Why the American home is shrinking

“The ‘New American Home’ Continues Shrinking,” reports the Wall Street Journal.  Grammatical missteps aside (shouldn’t it be “continues to shrink”?), this is not a new headline.  Those of us in the real estate industry have been seeing this for a while now.  The McMansion is on life support and home-buyers have their hand on the cord, ready to pull the plug.  Why?  Why is everyone so down on huge houses?  Like most in the real estate industry, we can only speculate.  So here we go…

No more formal dining.  My grandmother’s generation would shudder at the suggestion that a formal dining room in a home is wasted space.  I can see my Grandma Mabel clutching her chest, wondering what she would do with all her polished silver and Wedgwood China.  Grandma, I love ya.  But ding-dong the dining room is dead.  Why?  Because Americans hardly have time to dine as a group once or twice a week.  They certainly don’t have time to dine formally.  It has become grossly impractical to dedicate a whole room to bi-annual functions.  In this economy, extended family members or grown children are moving in (if they ever moved out).  Now all of a sudden that “formal” dining room is now formally space for Grandma or Dupree (your adult college student).

Grand foyers aren’t so grand anymore.   Endless high gloss floors.  Double staircases.  Chandeliers that could kill a mule if they fell from the ceiling.  What were we thinking?  This is the Ron Burgundy philosophy of yesteryear: “I’m kind of a big deal.  My home has shiny floors, lots of stairs, sparkly lights and smells of lemon oil.”  These types of entryways have gone from making the homeowner the envy of their peers to the butt of their peers’ jokes.  Nowadays, people want to take that wasted, albeit shiny square footage and tweak it into something perhaps a bit more useful.  Like a home office used to make money to pay the mortgage…

Hallway?  No way.  When you think of scary movies, what do you think of?  A dopey actress backing into a dark hallway where the guy with the big sharp blade is waiting?  Hallways are about as hip as dark wall paneling.  And a hallway covered in dark paneling?  Fah-get-a-bout-it.  Sadly, loads of people are of the mind that hallways are a necessary evil when mapping out a floor plan.  No so.  In a home with smart spaces, that square footage can be reconfigured into space you can actually use- like another family room for example.  Cozy family room.  Dark scary hallway.  Cozy family room.  Dark scary hallway.  Which would you rather have?

Monster master bedrooms.  MASTER bedrooms?  How about we get over ourselves?  How would that be?  Do we really need bedrooms so large that we can hear our voices echo?  A bedroom needs, uh, a bed and some space for clothes.  Unless you’re hosting cocktail parties or business conferences in your bedroom, what do you need all that space for?  You don’t.  It’s more flooring to spend money on (and later vacuum) and more area to heat and cool.

The downward turn in the economy has leveled the playing field for many.  Now excess and showboating have become tacky to some.  In times where bare essentials like jobs, homes and retirement accounts are taken away, societies are forced to return to basics.  What really counts?  Lifestyle.  A comfortable, affordable home with reasonable space in a kick ass community.  The rest is just fluff.

5 ways to save on energy right now

By Kat Hobza

Replace old windows:  In older homes, you can literally hear the sound of the air that you’ve paid to heat or cool being sucked outside.  Yes, replacing windows is a huge pain in the neck and expensive, especially if you have to contract the work out, but it beats paying to heat and cool the outdoors.

Put more insulation, with a higher R factor in the walls:  This may seem impractical to some, mostly because it is.  This involves basically deconstructing your entire home, moving all your furniture and inhaling sheet rock dust for weeks.

Install a tankless water heater:   I know I work for a builder, but I’m a sales agent.  My bosses know how to get this done, but I don’t.  So I looked it up.  I found a 4 page article, with a lot of words and pictures.  Consequently, I lost interest.  If YOU want to take a lot of time and energy to figure this out, click here: http://www.bradfordwhite.com/images/shared/pdfs/pressroom/ReevesJournalApr06.pdf

Turn down the thermostat:  Way down.  Wear sweaters.  Cover up with extra blankets.  Ignore your children’s complaints and chattering teeth.  Ever wonder where the saying, “A man’s home is his castle” came from?  You probably thought it was related to the grandeur of owning your own home.  No.  It’s because if you want to save energy and money, your home is going to have to be freezing cold, similar to a large, draft dwelling constructed of STONE.

Look for the Energy Star label:  Like on a house for example!  If you buy an Energy Star home, you don’t have to do any of the things listed above, because the building practices and science that is used in every Energy Star home makes it so you can live in a comfortable, energy efficient home with low monthly utility bills.  With current interest rates, new floor plans, a preferred lending program and a 10 year transferable warranty, having an Energy Star home built the way you want is easier than ever.  Give Kat or Greg a call at 651-5354 to check out the Model Home.

