Consider using an interior designer

Design Professionals

Consider a consultation with an interior designer for your next home remodeling project.  Hire them for the whole job, or just to consult on certain aspects.  Their experiences will save you time, money, and stress.  We recently hired a designer to help with details for our newest home purchase in the Alberta Arts district of Portland Oregon.  Initially, I questioned the added expense as our remodel budget was already stretched thin.  However, after our first consultation it quickly became clear that our designer would help us avoid days of indecision on materials and paint colors, saving me a dozen or more trips to the local remodel and paint stores.  She provided us with three sketches, three paint  schemes, and three choices for material.  Within the hour my wife and I had chosen the colors and material for the renovation.

We will invite her back once the work is complete and our POD has been unloaded to do another consultation regarding furniture & art placement.  I’m confident she will save us even more time and money here, as we’ll be able to repurpose furniture we already own vs. most likely purchasing new furniture trying to get the look we could have had with proper placement.  I’m a fan of identifying pieces of furniture I really want to purchase, but waiting until I craigslist those I’m done with before buying.  Often times, the changeover can be done with little or no added expense.

We were very lucky to find someone on our first try who listened to what we really wanted, and delivered right on target.  If you don’t have a great referral then I would suggest visiting with a few interior designers, and finding one you really connect with.  Most of all, have fun with the process.

Best of luck,

Orly Halpern

$8000 Tax credit for first time homebuyers: details & info.

Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Tax Credit Versus Tax Deduction

It’s important to remember that the $8,000 tax credit is just that… a tax credit. The benefit of a tax credit is that it’s a dollar-for-dollar tax reduction, rather than a reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a homebuyer were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for the $8,000 tax credit, they would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little income tax liability. For example, if a homebuyer is liable for $4,000 in income tax, he can offset that $4,000 with half of the tax credit… and still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Phaseout Examples

According to the plan, the tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000.

To break down what this phaseout means to homebuyers who are over those amounts, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) offers the following examples:

Example 1: Assume that a married couple has a modified adjusted gross income of $160,000. The applicable phaseout to qualify for the tax credit is $150,000, and the couple is $10,000 over this amount. Dividing $10,000 by $20,000 yields 0.5. When you subtract 0.5 from 1.0, the result is 0.5. To determine the amount of the partial first-time homebuyer tax credit that is available to this couple, multiply $8,000 by 0.5. The result is $4,000.

Example 2: Assume that an individual homebuyer has a modified adjusted gross income of $88,000. The buyer’s income exceeds $75,000 by $13,000. Dividing $13,000 by $20,000 yields 0.65. When you subtract 0.65 from 1.0, the result is 0.35. Multiplying $8,000 by 0.35 shows that the buyer is eligible for a partial tax credit of $2,800.

Remember, these are general examples. You should always consult your tax advisor for information relating to your specific circumstances.

Homes that Qualify

The tax credit is applicable to any home that will be used as a principle residence. Based on that guideline, qualifying homes include single-family detached homes, as well as attached homes such as townhouses and condominiums. In addition, manufactured or homes and houseboats used for principle residence also qualify.

Higher Loan Amounts

More good news – there is an extension on the additional tier of conforming loan amounts which had been first established in 2008.  This tier of home loans are those greater than $417,000, and with a maximum that depends on the area, but is not greater than $729,750.  These loans will again be eligible for rates that are slightly higher than conforming loan rates, but less expensive than the standard “jumbo” loan rates.

Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

More Help for Homeowners in the Future
Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.

While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.

The Economic Stimulus Plan is huge, and impacts a number of industries. I’ve highlighted some of the major provisions that may impact you now and in the future.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss how this may specifically impact you, I’d be happy to sit down with you. Just call or email me to set up an appointment.

Information provided by Mike Popnoe of Strat-e-gy7 503.319.0335

What is a bungalow?

from Wikipedia:

Advantages

Bungalows are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a single story and there are no stairs between living areas. A bungalow is well suited to those who are mobility impaired, e.g. the elderly or those in wheelchairs.

Neighborhoods of only bungalows offer more privacy than similar neighborhoods with two-story houses. With bungalows, strategically planted trees and shrubs are usually sufficient to block the view of neighbors. With two-story houses, the extra height requires much taller trees to accomplish the same, and it may not be practical to place such tall trees close to the house to obscure the view from the second floor of the next door neighbor. On the other hand, even closely spaced bungalows make for quite low density neighborhoods, contributing to urban sprawl.

Cost and space considerations

One-story bungalow with painted trim, earth-tone shingles

On a per unit area basis (e.g. per square foot or per square metre), bungalows are more expensive to construct than two story houses because a larger foundation and roof area is required for the same living area. The larger foundation will often translate into larger lot size requirements as well. This is why bungalows are typically fully detached from other houses and do not share a common foundation nor party wall: if the homeowner can afford the extra expense of a bungalow relative to a two-story house, they can typically afford to be fully detached as well.

The smaller size however may be desirable for elderly people (perhaps with grown children) as it requires less cleaning, etc.

Though the ‘footprint’ of a bungalow is often a simple rectangle, any foundation is possible. For bungalows with brick walls, the windows are often positioned high and are right to the roof. This avoids the need for special arches or lintels to support the brick wall above the windows. In two-story houses, there is no choice but to continue the brick wall above the window (and the second story windows may be positioned high and right to the roof.)

While the concept of a bungalow is simple, there are a number of variations upon the term, often describing where floor-space is extended above, or below the primary floor.

