Lake Norman Real Estate: Interesting Facts on Green Building

Interesting Facts on Green Building

As an avid reader of Builder magazine, I came across an interesting article called "To go Green, or not to go Green." I just wanted to share some information from the article.

Green building is projected to grow as a share in the overall residential construction market from just 2% in 2005 to between 12% and 20% in 2012. In current US dollars, that's from $7B to $40B-$70B by 2012.

Here is an average one builder has made on the Cost of going green.

Green Items Additional Cost
Inspections/Modeling $3,000 - $5,000
2 by 6 exterior wall $4,000 - $6,000
Housewrap $2,000 - $4,000
Asphalt paper over housewrap $1,000 - $2,000
High-Quality Windows $8,000 - $10,000
Blown Insulation $3,000 - $40,000
Tight Duct Systems $1,000 - $2,000
Upgrade furnace or boilers $2,000 - $5,000
Upgrade a/c units $2,000 - $5,000

So you can see that building green can cost quite a bit extra money up front, but can also help you save in the long term. If you are planning on staying in a home for a long time, building green may be the way to go!

See also:

Lake Norman Green Building 2
Learn all about windows and effeciency
What does it mean to be green?

Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Building a custom home in the Lake Norman area?

DK Construction - Affordable, high quality custom homes in the Lake Norman area.

General Contractors


Greg Fisher has over 20 years of homebuilding experience through his career. Greg has lived on Lake Norman in the highly touted "The Point" community for the last few years. Greg understands the challenges of the current market and has developed a HYBRID homebuilding program designed for the Lake Norman area that can literally save those that want to build a custom home, hundreds of thousands of dollars! Greg served on the NC committee to adopt the International Building code and is also a master carpenter. He believes in using the highest standards to building a new home and uses standards that far exceed the Residential Building code.


Jeremy Adair has built over 175 homes in the Washington DC and Charlotte, NC markets. A graduate of Penn State University and former Project Manager for Ryan Homes, Jeremy understands the pitfalls that come with builder's saving pennies and the strengths and weaknesses of buying/building a production home. Working for a production builder for some time, Jeremy new it was time to switch over to the custom side and focus more on the customer and building a 100% quality home that families will enjoy for a lifetime. Jeremy is also a certified site inspector in Charlotte/Mecklenburg and a licensed Real Estate Broker.

For more information on these Licensed General Contractors and the New Lake Norman Hybrid Building Program, contact Jeremy Adair at 704.315.8106 or at Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com.

See Also:
Lake Norman Hybrid Building Program Links

Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Want to save hundreds of thousands on your next custom home?

New Hybrid Home Building Program Introduced to the Lake Norman Area

DK Construction has introduced a new building program that consolidates the strengths of a full service construction contract and owner/builder programs. Greg Fisher, NC General Contractor and Project Manager, points out the problems of owner/builder programs, such as obtaining favorable financing, managing subs, hands on management, and the requirement to hold the house for 2 years before you can sell it. By contrast, those seeking a full service contract will be subjected to the high cost of doing business.

A hybrid construction program was developed to take the best of both programs and help people get the best product at the lowest price. A flat fee of $12 per square foot is charged to the owner. A DK Construction general contractor pulls the building permit, provides cost estimates, manages the job, provides all sub contractors and oversees all county inspections. The home owner acts as a superintendent, aiding in scheduling and paying all bills. The end result is that a quality home is built with huge savings. For example, under this program, local home owners have built high end homes in the $118 to $155 per square foot range. As comparison, most full service contracts in this market are priced at over $200 per square foot.

Home owners are not required to have construction experience. DK Construction’s general contractors provide the required experience and consultation to keep the job on track and eliminate costly mistakes; however, homeowners need to allocate an average of 1 hour a day to keep on top of their responsibilities.

With real estate changing, buyers need to buy at wholesale prices to help maintain 80% Loan to Value and protect their equity. This hybrid program does this and much more! For more information, contact Jeremy Adair @ 704.315.8106 or visit www.CharlotteAreaNewConstruction.com.

Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Lake Norman Hybrid Homebuilding Program

Lake Norman Hybrid Homebuilding Program Links

Meet your Licensed General Contractors for the Lake Norman Hybrid Program
Build your new Custom Home together with a Licensed NC General Contractor
Save 100's of Thousands on your new custom Lake Norman home
Save $$ on your next Lake Norman Custom Home

Lake Norman Real Estate: Lake Norman Green Building Part 2

Project Live Green

July 11 - 13, & 18 - 20, 2008 - Sherrills Ford
Green Home Tour

Jennifer Pippin will host a Green Home Tour of her Green Home Renovation project for two consecutive weekends, from 10am-6pm each day. We will invite the public to tour the Green Home as a fund-raising event, with proceeds from ticket sales going to 'Our Town's Habitat for Humanity' 2009 'Woman Build' home. Tickets for the event are $11.00
See Green Home Tour for directions and more details.

