What makes a city great? Well Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class has some pretty good ideas. Here is a speech Mr. Florida gave in 2006. I invite you to listen, and ask yourself how the Treasure Valley compares.

It is time to fertilize, please do not let your dog help with this in your neighbors yard, according to our landscaper John Irby. If you have questions or would like him to take care of your landscaping needs give him a call at 887-1456.

Daylight Savings Time Starts Sunday March 9th. Don’t forget to move your clocks forward one hour.

Help us support our community and The Boise Rescue Mission’s Homeless and Hungry. Being homeless is not seasonal or a choice. We want to continue to support those families in need throughout the whole year. We are encouraging the community to bring 2 or more cans of soup to to our Caymus Cove location in Meridian and enter to win a dinner back.

If you arer having problems with the circuit tripping off that your outside christmas decorations are on its because they are overloading it. All outside plugs must be on a GFI circuit breaker. If this is happening you will need to use a plug that is on a different breaker. The GFI breakers are very sensitive and low amps. To reset them you will need to find the plug , not a panal breaker, that has tripped and hit the reset button. Any questions give me a call or Email me.

Have a great Christmas and New Years,
Fred

I recently attended an energy code conference to educate builders on the changes for 2008. It was a great feeling for me to know that we at Kastera Homes are ahead of the curve. Starting in 2008, the energy inspectors will be enforcing the new code that will require builders to insulate their walls to an R rating of 19. (This is in relation to the Boise area climate zone-5.) If you frame a wall using 2 X 4’s this will only allow an R rating of 13. So those that frame their exterior walls with 2 X 4’s are looking at only a few choices to solve this. One is they can sheet the entire outside of the walls with a 1″ rigid insulation in addition to the R-13 insulation inside the walls, this would give them the R-19 they would need. This would also create siding issues as well as an added expense. They are also going to let builders calculate our energy conservation a little different so that those who continue to use 2 X 4’s can install a 90% efficient furnace and earn enough credits from that, alosdfng with a few other adjustments, to meet code. Kastera Homes already builds to energy star standards, which means, our clients are already experiencing the benefits of the R-19 wall insulation, the 90% furnace, and sealed duct work that is tested to meet energy star standards. See more to come on energy star and the benefits, this is a very important issue to us.

Over the last 6 to 12 months there has been speculation about where the housing market is heading both nationally and locally. It is no surprise housing prices have fallen and continue to fall. Today, the housing price report for the 3rd quarter was released. The report showed prices of existing U.S. single-family homes in the third quarter fell 4.5% from a year earlier.

What continues to cause this fall in home values? It is simple. Too much inventory and a tightening of the U.S. credit market.

Inventory levels will continue to relax, however it is going to take some time. If all variables hold constant than it is likely the local market will begin a slow turnaround after bottoming out in 9 to 12 months from now. In someway, we in the Treasure Valley are better off than other markets throughout the country; however, Boise does feel the effects of national trends. Approximately 35% of all new residence of the valley is transplants from California, especially Southern California. That is HUGE for a move in market. That means we feel the ripples of the >California housing market here as well.

As for the “credit crisis” an end in sight appears to be showing. Just today City Bank, the nation’s largest banking institute, announced a >$7.5 billion deal to buy Citigroup shares. This injection of financial backing comes from overseas investors and shows a new willingness to move back into the U.S. financial markets and is likely to encourage other outside sources to reevaluate U.S. markets.

So where is the silver lining?

Today, the consumer is more in charge then ever. Prices are beginning to reflect a more reasonable fair market value. With more to choose from and better prices a person or family can truly find their dream home at a great price. However, one word of caution for the buyer, between 2004 and early 2006, it was not unheard of for homes to appreciate at as much as 25% a year. This led to some of the problems we see today. Today’s buyers need to be more realistic when it comes to expected appreciation of their homes. In reality it is more realistic to see appreciation values of 3% to 5% annually. Of course looking at your house as an investment is a good thing, but remember it is also a home and generally speaking a person does not need to sell their home every two years. Try looking at it long term!

Don’t forget to have your sprinkler lines blown out. Also now that we are getting some freezing temperatures don’t leave your garden hose attached to the faucet. The water in the hose can freeze and damage the faucet even though the faucet is an anti-freeze hosebib. The manufacturer’s warranty for the hose bib does not cover this.

Have a great Thanksgiving, Fred

I was looking at some manufacturers recommendations and for carpet maintenance and wanted to pass them along.
1. Use walk-off mats at all entrances to absorb soil and moisture.
2. If you are using area rugs checked them for colorfastness and vacume the carpet to maintain the pile of the carpet.
3. Protect the carpet from prolonged periods of direct sunlight.
4. When removing wet spots or stains always blot don’t rub.
5. Use hot water systems, i.e. steam clean.
6. a good web site for information for maintenance and products is www.carpet-rug.org

I have found that only varying your thermostat a couple degrees throughout the day is the best way to be energy efficient. Turning the temperature way down at night or during the day when you are not home is not an efficient way to heat. It takes more energy to reheat your home than keeping it at more equal temperatures throught the day.
Hope you have been able to get out and enjoy the fall colors.