For quartz countertops, green buyers are set with Cambria. As the only domestically produced quartz surface, Cambria Quartz goes through extensive recovery and recycling of water used in the production process through state-of-the-art settling and filtering techniques. Much of this water gets recycled during the fabrication process. These practices overall contribute to significantly lessening the manufacturing process’ impact on the environment. Cambria has received multiple awards and recognitions, from GREENGARD to LEED to NSF International.

Vetrazzo recycled glass surfaces are another great option for the environmentally-conscious who don’t want to sacrifice the look of a high-end counter top. Vetrazzo makes these surfaces from normally non-recyclable glass like traffic lights, buildings and windshields in addition to consumer recycled glass. They then form these into 550 pound slab counter tops with lively colors and unique designs.

Construction Resources stocks these two and many other environmentally-conscious brands in their showroom among over 3,000 slabs and 2,000 remnants. Customers can select their slab, a fabrication design, as well as set up delivery and installation all in one place, and more quickly in this one stop shop.
For more information, like new products, sales and other Atlanta kitchen news, be sure to check out the Construction Resources blog.

The developers of Soleil Laurel Canyon decided to start offering EarthCraft certified homes because more and more buyers were selecting upgraded insulation and other features to reduce energy costs.

Homes at Soleil range from 1,500 to almost 3,000 square feet and are priced between $200,000 and the high $400,000s. Yard maintenance, a 24-hour staffed security gatehouse, and home security monitoring are included in the association fees. This environment, which also includes a clubhouse with heated indoor saline pool, billiards parlor, gourmet teaching kitchen, fitness center and aerobics studio, library, two card rooms and an arts and crafts studio, is why Soleil is truly one of Atlanta’s best active adult communities.

EarthCraft certified homes provide a number of benefits, including lower utility costs, enhanced indoor air quality, increased comfort and reduced home maintenance. On average, EarthCraft certified homes sell for a higher price than the average home  at the same list price and sell more quickly than conventionally built homes. EarthCraft was established in 1999 by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface. For more information on EarthCraft, visit www.EarthCraft.org.

Where to Retire Magazine even rated Soleil Laurel Canyon as one of the country’s top 50 master planned communities for active adults.  A performing arts center, outdoor amphitheatre, outdoor lagoon-style pool, six clay tennis courts, full-time tennis pro, walking trails, a greenhouse and neighboring golf course round out the long list of amenities. For more information on Soleil Laurel Canyon, visit www.SoleilLaurelCanyon.com or call 678-880-3071.

According to Ilyce Glink, real estate expert at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog,  the requirements were issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or OCC. Her recent article, “Foreclosure Guidelines: OCC Takes Action,” talks about how the OCC is mandating that the banks improve their communication – both formal and informal – to make sure borrowers understand what’s gong on and that they receive the information they need when they need it.

Furthermore, lenders may no longer “dual-track.” That is, if a borrower goes into a loan modification program, the lender cannot continue to pursue foreclosure.

How will we know the banks are doing what they’re supposed to be doing? They must hire independent auditing firms to review their foreclosures from the problem timeframe – January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010.

If you were among those who lost a home in an unfair foreclosure process, you’ll want to look at Glink’s article at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.  OCC has set up a restitution process and you can appeal. Check out the full information now and pass it along to those who have recently been affected by foreclosure.

About the Project:
Project Location: 3310 Shoshone St in NW Denver

Owner / GC: Urban Green Development

Project Goal: A fundraising project to showcase and network sustainable building contractors and green suppliers.

Background: Being built in one of Denver’s “hot spot” building neighborhoods, NW Denver’s historic Highland area, “The Green Cube” will be the city’s first LEED Platinum single family home, the highest sustainable/built green rating possible. When complete the home is expected use just 40% of the energy of a code built home.
The home is scheduled to open in late fall off 2011 as a Green Built Show Home in conjunction with U.S. Built Green Council, and will be featured on the DIY Network throughout the process. The home will bring together area contractors, suppliers using sustainable and reusable products as well as serve as a fundraising project to support an annual scholarship fund enabling North High students to pursue careers in the Green Building Industry. When complete the Show Home will host tours, open houses, seminars and special events all raising money for North High career scholarships.

The Show Home will host 3,000-5,000 trade professionals and consumers during the month of July 2011 The project offers the opportunity to partner and network with the nearly 100 green trades, suppliers and services required to build the home from start to finish. Please contact Brett Robben at 303-433-6212 or email brettrobben@comcast.net

The good news is that investing in a green home is a smart financial investment, too. The savings you will likely gain in the general running and maintenance of your home over its lifetime are substantial.

Unfortunately, according to the Equifax Personal Finance blog,  all “green” investing is not so smart. In an article entitled, “Socially Responsible Investing: How to Invest With Your Conscience,”  investment expert Dan Solin acknowledges the non-monetary value of investing in socially responsible companies and funds. Unfortunately, he says to beware. In his experience, many of these funds don’t offer the best return on your investment because of the way they are managed.

Solin says that many “socially responsible” funds are managed in a high cost manner, yielding a high average expense ratio of 1.33 percent. He says to choose low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds that screen for social criteria instead. The article lists several of these funds, which address a range of social topics and have expense ratios ranging from 0.29 percent to 0.5 percent.

If you’re interested just in investing in environmentally responsible companies, Solin lists funds that focus on energy and conservation, cleantech, progressive energy and the water industry. These, too, are funds with low expense ratios.

You’re being smart about your investment in your green home, so make sure your other green investments are smart, too. Visit the Equifax Personal Finance blog to see Solin’s recommendations or to ask questions.

