Luxury Clues

Not the "Enlightenment" You Want in Your Neighborhood

Last week we had a line of thunderstorms that formed to the West of us. I was leaving for a doctor's appointment just as the storm hit. The line was one of the blackest and strangest grouping of clouds that I have seen. When the storm hit, it looked like it was nightime. The rain dumped about two inches in less than 30 minutes.

When I returned home, the sun was out and so were five firetrucks. Just two doors up the street, lightening had struck the front of our neighbor's house. They were at home with their three kids and four dogs when it struck. Although the strike started a small fire in the attic, they were able to put it out before the fire department arrived.

I'm normally fascinated by thunderstorms. We take the normal precautions and unplug most of our electronics when we see them moving in our direction. Nevertheless, a direct strike to your house can literally fry the electronics and systems throughout the house. In fact, our next door neighbors, who were not hit, didn't have phone service for four days due to the lightning strike. All the warnings about how dangerous lightning is really took on a much deeper meaning for me.

I searched online about lightning rods. Surprisingly, unless they are correct installed, they can actually cause more damage to your home than not having any protection.

If you or your clients are building a new home, the position of your lot is important. We are in a hillside area with great views. We passed on the four lots at the very top of the hill because of our concern about lightning. While that doesn't guarantee you won't have a strike, nevertheless, it does reduce the probability somewhat.

One other important point about this issue. It is absolutely critical that your entire electrical system is checked out thoroughly by someone who does not work for the insurance company. The same is true if there has been flooding or any other type of damage to your property or to that of a client. Don't count on the insurance adjuster or their contractors to give you what you are probably entitled to receive. Hire your own inspectors--the safety of your family depends upon it. 

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.ListenandLearnRealEstate.com, your #1 source for the best real estate sales training on audio CD training available 24-7. If you're ready to make more money in your real estate sales business, visit www.RealEstateCoach.com to learn how.

Photo by chdwckvnstrsslhm

Opening Glass Walls--Innovative Design Brings Outside In

One of the coolest new trends is to make your outside living areas into separate rooms. The new moving glass walls from Nanawall are one of the most innovative ways to create a special area that you can use all year long, regardless of the weather.

Their technology offers a variety of products. Some of the most innovative, of which, are moveable glass walls that can actually be placed in different configurations to create different room shapes. Their website is definitely worth checking out, especially for your clients who may be building a custom luxury home or doing a custom remodel.

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.RealEstateCoach.com, the Place You Go to Make Real Estate Dough (TM)--get the best real estate training in the real estate business

Slip and Slide Showers

When you walk through model homes, you can pretty much count on seeing either marble or porcelain tile in the shower. Inexpensive homes use a polyurethane or some other plastic base for the shower pan. These can be a headache in terms of cleaning. They also scratch easily. The only way to  avoid having a slippery surface is to put a rubber mat or some non-stick strips on the shower floor.

Recently, the trend is to use smaller mosaic tiles on the floor of showers. I've noticed this pattern in a number of high end hotels that have been remodeled or built recently. I bumped into this in the Mandarin Oriental in Miami as well as a few days ago at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas. The small tiles create an uneven surface that decreases the probability of slipping. The problem is they hurt your feet! This may be a ploy to save water, but standing on them was downright uncomfortable.

The other option is to use an 8 inch or larger tile. The only challenge with these is that they can be  extremely slippery. Cleaning the shower enclosure with a product like Clean Shower causes the tiles to become slick. You can also create the same challenge by using a soap that has an oil or moisturizing base. You compound the problem if you have a water softener.

Before having your buyers write an offer on a new home or before they pick out the tile that they want, have them step on to the surface of the shower. Is it too uncomfortable? Are they willing to risk a fall with a larger tile? Would a different design provide them with more safety?

Have a discussion with them ahead time to avoid slips and falls after you close.

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.RealEstateCoach.com The Place You Go to Make Real Estate Dough(TM)

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale and SoxyLady

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A Different Type of Bath Tub

Have you ever noticed how the faucet in virtually every bath tub gets in the way when you want to relax back into the tub or to climb out? This is even more of an issue when there are kids playing in the tub or someone who is a tad too long or wide for the tub.

When we were at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas last week, they had an interesting approach to this issue. Clearly their tubs were designed for two people. Instead of the traditional faucet, however, they had a sleek, smooth opening for the water that was built right into the tub. This is undoubtedly safer and also provides a clean, polished look. If you happen to know who manufactures these tubs, please let us know in the comments section. This could be especially useful for people who are building, have health issues, or are concerned about their family's safety.

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.RealEstateCoach.com --the Place to Go to Make Real Estate Dough (TM) If you want the best training in the business, 24-7 on your computer, visit our www.ListenandLearnRealEstate.com program that has over 50 training sessions, all for less than a dollar a day.

Photo by Byron Van Arsdale

Stairway to Heaven

One of the most interesting aspects of watching the construction of a new home is to see how they build the staircase.

One of the decisions the owner has to make is what kind of finish they want on the banisters, what materials, and if they select wood, do they want natural wood, white paint, or some combination.

Here are the photos of what they have done so far. When this staircase is finished, it should be quite beautiful. Click on the photos to see the larger image.

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.RealEstateCoach.com, the place you go to make Real Estate Dough.

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale

Custom Building Series: Throwing Mud on the Walls

Talk about a tough job--this is it. Imagine spending all day on top of a roof putting the stucco on the walls. The roof in this particular photo of House #1 has a very steep pitch. A steeply pitched roof is great for rain and snow run off. The moisture/snow does not accumulate as quickly.

On the other hand, it takes strong nerves to do this work. We caught this photo right after the bucket of water they were using to work with fell down the roof.

