U r b a n T r e k k e r

Building Green Straw Bales

Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. It is commonly used in natural building. It has advantages over some conventional building systems because of its cost, easy availability, and its high insulation value.

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• Straw Insulation for the Home (greenbuildingelements.com)

Arlington Farmers Markets

 

Arlington has five farmers market that covers the whole county. The markets open at different schedule. The biggest and most popular is the one located in Courthouse. This is the place where politicians rub elbows with their voters during election year. This year, happens to be election year in Virginia (I know Virginia is the one state that has election every year!) for state and local officials.

The five farmers markets:

1. Arlington Farmers Market Courthouse
Located across the street from the Courthouse at intersection of N. Courthouse Road and N. 14th St. Open every Saturday from 8am to 12pm on regular season (mid April through end of December). And from 9am to noon in winter (January to mid April). You'll find more than 30 vendors serving the market. Vendors include Atwater Breads that sells organic, hand shape, heart baked breads. Full list of vendors here. You can also the type of vegetables in season here.

2. Ballston Farmers Market
The market is located at Welburn Square at N. 9th and Stuart Streets. Open Fridays from the 29th of May to October 13 from 11am to 3pm. There are 12 vendors serving the market. Vendors include Baguette Republic, like the name implies make baguettes, boules, challah, focacia and rolls. Full list of participants here.

3. Columbia Pike Farmers Market
It's located at Pike Park in front of Rite Aid store at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed. St. There are 19 vendors serving the market. Vendors include Virginia Chocolate Company from Falls Church that sells chocolate truffles and candy. Full list of vendors here.

4. Clarendon Farmers Market
You don't have to go that far. It's at Clarendon metro station. Open every Wednesday with seasonal hours: May through October 12-7pm and November through April 2-7pm. Perfect time to catch commuters. The place is small, so you'll find only few vendors here peddling organic produce, baked goods, plants, herbs, homemade soaps, and other items.

5. Rosslyn Farmers Market
Every Thursday from May 14 to October 22. Seasonal hours 11:45am to 3pm.  Located between Wilson Boulevard and N. Oak Street. Five vendors selling their produce here from pastries to fresh fruits, vegetable, gourmet tea, and herbs. Full list of vendors here.

So eat local. Shop local. It keeps the local economy going..

Arlington New Limit for First-time Buyers Up to Par with HUD

Image via Wikipedia

Arlington County Board approved to increase the limit for low and moderate income first-time buyers yesterday, via Arlington.

The new limit provides up to 25% of the purchase price, up to the federal Housing and Urban Development purchase price limit of $362,790. The maximum loan under the program would be $90,700. The County estimates that most loans will be in the $50,000 to $70,000 range.

--
Under the new program, a family of three with an income of about $62,000, armed with a second trust MIPAP loan at 25% of the purchase price, or $73,000, could buy a $292,000 home.

The new limit isn't something to sneeze at. However, under current market conditions, buyers might find "something," especially in neighborhoods laden with foreclosure and short-sale. This a good way to clean up distressed properties supplies and improve the quality of live in Arlington's neighborhoods.

Under Arlington County "shared appreciation" model, it encourages the homeowners to refinance the house as soon as possible. Because when a homeowner refinances, loan have to be repaid. So, the upside is homeowner can keep the house free-and-clear from county's involvement.

If a homeowner buys at the bottom of the market, this is good deal. On the other hand, if an owner buys at the peak, it can be a challenge to refinance it.

For more details about the program here.

Columbia Pike Streetcar and Baileys Crossroads Prelim. Study

Information gathered via Fairfax County Planning and Zoning  department on preliminary concept for Baileys Crossroads redevelopment is linked with the coming of Columbia Pike streetcar project in Arlington. The streetcar terminus at South Jefferson Street in Fairfax county. Essentially this streetcar connects Pentagon (Arlington) and Baileys Crossroads/ Skyline area in Fairfax.

