Plastic grocery bags.

A recent editorial in the New Bern Sun Journal says we should just say no to plastic bags when we shop. I agree.

As a board member of our Tri County Regional Solid Waste Authority I consider plastic bags a tremendous challenge to our ability to effectively dispose of waste.

The bags are virtualy impossible to keep contained as garbage transfer vehicles make their way to the landfill resulting in plastic litter scattered throughout the county. The estimated life of a plastic bag is hundreds if not thousands of years. Being lightweight even those that make it to the dump are easily picked up by the wind and distributed to forrest, ditches, streams, and eventually the rivers. I spend a lot of time on the water and see plastic bags floating and partially submerged where ever I go.

Demand paper the next time you shop. The little additional costs is certainly worth it to the enviroment. What say you?

Hey-what are you waiting for?

I have been in this business a long time and believe the next 6 months will be a great time to buy a home, that is if you need one. Interest rates are low and prices are more reasonable than they have been in years.

History has shown that a home is a very sound investment over time. No one knows what prices will do, some say they will continue to drop, others say they have bottomed out. Fact is no one knows, but I would venture to guess that rates have the potential to go up at any time. So if you are in the market don't try try to time the bottom and miss out on attractive interest rates.

New Bern NC comes alive

New Bern NC really comes alive in October. Sure, there is a lot of things going on year around, but October really rocks. The following are just a few things going on as there are to many to mention individually.

• October Fest
• Mum Fest
• Architectural walking tours
• Downeast folkart concert series
• Haunted Evening Historical Drama
• Ghostwalk
• Much activity with the 2 downtown civic theaters
• Free admissions to the Tryon Palace gardens
• African American Historic downtown walking tour.
• Neuse River Bridge Run
• Quilt Show
• Jarman Opry Theatre
• Jazz on the Trent
• North Carolina Symphony
• Chili Fest
• Coastal Carolina Agricultural Fair
• Fall Home Show

With all this hapenning it is no wonder New bern is considered one of the top places to visit in October.

What Style is it?

“What style is my house?” This is a common query from homeowners as they wonder how their home fits into the local architectural landscape. This is, however, a question that can be difficult to answer. Is a house a Victorian, Folk Victorian, National Folk, Vernacular, Queen Anne, Italianate, Second Empire or something else? Answers depend on the eye of the beholder and the ways different people classify houses. Each observer focuses on particular architectural features and creates categories that reflect their own perspectives on style and history. Since such categories are arbitrary as people try to organize disparate things, there often isn’t agreement on which style a house represents.

The Cummins house in Eden Prairie, MN is a good example. The house was built between 1879 and 1880 by John R. Cummins, a prominent farmer and horticulturalist. The house is constructed of Chaska brick, a cream colored brick manufactured in nearby Chaska, MN, in the classic gable and wing form.

Most people would recognize it in a general sense as a Victorian, and they would be correct. But what else can we say about its architectural style? Its listing on the National Register of Historic Places describes it as having both Greek Revival and Italianate features, including wide trim on the gable ends and arched windows.


Segmented arch windows are characteristic of the Italianate just as wide trim boards are common on the gables of Greek Revival homes. So, does this mean the Cummins house is a Italianate/Greek Revival hybrid? Actually, no. Most Italianate brick homes do have arched windows, but not all arched windows are Italianate. The same is true for the trim.


This really gets at the heart of the matter. 19th century houses can be divided broadly into two categories: High Style and Vernacular. High Style homes were designed by trained architects or master builders to suit the tastes of a client and complement a particular setting. These homes are more easily attributed to particular styles such as the Queen Anne or Second Empire. Vernacular homes were designed and built by local tradesmen or the homeowners themselves using simple forms such as the gable and wing or the side-gable. Often using pattern books as a guide, builders incorporated decorative details from High Style examples into their less complicated designs. This was especially common after the arrival of railroads, which allowed the wide distribution mass-produced architectural elements such as brackets, spindles, turned porch posts and barge boards.
Vernacular homes such as the Cummins House are sometimes classified into sub-categories such as Folk, National Style, Folk Victorian or could simply just be called Vernacular. All these terms are common and some observers make the following distinctions between them. Some use the term National Style to describe homes constructed throughout the United States using simple, popular forms such as the gable-front, gable-front and wing, the hall and parlor and the I-house. These homes have little ornament and are quite utilitarian. Builders of Folk Victorian homes utilized these same simple shapes, but decorated them with Victorian detailing found on High Style homes such as the Queen Anne or Italianate. The decoration on these homes is often quite eclectic as the builders used whatever ornament they liked in any manner that suited them. Others use the term Vernacular to refer more broadly to late 19th and early 20th century homes that were inspired by pattern books and were built with machine made, mass produced components (indeed, many later examples were kit homes bought from companies such as Sears or Aladdin). Vernacular homes share shapes and ornament with higher style designs but are as a whole  simpler.