Some items to note include the wood slats. These allow the workers to climb up and down the roof without a ladder. Underneath the slats you will note that there is additional roofing material covering the shingles. This protects the shingles while the workers are putting up the stucco. Also note that one man has the stucco and puts it on the walls. His partner then smoothes it out. You can see the stucco sitting between the two men on a platform.

While the two men were doing the garage, a third man built a scaffold and began the job of putting the stucco on the chimney. This was truly working with out a net. He's about 50 feet above the yard with a steep drop off in the back.

Both of the houses that we are following will be using a combination of brick and stucco. The areas of the house that will have brick are wrapped in Dow Styrofoam Weathermate. This wrapping serves as an excellent insulator. Also, it eliminates most problems with mold since mold lives on paper wrap, not on styrofoam.

Posted by Bernice Ross

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale

Wrapping, Windows, and Roofing

Lots of activity this week while we were away in Bermuda. Both houses have been wrapped and the roofs have been built. During this process the builders will put down tar paper before the install the shingles. This is an extra moisture barrier to protect the structure from wind blown rains.

In this subdivision, the HOA requires houses in this area to have composition  shingles. Composition shingles usually have about a 20 year life span. The life span, however, is contingent upon the pitch (steepness) of the roof. The steeper the roof, the greater the life span since the water runs off more quickly. I once had a listing in L.A. on a house that had a 75 year old slate roof with copper gutters. The roof was still water tight, but it also had a very steep pitch. In contrast, my new home that had some flat areas on the roof was repeatedly repaired for roof leaks.

Cal shake (Cement tile) and the more traditional tiles are fire resistant and better choices for places where fires are an issue. Composition shingles and shake shingles are more likely to burn. The challenge here in Texas is that we often have hail. Tiles that do well in Florida or California are often seriously damaged by hail. The Cal Shake tiles (cement) handle the hail well. The only challenge is that the framing and foundation can cost $25,000 to $100,000 more to strengthen the structure to carry the extra weight.

This week we're shifting to the interior of the houses. House 2 has more interesting things going on with the interior, so we will be concentrating on that property. The photo on the left shows the fireplace as well as the flu. This week they framed the stairwell as well beginning the framing for the master tub.

Some other points to note are that the windows are in (look for the big "TEMP" sticker that tells you that the windows are made of tempered glass which resists shattering. You can also see the wrapping that the builder uses for insulation and to also form a moisture barrier between the walls. Rather than using paper, which mold devours, the styrofoam performs the same function without providing a place for mold to grow.

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale and Bernice Ross

Posted by Bernice Ross, Tired of all the Negative Press? Join our FREE Positive News for Positive Realtors podcast program and get the good news you need to motivate your clients to BUY NOW.

Framing a House in a Single Morning

Yesterday I did a post on the first part of the framing process. Again, what is amazing is that the framers completed this job in just a few hours. Here is the balance of the pictures from that morning.

In this picture, you can see how the second floor is built. One thing unusual about this particular builder is that their upstairs floors have good noise insulation. This comes partially from the way they framed the flooring. You can see that there are two different levels to the second floor and that there is about 6 inches of airspace between the two levels.

In the photo on the right, you can see the beginning of the framing for the second floor as well as the beginning of the roof.

In the next photo to the left, you can see the framing process a little later in the morning. The three car garage is in the lower right hand area of the photo.

This part of the building process usually goes quite quickly as you can see. Watch for next week's post that shows what is taking place in the interior portions of the property, including how they build out the staircase.

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale

Posted by Bernice Ross, Tired of all the Negative Press? Join our FREE Positive News for Positive Realtors podcast program and get the good news you need to motivate your clients to BUY NOW.

Framing a House--a Morning of Work

I was really startled when I watched the framers put up the framing for House 1 in a single morning. It was pretty amazing. The pictures below show various parts of the process. The steps are described by each photo.

In this photo, you can see the rebar sticking out of the foundation. The rebar is what provides strength for the concrete foundation. You can also see how thick the foundation. The blue pipe with the green wrapping on it is either a gas, electric, or water line. One the foundation is poured, you have to work around these are, since it's extremely expensive to dig into the foundation and repour it again. This also would disturb the structural integrity of the structure.

In the photo on the right, you can see the two separate pours for the foundation. The builder told me that the substance they put down that looked like sand, was really a special building substance that can be formed so it supports the foundation as well as the pipes and the other utilities. They do the first pour, lay out the conduits and pipes, and then they do the second pour which is the final foundation.

In the picture on the left, you can see how quickly they can begin to frame the house. The entire framing process took only a few hours.

In the fourth picture on the right, you can see the continuation of this process.

The fifth picture on the left, shows the beginning of the framing for the second story of the house. You can see the extra reinforcement for the floor of the second level. You can also see where the picture window will be on the far right edge of the photo. (Click on the pictures to see more detail)

Look for Part 2 tomorrow.

Posted by Bernice Ross, Join www.ListenandLearnRealEstate.com and get the best tips, real estate strategies, real estate sales training, and real estate coaching, all for pennies a day.

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale

Forms and Foundations: A Surprisingly Quick Process

While it took almost two weeks for Houses 1 and 2 to have their forms constructed for the foundation, I watched in amazement as they poured the second part of the foundation for the first house in just 90 minutes. The workers allowed it to dry somewhat, but then went to work smoothing out and shaping the concrete itself. I think this is one case where the pictures speak more clearly than my words ever would.

Posted by Bernice Ross (Remember to click on photos for a larger image.)

1.  Concrete trucks pull up to begin pouring process

2.  Pipes and layout of rooms are visible in picture 2

3.  Foundation is partially poured for House 1. Forms are still visible.

4.  House 2 poured the second part of the foundation in just 90 minutes

5. Worker smoothing out concrete after it has cured for about one hour.

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale