What do you know about Feng Shui? If you’re like most people, you probably are not even sure if I spelled it right just now. Maybe you picture an old man doing the world’s slowest kung fu at dawn (that’s Tai Chi, totally different.) Feng shui is a sorta guidebook about the placement and architecture of a house to allow good flow of energy. And it’s not just placement of the bed and couch. The placement of the actual house and landscaping will affect the ch’i (energy) of the house in a big way. Let’s start with a few tips to bear in mind when looking examining the location for your dream home.

1. First and most important, research the history of a property. Find out what happened with the previous tenants, and the ones before them. And even the ones before them. Ask neighbors, or selling agent. If all the previous inhabitants have had money problems, family problems, etc., chances are there’s bad feng shui going on. Best to move on and look for another house.

2. Pay attention to the road placement. The road in front of your house should not be pointing directly into your home. If a house is sitting at a dead end, in a T-intersection, or in the center of cul-de-sac, then energy is constantly flowing straight down that road into the house, then building up and stagnating there. This is not good; the ch’i must continue to flow, like air. If it gets stuck in your home, it can go bad.

3. Pay attention to what’s around the house. Examine the terrain closely. Ideally, the property should have a dark turtle in the back (a mountain or hill, another house, a row of trees, a fence, etc.), a dragon (a house, a tree) to the left, a white tiger (a smaller house or tree) to the right, and a phoenix (open ground, a circular flowerbed, a meandering river or road) in front. All those exotic names are just a fun way to state the obvious —a house by itself is not ideal, since there is nothing to slow the flow of ch’i. Most houses will have all of these things around them already, but it doesn’t hurt to think about it your first time seeing a place. Other things to think about are “poison arrows,” like telephone poles, flagpoles, or the corner of a house pointing your way. They can hinder the energy flow to the house. Even a hospital can be a source of bad energy.

4. Something that probably doesn’t automatically spring to mind is the shape of the property; but that can be very important as well. Always go for something symmetrical, like a square or a rectangle. If your real estate is pretty close to square, use hedges to fill in the spots that make it irregular. Triangle-shaped properties can create disharmony. If you just love a place and absolutely have to have a it but it’s on a triangle-shaped lot, it’s better for the wide side to be in the back; the other way indicates an inability to save money.

When you visit a property, notice the shapes of the things around. I know it sounds strange, but kind of squint your eyes and see what you see, like you used to do as a kid, when you were looking at the clouds in the sky. If anything looks like something hostile, then be careful. That could be an indication of some anti-ch’i. You want enough stuff to slow the energy down to capture it but allow it to also flow.

I am sure you are all aware of the drop in home prices that has come with all the sub-prime mortgage mess and economic recession.  In San Diego, where I have lived most of my life, homes prices have fallen approximately 25%.  In my opinion they are simply coming in line with what they are actually worth.  I live in an area called Bay Park, near the coast.  Most of the homes are very modest and unremarkable but because of their proximity to the ocean they are very, very expensive.  At the height of the market, the home that I am currently renting, which is only about 1,200 square feet was worth about $800,000.  Give me a break.  Another example of this insanity is a custom home that was recently completed down the street from me and now it is for sale.  The asking price is $1.25 million.  Yikes!  It’s nice and all but in no way is it worth that much money.

But, now many of the homes that are on the market in my neighborhood have come down to under $600k (still a lot).  There was even a home that went for under $400k just two doors down from me, it was a bank repossession.  It went so fast that they never even put a sign on the lawn.  

Anyways, the bottom line is that the time is upon right to start getting serious about home buying. Or, at least that is the pressure I feel I am under.  I guess I have never considered myself ready to buy.  This may be more of a mental barrier than an economic one.  I have done some inquiring.  I have a friend who is a mortgage broker and he has given me some good information about loans and the market in general.  It’s pretty daunting.

Prices aside, I do know basically what I want, a 2000 square foot 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with a master suite.  My wife and I have three kids and in our relatively small home, space and privacy are a problem.  I would like a separate dining room with a large table that can seat 10-12 people.  I like entertaining. I would love custom blinds and wood floors throughout and some nice area rugs for warmth and color.  I would also love a view of the ocean, which is something I have now, albeit from afar.  I would like a decent sized lot so that my kids have a backyard to play in.  Last but not least, I want a two car garage. 

