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Octogenarians get share of the American Dream
BIZ REAL-SRS-FIRSTTIME 2 MS

Hank Schmiess waited nearly nine decades for his piece of the American Dream. Schmiess was 89 when he and his 84-year-old wife, Verna, bought their first home last year, spurred by the first-time home buyer tax credit and a still-lousy housing market that made it affordable. Their condo is a far cry from the farmhouse they first lived in. When they married in 1946, Cavalier County, N.D., didn’t have electricity and news was delivered through a telephone party line. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo in New Brighton, Minn., has granite countertops and Pottery Barn decor, heated parking and a fitness room. Verna thought it was too fancy, at first. But now she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s safe to say the Schmiesses aren’t your typical first-time home buyers.

Updated: Mar. 12, 2010 10:09 AM | Full story
Chandler Design Build wins big with home’s energy-saving envelope
 After 33 years in the residential construction business and even longer as an environmentalist, Michael Chandler of Chandler Design Build stood before renowned sustainability professionals at Build Well 2010 in Sausalito, Calif., and argued against subsidized weatherization and tax credits for improving energy efficiency. He hasn’t changed his green outlook. If anything, he’s more intensely focused on saving energy. And he’s getting more vocal about his ideas. “It’s something I’ve been pushing for a long time,” Chandler said, “how to get more energy saved with less paperwork.” Chandler, long a local leader in the green home-building market, received national recognition in January when he was named the National Association of Home Builders Certified Green Building Professional of the Year. He was presented with the award at the NAHB’s annual conference in Las Vegas on Jan. 18. At the ceremony, he also learned that a green-built house he entered for the Energy Value Housing Award won a silver award. Given the competition he was up against and the cast of green-building stars he shared the stage with, “That was one of the biggest thrills of my career,” Chandler said. “It’s like the Olympics of building to me.” Updated: Mar. 12, 2010 10:05 AM | Full story
Tips to keep power bills down
 Homeowners, you thought you were off the hook with home-maintenance projects just because the temperatures dipped toward freezing? Think again. Cory Malloy, co-owner of Brightleaf Customer Care, says winter is the best time to check for some problems, such as places where unwanted cold air comes in. Twice a year, homeowners need to venture into their crawl spaces and attics to look for leaks and shore up fiberglass insulation that has come loose and droops down. Malloy’s business provides houses with the equivalent of an annual physical, then fixes what is a problem and maintains what isn’t. He spends more than his fair share of time in crawl spaces, and he’s sympathetic to homeowners who don’t like to go in theirs. Updated: Mar. 12, 2010 9:57 AM | Full story
It's a family affair
 Many construction jobs are best learned as an apprentice to a master. It is no wonder such knowledge is passed down from generation to generation within families. That has been the experience of homeowner Rebecca Rosenberg who has lived through two renovations in Virginia, one in New Hampshire and, most recently, one in Chapel Hill with the Will Johnson Building Co. and his family of sub-contractors. Updated: Jan. 25, 2010 1:36 PM | Full story

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