Chicago Architecture Foundation – Green Exhibit
The Chicago Architecture Foundation is featuring a temporary green exhibition. The exhibit looks at how people can live more sustainable lives in their current homes, whether the homes are built “green” or not. The central display is a bright green, life-size house frame that visitors can walk through. Inside, the house is filled with tips on how to limit energy use and waste in every room of the home. The exhibit also includes a breakdown of eight types of residences in Chicago and explores the relationship between modern comfort/convenience and energy conservation/efficiency.
Learn how to be more eco friendly in your own Chicago home. From unplugging electronics to being more conscious of how many times you open your refrigerator while cooking a meal, the little things this exhibit teaches can be your next step towards fulfilling your desire to GO GREEN!
The CAF shop stocks some environmentally safe merchandise for excellent green gift ideas. Get toys, stationery and notebooks all made from 100% recycled materials and consumer waste.
What: Green with Desire – Can We Live Sustainably in Our Homes?
When: June 24 – September 5
Where: Atrium Gallery of Chicago Architect Foundation at 224 South Michigan Avenue
Contact: 312-922-3432
Museum of Science and Industry – Greenest Home in Chicago
Chicago’s biggest museum of innovation and technological advances investigates the green home movement with its new, full-scale exhibit. It focuses on the development of eco-friendly residential construction and sustainable living. This isn’t your usual display-case-and-informational-sign exhibit… Instead, the museum has built an actual green home on its grounds that visitors can tour to learn about the different ways to incorporate sustainability into home construction.
The home is outside in the museum’s backyard. It serves as a real-life example of green design and function. The home’s existence and utility is a collaboration of All American Homes, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Peoples Gas and ComEd.
What: SmartHome: Green + Wired
When: Monday – Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm and Sundays, 11 am to 5:30 pm
(Now through January 4)
Where: Museum of Science and Industry at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive
Contact: 773-684-1414
What Are LEED-Certified Buildings Anyway?
As one of the leading U.S. cities in green construction and innovation, the number of LEED-certified buildings here is growing by the quarter. Well, that’s great – you may say – but what exactly is a LEED-certified building anyway?
Basically, a structure that is granted LEED certification has successfully incorporated a designated level of green design and functionality, as outlined by the U.S. Green Building Council. Depending on what type of building it is (e.g. residential vs. commercial vs. educational), there are different categories of grading its energy efficiency, sustainability and all-around “greenness” that help the USGBC assign it a LEED ranking. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and for residential structures there are four echelons of status: Certified (lowest), Silver, Gold and Platinum (highest). Builders or developers must apply for the certification and are awarded the title only after inspection of the completed building.
Now that you know what it is, you may be wondering what the benefits of living in a LEED-certified building are… Well, because the structures use better insulating construction methods and more energy efficient systems, there is less waste and consumption of utilities, so your electricity, water and gas bills will be lower. Oftentimes, as in Chicago, the city offers tax incentives and grants for green home improvements and a residence that has eco-friendly components holds value better than traditional houses on the resale market.
Changing Home Prices in the Windy City
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune broke down the local housing market by community, revealing which areas have positive price changes and which have been hurt by the current economic conditions.
Some of the neighborhoods with price appreciation on the north side of Chicago are Lincoln Park, Lakeview, West Ridge, the Near North Side and West Town. The south side saw median price increases in Hyde Park, South Shore, Douglas, Oakland and Bridgeport. The Loop, the Near West Side and the Lower West Side also saw rising home prices.
Logan Square, Jefferson Park, Humboldt Park and Rogers Park are neighborhoods on the north side that experienced home price depreciation. On the south side, New City, Beverly, Pullman and South Deering showed dropping home price values.
The statistics are derived from deeds transferred between January and March 2008 and contrasted with transactions during the same period of the previous year.
New Buyers Group Could Positively Impact Chicago Condo Market
Chicago has a vast market of condominiums that continues to grow by the day. Between now and the end of the year thousands more units will be completed and some are wondering “who is going to buy all of these homes?” No one can say for sure, but several forecasters are eying two very different generations of consumers as the next notable wave of condo buyers – Baby Boomers and Generation Y.
These two groups of Americans are separated by decades, but both have the potential to be a major condo buying force in the near future. Baby Boomers are beginning to enter retirement and many have designs on buying moderate-sized condos in destination locations as either second homes (keeping the larger suburban family houses, too) or primary residences (giving up the big property for less maintenance and more conveniences). Warm-weather locales have historically been the ultimate address for retired homeowners, but big city backdrops have also slid in under the radar as a desirable place for aging folks to settle down. When you factor in the interest for smaller living spaces and more onsite amenities, Chicago condominiums and residential developments are in good standing to attract a significant part of the 78 million Baby Boomers expected to retire during the next couple of decades.
The newest generation of young adults, known as Generation Y or the Echo Boomers, consists of people born between 1980 and the mid ‘90s. The oldest Gen Yers are only in their late twenties, but already this computer-savvy, highly-motivated category of consumers is purchasing homes and the real estate industry is taking note. These under-thirty homebuyers prefer metropolitan life and modern innovations over suburban settings and bare bones properties. With all the new and pre-construction condos (equipped with state-of-the-art features, automated systems and wireless Internet connections), the Chicago housing market has just want Generation Y is looking for in a home.
Help on the Way for Homeowners in Danger of Foreclosing
new federal housing bill that could help 400,000 homeowners on the brink of foreclosure is on its way to being approved by the White House. A major part of the new legislation is geared towards people in jeopardy of loosing their homes because they can’t afford their mortgages. The program would help borrowers by lowering both the loan balance and interest rates.
In order to be eligible for assistance, homeowners must fulfill the following conditions (among others):
- Not able to pay their current monthly mortgage, but have enough money to cover a lower-cost, fixed-rate FHA loan
- Income-to-mortgage debt ratio of more than 35%
- Prove there was not an intentional default on the mortgage
- Live in the refinanced home and not purchase/own any other real estate
In addition to qualifying for the FHA loan, the borrower must get their lender to reduce the principal of their original loan. This requires lenders to eat a significant sum of money, which could discourage some financial institutions from participating. But when you weigh the cost of having someone foreclose with knocking a percentage off the amount owed, which is more worthwhile? Guess we’ll see!