Sounds pretty much like the typical American family home.  Here in San Diego – no scratch that – here in Southern California – no scratch that too; anywhere near the coast in California, the price for that home is in the $3/4 million range and up, probably way up.  So, maybe the reality is that my dream home exists in another state.  The barriers to home buying have become so high over the last two decades, it is no wonder so many people got into so much trouble.  Desperation (buyers) coupled with greed (mortgage brokers and banks) is a dangerous mix.  I can also understand why people are leaving California, so they can find an affordable piece of the American dream of home ownership.  My Father lives in Tennessee and he owns a home that is bigger than my dream home on a full acre of land in a nice community.  He bought it for around $130k 10 or 12 years ago and it’s now worth approximately $200k.  His mortgage is less than one thousand dollars. 

To leave California, or even San Diego for that matter means that I would be leaving most of my extended family.  This too is a high price to pay.  The irony is that we all seem to stay put for each other even though we would all rather live somewhere else.  San Diego just doesn’t fulfill our needs for community, access to nature and affordability. 

I know what I want but I don’t know that I can afford it, maybe ever.  And, I am not willing to leave San Diego for family reasons and because my oldest daughter starts High School in the Fall.  So for now, I guess I need to make the most of my affordable rental house even though I hate the thought of investing money in a home I don’t own. 

The evolution of a home into a dream home is one that can happen much quicker and easier than many people think. With a fairly minor expenditure the average home can easily become much more than simply a house. There are a variety of ways that the average home owner can revamp their home to create a custom space that is not only perfectly suited to their lifestyle, but is a conversation point for the home.

Creating an overall theme for a home is an interesting experience and can be extremely rewarding if successful and heartbreaking if it isn’t. Many people spend considerable time discussing matters with a designer and others simply have the knack for detailing their spaces already. Either way, the first thing you are going to have to arrange is the financing for your project. If it is on a small scale you may simply be able to pay for it up front. Other then that there are a few equity financing options such as the second mortgage or the home owners line of credit. Both of these options are perfect for renovations as they come with low interest rates with the loan secured by your home equity.

In terms of where to start with your renovations, think about which rooms in the home you use the most. Typically this will be the kitchen, main bathroom, and living room. One of the best ways to change the feel of the first two is to replace all the appliances and fixtures. The living room will be a bit of a different story. This space will be best served by some new furniture, art and maybe new floors.

The exterior of any home can be given new life by some landscaping and TLC for the yard. The yard will be anyone’s first impression of your home so make sure you give it the necessary attention. Tending to the gardens, lawn and driveway will add a nice scenic element to the front yard and add value to the home. Creating your perfect are is not difficult, express your creativity and increase your home’s value at the same time!

College graduates can lavishly spend the money earned during the first year of their jobs but in the next couple of years, they will to save money to get their dream home. Low salary and rising expenses are the two poles of the earth which can never meet each other. However, there has to be a way out.

Financial companies are collaborating with real state companies, so that they can make housing loans more affordable. India is a developing country and its economy is increasing day-by-day. Many banks are providing flexible housing loans to people, so that they can live in their dream houses.

Housing loans have got various names in the financial market like home equity loans, house loans, home loans etc. These home equity loans are always in a great demand as these are the most important needs of people. Such loans are also known as lifetime loans as most of the people take these once in their lives. These days, getting home loans have become almost easy. Whoever has got a good job with a handsome salary, can definitely go for the housing loans.

Of course, people can get the home loans after applying them but there are many benefits of these loans which all people should know. Going for a housing loans means getting a rebate from high tax payments. The Indian government has issued laws which quote that people taking housing loans would have to pay less tax from their yearly income and it has to be abided by all the financial institutions offering such housing loans. When the government of India has raised the green flag for tax exemption on housing loans, then people can take these loans from any well reputed bank.

What about those people who have a poor credit history? People belonging to this category can also apply for housing loans as there are many banks which even offer home finance loans to people having poor credit history. Before offering such loans, most of the banks review these people’s credit history and if these people score well then these people would definitely get loans.