October 4, 2008 - Charlotte, NC
NCSEA Solar and Green Home Tour
Tour homes in the environs of the Charlotte area and learn about readily-available building alternatives.

More links to this post:
Pippin Home Designs
Project Live Green
What it means to be green

Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Thinking of Building a New Custom Home?

Save hundreds of thousands on your new custom home!

Sitting on that beautiful lot near lake norman but not ready to build a new house yet? Our new custom home construction program can literally save you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hear from past clients on this exciting program that saved hundreds of thousands on their own custom built homes in the Lake Norman area.

This is different than the Mooresville based Ubuildit program. Our program offers more guidance and you simply build your home "together with" an experienced custom homebuilder that has built homes in well over the $1M range. This reason we can offer this program is the fact that we do not have a lot of the overhead that some of the larger builders/programs use. Use our 25+ years experience and find out how you can build a custom at cost of $12 per sq. ft. contractors fee!

We are with you 100% of the way until the home is completed!

Click here to find out more information on this program.

Contact me to set up an appointment!
Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Brand NEW "Build it Together" Program that can save you hundreds of thousands!

Lake Norman "Build it Together" Program!

Economic times are difficult and EVERYONE is trying to stretch that dollar out to see how far you can make it last. Right now new construction is the way to go finding new deals and programs around every corner.

I have recently teamed with Greg Fisher, a Custom Builder that is well known around the lake norman area and has over 20 yrs. of experience in the custom homebuilding industry. Together we are promoting the "Build it Together" program which focuses on getting people into a custom home at a very affordable price.

Click on the link to see some of our clients homes!

I would like to share with you how much some of them saved by using this program!

So why would you want to build your own home?
- It empowers you to take control of your own project
- Focus your budget on labor and materials, rather than markup and overhead costs
- You can design/customize your home from the ground up
- No fees for changes or late upgrades, simply pay the actual cost
- Move into your home with EQUITY!
- Achieve your 80% LTV using your equity in the program

How much can I really save?
- Most custom builders in the Lake Norman area charge $200.00+ per sq. ft.
- Our clients have paid between $117 to $155 per sq. ft. depending on level of finish
- Under our Program, we charge a consulting fee of $12.00 per sq. ft.
- On a custom 4,000 sq. ft. home you pay a builder approx. $800,000 - you can build it using our program for approx. $520,000
That’s a savings of approx. $280,000!

Meet your NC licensed General Contractors


Greg Fisher
- 20+ years of experience
- Served on the NC committee to adopt the International Building Code
- Master Carpenter
- Green Builder


Jeremy Adair
- Has built over 175 homes in the DC and Charlotte markets
- Certified Site Inspector (CMCSI) for the city of Charlotte and Meck. County
- Licensed NC General Contractor and Real Estate Broker
- Graduated from Penn State University in 02’

How the Program Works
- The house is permitted to a licensed GC who manages the project to meet all county building requirements
- Use the GC’s recommended sub contractors or we will help you find others
- Utilize our 25+ years experience, solid sub base, and contractor discounts
- You pay all bills and supervise construction
- With a licensed GC pulling permits, financing is available and you are free to sell the house at any time. If you pull your own permit, you must live in the home for 2 years and you are responsible for your own financing.
- Contractor fees are set at $12 per sq. ft. and are paid over the course of construction
- No additional fees for changes, upgrades, or overhead. You pay actual cost
- Full service contracting is also available
- No building experience is required, we provide experience and teach every one of our clients the right way to build a house.


This program allows you to
- Use from our high quality sub contractor base
- Design your own home
- Build on your own lot
- Control your own project and get the most for your investment
- Move into your new home with EQUITY!
- Achieve your 80% LTV with your instant equity



To find out more information on this exciting program contact
Jeremy Adair
NC Licensed GC
NC Licensed Broker
Phone: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

It makes sense to buy in Charlotte and the surrounding areas - Number don't lie!

It makes sense to buy in Charlotte!

I came across an article on MSN today that is called "66 Cities where buying makes sense." It simply runs the numbers on 100 different markets and establishes where the numbers point to buy or rent.

Charlotte comes up in the top 50 places where it makes sense to purchase a home, rather than rent a home in the next few years. The study predicts that if you were to purchase a home today in the Charlotte region that in 4 years you would accrue $27K-$30K in equity.

You are seeing in the study that all the markets that were on fire just a few years ago, are the ones that got hit the hardest. The Charlotte region has a history of stability and growth and still remains one of the better markets to this day. Making money/building equity in buying and selling property is all about timing. The numbers are pointing to now being the time to invest in property in the Charlotte Real Estate Market!

See Also:
Charlotte/Lake Norman Real Estate Links
Why you need an agent to purchase a home
Charlotte/Lake Norman Real Estate Maps
Lake Norman Real Estate Guide
First Time Homebuyers

Contact your Lake Norman Real Estate Expert for more information on this post.