Closer look at the proposed route for Columbia Pike streetcar.

At the end of Arlington route at Columbia Pike, street car continues up almost to the end of South Jefferson Street which is essentially border with Skyline.

This map shows proposed area of redevelopment on Fairfax's side.

Basically, the county agrees with most of the recommendation made by Urban Land Institute plus county's own proposed concentration of highest density within 1/8 mi. of the streetcar stops, pedestrian connection, and exploring various configurations for the streetcar operations facility.

There are 2 final concepts on the table for Baileys redevelopment:

1. Town Center

Proposed planning study includes reconfiguration of land use to include mixed-use (4 to 10 floors), residential and neighborhood retail types, townhomes, small apartments, big box retailers, industrial flex (warehouse?), open space and civic place. It's a more compact density for residential.

For larger view, click here.

2. Transit Oriented Development

A little bit different than above, larger lot set aside for street cars operation (6 acres) with parks vs. open space (above) and lower residential density.

For larger view here.

More details here..

This House Comes With Free Job Loss Protection..

The other day, I run into this house around my area, that have this sign..

The job loss protection insurance, all it is: is a mortgage unemployment insurance. It's an insurance product. According to MSNBC, major builders from Lennar, Pulte, Ryland, Toll Brothers - have offered this kind of protection.

Some things that you need to know, via Seattle Times.

• Though there's no direct cost to the buyer, that doesn't mean it hasn't been tacked on subtly somewhere in the deal — possibly in the price from the seller or builder.

• There are key exclusions and coverage limits. For instance, the Rainy Day program doesn't kick in for two months after closing. Self-employed persons, independent contractors and active military members are not eligible. There's a 30-day waiting period after you lose your job before the first insurance payment is made.

• The Toll Brothers plan is available only to buyers who use the company's affiliated lender, TBI Mortgage. Consumers who know of a forthcoming layoff or "any impending job loss" are ineligible.

More after the jump..

Cobweb is First Indicator of Leakage..

That's right, according to this video below. So, whenever you see cobweb on your attic that should alert you.

Over at Green Light, they questioned if one day utilities will retrofit your home for free? I am skeptical about that idea. Because someone complained to me this morning about how much they spend monthly on utilities. Their house is of a decent size (3,000 s.f.), not one of  McMansions kinda house. But, according to this client, they spent on average $1,000 a month!

Now, you think utilities will sacrifice their cash cow for free? That will be great if they do.

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Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Home Sales Springing

Spring buying season typically starts in February, and the resulting increase in demand traditionally causes prices to strengthen, and that’s exactly what happened this February as transaction counts increased month-over-month in 22 of the nation’s 25 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) tracked byRadar Logic. Home prices also improved in nine MSAs, compared to just six MSAs in February 2008.

Home price index up 0.7% in Feb.; foreclosures hit 4 states hardest
Prices of single-family homes rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in February from January but were down 6.5% from a year earlier, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Wednesday.

Foreclosures' influence on appraisals
Q: I want to get my home appraised but there have been only foreclosures and short sales lately in my neighborhood. I can't see how an appraiser can produce enough "comps" to accurately determine my home's true market value. What are your thoughts?
-- William P.

Existing-home sales fall 3% in March
Sales are down 7.1% in the past year, the National Association of Realtors said in its monthly report. The sales pace in March was the third lowest of this cycle.

Going Green in the Kitchen and Bath by Reusing
Clients are often worried about staying within their budget when creating a customhouse plan that is green, and the kitchen and baths can often be the biggest budget busters.

As More Homes Fall Underwater, Trapped Americans Cannot Migrate
Not that we have a robust job market, but one of the trends for many years has been the ability of Americans to easily move across the country when need be as certain geographies went into state or regional recessions while others held up.

Option ARM Loans Turn into Nightmares
Entrepreneur Michael Bissell worries about losing his business, his house, or both. His 10-year-old Web design firm in Portland, Ore., is struggling as customers fall behind on their bills.