So, what style is the Cummins house? My vote is Folk Victorian.

Getting “PUNCHY” about Great Real Estate Reads

While many people think that a home stager’s job is just to be glorified interior decorators... we actually do much more. So while making a home look good is important, a stager’s job typically begins with a much less glamorous task of putting together a Punch List of repair and maintenance tasks sellers need to complete prior to going to market.

So whether you are a home seller or a real estate blog reader, a Punch Lists can be of great value. These lists simplify, guide and direct us as to where we should focus and invest tour time and efforts. That is why I am calling my top 5 choices the “Punch List of Real Estate Do Reads” submitted for this week’s Carnival of Real Estate.

Making my top 5 list (in no special order) for this week are:

DO READ: “3 Bogus Real Estate Statistics - Know Them or Be Burned By Them” by Joe Manausa at Really Better Real Estate. I gotta admit I enjoyed Joe’s discussion on why he feels the 80/20 Rule, 153 Days is the average market time, and Average Selling Price is 97.3% of List Price are all bunk.

DO READ:  “Every House’s Value is Dropping Except Mine!” by Amy Bohutinsky at the Zillow Blog. Amy, I can only say “from your blog to seller’s ears!” Nice job.

DO READ:  “When Do Schools Start In St. Louis” by Karen Goodman at St. Louis Real Estate Insights. While I don’t live in St. Louis, I gotta admit I found Karen’s post to be quite interesting, and would venture to bet that what Karen notes as a trend in St. Louie takes place all over the country.

DO READ:  “Fannie Mae Adds New Risk-Based Pricing and ‘Adverse Market’ Fees for All Conforming Mortgage Applicants” by Dan Green at The Mortgage Reports. If you have read any of his past posts you know that Dan is as prolific as the title to this post of his is long.  In this post he shares great insight as to why he expects that loan-level pricing adjustments will continue to increase for a 5th and 6th time before 2009.

DO READ:  “How to Sell My House” by Surfer Sam at Surfer Sam Online. With each new day a new seller comes to market. Because this is so, the advice Sam offers never is old. In this post Sam does a nice job breaking get a home sold down to the basics.

I hope find my list of 5 my “to do” list of real estate blogs for this week informative. However, I gotta admit reading through all the posts submitted to the 103rd Edition of the Carnival of Real Estate left me a bit punchy. But I am glad to be a host... cause each week the Carnival points to something that expands my knowledge and understanding to the ever changing, complex and multifaceted world of real estate.

Blog on!
Me

Selling Your Vanilla Box

We all know that the real estate market is in a major slump. Nothing seems to make that grim point more real then when one takes a short drive through any neighborhood. For it is there we see, dotting the front yards of so many homes, a multitude of For Sale signs. But while looking at a sign in a front yard makes a tangible point of reference for what is happening with the sales of single family homes, what is taking place with regard to the condo market is sometimes harder to see. Because often there is no sign, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are many many condominiums for sale too.

In some ways selling a condo is harder then selling a single family home. First, it is not uncommon, especially in larger developments, for one condo in a building to be selling against another condo configured with the exact same floor plan, features and finishes. And, except for slight differences in the exterior façades, it is also not unusual to find one building full of condos to be pretty much the same as another building full of condos in the same neighborhood.

Sellers need to understand that with so many condos to choose from, they all start looking the same to the buyer.  In the buyer’s eye, without much distinguishing one from another, they become just another Vanilla Box.

While there are many configurations of the Vanilla Box, the typical Vanilla Box of today has the door in the rear, sliding patio doors to a balcony in the front, and a kitchen in the middle with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and an island that separates the kitchen space from the open dining/living room area. All are pretty much the same…floor to floor, building to building, neighborhood to neighborhood.

With so many condos being relatively the same, the chance for a sale is quite competitive. Plus, if you are a home seller that is currently living in a Vanilla Box, in a neighborhood that offers similarly priced NEWLY constructed Vanilla Boxes… keep in mind that a shiny new Box is much more appealing to a buyer, than a scuffed, scratched, and worn used Box.

