sustainable growth consultancy working with select organizations, builders and brokers (and home owners) to create value and market leadership through energy efficiency and green building practices. He has made a lifelong commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship, and smart growth; and he speaks and writes regularly on these topics. E-mail him at: e@efowler.com.