American Housing Builders, Inc

The mortgage interest deduction has been a reliable fact of American home ownership for a long time. Best not to mess with it.

Any politicos who have their eye on eliminating the mortgage interest deduction had better take a look at this: The National Association of Home Builders reports that a poll it commissioned earlier this month shows nearly 80% of U.S. voters will support the mortgage interest deduction–at the expense of politicians who do not.

According to the poll, 79% of all respondents, both owners and renters, believe the federal government should provide tax incentives to promote homeownership. Even when told that eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would help ease the federal budget deficit, 72% said they opposed any proposal to abolish it. Among that group, 76% of Republicans, 75% of independents, and 64% of Democrats oppose eliminating the deduction. Meanwhile, 75% of homeowners and 55% of renters also oppose doing away with the home mortgage interest deduction.

Read The Whole Story Here
Via: http://www.builderonline.com/default.aspx
Thanks: Staff

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White reflects light and heat, right? Well, yes, but it is not that simple– not yet anyway. Can a white roof be attractive? They look pretty good down here in the Pinellas/Manatee county area of Florida’s subtropics– maybe not so suitable for Wisconsin, though. But it needn’t be white to be reflective… really!

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s off-beat idea of painting roofs white all across America is an initiative he has been promoting eagerly, the Voice of AmericaNews.com reported Sept. 21. Now he wants white roofs all over the world. That won’t be easy in countries with thatched roofs. Chu is President Obama’s Nobel prize-winning green guru. So, what’s with the white fetish?

A coat of white paint on a roof can lower both carbon emissions and cost, Chu has contended. The concept he espouses is this: as sunlight beams down on us, roughly half the energy shines as light. The light heats our rooftops. If the roof is white, the sunlight will reflect off the roof instead of heating the roof’s surface. By reducing the need for energy that cools our homes and offices, tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be saved, slowing global warming.

… Chu doesn’t mention is the fact that a high-tech roofing product—now several years after being developed–has revolutionized the building industry, according to a report from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It consists of reflective pigments that make a dark roof reflect almost like a white roof. “To homeowners, dark roofs simply look better than…white roofs,” and the “aesthetically pleasing dark roof can be made to reflect like a white roof in the near infrared spectrum,” assured the 2004 report.

Read The Whole Story Here
Via:http://www.smartbrief.com/

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Florida is one of the few states in which few insurance companies compete for your home insurance policy. This really changes the online insurance selection game.

Outside of Florida in states where there are hundreds of companies to choose from for homeowners insurance, these quote generator websites are usually helpful. They do your research and you’ll have a lot of low cost options to consider.

Getting quotes for Florida home insurance presents a totally different situation when it comes to using these websites.

To begin with, unlike in other states, Florida has a lot fewer companies to choose from since only about 40 home insurance companies are writing new business. In addition, you should know that these Florida home insurance companies pay the quote generator websites for each lead that is provided to them. In reality what is happening is that the Florida insurance companies are paying the quote generator websites for the higher search engine rankings their sites have in order to reach more customers.

Read The Whole Story Here
Via: http://www.crossmagazine.com/
Thanks:Alex Bhaswara

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The following compact article from which I have quoted contains five steps for new construction home builder should follow. The first two steps, which are 1. Plan your budget and 2. Choose a location, would at first appear to be strictly personal decisions and analysis that the prospective buyer should make on his own. But a new home construction contractor may have many insights and much experience local to the Tampa Bay and Pinellas County area that you as a “civilian” could not be expected to have. Take advantage of our experience and insights! Call Us– we’re the experts in The Tampa Bay/Pinellas area!

Florida custom home builders offer many homeowners the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to build their dream home. Of course, like any investment on this large a scale, it is necessary to take certain steps to make sure you do it right, and to make sure the end result is really the dream home you set out to get.

But don’t let this scare you into not pursuing the perfect home. Hiring Florida custom home builders and building your dream home can be easier than you might think, if you break it down into a to-do list. Here are five steps you need to take in order to build your dream home.

Read the whole story.
via:http://homes-design.com/

Pinellas County is the most densely populated county in Florida, and Hillsborough, Manatee, and the surrounding metro area is not far behind. Given the rising cost and time of commuting and the development of urban amenities in the Tampa Bay area, many people are finding that infill new home construction on a vacant lot may be the best way to go. We have an inventory of lots for sale ready for development, but if you wish to make a survey of your own, the following article is very useful. The author, Brad Nix of Atlanta, claims to have had difficulty finding a guide to finding and purchasing vacant lots or raw land on the Internet, and I can support him on this claim. So thanks, Brad!

