So I’m wondering: did our record snowfall push the envelope on those roof loads? In the Mid Atlantic states, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, most roof designs can support at least 20 pounds per square foot. However, design loads can range from 10 pounds to 20 pounds per square foot in Mid-Atlantic states, and between 40 pounds and 70 pounds per square foot in New England.

So is it time to up the design loads for Dallas? And is that yet another question to ask when you buy a house?

Update: Anyone with trees on their property is in trouble. My yard man lives in Duncanville and has a major tree down. I just heard parts of Forest Lane were closed due to a tree falling right in the street. I’m told Royal Crest looks like a “war zone” . The branch pictured here? Down.

And where do you draw the line? If they come weekly, then do you give them a gift at Christmas? What about quarterly? Do you give gifts to the garbage men? The postman? And that pesticide dude, does he even remember what you gave him last year?

“Help,” says she. “I have no time to even begin with the inside, so I figured I’d spend the only 5 minutes I have where it counts — at the front door.”

Good move, say my experts, Jane Mills and Cliff Ellman of Spiffi Decor. That’s exactly where you want to begin. The front door is where the love affair with a home begins, it’s the bride on the threshold. The buyer absorbs all senses around him as he (she) stands there and really decides: am I going to marry this house? Let the pheromones begin!

It goes without saying the front porch should be spotlessly clean, ditto the door molding and door itself.

“Everything must look fresh and new, ” says Jane.

But don’t stop with a bottle of 409 and fingerprints. Check out the weather stripping, squeaking hinges, peeled paint (big no-no) and door knocker. Do you have door numbers so buyers can even find the house? (Don’t laugh — a house in Preston Hollow that I saw yesterday which appears to be empty has no numbers on the house or curb. How can I look this house up?)  What does the mailbox look like? The doormat: new, we hope, and coordinating with the house. As for those numbers, make sure they mimic the home’s style — you wouldn’t want traditional brass on a sleek contemporary home,  or rice-stick thin steel numbers on a traditional Georgian.

“And think about what your home’s entrance will look like at night, ” says Jane.

Night? Most showings are in the day.

If someone is interested in a home, says Mills, don’t you know they are going to drive by the place ten times a day even at night. Make that front porch sparkle – like an engagement ring.

Flowers — yes, the bouquet. Fresh, fragrant and coordinating with the home style and color. Not your style? Add a lovely sculpture or an urn filled with a fresh succulent.

Take five, ten minutes to really get that front door and entrance perfect, grand, inviting your buyer in to take your home right down the aisle.

Did 3525 Turtle Creek ever obtain Landmark Status?

What about that multi million dollar assessment to improve the interiors and exteriors?

What is the total number of units in the building?

What physical changes are proposed for the exterior elevation?

Has anyone agreed on anything?

Few Signs of Relief on Horizon for Remodeling

CAMBRIDGE, MA - A collapsing economy combined with further deterioration of the housing market continues to suppress remodeling activity according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) points to homeowner improvement spending declining at an annual rate of 12.1 percent by the third quarter of 2009.

“Uncertainty in the housing market continues to stifle spending on homeowner improvements,” notes Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies.  “In light of escalating job losses, consumers are reluctant to undertake major remodeling projects.” 

The market has seen steady declines since the middle of 2007, although recently the rate of decline has flattened.  “While we may be nearing the bottom of the remodeling cycle, there is little to push spending back into a growth phase until the economy recovers,” explains Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program of the Joint Center. 

The second quarter 2008 release introduced a re-benchmarked LIRA, which was necessitated by the recent discontinuation of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Residential Improvements and Repairs Statistics, also known as the C-50 series. The LIRA now projects future trends in homeowner improvement activity, where previously it estimated trends in both owner improvements and maintenance and repairs. A full description of the re-benchmarking of the LIRA can be found in “Addendum to Research Note N07-1: Re-Benchmarking the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity” (N08-1). The LIRA is released quarterly (April, July, October and January) by the Joint Center’s Remodeling Futures Program during the third week after each quarter’s closing.  The next release date is April 16, 2009.

The LIRA measures and projects only a portion of the U.S. home improvement market, namely spending by homeowners on property improvements. Other components of the broader market-spending by homeowners on maintenance and repairs, and spending on improvements, and maintenance and repairs for rental and vacation property-are not included in the LIRA figures.

The complete LIRA is available at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/media/lira/lira_08_4.html