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By Duane Marsteller

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RISMEDIA, March 22, 2011—(MCT)—For more than a year, two federal agencies have urged homeowners with Chinese drywall to replace all electrical wiring when fixing their homes. Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development altered course—lending credence to a homebuilder group’s protocol, conflicting with a court-monitored national remediation program and drawing criticism from some quarters.

The federal agencies revised their drywall remediation guidelines to say that some, but not all, electrical wiring and components must be removed. The change stems from additional laboratory testing of electrical components that found that long-term exposure to hydrogen sulfide—the primary gas emitted by the tainted drywall—did not always substantially worsen the risk of smoke or fire.

“In general, residential electrical system components appear to be relatively tolerant of the corrosive environment created by problem drywall, if the system is installed properly,” a commission report says.

The commission and HUD also added 2009 to the range of years in which the corrosive drywall was installed in U.S. homes. The previous ending year was 2008. Drywall installed in 2009 was imported two to three years earlier, said the agencies.

The drywall, mostly imported from China, has been blamed for emitting sulfuric gases that corrode electrical and metal components, produce noxious odors and cause health ailments such as runny noses and headaches.

Concerned that corroded electrical wires could lead to a higher risk of fire, the commission hired Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico to conduct long-term testing. The lab purchased electrical outlets, circuit breakers, wiring and other electrical components, then subjected them to eight weeks of testing that simulated 40 years’ worth of corrosive conditions that could be found in homes with the problem drywall.

Their findings: Some components corroded faster than others, depending on how often they were used, how well they were installed or connected, and other factors. Based on that, officials revised the guidelines to recommend replacing the following items that tend to corrode faster:

• Fire-safety alarm devices, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Electrical distribution components such as receptacles, switches and circuit breakers.
• Gas service piping and fire-suppression sprinkler systems.

Other electrical wiring, such as that behind walls, also can corrode but not severely enough to always warrant their automatic removal, said both the agencies and laboratory.

But that recommendation was heavily qualified.

“While no fire, smoking or other safety events occurred during the course of this experiment, CPSC staff and Sandia are mindful of the limited scope and controlled conditions of this experiment,” they say in a 89-page report of their findings. “The experiment does not, and could not, possibly capture every permutation of conditions, wiring, installation, brands, environmental conditions and other possible confounding factors that are actually present in the affected houses.”

That concerns Mike Foreman, a Sarasota, Fla., construction consultant who has been researching the corrosive drywall for more than three years.

Foreman says the lab results are incomplete, noting that testing was limited to 110-volt outlets and wires with PVC insulation. Further testing needs to be done on 220-volt outlets and wires with other types of insulation for starters, he contends.

“It’s nice that they came out with this information, but it’s lacking detail,” says Foreman. “All it does is just add confusion.”

By revising their guidelines, the agencies now differ from those issued by a federal judge who is overseeing a consolidated court proceeding on Chinese drywall.

In a pair of rulings last year, U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon said all electrical wiring should be removed as part of any repairs done under the court case. A drywall manufacturer is now following that standard as it fixes 300 homes in a pilot program that could lead to a national settlement.

Several attorneys in the case say it is unlikely Fallon will change his requirements, which can cost $100,000 per home to implement, as a result of the agencies’ revision.

But the agencies now are more in line with recommendations the National Association of Home Builders issued earlier this week. Some have criticized the builders’ protocol because it does not recommend the removal of all wiring.

“Now, we have complete alignment and a sense of relief for homeowners and builders that, if there is no corrosion in the wiring, it doesn’t necessarily have to be removed,” says Katherine Cahill, product risk services managing director for Marsh Risk Consulting, who helped develop the NAHB’s standards.

(c) 2011, Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Housing starts will probably reach a three-year high of 739,000 in 2001, creating about 500,000 jobs and helping trim the unemployment rate to 9.1 percent, said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, in an interview with Bloomberg.

“This is an ugly economic cycle,” he said. “We need job creation to get people comfortable with buying a home. If they do that, we’ll create jobs that will reinforce that home buying and fuel additional job growth.”

Job growth in other sectors, as well as population growth, will also likely have an effect. The number of U.S. households will rise 0.7 percent to 118.7 million in 2011, the largest annual gain since the beginning of the housing crisis in 2007. Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer at Advisors Capital Management LLC in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., expects jobs to rise by an average of 200,000 per month in 2011.

The CEO of luxury home builder Toll Brothers is optimistic. “The recovery is here to stay,” said Douglas Yearley. “I think 2011 will be an improving year, but I think 2012 will be a big year for us.”

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page

Americans overwhelmingly oppose any action by Congress to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction, according to a nationwide survey which supports the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® position that homeownership incentives must be preserved. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they support retaining federal tax incentives to promote homeownership in a survey commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders. “These results show strong national voter support for keeping the mortgage interest deduction,” said Neil Newhouse, partner at Public Opinion Strategies, a research firm based in Alexandria, Va., which conducted the survey. “Clearly, voters have a very strong connection to the home mortgage interest deduction and are not likely to respond well to efforts to reduce or eliminate it. In fact, voters overwhelmingly say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who supported either eliminating or reducing the home mortgage interest deduction,” Newhouse said.

