When you have a house built, you always have the option of getting upgrades. People that can afford them want them because they look nicer and, in a way, are a statement of success. People that are trying to get by by paying the least amount of money, or cannot afford these upgrades, many times turn these down. The truth is, these upgrades add value to a house.

Upgrades can be anything from custom wood floors or higher end trim. They include granite counter-tops and premium lots. Some of these, like premium lots, cost the builder zero dollars. Others are minimal, some are more. Know that a builder is not going to give anything away without making a profit.

The key to upgrades in that they give you selling power when you go to sell or resell your house. For instance, if you are trying to sell a house that has all of the above mentioned upgrades, plus large bedrooms, frameless glass showers with lots of thick glass and a fancy design, and spacious walk-in closets, a buyer is automatically going to think the house is worth more. If you take away all of these things, and only have the bare minimum of track-like homes, people expect a deal.

Upgrades give the potential buyer a subconscious satisfaction that paying more money for a particular home is justified.

The fact that the economy has taken a downturn can greatly affect the selling price of a house. If you do happen to upgrades in the house, you can buffer some of the economic loss from the housing market by allowing the upgrades in the home keep price integrity. The more upgrades the better.

Not everyone can always afford these upgrades when building a house, simply because of the person’s budget. But, if you are buying a house from an existing owner, and you see many of these upgrades, do all you can to get into this house if its a good fit for you. You will will be happy you did later.

Autoclaved aerated concrete, known also as autoclaved aerated concrete or autoclaved lightweight concrete has been around for more than 70 years. Amazingly enough, its just now gaining popularity in states like Arizona. It is a lightweight building material that can be used like the traditional concrete block, but is fire and mold resistant. It is also resistant to water and termites.

Builders all over are talking about it, especially in the west, where wildfires are a threat. the thought is that if houses were layered with this material, homes could be saved from the massive devastation that comes with the wildfires.

The benefits of autoclaved aerated concrete are many. The biggest of which is it’s environmentally friendly from the raw materials it is made from to disposal. 99% of AAC is recyclable. AAC is made from quartz sand, lime and/or cement, water and aluminum powder.

Other benefits of using autoclaved aerated concrete are:

• Improved thermal efficiency helps lower the heating and cooling load in buildings.
• Component makeup allows accurate cutting, which minimizes the generation of solid waste during use.
• Resource efficiency makes it have a lower environmental impact in all phases of its life cycle.
• Light weight also saves energy in loading and transportation.

The fact that AAC has been used for 70 years in Europe, and the U.S. is just now opening up to it, is a little disconcerting. California, Arizona and New Mexico experience wildfires every year. Hopefully this concrete will help save some homes from devastation.

Everyone likes to call the house they live in home. They want things to be relatively manageable and workable. Not everyone has a custom designed house. Many people live in houses that were built years before and had previous occupants. Old houses can be made like new, new houses can be built, but one thing is for sure – there are things that make a house hard to live in.

The first thing that makes a house hard to live in is the neighborhood or location. A neighborhood with juveniles who have no respect for others property or people who do not take care of their property degrade the whole neighborhood. Houses that have not been painted and are fading, yards with overgrown shrubs and grass that are not being kept up and old cars and junk laying around lowers the property value of all the houses around and makes it hard to live.

Another thing that makes a house hard to live in is the interior design. For example, if the house has a lot of stairs, and you do not particularly like going up and down stairs, you could be in for a real workout – especially if their are elderly folks in the home. Where is the washer and dryer? This could be located in an inconvenient place. How many bathrooms does the house have, and where are they? This could be very important for families with kids.

The last thing that makes a house hard to live in is when things don’t work – like the furnace! Older homes need a little more care, and when they do not get it, things tend to not work. There is nothing worse then when winter sets in and the furnace starts acting up. Older homes also are really bad with the convenient placement of outside spickets and electrical outlets. They either are not there, or they simply don’t work.

Houses aren’t cheap. And the ones that are, have a location usually on the bad side of town. What if a house could be built for a lot less – like a whole lot less. What if a house could be built for $1,000? Sound impossible? Well, MIT has created an 800 square foot house in China for less than $6,000 US money. That house has served as the prototype for a house that they want to design for $1,000.

The prototype house in called “Pinwheel House”. It can withstand an 8.0 hurricane. There are many skeptics of the $1,000 house concept. They say that house will not be equipped with the necessary items to give someone a healthy lifestyle. Apparently the house has no capacity for hot water. many believe that it is a good idea to build lower cost houses, but that this is going a little too far.

The Pinwheel House is constructed from hollow brick walls, reinforced with steel bars and bamboo. The whole idea of the house is to provide a very low cost house. A $1,000 house seems a little bit of a stretch, but the idea of pushing the limits to create this house initiates brainstorming and creation of new ways of looking at doing the same old tasks. The $6,000 prototype house was located in a remote location which added to the cost of building.

The MIT students involved in the project believe that this type of low cost housing can help a great number of people. The low-cost homes would be a great help to heavily populated poor areas and displaced families from catastrophic events. The $1,000 house project is currently looking for sponsors for continue.