Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Hurricane news
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Hurricane damage at Cypress Gardens
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Hurricane Otto possibility--again
Friday, November 26, 2004
Room planner
Thursday, November 25, 2004
More about house plans
Make choices about appliance, windows, doors, sink, etc. placement. Look at your current home; where would you put everything in your new home? We made most of our changes on paper. There's always a chance that your changes won't make it to the contractor's plans. Keep an eye on things...
Remember blueprints are copyrighted. Be sure to get as many as you need--maybe 8 to 10 sets. They also come in vellum, which are better for making changes. And I believe you can only use a set of blueprints once.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
House book news update
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Hurricane cleanup
Friday, November 19, 2004
House plans
Someone asked if the architect shouldn't come first. Not necessarily. It depends on your lot size and shape, ...
Planning involves house plans, builder, building site, and mortgage. You want to be preapproved for a mortgage so you can grab that lot when you find it, BUT a mortgage depends on the house.
In my case, first we got a builder and got the architect through him. We worked with the builder and architect before we bought the land.
Stock plans can save you money, and you can change them.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
House value
* Each additional 1,000 square feet of living space increases selling price only about 3.3%. Each additional bedroom adds about 4% to the price, while an additional bath can add 24%.
* Houses advertised as "fixers" usually sell for 24% less than other houses.
* A garage typically adds about 13% to the price.
* Central air conditioning adds about 12% to price.
* A basement increases a home's value an average of nine percent.
* A sitting area in the master bedroom increases the price about eight percent.
* Internal features that add the most value are a family room, a dining room, a whirlpool and a security system.
This information is useful to determine the return you can expect to see on your remodeling investment. It also helps you compare property values for homes with and without such amenities.
Hurricane cleanup
House book mention
HGTV dream home video link
Monday, November 15, 2004
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Hurricane cleanup
Friday, November 12, 2004
Helping the planet
Thursday, November 11, 2004
So, you've finally decided to buy my book!
AOL Home Life chat
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Barnes & Noble's top ten list for house books
Designing a Space Ship
Saturday, November 6, 2004
Blogging tidbits
There is an AOL journal for blogging and computer stuff called CompuTips: http://journals.aol.com/shooser1/CompuTips
I read blogs through Bloglines which is an aggregator and there's also Bloglet which sends emails of all the new entries in subscribed to blogs.
(Thanks to Shelly)
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Stormy
Magistria comments excerpt
"I have read the stories so far and am very impressed with the quality
of the writing. ...
I liked the way the Plant Mages were visualized in SEEDLINGS.
THE METAL MAGES: Cool! As close to SF as fantasy can get.
BENEATH THE BLACK ICE: Classic S&S but with a high octane style.
..."
(Thanks, Jack)