Jeremy Adair
Real Living - Davidson, NC
Cell: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Agency Relationships

Agency Relationships in Real Estate

EVERY time an agent represents you, they should first explain to you all the Agency Relationship options and make you aware of what each entails. In North Carolina they should also supply and review the "Working with Real Estate Agents Brochure" and make sure you understand all of the representation options. This is a MUST when it comes to Real Estate in North Carolina. If your agent has not completed this with you, it may be good to find another agent that will take the time to review this information. Below is a brief summary on the different types of agency relationships.

Single Agency
In single agency, the firm/broker exclusively represents either the buyer or the seller in a transaction. The agent represents one client, and any third party is a customer.

Buyer Agency
When a buyer contracts a firm/broker to locate property and represents that buyers interest in the transaction, the buyer is the principal, also knows as the buyer's client. The broker as an agent, is strictly accountable to the buyer and the seller is a third party.

Dual Agency
In dual agency, the broker/firm represent the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. This requires the agent to be equally loyal to two seperate principals at the same time. The challenge to the agent, is to fulfill the fidiciary duties to either principal without compromising the other.

Designated Dual Agency
Also known as designated agency, involves appointing one or more licensees of a firm to represent the seller and appointing another licensee of the same firm to represent the buyer in the same real estate transaction.

These are just the basics of the different agency relationships. Make sure the agent you use explains all of these in detail so you can make sure you are being represented the way you should.

See also:
Charlotte/Lake Norman Information Links
Fiduciary Duties of an Agent
First time homebuyers
Why I need an agent to purchase/sell a home
Tips for selling your home

Contact your Lake Norman Real Estate Expert for more information on this post.

Jeremy Adair
Real Living - Davidson, NC
Cell: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com

Lake Norman Real Estate: Windows - Types and Energy Effeciency - Regular glass vs. Low E Windows

Windows 101

Window's in your house do many important things. Window's help decorate a house making it more attractive from the inside and outside as well as leaving in natural light. Unfortunately windows also account for roughly 25% of the heat loss within your house as well.

It is very important when upgrading your existing home, flipping a home, building a home, purchasing a home, or selling a home that you know about the different types of windows and what their features and benefits are. It can easily save you or make you thousands if you make the right decisions. Certain types of windows may be more ideal for a certain area in your home and a higher quality window with a higher insulation value can either save you money in utilities, or be a key resale factor in the future. Make sure you consult a professional when making your decisions.

Types of Windows
Awning Windows
Awning windows have a hinge at the top of the window and usually have a crank located on the bottom of the window. They can be cranked open and shape an awning which means they can allow ventilation even when you have a light rain.


Casement Windows
Casement windows also have a crank usually located at the bottom but they open out to the side, not up like an awning window. Casement windows can usually be found over top of something that makes a crank an ideal way to open a window. They are normally found over a sink, countertop, or in a sunroom.

Single Hung/Double Hung Windows
In a single hung window, only the bottom or top sash in the window move. The other sash is fixed and cannot be opened. Therefore, only half of the window can be opened. Double hung windows allow both sashes to be opened, giving you more options and making the window easier to clean. This window is a nice option for families with young children because the top sash can be opened allowing less risk of falling out of the window.

Glider or Sliders
Gliding windows or sliders are a nice alternative to a casement window if outside the window is in a high traffic area. This reduces the chance of somebody running into a window while it is open.

Picture Windows or Fixed Windows
Picture Windows or Fixed Windows often are put in rooms to portray a picture of the outside or two mainly allow sunlight to come into a room. These windows do not open making them less of a leak hazard.

Regular Glass vs. Low E Glass
Regular glass looks great, allows a lot of light to come in the house, and is cost effecient. Regular glass also allows a lot of heat loss within the home.



Low E glass was introduced in 1979. The E stand for emissivity which works by reflecting heat back to it's source. There are many different levels and types of Low E Windows that may offer some benefits that you are looking for. Appearance-wise you won't be able to tell much difference from a regular glass window and a low E window. Low E windows are usually slightly tinted although this is very difficult to see unless you compare them side by side. The main benefits of low e windows is that it allows visible light to pass while blocking levels of UV and IR light from coming into your home. UV light damages your skin, wood, fabrics, and causes colors to fade (such as hardwood). IR light is simply heat.

In addition to low E windows saving you on heat loss and UV light, they usually also stay cleaner and do not show water spots as bad as regular glass windows.

See Also:
Links for Buyers
Lake Norman/Charlotte Information Links
First time homebuyers
Why do I need an agent to purchase a home?

Contact your Lake Norman Real Estate Expert for more information on this post.

Jeremy Adair
Real Living - Davidson, NC
Cell: 704.315.8106
Fax: 704.892.9766
Jeremy.Adair@RealLiving.com