Can home equity loans be converted to business loans? Yes, home loans can be easily converted to business loans. Many banks also offer business or trading loans in the names of housing loans. So, people doing businesses or looking forward to do new businesses can arrange their required money by getting home loans. The money received from home loans can suitably be used for starting one’s own business.

Is it true that home equity loans can be applied through online procedures? Yes, it is true that with the arrival of internet facilities, people can surely apply for housing loans or any kind of loans. It is beneficial for both people as well as financial companies because through online procedure save much time. Going for home loans means people would need many clarifications. For this purpose, people can make use of the websites of various housing loans lenders which would definitely solve all their queries.

In my professional experience as a Home Construction Consultant, Developer & Construction Loan Expert I have had the pleasure of touring and viewing thousands of homes all throughout this beautiful country of ours! It never ceases to amaze me when I encounter that home that is so unique that I wonder to myself “Wow… the owner of that place will lose money when he tries to sell that house!”

9 times out of 10, when I see homes that make me think this it is because they have made a HUGE mistake in the features and design of their home! As a savvy consumer and soon to be Owner Builder it is my desire that you never become an example or statistic of “bad design” so let’s jump right in.

1. Avoid designing a home so unique that it can’t be appreciated by those who you would sell to in the future!

For example, dome shaped or triangular all-roof houses are in my professional opinion too unique for the average Owner Builder! And for the sake of this conversation, “too unique” is defined as anything so far from the general consensus of public opinion on home design that if you ever had to sell the home people would be turned off by it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love watching all of the really cool and hip tv shows that feature people and their wacky homes. However most of those people are fairly wealthy and for those that are not, they plan on living in these homes forever. Unfortunately for those who do not plan on living in the homes indefinitely they will be in for a rude awakening when it comes time to sell and the potential buyers are few and far in between.

Let me explain! Now by all means I understand that you want a unique home that to some degree is different than maybe what the tract homebuilders are offering and different than other stuff you have seen, I am with you on that! I personally love pushing the envelope on design and cutting edge features in the home projects I develop and/or build however there is a line that we cannot cross.

2.  Failing to hire a Landscape Architect to design the exterior elements and landscaping!

I am continually amazed at people who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home only to totally overlook the landscape! Of the hundreds of thousands of dollars a smart investment of $15,000 would have produced a tremendous return in curb appeal and overall beauty. Never the less, in most cases, the indelible impression made first by the curb appeal or lack thereof stuck in the mind and overshadowed everything. Such as the case for you when you forsake having a landscape architect design how your yard will look.

Some families I have consulted with have viewed the landscape architect as an expense, but after counseling with them many come to see this as the investment that it really is. Homes that have nice landscaped, well manicured lawns sell faster and for top dollar as opposed to homes that don’t have that curb appeal and well maintained lawn. Landscaping in the last several years has really caught on with more people spending lots of time outdoors. One of the current custom home trends involves extensive landscaping and outdoor kitchens!

3.  Designing a HUGE home that is too basic and/or box-like in it’s architecture!

Just because a home is big does not give it a pass to be box-like with no character! In the workbook section of the soon to be released “How to Build Your Custom Dream Home for Less” Owner Builder System I show photo examples to really drive home this point. I am really dumbfounded when I see these really large box-like structures as I just can’t believe that the designer and owners actually like what they created! Maybe beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder after all, however unfortunately the beholder isn’t buying houses! (I digress…)

I can recall a home over 30,000 square feet and it literally looked like an over-sized tennis shoe box in the middle of a field. There were no architectural elements to give the home an identity, such as gabled roof lines, bay windows, brick accents or trim elements. It didn’t even have any landscape to dress up the exterior and break it up a little bit, just (4) perfectly straight walls and a roof, Yuck!

A very vital aspect of designing your Custom Dream Home is what I call grassroots research, which quite simply is the practice of visiting builder model homes and open houses that are comparable in price to the home you are planning to build. This will provide you with a really good road map and point of reference for design standards and benchmarks in that price range so that you can compare that to what you would like to design and build.

