RE: Scaling down | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: lpoley (lpoleyvt.edu) | |
Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 09:25:35 -0600 (MDT) |
I have looked at both "Not so Big House" books - and love the ideas presented. Quality over quantity seems like such an obvious improvement over more standard building trends and it is certainly a powerful idea for cohousing, however a big question we have in our group (who are now trying to make decisions about the type of housing we want to build) is: if we pour more money into high quality building and green building elements, how will those things be factored into the appraisal value of our homes (and therefore the amount banks are willing to lend us .)? We have been warned that the appraisal formulas are generally anything BUT progressive and that it is difficult getting appraisal value for implementing green building elements or simply construction strategies that reflect a more sustainable, higher quality home. (Unless these elements are obvious to the naked eye - ie - marble countertops in the bathroom etc. ) Flat out finished square footage seems to be the biggest determinant of how a house is appraised and it seems that if you spend an extra few thousand dollars to use sustainably harvested lumber, for example - that is not likely to show up at all in your appraisal. Talk about a screwed up incentive system.... I am curious about the experiences of other groups in terms of working with the appraisal process and whether they were able to get the value of these qualities recognized. Does anyone have an experience they want to share? I am aware of the existence of "energy efficient loan programs" that many banks subscribe to (I think in collaboration with either the EPA or the DOE) but a local builder here who worked to qualify indicated that, at least locally, it makes for a whole lot of extra paperwork and red tape. Has anyone taken advantage of one of these loan programs and had a good experience? (Or a bad one?) Thanks much - Lisa Poley Shadowlake Village Blacksburg, VA. ----- Original Message ----- > I've just started reading "The Not So Big House". > Very interesting and I think it's very applicable > to cohousing design. > Has anybody else read this book and it's sequel? > What do you think? -- Matt -------------------------------------------- Set-up your own e-Architect mail account, go to http://mail.e-Architect.com
- RE: Scaling down, (continued)
- RE: Scaling down Rob Sandelin, October 24 2000
- Re: Scaling down Howard Landman, October 24 2000
- Re: Scaling down Matt Lawrence, October 24 2000
- RE: Re: Scaling down Philip Proefrock, October 25 2000
- RE: Scaling down lpoley, October 26 2000
Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.