Builder and Developer

The 2010 SoCal Awards

2010-08-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

     The 2010 SoCal Award season has arrived! This year the 2010 SoCal Awards red carpet extravaganza will be held Saturday, October 23, at The Grove of Anaheim, Calif.
    Encompassing all facets of new-home marketing and merchandising, this competition provides for entry opportunities in product design, model complex landscaping, interior merchandising, sales office design, logo design, graphics, brochures, signage, advertisements, overall advertising campaigns, special promotions, and internet marketing.
    This year's SoCal Awards ceremony will feature exciting new categories for entries, including Realtor/broker of the Year and Mortgage Lender of the Year. Be sure to get all of your entries in before the Final Entry Deadline, August 18. For more information please go to www.thesocalawards.com

Check out some of last year's winners below!

Marketing Director of the Year 2009

Beverly Badoy

Anastasi Development Company

Max C. Tipton Memorial Award for Marketing Excellence 2009

Miriam C. Tate

The Miriam Tate Company

Community of the Year 2009 Single Family -- Detached

Under $500,000

The Cottages at Edenglen

Builder: Brookfield Homes

Community of the Year 2009 Single Family -- Detached $500,000 & Over;

Best Sustainable Community of the Year

Manzanita Trail

Builder: Pardee Homes

Green home award winners flunk walkability test

2010-07-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

The U.S.Green Building Council 2009 award winning projects are not very pedestrian friendly. They score fairly low 'walkability' which is important to green building projects since it determines how much a car is needed in and around the community.

A USA TODAY article recognizes USGBC's LEED program as exceptional in encouraging green home building but strives to prove that not enough attention is given to walkability by listing the award winning projects and their low walkability scores.

The Natural Resource Defense Council's Kaid Benfield reported the Walk Score of each of the winners and found that only one of the six non-military projects got a score higher than 50.

The article points out that LEED for Homes assigns only 10 of its 136 available credit points, and none of its prerequisites, to the "location and linkages" category.

Green award winners should have higher walkability scores as they present the best in sustainability thus far. But most lack in this category, like the Rosewood Hills homes displayed on the left in Columbia, SC with a walkability score of 48.

Magic Kingdom Living

2010-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Anybody who ever wished to call the Magic Kingdom home can wish no more.

Living at the “happiest place on Earth” has just been created an option, as the Walt Disney World recently just unveiled a new luxury residential community right on the Florida resort property. Homebuyers can now purchase single-family homes within the 980-acre Golden Oak luxury resort community in which there will be a limited amount of 30 properties available for sale this year. The customized homes will sell for anywhere between $1.5 million and $8 million.

The development will include an on-site Four Seasons hotel that offers spa services and golf course access to residents, as well as a clubhouse, a concierge and access to Disney’s facilities.

A custom package of amenities created for Golden Oak residents will include in-park benefits, private VIP transportation to parks, access to select special-event tickets and community-hosted activities throughout the year.

Disney plans to have the first homes constructed by next year.

Disney said it hopes to have the first homes constructed by next year.

New Book Helps to Sell Amidst Record Low Housing Sales

2010-06-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

With record low housing sales set in May, sellers need a fast, easy, and sensible way to sell their homes in a buyer's market. Norma Lehmeier Hartie reveals just the path for sellers to take amidst the housing slump in her punctual book of guidance, Sell Your Home Fast in a Buyer’s Market: Secrets from an Expert Green Feng Shui Staging Designer.

According to PRWeb, Hartie's book follows nine easy steps to have a home stand out from the competition. From smart storage in the de-cluttering phase to eco-friendly tips in cleaning the home, Hartie reassures the seller of top-notch styling tips in selling their home fast.

Her Feng Shui principle explains that what surrounds us affects the way we feel, therefore she emphasizes styling every part of the home to its best use. This not only appeals to the effective look of the home but brings its value up in the buyer's mind.

The book also guides through the process of pricing the home accurately and is the first in its subject to emphasize green improvements to sell fast. Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Mogul, Business Consultant and Speaker highly recommends the book to anyone trying to sell their home fast and efficiently.

Norma Lehmeier Hartie is the author of Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, which was The Grand Prize Winner of The 15th Annual Writer's Digest Book Awards and Best New Non-Fiction USA National Best Books 2008. Hartie is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence and Parsons School of Design and has been an interior designer for over 20 years. She is the creator of the practice of Harmonious Adjustments™.

Trade paperback. 232 pages. $19.95 Cover price. ISBN: 978-0-9779633-1-7 Published by Lingham Press. Available from Amazon and most other booksellers.

Review copies are available from the author. Call Norma Lehmeier Hartie at 1.914.739.8966

Living "Under Construction"

2010-06-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

By Tori Toth, Stylish Stagers, Inc.

As a home stager I love taking on new projects, but as we all know, just as every project is different so is the homeowner. While each are eager to welcome you into their home with open arms, sometimes they don’t realize their life will be disrupted for days, weeks or even months on end. Their home becomes your workspace, so it’s important to consider it as your own living space.

During construction, design or even staging things can get messy. It’s evitable--- drywall dust will be throughout the house, tools will be lying around and furniture will be misplaced, but for how long is up to you. As a home professional, you can help homeowners deal with these disruptions by staying organized:

· Have a set schedule and be on time. Make sure your client approve of start and finish times.

· Stay within budget.

· Make Lists. During a huge project it’s easy to forget the little stuff. ** Carry a small handheld tape recorder. At the end of the day go back listen to your notes and make a list of things to do. **

· Keep an open line of communication. To avoid mistakes and create mutual understanding.

