changescapeweb, Author at Sandra Meranda

February 8, 2012 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Designing on a Human Scale

Here’s an interesting article on home design, integrating technology with the comforts of the past, based on smarter construction in a smaller footprint. Check it out and watch the video on Designing on a Human Scale!

Sarah Susanka’s newly-constructed ‘not so big house’ in Libertyville, Ill., provides smart ideas for comfortable living in fewer square feet.

DECEMBER 2011 | BY ERICA CHRISTOFFER

The house of the future — at least the immediate future — probably won’t look anything like what we saw watching “The Jetsons” as kids. But it may very well look like acclaimed architect and author Sarah Susanka’s “not so big” home that’s making its premiere just outside of Chicago.

Susanka designed the show-home for the new SchoolStreet development in Libertyville, Ill., and it’s the first time she’s created a home that is available in the mass market. In partnership with developer John McLinden, Susanka has created a home that integrates technology of the present with the comforts of the past. It’s based on an architectural concept — smarter construction in a smaller footprint — that Susanka has nurtured at least since the 1998 publication of her book, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint For the Way We Really Live.

The SchoolStreet house isn’t small; it’s more than 2,500 square feet. But as a show house, it offers numerous ideas for adapting existing space.

“People are looking not just for a smaller house, but for a better house,” says Susanka. “You can make less square footage feel like more if it’s well designed.”

According to a recent study by the National Association of Home Builders, by 2015 homes are expected to average 2,152 square feet, which is 10.5 percent smaller than the average single-family home built during 2010 (that, in turn, is down from the peak of 2,520 square feet in 2007 and 2008). Susanka’s home embodies the trend toward living well on a smaller scale by incorporating an open floor plan with ceiling accents that define the space, several multipurpose rooms, energy-efficient features, and outdoor entertainment areas. Smart organizational built-ins blend seamlessly, such as a cabinet just the right size for extra toilet paper in the home’s bathrooms and a murphy bed in a first-floor room.

“SchoolStreet houses are designed to align with a cultural shift in how home owners truly want to live — more soulful designs, filled with detail, that are sensitive to the environment and connected to a pedestrian-friendly, vital community,” McLinden said. “For decades, Sarah has been espousing the benefit of such houses. Few people have had as great an influence on the American home and lifestyle as Sarah.”

The SchoolStreet project serves as a beacon of success in today’s housing market and new-home construction. The location was previously home to a luxury townhome development that went into foreclosure. When McLinden purchased the property, he went back to the drawing board to create smaller, high-quality, cutting-edge bungalows, and slashed the prices in half, with homes now starting at $500,000. He also converted Libertyville’s neighboring historic Central School building into 15 loft condominiums. As of early December, 21 of the 26 homes and 5 of the 15 lofts had been purchased.

“I’ve been a REALTOR® since 1978, and in all those years I’ve seen many different developments, but this concept and [Susanka’s] home is the most exciting thing I’ve been a part of,” says Sue Carey, SCRP, GMS, vice president of relocation and corporate services at Century 21 Kreuser & Seiler in Libertyville, which has selling rights to the development.

The SchoolStreet homes feature a new urbanist character, with porches set close to the front sidewalk to make more of a community connection. The 26 homes and 15 lofts are located close to the Libertyville’s vibrant downtown main street and within walking distance of many amenities. The urban lifestyle, Susanka says, is attracting an array of consumers, from downsizers to first-time buyers, from professional couples to growing families.

“From my perspective as an architect and an author, what I hear is people are refocusing on their homes not so much as an investment, but as a wonderful place to live,” Susanka says. “For real estate agents, I think it’s really important to see what people are looking for today. They have been shifted by the economy and by all the uncertainty that’s been coloring our world for the last few years.”

Susanka’s show-home has given both real estate professionals and buyers an example of how to live in a more organized and thoughtful manner, Carey says. “It’s a way of living and a way of readjusting your life so that it has more tranquility to it.”

The show-home is open for tours now through May 20, 2012, after which it will be sold. Visit www.schoolstreetlibertyville.com for more information.

January 18, 2012 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

5 Tips for Efficient Downsizing

Downsizing-tips Thinking about downsizing? There are many reasons we decide to downsize our homes, but as we begin the downsizing there are a few important things to keep in mind to make this less stressful and save you time. Check out this article below for great downsizing tips!

By Peggy Patenaude

The organizational benefits of downsizing can be very rewarding. You can save time, restore order, relieve stress, free up space, and perhaps most importantly, save money.