A client of mine is beginning the process to purchase a vacant lot to build his new home. As expected, he has many questions about how to do find the right property and then what to do with it once he has found it. After searching the web for a good website that explains the process of buying raw land, I realized that there aren’t any great ones and very few at all that I would recommend he read. So I decided to put this post together to send to my client and share with everyone else.

Read the whole story.

via:http://activerain.com/

Call Us– we’re the experts in The Tampa bay/Pinellas area!

First Time Home Buyers Looking for Smaller, Less Expensive Homes!

Image via Wikipedia

According to a September 20, 2010 report on NAHB‘s online newspaper, Nation’s Building News, first time home buyers are demanding smaller and less expensive new homes. According to a recent American Housing survey conducted by HUD and the Census Bureau, 41% of the 8.4 million new home buyers between 2007 and 2009 were first time home buyers.

First time home buyers bought homes averageing 1,874 square foot, which is below the 2,549 square foot of homes purchased by those trading up.

Click here to read entire article.

Contact American Housing Builders, Inc. for information on our new homes at 727-546-6611.

This article advocates, among other things,  doing your own footwork and investigation of the neighborhoods in which you intend to build a new home, and contacting those new home builders in Tampa Bay area whose construction impresses you favorably. At this point, how the contractors’ representatives treat you is probably a good indication of the kind of experience you will have. Particularly important is the ability and willingness of the prospective construction teams to answer your questions. Call us– we’re the friendly experts in The Tampa bay/Pinellas County area!

When it comes to building your new Florida home, not all builders are created equal. If you have decided to build a new home in Florida, it is very important that you choose the right home builder for the job. Ideally, you will want to find a home builder with experience, references, a great product, and a great price.

Read the whole story.

Via: http://www.nowiwant.com/to-know/

Most of our agitation when closing an important financial process like new home construction comes from being unprepared or less-than-knowledgeable. A little prep and education can make everything feel a lot smoother.

Closing on a new home can produce anxiety in many home buyers. There is much to do in preparation of closing day, and sometimes this process can seem a bit overwhelming. But there are several things that a home buyer can do before it is time to close on their Florida home that will make the whole process a lot easier and less stressful.

Read the whole article here.

Sure- FHA Loans may require more paperwork. This is a government guaranteed loan program, after all. But in times like these, the FHA program is worth considering. This article excerpted below gives a good overview and history of the FHA Home Loan program.

FHA loans have historically allowed lower income Floridians to borrow money for the purchase of a home that they would not otherwise be able to afford. The FHA mortgage program originated during the Great Depression of the 1930s to stimulate the economy and get people buying homes again when the rates of foreclosures and defaults rose sharply. The FHA loan program provides lenders with sufficient insurance to protect against loss in a case of default. Some FHA loan were subsidized by the government, but the goal was to make it self-supporting, based on insurance premiums paid by Florida borrowers.

Read the whole article here.

Via: Online10

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Yeah, you don’t want to even THINK about what went into the construction of this house– you’ll get a headache. That’s what you hire us for!
Three amazing things about the new home construction process chronicled in this entertaining video:

1. It took 5 days from razing old structure to turn-key.
2. No one was seriously injured in the process.
3. The new house fits perfectly into the old neighborhood.

There must have been a serious on-time completion bonus involved here. I’m just saying.

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Here is a quick and painless video presentation outlining a few considerations regarding your choice between remodeling your house or constructing a new one.

2) Location, location, location
Are you tied to your current location? Does a specific school district keep you planted in place? Do you have a great lake lot? If the answer is yes, then your home is a candidate for remodeling. If not, getting exactly what you want can be achieved through building a custom home.

See the whole article here.

Via ITWeb

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This article helps to clarify the issues one must consider before embarking on the search for a vacant lot for building a new home. As counties in the Tampa Bay area build up, so-called “infill” becomes the dominant mode for new construction– particularly in Pinellas County, Florida‘s densest in population.

Next ensure that the lot you are considering meets the requirements for the building you are considering. What is the setback from the road? Are there any easements that are carried over to the lot that need to be considered? What is the maximum footprint your home can have in relation to the lot? All of these questions need to be approved by the municipality prior to construction. It would be wise to make inquiries prior to construction to determine that your home plan is appropriate for the lot you are considering.

Read the whole article here: Suite101: Vacant Land: For New Home Construction

Via: Suite101

By Joel Nash

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