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

Growing Greener Schools

I'm going to attend the premiere of "Growing Greener Schools," tonight at the first LEED certified hotel in Maryland. As I'm preparing to educate myself about the program - since I'm going to interview them for my other blog: EcoTwist - went to read more about the initiative. 

Why do we care about greening the schools?

There are over 115,000 K-12 schools in the United States. One in five Americans — 55 million students, teachers, administrators, nurses and janitors — spend five days a week at school.  And billions in tax dollars go to building, maintaining, and operating school facilities.  Every future leader and environmental steward of tomorrow is growing up in a K-12 school. Yet ironically, American schools have become models of un-sustainability and significant contributors to our society’s broader environmental and public health problems.

[via Growing Greener Schools]

That is very striking statistics there.

Here's an example of how one local school initiated the change. The teachers didn't know anything about green, but they want to do something about it. Watch how Riverdale Baptist Middle School in Maryland decided to go green. BTW, the film will be on PBS, so check your local schedule.

Are We There Yet? DC's Transportation Blueprint

This show is part of PBS' Blueprint America series about U.S. infrastructure, where Kojo Nnamdi hosts a panel of transportation experts to talk about the metro Washington DC transportation blueprint and where's taking us. The first 5 minutes or so is the most important part of the whole discussions. It lays out all kinds of transportation projects each jurisdiction - District of Columbia, Maryland, Baltimore, and Virginia - are working on. (yours truly was among the audience.)

“Its not about getting people from point A to point B, but more about building better communities,” said Robert Thomson aka “Dr. Gridlock” of The Washington Post, one of three guests panelists along with Ron Kirby, Director of Transportation for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; and Alice M. Rivlin, Senior Fellow and Director of the Greater Washington Research at the Brookings Institute. [via Blueprint America]

Building better communities, that's the challenges we have...

Are We There Yet? D.C.'s Transportation Blueprint from WHUT-TV on Vimeo.

Are We There Yet, D.C.'s Transportation Blueprint (2) from WHUT-TV on Vimeo.

Going Green? Here are the 10 Tax Breaks for 2010

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Looking to fix up your house? Here are the 10 tax breaks for going green, via Forbes.

1. If you fix up your house. $1,500 off your tax bill - a 30% credit for the first $5,000 you spend in 2009 or 2010 for improvements to your house energy efficiency. (for further reading: Energy Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits)
2. Buy a new refrigerator. States are rolling out $300 million worth of rebates for home owners who replaced their clunker apps with new energy-efficient models. (check out Department of Energy approved Energy Efficiency Rebates)
3. Get hot water from the sun. Solar hot water system to heat your shower or radiators (not hot tub or pool) qualify for a 30% federal credit with no dollar cap. 
4. Install a solar energy system. Uncle Sam will give you a tax credit equal to 30% of the price of a solar system you install to generate electricity in your home. For a $60,000 system, that's a whopping $18,000 off your taxes.
5. Take the bus. Bus, train, subway, and van-pool commuters can now get equal tax benefits with those who drive solo to work an pay to park. (up to pre-tax $230 for employers sponsor plans).
6. Buy a Ford hybrid. Taxpayers stuck paying the AMT can finally claim the credit for hybrid cars purchased in 2009 or 2010, but only if they buy Ford motor hybrids. (FYI: Honda and Toyota no longer qualify). Check out Alliance to Save Energy for Vehicle Tax Credits for more info.
7. Plug In a Chevy Volt... slated later for showrooms in November with projected price of $40,000, qualifies for federal tax credit of $7,500. Nissan Leaf coming out in December, should also qualify for the credit.
8. Bike to work. A new law lets your employer reimburse you $20 a month for bicyle commuting as tax-free fringe benefits. Can't take both with train, it's one of the other.
9. Dig for heat. Uncle Sam will give you a tax credit for 30% of the cost of geothermal heat pump system that feeds off the warmth in the ground to heat your home.
10. Put a windmill in your yard. A basic residential windmill runs $40,000, but you can get a federal tax credit equal to a full 30% of your windmill cost.

More on tax tips "How to Save Money on Going Green" and watch video on 'Tax Tips for 2010.'

For further reading you can check out few sites:

• Alliance to Save Energy: Energy Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits 
• Energy Savers Rebates, Tax Credits, Financing: Approved Energy Efficient Appliance Rebates
• Virginia Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
• Maryland: Residential Incentives and FY 2010 Comprehensive Program Guide
• Green DC: Energy Star Appliance Rebates
• DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

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2010-2011 Projection: Washington DC Home Prices +1.84%

You know that all real estate is local. This is the local forecast for our market for 2010-2011. According to data recently released by First American Core Logic, home prices for Washington DC- Arlington- Alexandria including sale of distressed homes (foreclosures & short sales), would increase by 1.84%.