 Ranch bungalow

Ranch Bungalow in Palo Alto, California

A ranch bungalow is a bungalow organized so that bedrooms are on one side and “public” areas (kitchen, living/dining/family rooms) are on the other side. If there is an attached garage, the garage is on the public side of the house so that a direct entrance to the house is possible, when this is allowed by legislation. On narrower lots, public areas are at the front of the house and such an organization is typically not called a “ranch” bungalow. Such houses are often smaller and have only two bedrooms in the back.

 Raised bungalow

A raised bungalow is one in which the basement is partially above ground. The benefit is that more light can enter the basement with above ground windows in the basement. A raised bungalow typically has a foyer at ground level that is half-way between the first floor and the basement. This further has the advantage of creating a foyer with a very high ceiling without the expense of raising the roof or creating a skylight. Raised bungalows often have the garage in the basement. Because the basement is not that deep, and the ground must slope downwards away from the house, the slope of the driveway is quite shallow. This avoids the disadvantage of steep driveways found in most other basement garages. Bungalows without basements can still be raised, but the advantages of raising the bungalow are much less.

Chalet Bungalow

A bungalow with loft comes with a second story loft. The loft may be extra space over the garage. It is often space to the side of a great room with a vaulted ceiling area. The house is still classified and marketed as a bungalow with loft because the main living areas of the house are on one floor. All the convenience of single floor living still applies and the loft is not expected to be accessed on a daily basis.

Some houses have extra bedrooms in the loft or attic area. Such houses are really “one and half” stories and not a bungalow, and are described in British English as a chalet bungalow or dormer bungalow. “Chalet Bungalow” is also used in British English for where the area enclosed within pitched roof contains rooms, even if this comprises a large part of the living area and is fully integrated into the fabric of the property.

True bungalows do not use the attic. Because the attic is not used, the roof pitch can be quite shallow, constrained only by snow load considerations.

 American Bungalows

 American Craftsman Bungalow

The American Craftsman bungalow typified the common styles of the American Arts and Crafts movement — with common features usually including low-pitch roof lines on a gabled or hipped roof; deeply overhanging eaves; exposed rafters or decorative brackets under the eaves; and a front porch beneath an extension of the main roof.

 California Bungalow

California Bungalow

The California Bungalow was a widely popular 1 1/2 story variation on the bungalow in America from 1910 to 1925. It was also widely popular in Australia within the period 1910-1940.

 Ultimate Bungalow

The term ultimate bungalow is most commonly used to describe the very large and detailed Craftsman style homes of such California architects as Greene and Greene, Bernard Maybeck, and Julia Morgan.

From the NY Times: Alberta Arts Neighborhood “Saved by Design in Portland”

Surfacing
Saved by Design in Portland
By JANE HODGES Published: February 1, 2009

IN the days before grunge, Northeast Alberta Street was a blighted neighborhood of vacant buildings and aging auto shops, a place better known for crime than cool art. But as other neighborhoods in Portland, Ore., have succumbed to chain stores and cookie-cutter condos, this scrappy street in the city’s northeast section has become a new hub for the creative class.

Instead of a pedestrian-free street saddled by sagging repair shops and building-trades businesses, Northeast Alberta Street is now lined with colorful galleries and boutiques where visitors can browse for street art, shop for a handmade felt hat, overhaul a bicycle with used parts and even get acupuncture at a tea shop.

Much of the district’s commercial awakening can be traced to Roslyn Hill, a civic-minded landlord who began snapping up the street’s hodgepodge of cement-block and wood buildings in the early 1990s and renting them to gallery operators and designers. Ms. Hill laid down new rules: no metal bars on windows and no locked doors during business hours.

“I told my renters, ‘You have to interact with the community,’ ” she said. The formula seems to have worked. By 1997, galleries began sponsoring monthly art walks — now organized by the nonprofit Art on Alberta (www.artonalberta.org) — and the momentum hasn’t stopped.

One of the best times to stroll Northeast Alberta Street is on a lazy Sunday, when 20-somethings walk their dogs, cyclists converge on cafes, and a woman sells tamales from a cooler.

There is usually a long brunch line at the Tin Shed Garden Cafe (No. 1438 ; 503-288-6966; www.tinshedgardencafe.com), a spot that draws the flannel-and-fleece crowd to its rustic patio. Popular dishes include scrambled eggs with a vegetable pesto ($8.50). Another bustling brunch spot is Helser’s on Alberta (No. 1538; 503-281-1477; www.helsersonalberta.com), which serves all-day breakfasts of potato pancakes ($6.75) and brioche French toast ($6.95).

By early afternoon, traffic picks up at the street’s half-dozen galleries. Onda (No. 2215; 503-493-1909; www.ondagallery.com), one of the neighborhood’s oldest galleries, showcases Nicaraguan pottery, Cuban posters and other Latin American treasures. Nearby, the Guardino Gallery (No. 2939; 503-281-9048; www.guardinogallery.com) exhibits contemporary art and crafts from the Pacific Northwest.

Sunday is also a good day to hit the street’s indie fashion boutiques. Shop owners are usually around and happy to chat, giving Northeast Alberta Street the air of a working artists’ colony.

Over at Garnish (No. 1524; 503-282-3200; www.garnishapparel.com), you might catch the owner, Erica Lurie, a former Adidas apparel developer, arranging colorful knit skirts on the sidewalk or taking measurements inside her narrow white store.

The street lures graphic designers, too: A favorite hangout is OFFICE PDX (No. 2204; 888-355-7467; www.officepdx.com), a retail hybrid that combines a design store, art gallery and graphic design studio where one can buy a “Mad Men”-style desktop pen holder and then attend a lecture by a visiting designer from Herman Miller Inc.

“We moved to Portland with the specific idea of being part of this neighborhood,” said Kelly Coller, who owns OFFICE PDX with her husband, Tony Secolo, a designer (both are Seattle transplants). “It’s where the designers were already living.”

see the article here