Home is where the Real E$tate is by Fergus

The Comeback Kid of Real Estate: Why Prefab Kit  Homes Are Back and Cooler Than Ever When most people hear “prefabricated home,” their minds go straight to those clunky, cookie-cutter houses from decades ago. However, as any home and design enthusiast knows this is less and less the case, particular when it comes to matters of style, efficiency, and sustainability.  So, what exactly is a kit home? Think of it as IKEA meets real estate—except instead of assembling a bookshelf, you’re building your dream house or maybe a starter home depending on your stage of life and or future goals. Kit homes come with all the pieces you need (pre-cut and labeled, no less), shipped right to your lot. Some even come partially assembled. Whether you're working with a builder or going full DIY, it’s a more streamlined way to build a house and in many cases they are surprisingly affordable and or customizable with some caveats which I will discuss later.  Why Kit Homes Are Gaining Ground Aff...

Racial divisions in real estate have been a persistent issue across the United States, and this trend is evident both nationally and locally, including here in th Washington, D.C. metro area. While some progress has been made over the years, the legacy of discriminatory practices like redlining, racial covenants, and unequal lending opportunities still impacts housing access and affordability for many communities. National Perspective: The Long Shadow of Discrimination At a national level, racial disparities in real estate are deeply rooted in the history of segregation. For much of the 20th century, policies like redlining systematically denied Black and Brown communities access to mortgage loans and homeownership. Even though redlining was officially outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, its effects linger today in the form of wealth gaps, unequal access to housing, and persistent segregation. Historically, white families have accumulated wealth through homeownership, which has a...

INTRODUCTION After spending 12 glorious and peaceful days in the Alps, some of which I spent skiing, I came back to this real estate news... and given the tumult that has been caused by the Trump administration, I thought it would rather timely to address the subject. If any of you have had a good amount of exposure to life in Europe you most likely understand it to be a place that truly values public services from transportation to health care to name a couple, particularly in Switzerland, a country that has found the magic formula to efficiently sustain it's infrastructure while keeping the broad populous happy.  In Lausanne, for example tourists who overnight in hotels are granted free access to public transportation, much of which is electric. On a minor and important point airports and train stations do not charge for luggage carts like we do in the richest country in the world. There was no litter, or an elevator/escalator that didn't work and there was no evidence ...