The Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule applies to all firms and individuals who are paid to perform renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.  This includes home improvement contractors, maintenance workers, painters and other specialty trades.

Those doing the actual work will need to follow three basic lead safe work practices:

1. Contain the work area
2. Minimize work related dust
3. Clean up/cleaning verification

The National Association of Realtors has produced a series of short videos that discuss the RRP rule and its applications.  Click here  to see the first video in the series that describes the RRP rule.

When selling a home, interior and exterior painting typically adds the highest return on investment.  Sellers who opt to paint are going to face higher costs due to contractor compliance related expenses.   According to the EPA’s website, in addition to a certification fee of $300, a training fee of approximately $200, contractors will also see increase in the costs associated with compliance (ie. containing and minimizing dust etc.).  

Sellers may also need to plan ahead because finding a contractor who has completed the compliance and certification training may prove to be difficult, at least initially.  As of the writing of this post, there are 14 contractors within a 10 mile radius of Los Altos who have completed the certification process.  To find local contractors who have been certified, click here .

Lastly, there are exemptions to the RRP rule:

• The home or child occupied facility was built after 1978.
• The repairs are minor, with interior work disturbing less than six sq. ft. or exteriors disturbing less than 20 sq. ft.
• If the house or components test lead free by a Certified Risk Assessor, Lead Inspector, or Certified Renovator.
• If the property owner is conducting the RRP work themselves.

For further information regarding lead hazards and home renovations, click on the following brochure.

More and more homeowners are using salvage companies to remove usable building materials.  Generally this method is more economical and reduces landfill waste.  Whole House Building Supply & Salvage (Whole House) in East Palo Alto is one such company.   

Another neighbor recently used Whole House for it’s home’s deconstruction and received a tax right off which almost covered the cost of the home’s demolition.  How does it work?

Whole House works with the non-profit East Palo Alto Council of Tenants Education Fund (EPACT).  The homeowner consults an appraiser to determine the value of the construction materials of the home.  The construction materials are then donated to EPACT. 

A crew from Whole House dismantles the home by hand, seeking the maximum re-use and recycling of materials from the building.   The items are then sold to the public at their warehouse at 1955 Pulgas Road in East Palo Alto.  Sometimes the sale occurs at the property.

Demolition generally takes longer than using a large backhoe and Whole House doesn’t remove all items from the property. Concrete, asphalt, and hazardous waste are some of the items that aren’t taken (see Whole House’s web site for a complete list of salvageable items).

If you’re looking for usable doors, pedestal sinks, windows, flooring etc., Whole House’s warehouse is a great place to look.  You also can get on their e-mail list which will alert you to their next home demolition sale.

It probably took a year to build, was lived in for over a half century, yet took just 75 minutes to tear down.   If you enjoy watching a large excavator smash into a wooden framed house, you’ll love the video. 

Image via Wikipedia

A client forwarded my this advertisement for an upcoming real estate ”Short Sale” being put on by D. R. Horton, America’s Builder.   D. R. Horton is trying to compete with all the REO’s and short sales in and around Las Vegas by “drastically” reducing prices for the weekend of January 24th-25th.  For more information, click on the following link Builder Short Sale.  Make sure you listen to the video.   What’s next…”Where’s the Beef?”

Single story overlay zones came to the forefront with the boom in real estate prices in the late 1990′s.  As the value of property rose, so did the size of the average house.  In an effort to preserve as much yard space, homeowners built up instead of out.  Neighborhoods that were once mainly modest single story ranch homes started to be dotted with two story McMansions.  I write McMansions not because they were cheap and ugly (although some were), but rather they appeared huge in size and bulk relative to the neighborhood.  Los Altos’ (or fill in blank for city in question) design and review process came under fire because the city was “allowing” people to build homes that didn’t fit into the character of the neighborhood.  What is character anyway?

This is not necessarily a new phenomenon.  I remember back in the early 1970′s when my parents added a second story to our south Los Altos home.  The next door neighbor was pretty upset because they were afraid that my oldest brother would peer out the second story window at their delicate flower of a daughter who might be in the backyard.  To calm their fears, my parents didn’t put any windows that looked out into the neighbor’s backyard.  Anyway, it was just easier for my brother to look at the neighbor’s daughter through the fence (just kidding).

In one camp, property rights neighbors …”build what you want as long as the city signs off on it.”  The belief is that one neighbor can’t dictate what another can do with his/her property.  If you limit what can be done to a property, you limit the potential value of that property.

