Our firm, Oliver Homes has recently completed 4 new homes with the Energy Star guidelines.  Those guideines are set so that the Energy Star home benefits by having a 15% energy savings over a home built in the previous code cycle.  For instance, a new home built in 2008 would be 15 % more energy efficient than a home built under the 2003 code whereas a new home built in 2010 would be 15 % more energy efficient than a new home built in the 2006 code cycle.  The 2006 code is the current code most are using today.  Thus a new home Energy Star home being built in 2010 will be about 30% more energy efficient than a new home built under the 2003 code that was not an Energy Star home.  The monthly energy savings for the new Energy Star home built in 2010 is tremendous over the new or re-sale home built even 5 years earlier that was not Energy Star.  Even though the cost of the Energy Star home is slightly more it would benefit any new homeowner to strongly consider the ugrade in their new home. Good luck with your new home and hope this helps explain the Energy Star aspect of construction.

In looking at today’s real estate market we see a lot of homes actually on the market.  Is now a good time to buy or not?  We’ll look at that question and let you make that decision.  Obviously, with a lot of properties on the market prices are clearly low or at worst reasonable compared to a few years ago.  Many people are even willing to look at the short sales and foreclosure sales to try to arrange a “better deal”. It is imperative in those situations to be aware that you may fact many projects to bring you home up to the appearance and need you will want.  It’s more than one buyer who brought a short sale or foreclosure that had to spend a lot more money to fix certain items. 

Another consideration is what type of interest rate you will get.  Recently, I saw a review that today’s rates are the lowest they have been in decades.  We have even seen a 3.75 fixed for 30 year rate. That’s truly a great rate.  If someone has a credit score over 620 he can get a FHA rate that is very reasonable with a small downpayment. 

The big thing in today’s market is looking a your own job stability.  To be blunt, if you don’t know for sure you are going to have a job you shouldn’t buy a new or existing home anyway.  However, if you do feel confident in your job stability and comfortable with your present financial situation then today may be a terrific time to get started in you real estate ownership experience.  Good luck in making these decisions and happy house hunting.

In looking at sites to build a new home you have to consider many factors.  First, consider the type of home you will be building and will it fit on the lot.  Oliver Homes has a community in Greencastle, Pa called Pleasant Walk Estates that has 2 acre homesites that would accomodate most any size home.  They have two other communities near Mercersburg, Pa called Deerwood Mountain Estates and Mountain Brook Estates.  Deerwood Mountain Estates has only 1/2 acre lot sizes and a new home buyer would have to be careful as to what type of home and how large of a home that could be built on that site.  Mountain Brook Estates has 3 acre lots that would not really be any issue for size of a home.  Those lots would have to be looked at individually as some allow for walk out basement exits and some do not.  These are just some basic things to look for in the purchase of a lot in building a new home.  In addition to size one must also consider what particular convenants are for each community- i.e. is there a minimum square footage requirement, is brick or another cladding material required, are any special roof pitches needed, and many more.  Finding the right site to put your new home is something that needs to be looked at and analyzed to find what works not only for you but for the also new home you want to build.  Good luck in your search.

As we get out of the winter and move into spring and summer it’s a time people think about buying a home.  A time for families to have a place all their own.  In reading many articles on the economy and whether it is a good time to buy or not there are mixed signals.  One article says the market is picking up and prices are starting to rise.  Another says that prices may still be able to come down ever so slightly.  I have two comments regarding those divergent points of view- first, we will never know when the  real estate market hits the bottom until after we missed it, and secondly, you need to buy a home for your value, your personal use, and your desires and wants.  You do not need to look at what others are saying or doing but you need to do what works for you.  The questions you must ask – Is this something that will work for me? , Will I be overextended financially?,  Can I make the monthly payment?.  One thing I always remember in the buying of a home is that you are not really paying $ 200,000 or so for a home -you are paying whatever the monthly payment is and is that within your budget.  That’s the question to ask in your purchase decision.  Can I afford this purchase on a monthly basis? Good luck with your search.

Washington County, Maryland has instituted a wavier of excise tax until April 1, 2010.  It is a great opportunity for buyers in the market for new homes to take advantage of up to an $ 8,500 credit on their new home.  Building permits need to be issued by the April 1st date.  Early on in the program the public was not aware of how it worked but have now become more informed and are taking advantage of this offer from the county.  It is great that Washington County Commissioners have made this offer to the homebuying community as they have felt some resistence from those that may not see the need of this offer for new construction.  As an group numbers run around 25% unemployment in the construction industry.  Anything that can be done to keep this industry employeed will do wonders for the economy in this community.  Thanks to the Washington County Building Department and the Washington County Commissioners.