· Work in specific locations. Cluster certain rooms together to work on so the whole house isn’t dysfunctional all at once.

· Clean up after yourself. Clean daily, have a designated spot for supplies and use proper tools to keep areas clean while still working to minimize the spread of construction dust, etc.

In a perfect world homeowners would have another place to stay during the construction or redesign phases; however, in many cases it just isn’t feasible. So, you should also prepare homeowners for what to expect during the process to reduce disruptions.

· It may take longer than you think. Try to provide a rough estimation of how long the job will take. Remind them days may be lost due to rain, materials being late, or things may have to be re-done.

· Privacy disturbed. You and your crew will be throughout the home, in many cases, touching personal belongings to move or store them; this is especially true in home staging.

· It will be loud. While they may realize this, the constant noise can be a burden on sleep patterns, study times or work.

· Dust everywhere. Even if you’re only working in one room, another room close by can get construction dust. The best way to solve this problem is use plastic sheets to cover doorways, cabinets and furniture.

· Plumbing woes. If you are doing a kitchen or a bathroom remodel make sure you tell homeowners when and how long the water will be off. So they can make proper arrangements.

· Put breakable and personal items away. Everything on the property is potentially in harm's way, so have them remove items of value to avoid accidents.

Having homeowners aware of these potential disruptions will make it easier for them to cope with the constant burden of the project during low times when they regret ever starting. While it’s a challenge living with construction, it’s well worth it in the end.

EnergyStar Program Vulnerable to Fraud

2010-06-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Most conscious, but uninformed consumers read EnergyStar labels and trust its 18 years of consumer guides—at least a decade before “green” became fashionable. In an article from the New York Times, a recent government audit says otherwise, calling the program vulnerable to fraud, especially for companies that manufacture refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, water heaters, and air-conditioners. For these products, certification is not performed by a human being; rather, they sometimes need only to check a box. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspection suggest that consumers could be paying more for a label that may not save as much energy as it claims.

The audit tested the certification process by submitting false products instead of testing any of the certified products. A gasoline-powered alarm clock, an “air purifier” that is just an electric space heater with a feather duster, and four invented companies sought—and were approved—a shiny, EnergyStar logo. That same logo registered partners of EnergyStar could download from their Web site and apply it to products that have never been reviewed. It sounds criminal.

In the hullabaloo of energy efficiency and going green, the last thing consumers need is a fraudulent system that is capitalizing on consumer ignorance in this fairly new market. Program officials from the EPA have warned that submitting false information is a crime, hoping that whistle-blowing will push for a stronger certification program. In the meantime, let your energy bills tell the difference.

2010 National Design Awards

2010-06-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Like all great designers, the Design Research Headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts keeps all elements of design in mind. Since the field of study was founded in the 1960s, Design Research aims to incorporate scholarly views with the process of designing in every field. The Design Research Society is credited for establishing a coherency to design disciplines--everything from architecture to fashion.

Inside the headquarters, the frame-less glass walls make the interior the focal point for passersby. Built in 1969, the building's simple and modern design has aged gracefully, meanwhile elucidating transparency of design with transparent windows from floor to ceiling. Today the headquarters is appropriately a retail shop selling design goods atop brick floors flanked with concrete columns and wood slabs.

The U.S. Green Building Council was given the Corporate and Institutional Achievement Award in part for the LEED (Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design) rating system used throughout the nation to make “green building” to just “building,” encouraging design standards to adopt new sustainable practices. The third-party certification program is a nationally recognized benchmark for all green builders. The program operates on a system of points that rate from certification to platinum.

While pursuing ratings by LEED increases the initial cost of design and construction, the amount of energy saved thereafter is expected to exceed expenditure. The program encourages a change in industry for healthier living and working environments and better use of resources. Since buildings consume up to 40 percent of energy in the U.S., this is a large market for initiating green. There are currently about 20,000 members including corporations and government agencies in the USGBC.

PCBC 2010

2010-06-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Pacific Coast Builders Conference held last week at the Moscone Center in San Francisco brought together just under an estimated 11,000 attendees, slightly down from the close to 12,000 from last year.

Though the show has been traditionally held at the Moscone Center since its inception 51 years ago, it will soon change gears and move to San Diego in 2013.

Michael Castillo, communications manager for PCBC, said in a San Francisco Business Times article that many of the conference's exhibitors and attendees are from Southern California and the group wants to try something new.

The annual event attracts industry professionals and features hundreds of exhibiting companies displaying the latest product and service innovations, as well as three days of executive conferences, forums, workshops and speakers. Over the years, the show has brought together such a large crowd that it occupied not only the main Moscone Center but also the Moscone Center West across the street. This year, the show was held at just the main venue.

In a survey conducted among pre-registered attendees, results show that 81 percent plan attend PCBC to stay up-to-date on the latest innovations in the building industry while 75 percent attend to discover products and companies that they might otherwise be unaware. Additionally, 74 percent look for energy-efficient products when scouting the exhibit floor.

The Gold Nugget Award s were also held at the show, honoring those who improve our communities through exceptional concepts in design, planning and development. Stay tuned for the July issue of Builder and Developer which features Gold Nugget Award recipients like grand winner 1Mission and the nominated Roxbury Place, Preserve at Fredericksburg and Bluwater Crossing .

Welcome!

2010-06-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

In keeping with our social media outreach, Builder and Developer has officially logged onto the blogosphere world to give our readers exclusive content and insight not found in our monthly magazines. Here you’ll find posts on a variety of topics, as well as advice and opinions from many industry experts who we’ve recruited as guest bloggers. Stay tuned for what’s to come. In the mean time, don’t forget to join us on Facebook and LinkedIN!