101 Kitchen Design
No matter how cozy your living room or den, the kitchen is usually the heart of a home. Whether you use yours to reenact Iron Chef or simply to zap a TV dinner, you'll find helpful how-tos and insightful predictions in this month's kitchen design primer.

ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM AROUND METRO DC REGION

• Virginia adopts innovative smart street rules [Switchboard]
• Dulles Line Won't Be Finished Until 2016 [Washington Post]
• Fenty announces Smartbike Super-Expansion [WashCycle]
• Capitol Quarter Workforce Lottery: First Settlements [JDLand]
• EPA Towers Face Uncertain Future [SWDC]
• Hybrids pay half to park on Friday [Wash BizJournal]
• The 18th Century Puzzle [Washington Home & Garden]
• How to Deal with Your Empty, Bum-Attracting Neighborhood School [Housing Complex]
• Here Comes the Neighborhood [Herndon Connection]
• Business Community Trumps Localities in Tax Tussle [Sun Gazette]
• County Officials to Revamp Home-Purchase-Assistance Program [Arlington Gazette]

At Least One Builder is Doing It..

According to Eco-Home, K Hovnanian builds a concept high performance home in one of their communities, Eagles Pointe in Woodbridge, VA. They call this project "Building America Concept Home" as a result of its partnership with Department of Energy's Building America research initiative.

Via Eco-Home.

The house starts with all of the features of the High Performance Home (HPH), Hovnanian’s standard in its Mid-Atlantic markets. The HPH standard, which the builder implemented over the past year without raising prices, includes improvements such as a 90% AFUE furnace, a 14-SEER heat pump for the second zone, sealed ductwork, supplemental spray-foam insulation at critical areas, optimized framing, and advanced drainage planes. The dwelling is 32% more efficient than the DOE benchmark for new homes, and Hovnanian estimates that it saves $1,659 per year in energy costs.

You can read more about the concept house here. 

A complete list of Building America project locations, part of DOE initiatives, here.

McLean Tops Affluent Community in U.S.: BizJournal

 A new study by Biz Journal ranks McLean, Virginia as the top wealth center in the nation. The ranking is based on 10-part formula to analyze what they called 'the relative affluence' of 2,065 cities across the U.S. Of the 10 part formula, McLean excels in 8 of 10.

McLean's median household income of $156,292 is more than triple the national median of $50,007. (A median is a midpoint, with half of all incomes higher, and half lower.) Thirty-six percent of its households have annual incomes above $200,000, nearly 10 times the U.S. rate of 3.7 percent. And 79 percent of its adults hold bachelor's degrees, compared to 27 percent nationwide.

I am kinda surprise to see McLean in the top ranking of affluence community! I thought Connecticut, NYC would easily slide in to take the title. The prices of houses around here -some of them- far from the million dollar range. Potomac, MD is another burb in DC region that gets to the top 10 communities.

Here's the Top 10 'wealth centers' in the U.S.:

1. McLean, VA
2. Lake Forest, IL
3. Saratoga, CA
4. Potomac, MD
5. Darien, CT
6. Westport, CT
7. Garden City, NY
8. Mountain Brook, AL
9. Los Altos, CA
10. La Canada Flintridge, CA

Notice there are more communities in California? Think California is the state with more affluence communities.

Complete list of 250 affluence communities here.

Poisoned Waters: Frontline

Happy Earth Day!

I watched this fascinating documentary on PBS last night.  There's a part in this documentary film that takes us to Arlington and Fairfax counties, where Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists interviews smart growth expert, county executive about land-use planning.

The biggest problem in major cities is the storm water runoff, via Frontline.

Smith reveals that some of today's greatest pollution threats stem from urban sprawl and overdevelopment, as new housing and commercial developments send contaminated stormwater into rivers and bays, polluting local drinking-water supplies.

It's a wake up call for everybody. View the full program here. (If you have problem viewing, here is the link to the site.)