In the other camp, people who want a right to privacy (especially in their own backyard) and their desire to keep the neighborhood consistent in size and scope.  The belief is that homes within a single story neighborhood have more value because there aren’t any large McMansions detracting from the character of the neighborhood.  Each side has valid, and at times, vocal arguments.  Since the city(ies) can’t legislate taste, the result was the creation of single story overlay zones which allowed neighbors, in effect, to define their own neighborhood.

In Los Altos, there are four steps in rezoning a neighborhood into a single story overlay zone:

1. Clearly define the neighborhood in question.  At least 50% of the property owners within the proposed neighborhood must sign a petition in order for the city to accept a single story overlay zone application.
2. Once you have the minimum requirement for signatures, submit the application materials and $4,075. fee.  Yes, there is a fee and it ain’t cheap.  Food for thought…..Who is going to pay the fee?  The application materials include things like a 500-foot scale map showing boundaries of the neighborhood, addresses and names of property owners within 500 feet of the proposed neighborhood, and a set of stamped envelopes of all property owners of the proposed neighborhood as well as those within 500 feet of proposed neighborhood etc.  You get the idea!  Lots of paperwork.
3. Next, the city council verifies that everything is O.K. for the secret mail in vote.  All that is needed is an affirmative vote of 66 2/3% and the project goes to public hearings.  Because it is a secret mysto mysto vote, this is where all those nice neighbors who really didn’t support the project but didn’t want to speak up, can vote no.  Note:  If the neighborhood vote is less than 66 2/3% in favor, then the petition is canned and can’t be resubmitted for a period of at least 7 years.  When the vote count is taken, I hope there aren’t any dangling Chads!
4. If approved at the city council meeting, then the single story overlay zone regulations will remain in effect for a minimum of 7 years.  If the city council denies the application, then the neighborhood can’t reapply for one year.

Note:  After 7 years, removal of the single story overlay zone may be considered only if the neighborhood can get 66 2/3% of the property owners to vote against it.  The whole process is repeated except that the vote is to repeal the single story overlay zone.  Neighbors better make sure that having a single story overlay zone is truly what they want because it may be tough to get it removed seven years down the line.

Here’s a thought, wouldn’t it be better if neighbors just talked to each other and worked out their concerns and issues amongst themselves?

Los Altos has several single story overlay zones, with the largest centering around Avalon and Sunkist Drives:

Live Oak Lane                          Verano Avenue                     Rosewood Court

Sunkist Lane, Avalon Drive, Angela Drive, Merrit Road, Galli Drive, Edith Avenue, Azalea Way, Gordon Way (click to view larger map)

Deodara Drive

The most recent rezoning occurred on 5-31-2007 on Panchita Way (not on current zoning map).  It is interesting that one of the streets that received the most publicity about single story overlay zones failed to get it approved.  I don’t know where in the application process that they failed, but the neighborhood around Jay Street is not a single story overlay zone.

Click here for a Zoning map of Los Altos

On last week’s Los Altos broker tour, we went through a beautiful new construction home located on an excellent mid-town street.  It had a good floor-plan that flowed well and the quality of construction was top notch.  However, something wasn’t quite right.

Problem: 

The appliances and bathroom fixtures were cheap relative to the overall ”value” of the home.  It was as if the builder ran out of money towards then end of construction and went down to our local Sears (no disrespect to Sears intended) and bought any “in-stock” appliances.  It’s not like the appliances were junk.  They weren’t.  They were mid line Kitchen Aid stainless steel appliances.  Nice for most homes, but not for a $3,300,000. Los Altos estate.

As I left the home my immediate thought was, “What was the builder thinking?”  How can you build such a beautiful home yet finish it off with anything less than high end appliances?  To quote a saying from my father, “For crying out loud,” spend the additional $25,000. and install top of the line commercial grade appliances.  After all, the home is being marketed as a “Stunning Masterpiece.” 

The buyer for this type of home is expecting the home’s finishes to be top of the line.  Anything less, detracts from the home’s perceived value and eventual sales price.  By not incorporating top of the line appliances into the kitchen and higher end fixtures in the bathrooms, a buyer will wonder “where else did they skimp?”  ”Is the plumbing done right?”  “Is the wiring installed correctly?” Does the house have a foundation?

To all the builders out there, design and build a home that matches the market of buyers that you are targeting.  This home is built and will sell.  How quickly and for how much, we’ll have to wait and see.