The truth is that several programs were available to help before all the madness began, and they’re still available to homebuyers today. “Zero Down Home Loan Options,”  an Equifax Personal Finance Blog post by real estate expert Ilyce Glink, offers links and information on several of those programs.

For veterans who served at least 90 days during wartime and at least 181 continuous days in peacetime (and didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge), VA loans are a good option. They are backed by the government, and they allow veterans to finance up to 100 percent of the purchase price of their primary residence. The VA sets price limits for each county, and the property must fall within those limits.

Programs are available to non-veterans, too. The USDA Rural Development Direct Loan program is another way to buy without a downpayment. Again, there are location requirements, but you might be surprised at how many eligible “rural” properties are close to seemingly urban locations. There’s an income ceiling, based on the average median income where you’re purchasing. For this loan, the requirements state that borrowers must be unable to get credit elsewhere, though they still must have a decent credit history.

For HUD homes in FHA foreclosure, you can get into a home with a downpayment as low $100 through FHA’s $100 Down Payment Incentive program. Other HUD programs also offer low down payment options, ranging from zero to $1,000 down.

If you are buying your first home, there are lots of extra opportunities just for you, many of them managed locally. Glink recommends using your favorite Internet search engine to narrow down the “first time home buyer down payment” options for your city name.

The Equifax Personal Finance Blog offers links to information on the VA, FHA, HUD and USDA programs. As intimidating as home loan shopping may seem, there’s plenty of help and information available to ease the process. Take advantage of it before today’s low interest rates are history.

“Builders are increasingly gearing their homes to the needs of first-time buyers, and we expect the trend to continue in the period ahead as the economy begins generating more jobs and more people in their 20s form households,” said Bob Jones, chairman of NAHB and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “New homes are a better match for the needs of the population in general,” Jones said. “Compared to what is typically available in the existing housing stock, they are more energy-efficient, easier to maintain and have designs better suited to today’s lifestyles.”

The market share of first-timers was up from 35 percent in both 2005 and 2007. Although some of the demand was fueled by the initial version of the home buyer tax credit in mid-2008, which was specifically targeted to those buying a home for the first time, the upward trend is expected to continue as children of baby boomers — members of a generation that is larger than their parents’ — move into their household formation years in the period ahead.

Although new housing is significantly more expensive than the existing housing stock, 13 percent of first-time buyers between 2007 and 2009 purchased new homes. By comparison, 17 percent of all the homes sold during that period were new.

Competing with foreclosures and large house price declines in the existing home market, new homes lost ground disproportionately during the housing downturn, falling from a 21 percent share of the homes sold in both 2005 and 2007.

The average market value of a new home purchased was more than $315,000, compared to more than $238,000 for existing homes.

First-time buyers for the two years of the study had an average age of 34, compared to 46 for those trading up.

The average income of first-timers was over $67,000, about 30 percent below the average household income of trade-up buyers of $97,000. About half of the first-time buyers earned less than $60,000.

The household size of both first-time and trade-up buyers has been declining, while single-person households have been on the rise.

First-timers bought homes with an average market value of about $184,000, compared to more than $297,000 for trade-up buyers.

First-time buyers bought homes averaging 1,874 square feet, significantly below the 2,549-square-foot home purchased on average by those trading up. Forty-six percent of first-timers bought homes smaller than 1,500 square feet.

The large majority of first-time buyers — 82 percent — purchased single-family detached homes.

Looking at survey findings on the reasons that buyers chose a particular home, the NAHB study notes that price was the top consideration for 38 percent of the first-time buyers, followed by the design and layout of the home, at 36 percent.

On average, first-time home buyers looked at 15 homes before making their purchase; 63 percent used their savings as the source of the downpayment; and 22 percent of them had no downpayment. That was down from a peak of 25 percent in 2007, reflecting a tightening of credit standards in the mortgage market.

The full report is available at www.nahb.org/homebuyerstudy.

Sign up to be notified when 2011 registration opens.

You’re guaranteed to leave the 2011 Conference with a wealth of knowledge, but if you want to take home a little something extra, enter the National Green Building Awards. NAHB will again honor excellence in green residential design, construction practices and outstanding green advocacy efforts. Get more details and enter your projects at www.nahb.org/greenbuildingawards. Deadline for entries is January 21, 2011.

Sterling Custom Homes executives first brought the concept of a casita to Austin during the 2004 Flintrock Falls Showcase of Homes. The term literally means “little house” in Spanish. It’s generally defined as a small house or apartment that is attached to a larger home, but is complete on its own.

Since they built their first casita, Sterling Custom Homes has continually received requests for the concept in new home designs. For Sterling’s custom home buyers, the casitas are usually a guest suite rather than a complete apartment. They may be finished with additional features, such as sitting areas, coffee bars and luxury bath and shower spaces, to complement the large sleeping area.

Some custom home buyers request a secondary interior access point into a hallway of the main home. Others find that in-laws, guests or college student children prefer the privacy of the single exterior accessibility. Even empty nesters are finding uses for the casitas as a resort-style retreat for out of town guests or a home for live-in caregivers.

S&A Homes was recently awarded the 2010 Energy Star Leadership in Housing award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for qualifying an outstanding number of ENERGY STAR™ Homes in 2009.  The builder closed more than 200 Energy Star Qualified homes last year! Congratulations to S&A Homes.

For homebuyers seeking energy efficient homes at an affordable price, S&A Homes offers the E-Home. Focused on building high performance homes that combine energy efficiency, eco-friendly building materials and indoor air quality solutions, the E-Home meets all of these goals as well as provides the best value in the market.