Active Properties

If you are considering puurchasing an energy-efficient product or renewable energy system for your home, you may be eligible for a federal tax credit. This link    http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index                                                              will provide an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency. 

Energy efficiency includes the following categories.  Be sure to access the links provided.

Key in the article are the following line items that are included in the tax credit:

Tax Credit: 30% of cost up to $1,500

Expires: December 31, 2010

Details: Must be an existing home & your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify.

Biomass Stoves
Heat, Ventilating, Air Conditioning – HVAC
Insulation
Roofs
Water Heaters
Window & Doors

Tax Credit:  30% of cost with no upper limit

Expires:  December 31, 2016

Details:  Existing homes & new construction qualify. Both principal residences and second homes qualify. Rentals do not qualify.

Geothermal Heat Pumps
Small Wind Turbines (Residential)
Solar Energy Systems

The  article: http://www.alternativeenergyhq.com/solar-energy-for-home-improvement.php   goes into depth on application of Solar Energy and Home Improvement.  Beyond the listed  5) line items (copied below) are to consider for investing in solar, there is also a comment section and blog that can provide a forum to gain specific questions posted for review/reply.

To decide if solar energy is right for you, take some basic figures into suggestion (again, read below), and this is for a residence, not a mass array PV collection system located in the Mojave Desert.

1) verify your energy consumption. You require to know how big a system you will require to power your home. be sure you consider your highest consumption levels and the opportunity that it will grow somewhat.

2) understand how much a photovoltaic system to meet your require will cost you. The size will depend both on your energy require and on the accessible sunlight (solar resource) in your field. 

3) understand what rebates and incentives are accessible to you to help reduce your bills.

 4) Consider whether your system will be on the grid or off. On the grid has the advantage that you can sell when you have an excess and purchase electricity when you do not have enough, while with an off the grid system you have a battery to store your excess.

 5) Consider what the environmental advantages are worth to you. This is a personal factor rather than an instantaneous economic one. It won’t save you cash, but knowing that you’re cooperating a little less to pollution might transform how you feel about the expense.

Choosing to use solar power in your home is an investment you can appreciate in most levels. Over a couple of years it will save you cash as you produce environmentally friendly energy. is by no means cheap to get on it, but when you combine the environmental advantages with decreasing your reliance on fuel bills you can definitely appreciate the possibilities. 

Energy Tags: energy resources, alternative energy

Ray Alcorn details the top 5 mistakes that is a good exercise to read, but perhaps not in the domain of “experienced” investors.  The mistakes include:  Lack of market knowledge – Lousy due diligence - Bad math – Over-leverage - No plan, and the article give further expansion on this line items.  The article may be viewed at:  http://www.creonline.com/articles/art-319.html

Norm Fisher provides an article that details resale returns.  Norm poses some good questions that each individual property owner will have to determine per their property status.  Good reading for this topic can be located at: http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/author/normfisher/resalereturn.html  Article is reprinted from: Norm Fisher’s Saskatoon Real Estate Resource Center… 

reviewing Norm’s resale % list (below), it is interesting to view ranking of swimming pools.  Reminds me to add that this may not be the case in Colorado.

Clean out the entry closet and put only a few hangers so that the buyer can visualize winter coats

Consider lighting up the fireplace during the colder months

Hang artwork on the walls

Adding a swimming pool, Italian marble in the guest bath, new windows, remodeled kitchen, updated deck + hot tub are just a sample of what people do in upgrading and improving their property.    Are these wise investments, which ones are, other improvements are not.  Plus the suggestion in the article: “And keep in mind that the longer you hold on to your home after a remodeling project is completed, the less likely you are to recoup its value.” 

Full article can be accessed at:  http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/which-home-improvements-pay-off/

Don’t forget about the basics:  fresh paint, updated plumbing and electrical, clean and declutter, and even a manicured lawn.

First stop in understanding landscaping was to read David Beaulieu article ‘Home Landscaping Ideas, and the Real Estate Market’: http://landscaping.about.com/cs/designexamples1/a/home_landscape.htm    This is a very detailed article from lawns, to tree types, to added value to the property.  Additional links go to landscaping ideas.   A good initial question when looking at the bucks to sink into landscaping:  “How long do I plan to live in this property?”

Fabulous article by Brad Feld – highlighting Heidi Roizen ’s key elements that investors are aware of or should be aware of when it comes to the CEO of a company.  You will  find the link in this article for the specific details, but I just had to cut/paste Heidi’s list on key clues that the CEO must go.  Please link to Brad’s article for all the details in context, and additional information.

http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2005/09/signs-that-a-board-should-consider-replacing-the-ceo.html

1. I never hear from the CEO (other than at board meetings) except after I initiate the contact (or worse, when he does not respond even when I send an email or leave voicemail (i.e. avoids responding to me.))
2. All communications from the CEO are “sales pitches”. If the news is all good, I know something is wrong. If all communications are “presentations” (instead of interactions), something is wrong. The corollary to this is when any bad news comes to me from a back channel (i.e. a customer, another board member, or (most often) another employee of the company.)
3. There is odd body language / eye contact in management (board or otherwise) meetings among the direct reports. This is hard to articulate, but I can just see/hear/feel it when the management team disagrees but does not feel that they can have a dialogue about the issues.
4. The “opportunities” always turn into “learning experiences” – that is, when I am constantly told about great deals about to happen, and then it always ends up that the deal doesn’t come in as planned. This is okay if it happens occasionally, but not if it is common practice. This dynamic would be fine if the plan were being met, but it never is in this scenario.
5. There is a revolving door at the VP level. I get very suspicious when lots of people leave for “lifestyle” issues, particularly when they are hyped as heroes when they are hired, yet I am told when they are leaving that “it is actually good this person is leaving as she wasn’t very good.” A corollary to this is when the CEO constantly blames (or complains) about one of his direct reports but then hangs onto that person because confrontations are unpleasant and/or they don’t want to deal with the pain of going through the replacement process.

Following are three more that are not really signs that you should replace the CEO, but rather are signs that you should have ALREADY replaced the CEO (and that you are now likely in deep shit.)

1. Not facing fiscal reality. For example, the company is 3 months away from running out of cash, there is no clear financing in site, and the CEO is still refusing to take “survival measures” to cut staff or do whatever it takes to keep the company afloat. As my partner Rex Golding likes to say, “hope is not a strategy.” When the board has to force a plan/budget change, it is too late.
2. Doing desperate deals. The CEO starts coming up with deals that make no sense but have big names or big numbers involved. Hail Mary management – very bad.
3. Pandering to the board. The CEO takes every request or idea from every board member and acts on it as if it is a smart idea, with no thoughtfulness, discussion, and no generation of consensus. “Please, if I think you’re very smart and I am very responsive, can I just keep my job?” 

Land Title Guarantee Company provides an indepth article detailing what exactly a Condominium is, and how a Condo compares to a Townhome. 

The LTGC definition: is a form of private ownership of individual units of “airspace” within a multi-unit structure, combined with joint ownership of commonly used property, structures, and amenities.

A townhome, may be in fact a “condominium”:  which is simply attached real estate, typically consisting of two or more floors, and connected to an adjoining unit by a common wall.  Key is that a person may have “condominium ownership” of the townhouse, or absolute ownership.

Title will determing the distinction of how the property is held.

Additional specific terms and definitions in the article include:

- Unit

- Condominium Unit

- General Common Elements

- Limited Common Elements

- Association

The full contents of the article may be viewed at: http://www.ltgc.com/files/technicalbulletins_customers/condominiums_mar05_web.pdf