It’s important when you are organizing and downsizing to try to keep your emotions out of the process. The process may seem overwhelming, but you can do it, and here are some tips that will help you accomplish the task:

1. Try not to focus on the entire house at once. Break things down room by room. Take on one project at a time and don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed. If the room itself seems to be too much to take on, just focus on one area at a time, like a closet. Accomplish something before moving on to another area. Small steps yield big rewards. Set realistic goals about the amount of time you need, and create a timeline that works for you.

2. Evaluate what you have. Everyone has extra stuff. Ask yourself: Do I use this? Need it? Love it? Is it in good condition? If you haven’t used or thought about something in over a year, it’s probably safe to get rid of it. Sell valuable items that you no longer need. Ebay and Craigslist are both great online tools that will help you cash in on things that you don’t need anymore. Or, donate gently used items. There’s no shortage of organizations that take in the things you don’t use and distribute them to people in need. What a great feeling!

3. Properly store irreplaceable items. Meaningful items such as old photos, yearbooks, wedding dresses, and christening gowns should be properly stored in sealed containers in order to protect them from the elements. You may even want to go one step further with old photos and convert them to a digital format to ensure that they will always be safe. If your children have grown and moved out, as hard as it may be, remind yourself that you are not responsible for providing storage for your adult children.

4. Stay positive. Getting rid of items that remind you of your past can be an emotional process. At first it might seem difficult to part with those masterpieces that your children created when they were small, but there’s no reason to keep every scrap of paper your child has ever brought home. Instead, concentrate on what’s important to you, and visualize what your home will look like when you have de-cluttered and re-imagined your space. I have found that after de-cluttering, most people wish they had done it sooner.

5. Hire a REALTOR® who specializes in working with downsizers. This type of move is a specialty and requires a unique set of skills and a great deal of planning and patience. You will need someone who works well with you. You might find yourself needing the services of others, such as stagers, de-clutterers, and junk removers, as well as a storage plan for the things you can’t bear to part with or want to keep safe. With the right connections, you’ll be able to find someone who is not only familiar with your situation, but who has existing relationships and can assure that the process moves smoothly from beginning to end.

A top real estate agent can help you make an informed decisions about how to downsize effectively. My team specializes in St. Charles County and St. Louis County. If you are considering selling your home, please contact Sandra Meranda and I’ll get you moving!

January 4, 2012 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Protect Your Credit When Buying or Selling a Home

The holiday season is a time when many people begin thinking about buying or selling a home in St. Charles or St. Louis. With holiday spending over, it is a very important time to think about protecting your credit and your identity as you think about that new home in St. Charles or St. Louis.

Here’s an article I came across that provides a nice checklist to help you get ready for the home buying or home selling period.

Protect-Your-Credit If you are listing your home for sale, and/or preparing to buy a home, it’s important not only to protect your credit, but to guard against credit or identity theft as well as the theft of valuables. From Bankrate.com, here is a checklist that can help you do that during the buy/sell transaction period:

Apply with care –Be mindful when applying to multiple lenders. To some versions of the FICO software, all applications submitted within 30-45 days of each other only count as one hit on your credit report. However, many lenders may still use older versions of the software. Play it safe by submitting all applications in a 14-day period. This will ensure that your credit report doesn’t show multiple hits, which will in turn better your overall score.

Prepare for lookers – When selling your home, pack up small, valuable belongings before strangers begin to walk through the house. Additionally, all bills or financial papers should be put into a locked box or drawer. Protecting your finances and account numbers should be your number-one priority because identity and credit theft can happen.
Protect your documents: When buying a new home, only potential mortgage lenders need to see all of your personal information. Agents and sellers only need to know how much you can afford. When dealing with a lender, stick to the same representative to minimize the number of people who have access to your documents. Avoid sending any files with your social security number through email. Opt for mail or fax instead.
Stay on top of your finances: Even if you are on top of paying bills on a monthly basis, you may want to consider checking into your accounts weekly. By logging into your credit card accounts regularly, you can make sure that all of the charges are legitimately yours. Credit watch services are also a good idea. If a fraudulent charge is made, the service will pick up on it and alert you of the charges. It’s important to act quickly with regards to your credit.

A top real estate agent can help you make an informed decisions about how to make your new house truly yours. My team specializes in St. Charles County and St. Louis County. If you are considering selling your home, please contact Sandra Meranda and I’ll get you moving!

December 12, 2011 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Jobs and Housing Are Top Issues in 2012 Election

It’s hard to believe, but the 2012 election is now less than a year away! A recent article posted on Realtor.org provides survey results on the most important issues for the 2012 election.

