Wednesday, January 26, 2011

How Architects Help Realtors Close Deals Faster



Our office has developed a presentation that we give to only the top leading Realtors in the NY and NJ areas. In this program, we share how architects can:

1. Close Their Residential Deals Faster

2. Add to Their Credibility

3. Get More Quality Referrals

And

4. Get More Repeat Clients.

You might ask, what does an architect know about closing real estate deals? Get a glimps of what you would learn if you booked Larry Lane to speak at your Real Estate conference and sales seminars.

Email your request for a free copy of our presentation outline at info@LaneArchitecture.net

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.


Monday, January 24, 2011

Common Mistakes that Architects make on Façade Inspection Reports


There was a tragedy that occurred on May 16, 1979 in NYC that changed the way we look at buildings forever. The story behind this can be heard at our short podcast by clicking on this link ----->Most Awesome Architecture Podcast in the World

During the podcast, I offered a list of items that owners and their architects forget to submit to the NYC Department of Buildings while reporting the conditions of their facades. This list is copied directly from a handout that was provided by the NYC Buildings on January 2010:

1.Failing to provide certification that repairwork identified as necessary in the previous cycle has been completed.

2.Failing to state the cause and description of deterioration.

3.Failing to indicate when identified defects will render the condition of the façade Unsafe.

4.Failing to indicate which repairs will need a permit from the Department.

5.Failing to provide details about building appurtenances, such as flower pots and communication equipment.

6.Failing to indicate the status of a window air conditioner unit as either Safe or Unsafe. These units cannot be categorized as Safe With Repair and Maintenance Program (SWARMP).

7.Failing to indicate a time frame and completion date for repairs identified with SWARMP.

8.Failing to include all required items in the report, such as property profile and ownership information.

9.Failing to submit photographs and a location diagram.

10.Failing to include a statement on the façade’s water-tightness.

11.Failing to perform a close up inspection or it is in the wrong location.

12.Providing information and/or data in the report that is not the same as what is written on the TR6 or evidenced in photographs.

13.Failing to resubmit a copy of the “Notice of Rejection.”

Special Offer for Homeowners

If you are a homeowner then you will benefit from a checklist that is one of several free bonus gifts for signing up for our complementary e-zine titled, "My Designed Home." All you need to do is fill out the form to the right or go to The Designed Home website

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.




You can get your own copy of "Common Mistakes on Facade Reports at Link to NYC DOB Website

Friday, January 21, 2011

China goes big with building of skyscrapers

BEIJING — In Chicago today, visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao will see a city famed as the birthplace of the skyscraper, for decades the towering symbol of U.S. economic ambition and power. These days, China has taken over as the skyscraper's home.

If the fast-rising nation continues its current rapid pace of urbanization, China could build a new Chicago every year until 2030 — more than 1,500 new buildings that are over 30 stories high — wrote Jonathan Woetzel, a director at consultants McKinsey & Co. in Shanghai, in a January report "China's cities in the sky."

China is building 44% of the 50 skyscrapers to be completed worldwide in the next six years, increasing the number of skyscrapers in Chinese cities by over 50%, says Andrew Lawrence, an Asian property analyst at investment bank Barclays Capital.

China is already host to six of the 15 tallest, completed buildings in the world, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The USA has three.

Dubai's world-beating Burj Khalifa, at 2,716 feet, should remain top dog for several years, but the Shanghai Tower, at 2,073 feet, and Wuhan's Greenland Center, at 1,988 feet, will take the world No. 2 and 3 spots in 2014 and 2015.

"The appetite in China for high-rises, in the last five years and the next five, is bigger than ever before in the history of building," says Silas Chiow, China director for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the U.S. architectural firm, founded in Chicago, responsible for the Burj Khalifa.

The firm is currently engaged in 50 China projects, including the tallest buildings in eight separate cities.

Chinese government officials believe high-rises "show their progress in terms of urbanization and modernism," spur wider development by boosting investor confidence, and symbolize "a city's desire to become modern and international," says Chiow, a Chinese-American based in China for the past 15 years.

While an architect three decades ago might be lucky to design a handful of skyscrapers, today in China, "one architect or firm can do a dozen or more super high-rises," says Chiow, 51. The boom is producing both startling designs and innovations in energy-use and sustainability, he says.

Chinese have mixed feelings.

"I feel proud to see these new high buildings, but they're not much use for ordinary people," says Fan Quanzhou, who has a newspaper stand opposite the dramatic new headquarters of national broadcaster CCTV.

Fan, 26, says business is falling as the neighborhood is cleared for Beijing's tallest building, a 1,640-foot skyscraper in the style of a traditional Chinese wine vessel. Fan earns less than $250 a month, and he and his wife, migrants from rural Henan province, pay $120 a month in rent.

"Property prices are way too high. The government should do more to build low-cost houses," he complains.

The building boom has produced "some waste and bad examples, but overall it's justified," says Ting Lu, a China economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. "Many people believe China is overbuilding subways and transport infrastructure but they have no idea how many people there are in China."

Lawrence, author of the Skyscraper Index, warns that the completion of the world's tallest buildings has proven an indicator of an economic crisis to come. "Overly optimistic developers, a political desire to create 'statement buildings,' and banks overly keen to lend," lead to problems, he says. Thus far, the data "suggests China won't break the trend."

Source: Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
http://www.dispatchmarketinginc.com/eReports/EngineeringDispatch/Chinagoesbigwithbuildingofskyscrapers/tabid/4767/Default.aspx

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.


Monday, January 10, 2011

How to Install Solar Panels for FREE



Here is the link to learn more about how you can install a solar panel for little or no money... Click Here For the Best Money Saving Architecture Show in the World


For more helpful articles that can improve your lifestyle around your home, sign up for our free e-zine by filling out the form to the right of this article.

Click Here For the Best Home Owner's e-zine that is FREE!

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.


Sunday, January 9, 2011

Bring Prosperity into your Front Door

If increasing your prosperity is one of your new year resolutions, then here is part of an article that was written by Sally Philips that might help you at home:

The inside entrance area (of your home) should also feel spacious, even if it's a small area. Keeping it clutter-free goes a long way in this regard. If you have a coat rack, don't let out-of-season coats and paraphernalia accumulate and pile up. If you have a table where you drop keys, mail or packages, use baskets or small bins to organize the area and tidy them up daily. Seeing clutter every time you enter your home does not provide the sense of ease you need, and it can also block chi from entering the house.

What do you see first when you enter? Hang a picture that pleases you here. If you want a mirror in this area, do not place it opposite the door. Put it on a side wall instead. If you look down a hallway when you enter, keep all the doors closed, or consider placing a screen to block the view. If you confront stairs immediately upon entering, place objects or symbols that represent protection to you on either side of the base of the stairs to stop the flow of chi down the stairs and out the door. Consider placing a fan, crystal or mobile overhead to help circulate chi.

A welcome rug is a nice touch and signals your visitors where to stand while they remove their coats. Earthy colors and images are always best because they help us feel supported and grounded.

Finally, many of us don't use our front doors, entering instead from our garages or backyards. Try to change this habit and use your front door at least some of the time. The Chinese believe that the front door is where opportunity knocks most often, so you want to keep the chi flowing there.

For more helpful articles that can improve your lifestyle around your home, sign up for our free e-zine by filling out the form to the right of this article.

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.