NAHB’s findings bolster efforts by NAR to refocus national attention on the benefits of homeownership. NAR’s Homeownership Matters initiative is dedicated to maintaining taxpayer incentives and challenging misleading reports in the media that are being used to attack long-standing government policies. NAR will host a free webinar on Sept. 28 featuring chief economist Lawrence Yun to provide practitioners and REALTOR® association executives with information on NAR’s initiative.

Even when told that getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction would help ease the federal budget deficit, 72 percent of respondents in the NAHB survey opposed any proposal to abolish the home mortgage interest deduction. This cut across partisan lines and home owner status; 76 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Independents, and 64 percent of Democrats oppose eliminating the deduction. Meanwhile, 75 percent of home owners and 55 percent of renters also oppose doing away with the home mortgage interest deduction.

Public Opinion Strategies conducted the survey Sept. 9 through 12 to assess the public’s attitude toward the mortgage interest deduction and the importance of homeownership.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures.

Sources: NAR, National Association of Home Builders

RISMEDIA, July 29, 2010—After getting the keys to their new homes, many first-time home buyers are excited about finally having the opportunity to personalize and furnish their new house. From coffee tables to lamps to lawnmowers, many previous renters leap into homeownership quickly realizing they need to do a lot of shopping to truly make their house a home.

“Whether you’ve been living in an apartment with roommates or at your parents’ house, many first-time home buyers do not think about all the items they need – and want – when moving into a house,” said Janice Jones, national vice president of merchandising for Centex. “With a little advance planning and budgeting, you won’t break the bank to make your new home a reflection of your personal style and showcase your pride of homeownership.”

A typical home buyer spends $7,400 on average on their home, with more than half of that spent in the first year after purchase, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

While many first-time home buyers may not have accounted for this level of spending, Jones offers advice on what types of items to purchase to not only properly maintain and live in the home, but also more importantly, items that help new homeowners feel like their house is a place to call home.

Furnishings
Many first-time home buyers no longer want their parents’ hand-me downs or their childhood bedroom set. From sofas to dining room sets to mattresses, many first-time home buyers take the opportunity to upgrade their furniture when moving into their new home. According to an NAHB study, furnishings take the biggest chunk of the budget, with home buyers spending about $5,300 on furnishings during the first year after buying a home. The biggest ticket item for all households is bedroom furnishings, including mattresses, followed by sofas.

Window coverings and linens
The median square footage of homes bought by first-time buyers is 1,500. So, you can only imagine the number of windows that need to be covered to ensure privacy and security in a home. According to Jones, many home buyers don’t account for this in their budget. Additionally, with the ability to now paint and decorate each room, new homeowners find that they want to purchase new bedroom and bathroom linens.

Garden tools
Since a first-time home buyer is likely to move into their home from an apartment, unless you plan on hiring a gardener, you’ll need to purchase a few basic gardening tools, including a lawnmower, garden hose, sprinkler and a shovel (for winter weather).

Flat screen TV
Let’s face it: many home buyers shop for their new home while taking into a consideration how a new, large, flat-screen television set will be situated in their new living space. So, it’s not a surprise that a hot item on the list is purchasing an entertainment system.

However, you’ll also need the basic appliances in your new home: a refrigerator, stove, and a washer/dryer. While many existing homes usually come with appliances, a home buyer needs to take inventory as to whether or not they will need to purchase these big ticket items before they purchase their new bedroom set.

Basic tool kit
Every home needs a well-stocked tool box. Many home improvement stores have sets you can purchase, but make sure it includes a hammer, screw drivers, pliers, wrenches, a tape measure and a staple gun.

“My biggest piece of advice for new home buyers is to be creative and tackle this room by room,” said Jones. “For example, after outfitting your home with the necessary items—like appliances and window coverings—move on to the kitchen and family room spaces. This area is the heart of your home where everyone gathers.

“Look for great values on the items you need that will be utilized most. Take your time and get the feel of how you want to use each space for both function and enjoyment. This strategy allows homeowners to stage their purchases and add new furnishings as the budget allows. Decorating your new home should be fun and a reflection of your personal style.”

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

For more information, visit www.centex.com.

RISMEDIA, April 20, 2010—(MCT)—Fresh data on new construction of U.S. housing units revealed an upward trend in place since the beginning of the year, with an initial report of February 2010 weakness revised away.

Starts rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 annualized units, the Commerce Department recently reported. This was stronger than the 610,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Even more surprising, February starts were revised higher to a 616,000 pace from the 570,000 previously reported. This was up 1.1% from the prior month. The initial estimate had been a 5.9% drop.