Good news is that the hope for a sale of your Vanilla Box is not a lost cause… for either the independent owner trying to sell their unit, or for the builder trying to sell one or more units. Both, for different reasons, can benefit from hiring an EXPIRIENCED home stager.

Stagers will help individual seller trying to sell their unit in a number of ways. First, they will point out the problem areas that make a used home look used, and then offer low cost ideas and solutions that make the condo feel new. Next, while it is a fact that a furnished property is easier to sell then vacant; sellers need to understand that due to size constraints of the home (typically condos are more compact) furnishings in the condo needs to be set in a way that  they actually help the condo show and flow for touring… and a stager can help here too. Good staging is a balance between adding the right amount of visual appeal, without having the interior décor distract the seller’s eye from the property they are considering buying.

For the builder, a Stager can also be of great service. Who hasn’t been a bit surprised to experience a builder’s empty vanilla white unit after touring their lush and lovely model? For this reason large builders have for years had model properties for buyers to first tour. Today, the opportunity and benefit of having a model unit need not be a selling advantage reserved only for the larger builder. Smaller builders can hire a Stager who can provide low cost, yet beautifully designed staged-model solutions. PLUS, if the builder is selling multiple units in one building, should the staged unit sell, the staged model can be moved from one unit and re-set in the next. The added flexibility of a “rolling” model offers yet more flavor and appeal to the Vanilla Box.

So yes, without a doubt this is a tough market, especially for condo owners. But properties are selling. Fortunately, builders and owners of Vanilla Boxes can change the flavor of their offering from FOR SALE to SOLD… with the help of a Home Stager.

Flavor It Forward...

Me

Tools of the Trades

Wooden hand planes were found in virtually every 19th century tool box. Tradesmen, farmers and amateurs needed at least a few planes to size, true and finish wood stock. Most common were the bench planes that were used to square and finish boards for carpentry, cabinetmaking and joinery. These planes are long and rectangular with handles (called totes) and single cutting irons. This group includes joiners, which were used to true edges and faces of stock, and the shorter fore and jack planes, which removed larger amounts of wood easily and quickly.

Illustrated Catalog and Invoice Price List of Joiners’ Bench Planes,
Moulding Tools, Handles, Planes Irons, &c., Manufactured by the Greenfield
Tool Company. Greenfield: 1872. Reprinted by the Astragal Press.

Also common are molding planes that were used to shape and decorate molding and millwork. These planes were produced in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes and were given esoteric names such as scotia, astragal, ogee or torus bead. Some were quite simple in shape, like the hollows and rounds I used to make the bit of molding in an earlier post. Others were quite complex and were used to make the ornate cornices and architraves in fine Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival homes.

As styles in furniture and architecture changed during the 19th century, so did the types of molding planes. Historians and architects are often able to date furniture and architecture according to the differing styles of molding and decoration. The study of the molding planes is an important means to trace the development of these decorative styles. Following is a short primer on molding planes which shows a few of the many different shapes and profiles used in the 19th century.

The most common molding planes were the hollows and rounds. These planes were often bought in pairs of one hollow and one round of the same size. One plane could be used alone to form a groove or bead or in tandem to make more complex shapes like an S shaped ogee. Cabinet makers and joiners who frequently made molding often bought complete sets of hollows and rounds in graduated sizes. In this photo there are three rounds and one hollow from the #72 series of the Ohio Tool Company and one round from Chapin and Sons.




Also quite common were the various bead planes. Side beads, which cut a rounded profile on the edge of a board, were bought either singly or in graduated sets. Center beads, which cut a rounded bead profile in the middle of a board ,were especially useful for furniture makers. Reeding planes, which cut several parallel beads in the middle of a board were also common. Below are three graduated side beads from the #105 series from the Auburn Tool Company and a #41 center bead from the Ohio Tool Company.



The ogee, which is a gentle S curve, is the most common of complex molding planes. The ogee can have two profiles: The cyma recta, where the concave section is at the bottom of the profile, and the cyma reversa, where the concave section is at the top. Below are three graduated ogees from the Ohio Tool Company. Roman style ogees are, which are characteristic of the Georgian Style, are based on the circle while Grecian ogees are based on the ellipse and usually have quirk defining the inside edge of the top part of moulding.



Following are a few examples of some other complex molding planes. These include (from left to right) an ogee sash plane for making window sashes and muntins, a Grecian ogee, a simple cyma recta, an ovolo, a Grecian ogee with quirk and fillet and last a gothic bead.