NEXTGEN BUILDERS

I know what you are thinking, would anyone in their right mind build a new home today. After all, you may be able to purchase an equivalent  foreclosed property for perhaps 25% less. That may have been considered a really smart investment even 5 years ago. Today! not so much. There has been a metamorphosis in the building industry that is changing the building landscape. It is like the difference between an eight track audio tape and the latest MP3 player.  Nextgen Builders and other green builders are now designing and building high performance houses that requires very little fossil fuel energy, built with eco friendly materials and sport features that will future  proof your home for decades. Some high performance house may even feature net zero energy. This is exciting stuff.

Nextgen high performance houses now comes standard with Photo Voltaic (PV) systems installed. PV systems produces electric power that may offset a home's energy requirement  by as much as 80% in some cases.

The installation of Solar water heaters may also provide up to 100% of the total hot water usage in a home.

Radiant heated floors combined with Geothermal or solar heaters can cut your heating bills by 50%......and provides a much more comfortable environment. If you have not experience heated floors before, you will be amazed at the comfort this system provides. Homeowners who have this system swear they would never return to the conventional hot air system. The real difference of a radiant floor system lies in the  simply fact that radiant systems heats objects and not  air. This means all the furniture inside your house would be heated, to let’s say 70 degrees, instead of the air temperature which is at best drafty. Actually this is the very method by which the sun heats the earth. There is more. People feels comfortable if their feet is warm. Your feet serves as the body’s thermometer.  Radiant floor heat warms your feet which produces a very comfortable feeling to the rest of your body.

The  installation of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) can effectively cut the build time by months and provide a super insulated  building enveloped  that is very energy efficient.

The list goes on with the adaptation  Compact Fluorescent and LED lights instead of incandescent, the application of renewable materials and the usage of safe materials such as low VOC paint and glues.

Home features designed to match the way you live

Homeowners in the last  two or so decades lead a completely different lifestyle than their grand parents. I am amazed at how little the  layout of homes does not keep pace with the change in lifestyle of its occupants. We have had a cultural revolution in this country, yet the home plans remain essentially the same for many decades.

When was the last time you had a formal sit down, white tablecloth, candle lit dinner in your dining room. Well. Ok, so you have not used it in that manner in a very long time. No need to feel guilty, that’s the American lifestyle.  You are living in a land of the casual culture…and that’s fine. But why include a formal room that will never be used. So what is the answer here. The solution is to have a larger eat in kitchen  with stools around a counter and a fair sized breakfast nook that can double as a sit down eatery when required.  Many of our customers are now coming to that place where common sense is simply prevailing against age old habits.

The same goes for living rooms. They are going the way of the dinosaur.

Can I attack a sacred cow?.  Reduce the size of bedrooms, especially the Master Bedroom. Why?, because most homeowners are far too busy to really use a separate sitting area in the bedroom. The honest truth is that most working couples are far too tired at the end of the day and simply utilize the room for sleeping. Folks also watch TV from the comfort of their bed. 

On the other hand a great need exist for more closet storage, much more closet storage. Increase the closet size and simultaneously decrease the size the bedroom.

Reduce the overall size of your home (increase the size of places you need)

Did you know that the average size of the American home has almost doubled in less than 5 decades. I do not advocate a small house, neither am I on the Mac mansion bandwagon. I see a trend moving towards right size houses. The right size house will match your current and future needs. For instance, it a statistical fact that many couples will have their aging parents live with them. Yet, only a very small percentage of homes are equipped with a first floor bedroom for this purpose. 

The size of the family room should increase since this is the gathering area. Kitchens and breakfast nooks should be open and accessible to the family Room.

Living rooms and formal dining rooms should be eliminated. A small office should be included. Storage areas should be increased. Sleeping areas should be decreased.

A mud room should be added. Open two story areas need to be decreased or eliminated to promote energy efficient spaces. Nextgen Builders invest many hours with prospective homeowners in planning and designing their future homes based on their current and future requirements.

Instant Equity should NOT be your motivation

I do not want to open any wounds here; After all, if anyone is hurting, custom home builders should be the first in line. In the old days ( I am talking abut the last 10 years) builders, bankers, investors and homeowners alike simply propagated an unsustainable building proposition.  Build  a fabulous home, wait a year or a few months for the equity to skyrocket and pull cash out to spend as you like. That was a fallacy. We are all paying for that folly now.  Every house does appreciate over time….a lot of time. That is the old time tested value proposition. Now you may ask, why should I buy a home if it will not appreciate RAPIDLY in value.

How about buying because you are tired of paying rent.

How about buying because you would like to live in a zero energy high performance, eco friendly home.

How about building a house that is matched precisely to all your current and future needs.

How about buying a home, that not only increase in value over time, but will be very desirous to prospective homeowners and thus sells quickly when you are ready to move to your island in the sun.