As a result of the revisions, starts have risen for three straight months and are now at their highest level since November 2008. “The bottom line is that there is an upward trend and construction will be moving higher provided that new-home sales improve as well,” said Michelle Meyer, economist at Barclays Capital. Meyer cautioned that one should not get carried away with the improvement as it comes from “an incredibly low level of activity.”

Treasury prices and the dollar added to recent gains after the report. The government cautioned that its monthly housing data are volatile and subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. In most months, the government can’t be sure even whether starts increased or decreased. In March, for instance, the standard error for starts was plus or minus 15.2%. Large revisions are common, but rarely have they been in such a positive direction during this recession.

In March, strength came from multifamily starts. There was a slight decrease in starts of single-family homes. Starts of single-family homes fell 0.9% to a 531,000 rate in March, while starts of multifamily units surged 39.7% to 88,000.

The strength was concentrated in the South; all other regions declined in March.

“This was a modestly positive report. It is nice that construction is improving, but it would be better if the gains were more widespread,” wrote Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers.

In the past year, starts are down 20.2%. Starts of single-family homes are up 47.1%, while starts of apartments and condominium units have plunged 31.8%.

Building permits rose 7.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 in March.

Building permits for single-family homes increased 5.6% to a 543,000 rate—the highest level since August 2008. Many economists consider single-family permits to be the most important number in the government’s release. Permits for apartments rose 15.4% to 142,000.

The National Association of Home Builders recently said its members were more encouraged about their business in April. The builder’s sentiment index rose to 19 in April from 15 in March. “We may be seeing some modest improvement in the fundamentals for new housing construction,” wrote the RDQ economic team in a note to clients.

A tax subsidy for buyers expires at the end of April, and “we will need to see data for May and June before we can put too much weight on this conjecture,” the RDQ note said.

It can take four months for a new trend in housing starts to emerge from the data. In the past four months, housing starts have averaged 606,000 annualized, up from 594,000 in the four months ending in February.

The industry has slashed production of new homes to work off a massive amount of unsold inventory. The number of homes under construction fell 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted 489,000, the lowest on record, dating back to 1970. “Any pickup in demand,” Meyer said, “will warrant an increase in new construction.”

(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.  I can be reached by email at chance@ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, March 12, 2010—As spring approaches, many homeowners grow eager to start remodeling projects to update and refresh their surroundings. Before getting started, it’s a good idea to hire a professional remodeler for a workable plan and better results, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“A professional remodeler knows how to translate a homeowner’s dreams and budget into a beautiful reality,” said Donna Shirey, CGR, CAPS, CGP, president of Shirey Contracting in Issaquah, Wash. and 2010 chairman of NAHB Remodelers. “They have the expertise and skills to satisfy a customer while keeping the budget in check.”

Here are five tips for planning a successful home remodel that you can enjoy for many years to come.

1. Compile a list of home remodeling ideas and draft a budget for the work.
You likely have some projects in mind, such as modernizing the bathroom, renovating the kitchen, replacing windows or repairing the roof. Prioritize your wish list: Maybe you don’t have the budget for your dream remodel, but professional remodelers can maximize your dollars by doing the work in phases, suggesting budget-friendly products and materials and implementing creative design solutions.

2. Look for a professional remodeler to help plan the project.
Start by searching NAHB’s Directory of Professional Remodelers at www.nahb.org/remodel. You’ll get a list of nearby remodelers to contact. Asking friends and neighbors for names of qualified remodelers will also help you find a match for your project.

3. Check the references and background of the remodeler.
After you start speaking with remodelers and find one or two who match your project’s needs, be sure to conduct some background research by checking with the Better Business Bureau, talking to their references and asking if they are a trade association member (such as NAHB Remodelers). Remodelers with these qualities tend to be more reliable, better educated and more likely to stay on top of construction and design trends.

4. Agree on a contract.
Talk over the details of the home remodeling project and begin reviewing the contract. You’ll want to check the remodelers’ insurance coverage, ask about any warranties on their work, know who is responsible for obtaining any building permits and understand the process for making any change orders after the contract is signed. Make sure that you and your remodeler see eye to eye before you sign on the dotted line.

5. Take advantage of the energy efficiency tax credits.
If your remodel includes replacing windows or doors, adding insulation, installing new roofing, upgrading heating or air-conditioning units, updating the water heater or installing energy generating products (such as solar panels, heat pumps or wind turbines) then you can take advantage of federal energy efficiency tax credits through 2010 that will help defray costs and maximize your remodeling budget while reducing home energy bills.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org.

You ever have on of those day when you don’t feel like working, that was me yesterday even thought I love working in the Reno/Sparks real estate.  For those of you who are use to a new article every weekday I apologize for not having one.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate consultant I always welcome any comments or questions on the Reno/Sparks real estate or any of the articles I posted.  You can email me directly at  chance at ballard-company.com

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