Top 10 Myths to Know Before Choosing a Home

1. Buying an existing house saves a homeowner time.  This is part true/part myth.  The average homebuyer takes 12 weeks to find a home…after looking at an average of 15 houses.  FIFTEEN houses?  In 12 weeks McCall Home’s design team can focus on the floor plan of your choosing, help you design your home to make it uniquely yours and only have 1-2 months left to completion.  You can wait 30-60 days longer than a traditional home search, or you can move into an existing house and live with someone else’s cabinet and floor choices, and inhale previous-homeowner whiff.
1. Designing a home is overwhelming.  Not on our watch.  McCall Homes has a design studio where all the magic takes place.  Together with our design team, you select all the finishes for your home, right in the comfort of our design studio.  We’ll grab you something to drink, Greg will crack a few jokes, and Carolee will make your vision a reality. 
2.  I can’t afford to build.  Some may argue you can’t afford not to.  Here’s a scenario that happens at least 4,000 times a day (we’re guessing).  A family buys a used house because they made the assumption they couldn’t build.  Maybe they even saved a buck or two on the monthly mortgage.  They move in.  It is then that they learn the windows are leaky, the furnace is inefficient and the walls are stuffed with sub-par insulation.  So they saved $20 a month on the mortgage, but they are spending $100 more a month on utilities.  Let’s suppose you knew of a builder, like McCall Homes, who built Energy Star homes starting at $150,000.  Wouldn’t that equate to a low mortgage payment and low utility costs?  Why yes.  It would. 
3.  Nowadays builders crank out houses as fast as they can, and quality is compromised.  This CAN be true.  Unless you select a builder like McCall Homes who builds each home in accordance with Energy Star and the National Green Built Standards.  Each Energy Star home is individually verified and HAS to satisfy Energy Star standards.  Our homes, whether they cost $150,000 or $350,000 will achieve these standards.  Additionally, how would you feel if you knew your new Green Built-Energy Star home had a 10-year transferable warranty?  Yeah.  TEN years.  Not 1, not 2, not 5.  TEN.  Click here to read more about our warranty program.
4. Safe, friendly neighborhoods are a thing of the past.  Not if you know where to look.  In Billings, look no further than Josephine Crossing.  As pleasant as the name suggests, McCall Homes is building more than just houses in Josephine Crossing.  We’re building a community, one family, one front porch, one home at a time.  In Josephine Crossing, kids still play safely in parks located right in front of their homes.  Neighbors stroll along sidewalks in a walk-able community.  Friends visit with each other at concerts and 4^th of July celebrations.  Community is something to be nurtured and fostered and that is exactly what is happening in Josephine Crossing.
5.   Moving is a huge pain in the back-side.  Well, you got us on this one.  This isn’t a myth.  It’s a straight-up reality.  HOWEVER, at McCall Homes we’re going to try to make moving a bit easier by offering you a moving van and half price storage.  Have you heard of any other builders helping buyers move? 
6. I’d have to get a construction loan to build, and I’ve heard they are a complete headache.  You’ve heard right.  Construction loans can be a total headache.  The myth part of this statement is that you HAVE to get one.  With McCall Homes, we simply ask for 2% of the purchase price of your home.  We’ve simplified the financing.  Oh, and how about we hook you up with a preferred lender who can save you money on closing costs?  Contact a member of the Fun Team for more information on this program.
7. If I build a house, all I’m going to get is a Builder Beige monstrosity with a huge garage out in front.  I have to buy in an old neighborhood to get a traditional, craftsman style home.  Nope.  All of the homes in Josephine Crossing are traditional, craftsman style homes with porches and people on the front, and garages on the back.  Click here to view our online catalog.
8. Once I sign a contract, I’ll never hear from my builder again.  That would be kind of tricky, since we all live and play in the same neighborhood you do.  Customer service is a cornerstone of our business.  We walk our new neighbors through the process from start to finish.  McCall Homes is a Guild Quality builder.  We track our buyer’s experience through and long after the process.  Click here to read surveys and testimonials.
9. Building a new home is an absolute nightmare.  Sadly, we all know people who have had bad experiences in building a home.  We hear it in our Model Home almost every day.  It is that very feedback that has structured how McCall Homes does business.  We believe building your home should be fun and exciting, a process and experience that will enhance your quality of life, not cause you undo stress.  After reading this, does building a new home still seem like a nightmare? Or does it sound like a dream?  If it sounds like a dream, then revisit the dream.  Right here.  www.revisitthedream.com.