HouseLogic Poll Finds Voters Driven by Jobs, Housing in 2012 Election

Washington, DC, December 09, 2011

A recent survey by Houselogic.com, the consumer website from the National Association of Realtors®, finds that jobs and the housing market will be two of the most important issues for voters in the 2012 election. Nearly one-third of respondents said housing will be the top issue on their mind when they head to the polls next November.

“We need to keep housing first on the nation’s public policy agenda, because housing and home ownership issues affect all Americans,” said NAR President Moe Veissi, Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami. “The results of this survey show that many Americans understand that.”

Respondents were asked “What issue area will have the greatest impact on your vote in 2012?” National security, healthcare, and energy/environment trailed housing and unemployment by wide margins:

Jobs/unemployment – 54 percent
Housing – 27 percent
National security – 8 percent
Healthcare – 4 percent
Energy/Environment – 2 percent
Other – 4 percent

With unemployment still high, it is easy to see why so many Americans are concerned about the job market. However, employment and the housing market are inextricably linked because economic growth and job creation cannot occur without a housing recovery.

Housing accounts for more than 15 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product – it’s a key driver of the national economy. Home sales generate jobs. NAR estimates that for every two homes sold, one job is created. New spending on homebuilding products, furniture, and other residential investments also have a significant economic impact.

Some recent indicators show that the economy might be starting to rebound, with pending home sales rising strongly in October, according to NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index. However, any changes to current programs or incentives must not jeopardize a housing and economic recovery. Unemployment, consumer confidence and consumer spending will not rebound until a number of issues are addressed.

“NAR actively advocates public policies that promote responsible, sustainable homeownership, which will in turn support overall economic recovery,” said Veissi. “We want to ensure affordable, accessible financing; support tax policies that encourage homeownership; and help more people stay in their homes or avoid foreclosure through streamlined short sales.”

This HouseLogic survey shows Americans understand that a housing recovery is essential to the nation’s economic recovery, and many of those housing-related issues will be on the minds of voters in 2012.

HouseLogic is a free source of information and tools for homeowners from the National Association of Realtors® that helps homeowners make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and enhance the value of their home. HouseLogic helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects and provides timely articles and news; home improvement advice and how-to’s; and information about taxes, home finances and insurance. For more information on official contest rules and tips on how to make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and enhance the value of your home, visit www.houselogic.com.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

The Holidays are just around the corner! This is the time of year for buying and selling real estate. There are large numbers of homes at below-market prices & the Interest rates are hovering below 4% !! The home sale numbers have been increasing every month this year since June. It is never too early to start getting your home for next Spring also. Contact Sandra Meranda for details today!

Photo courtesy of League of Women Voters of California

December 1, 2011 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

4 Strategies to Customize and Personalize Your New St. Charles Home

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One of the best things about buying a new home is being able to personalize it to suit your tastes, your family and your lifestyle. Here’s I nice article that I’ve summarized below by Tara-Nicholle Nelson

Here are four smart strategies for customizing your new home (even if new just means new to you!):

1. Paint inside and out. Painting your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to personalize your new space. Color matters – it impacts mood and happiness.

There are several ways you can use paint to personalize your property:

Exterior. Changing the exterior paint color can make a big deal to you and your family, as well as for curb appeal.

Front door, shutters and fences. If the exterior has recently been painted, then you can still inject your personal tocuh by painting the doors, shutters and fences. Pick colors that make for a ploished entrance. These are quick, low cost and powerful changes you can make to personalize your home.

Interior. Rooms have different purposes and inhabitants, so there are a lot of possilities for personalization as well as to help suit the room. You can be fun and playful, calming, clean, inspirational – the choice is yours! Even just focusing on one wall of a room can make a big change as well as to same time and money.

2. Inventory your space and your stuff before you unpack. Moving in to a new home provides the opportunity to create your space for the activities you will do in your new home. Before you unpack, think through how you plan to use each room of the house. You get to choose how you’ll use each room. Decide what you want to (a) do, and (b) store in each area.

3. Build organization in. Built-ins make a world of difference, and I’m not just talking about the ones your home’s builder installed. It’s relatively low-cost and low-effort to build in items like:

a. closet organizers,

b. window seats,

c. desktops and bookshelves,

d. pantry-optimizing shelves, spinners and drawers, and

e. medicine and linen cabinets.

4. Match your furniture to your space, your activities and your stuff. A new home gives you the opportunity to buy furniture that fits the use of the room as well as to address issues you had with things like storage or size in your last place. Use the inventory / plan you develop before you move in to think about furniture needs to make your house yours.

What tips and tricks did you do to make your home “yours?”

HouseLogic Poll Finds Voters Driven by Jobs, Housing in 2012 Election

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