  

[via First American Core Logic]

The price outlook for across the US, "..the Home Index Price (HPI) for the year will continue to go down well into the spring before beginning to stabilize and then recover modestly in the remainder for the year."

If you're selling, you should feel much better now because the prices started to pick up again - locally.

Market pulse for Northern Virginia as of February 2010, via MRIS.

• Condo sales grew 12%
• Single family, townhouse showed slower activity
• Good news for sellers: Northern Virginia home prices up 20% from a year ago from $267,500 to $320,660. Compare that to 2008-2009 period where 2009 Feb prices was down -26.7% at $267,500 from previous year at $365,000.

For DC, Maryland suburbs, February sales 2010,  it's a mixed bag.

• Number of homes sold up 35.8% for the month, from 1,573 to 2,136 homes. On the longer track, it wasn't as strong as 2007 sales.
• Sales of lower home prices pulled the sales price down to $270,000 from $287,000 a year ago. 2009 prices were down -22.4% from a year earlier.

Incentives work. Overall for DC metro area, the perfect buying conditions come from: federal tax credit for buyers, low interest rates and low prices.

The one thing that could continue to drive prices up is this: low inventory of homes.

Double Dip Price Decline?

Image via Wikipedia

This is FHA saying.

An increase in down payments to 5%, from the current minimum 3.5%, would limit new FHA-backed loans by 40%, equivalent to 300,000 fewer home sales, according to testimony that FHA Commissioner David Stevens is set to deliver on Thursday.

[via Developments]

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The Big Problem with Short Sales

Memo to buyers: be patient, if you're buying a short-sales.

A short sales required third-party approval, that is the lender/s holding the loan/s will have to get on board on your purchase. Sometimes they dance with you. Sometimes they don't. No quick closing.

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DC Area Still Good for Business

Image via Wikipedia

That said, restaurants, groceries and electronic retailers interested in the area for potential expansion. The line up includes Fresh Market, Wakefern Food Corp., Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza, HhGregg, Burger Joint, and more. More business moving into the area or looking for expansion, good for the local economy.

$300 Million Cash for Appliances, $12+ Mill. for DC, MD, VA

If you are in the market for new'energy efficient' appliances, check this out. The Department of Energy recently allocated $300 million for cash for its Energy Star rated appliances. The funding is part of the Recovery package.

The states that already have the program in place, via Christian Science Monitor.

The program will start in several states over the next few months, with New York State’s program kicking off Friday. Eight states – Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin – have already launched their programs. Other states will launch in coming months, many around Earth Day in April.

What's in the bag for the Greater Washington DC.

• District of Columbia receives $568,000. Program expected to start in April 2010.
• Maryland receives $5,405,000. Rebates expected to start in March 2010.
• Virginia receives $7,445,000. Program expected to start in April 2010.

 
 

Links to the states rebate program websites: DC rebate, Maryland rebate program, VIrginia rebate program.

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January 2010: 6 States Account for Nearly 60% of National Total

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The report on RealtyTrac showed that these states - California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and Nevada - together holds nearly 60 percent of the national total foreclosures. One in every 409 households in the US received foreclosure filing in January. Foreclosure filings are default  notices, scheduled auctions and bank  repossessions.

Dig in deeper month-to-month. Eventhough Washington DC foreclosure filings up 12.28 percent it is  -7.25 percent below January 2009. One in every 1,486 households received foreclosure notices. Virginia (the whole state) foreclosure filings up 14 percent, but it's -2.42 percent below last year. One in every 631 received filing. Maryland's (the state) foreclosure filings dip 22.8 percent while still 41 percent above last year.

Read full story here.

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Ice Dams can Damage Your Roofs.. and More

Since we're still in the storm mode (at least for the time being), you might want to pay attention to those ice dams. Because of the heavy loads, it can potentially damaged your roofs, especially if you live in a Dutch Colonial homes. 

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas. Figure 1 shows a cross section of a home with an ice dam.

Figure 1. Cross section of a one-and-a-half story house with an ice dam.

Via University of Minnesota Extension. 

  

Giant hanging icicles hanging from the eave is an indication of poorly insulated attic with many attic bypasses. So that means, adding insulation in the attic would help remedy this. As a bonus, attic insulation can also help reduce your energy bills.

From Don Lipman, Capital Weather Gang writer (who have lived in Dutch Colonial home for many years), this advice comes handy. "After a storm like the one we just had, the best thing you can do, if at all possible without risking injury, is to remove the snow from the dormers. In general, it's best to limit snow and ice build-up on every roof because, to some extent, they're all vulnerable, particularly the flatter ones and those with more than one layer of shingles."