4.  Never cut corners or skimp on the amenities and fixtures of a Custom Home!

It is said in business that 1 of anything is very bad; you always want more than 1 way of getting business, more than 1 replacement for an employee etc. Well in custom home design, nearly anything that is white is bad unless we are talking about trim, cabinets or similar areas. Do not cut corners to save dollars on your home by choosing cheap counter tops, flooring, light fixtures and other design elements. The key to building a Custom Dream Home that is really custom is having a sound plan from the start so that you can get the amenities you want and deserve without sacrificing the integrity of the home.

In many cases, it is better to build a smaller well-equipped home than it is to build a larger home that is plain! I trust that you have found great value in these tips and I look forward to providing you with more informative articles and insights that will help make the planning of your Custom Dream Home a breeze! I wish you the best on your Custom Dream Home project and here’s to great design…

In my professional opinion, if you are building a Custom Home then there are some basic prerequisites that the home should have like solid surface counter tops, really nice carpet, hardwoods, tile flooring and separate showers to name a few. I am amazed when I tour a 7,000 square foot custom home only to see that the Master Bathroom has an all-white ceramic tile shower and linoleum flooring! Give me a break!

Now maybe I sound a little overboard here but unless there are medical reasons for these types of selections and/or other important constraints you are setting yourself up for failure if you ever have to sell a home that has these types of material selections.

The concept of a dream home, in theory, is by all means dreamy- finding that perfect place to call home, the place the suits your needs and desires to a tee… but, if you’re looking for a dream home as a couple, the dreaminess can quickly become a nightmare, where conflicting ideas clash and cast a vast shadow of doubt and confusion. With the two that it takes to tango, a delicate dance can melt into a tug ‘o’ war- if you don’t development a system to explore your mutual parameters and come to some sort on consensus. After all, you both need to be happy with your new home.

So, here’s where a certain amount of flexibility will need to come into play, and where your initial vision of the perfect dream home may need to transform somewhat. But, fret not, there’s nothing more exciting than realizing two minds can come together and actualize a dream “together”.

First off, it’s important to have this discussion about what you want in a home before soliciting the help of an agent. Truly, you don’t want to be out there looking at homes, only to realize you’re on opposite sides of the fence. This will just create tension for all parties involved, and end up costing you a lot of time and energy.

So it’s advised that once you’ve decided to purchase a new home, that you first sit down separately and make up your own personal list of all the parameters that would define your dream home. Include such things as location, style of home, lot size, waterfront or not, urban or suburban, number of bedrooms, landscaping, special features, condition (would you rather a place that you’ll renovate to your liking or a home that’s already up to snuff). With this list go as big as you want with all the things that you’d ideally want in a dream home. Now is your chance to get it all down on paper and rejoice!

But… here’s the catch. The next step is to sit down with your partner and to share your lists. Try not to make comments, like, ” Oh God no…. you don’t want to live there, do you honey? Be respectful and initially just listen as objectively as possible to each person’s list of dream home parameters.

From here you can start another list- together. Discover any points of commonality between your two separate lists and to list them under, “our dream home”. There may only be a couple, or there may be quite a few. Once you have your list of common points, open up a friendly conversation about why you are both interested in these particular parameters. You may find that this dialogue progresses, and that you begin to find some other common desires. Make sure you jot them down as well.

Once you’ve established this positive connection, where you realize you have some common ideas from which to establish a framework, then go back and open up a discussion about the parameters that seem to be at odds. Let each person voice why they feel each of their parameters is important. The other can then explain why this is not important to them, or likewise can express that they may be willing to be flexible on this point. From here you can create another couple of lists. One can be called the “maybe our dream home”, and in it you can put the points/parameters that may not be 100% aligned on, but where there seems to be some room for negotiation. The other two lists can remain as your individual lists, and these will contain the points/parameters that you can’t seem to come to mutual agreement on- yet.

From here you need to decide that you want some of those “maybe our dream home” parameters to get on to the “our dream home” list. So have a thorough discussion of all the pros and cons on your “maybe” list and then see what seems to want to make the jump onto the “our dream home” list.

Pat yourselves on the back for making great progress. Next, you might consider going back to your individual lists and seeing what hypothetically would fit with your established “our dream home” parameters. Maybe one partner will become more flexible on certain points or features now that the initial vision has changed. Play around with the left over puzzle pieces and mutually see what can fit together to create your new idea of a dream home- an idea you’ve built together and can both love and enjoy.