Costa Blanca villas have become more popular in recent years. Purchasing a villa in the Costa Blanca region is a good investment and can be a good source of rental income since it is one of the most popular vacation destinations in Spain. The best place to start in gathering information on how to find a Costa Blanca villa is with a reputable real estate agent.

A few things should be taken into considering when beginning your search for a villa. First, consider the location. The most popular areas with tourists are those areas close to beaches and other main attractions. If you intend to rent the villa, you definitely want to consider the villas proximity to these attractions. Villas near the beach, for instance, may cost you more upfront at the time of purchase but keep in mind that you will also be able to charge a higher rental fee. Also consider the amenities offered with the villa. Tourists often desire a private pool, a scenic view, maid service, convenience to the beach, shopping, night life and restaurants. The décor is also something to consider. When advertising online, pictures of the villa are important in advertising and a nice decorated villa will attract much more attention. Again, spending money to furnish and decorate the villa may cost you more money upfront, but it will be a good investment if you are renting the villa. Finally, you should also consider the resale value of the villa since you may decide to sell it at some point in the future. Popular locations will provide more flexibility and options when you do decide to sell.

Once you have purchased a villa, you can get a good weekly rental rate if it is in a location popular with tourists. This can become a great source of income, especially during the summer season. The rental rate you can charge is influenced by such factors as the villa’s size, location, amenities and features, and proximity to public transportation, the beach and other attractions. June through September are the prime months for vacation rentals, and you may find that your villa is booked almost every week. Be sure to advertise your villa in advance as people begin planning and booking accommodations up to six months prior to their trip. You will find that July and August have the highest demand for rentals, as well as Christmas and Easter holidays which are also especially popular. Many travelers visit the area for these holiday festivals, processions and celebrations. During the winter months, you may be able to rent your villa to those coming from Northern Europe to escape the colder weather. You may also find retired individuals seeking somewhere to rent during the winter months, which can be a good source of steady rental income during these seasons not as busy as the summer months. The basic rental rate will be less than in the summer, but at least it is still a source of incoming rental cash flow.

If your looking to buy in Maui there are numerous Maui, Hawaii real estate companies that would be more than willing to help you achieve this. You can find realtors on line that will help you purchase your dream home, but in addition to this there is also advice you can get before buying so that you don't fall into a trap you can't get out of. To buy a home there are a few procedures you have to follow to ensure you'll end up with what you want.

If your looking for a cheaper price one way to ensure this is get pre approved by your lender before you start looking. It gives you a better chance at snapping up a bargain when you see it. This gives you added strength in the power of buying. Make sure you are fully approved and all that's left is the appraisal of the property and the price you will be paying. Go in to see your lender. Don't do this over a phone, they may say yes but it means nothing if it's not in writing.

If you are the owner of property already, make sure this is sold before you start looking. It is no good to try to buy on the hopes that what you have will sell later. Do all the work that is necessary to clean up the loose ends on your old home so that when the right opportunity comes along you are ready to jump into the deal free and clear. Nobody is going to wait until your old home sells. Go looking before you really get into purchasing. You don't have to fall in love with every house that's available and it will give you a better idea of what's on the market to suit your needs.

Make a list before you start as to what you want in a home and what you don't want. This will give you some idea when you're looking of what is available on the market. Take this list with you and decide which of the houses have what you're looking for. If you find one that has it all, then that's the home for you.

For those who thought the term 'location' meant convenience to your daily routines, it is much more than that. It implies the constantly-changing effects upon a specific home or property, caused by other people and the natural environment. Your concern should be pinpointed against other people – what type of people are your prospective neighbors? The viewing appointments will probably take place during office hours when neighbors are at work or school, but how does the neighborhood change in the evening? Are there people in the area who make life unpleasant at night? Do many people work shifts, coming into the area during unsociable hours and waking up everyone else? Any location requires a careful survey to allow assessment of the pros and cons; after all, you're investing a large amount of your money in this.

A certain amount of caution is required when undertaking the following exercise; I can't advise on specific locations and each one is unique. What I wish to do is suggest various ways by which you can thoroughly assess a location, so here's my next tip:

# 2: Bring a 'prop' when you visit your intended neighborhood and avoid inspecting it alone. Nothing draws more attention than a solitary adult loitering around an area and , in some countries, this is illegal. Look at it from the neighbor's point of view; they are protecting their family and property against possible threat and can't tell from glancing at you that your motives are innocent. You don't want to draw adverse attention to yourself or have the neighbors phone the police because you look suspicious. What do I mean by a prop? It could be a partner or friend, preferably from the opposite sex if you are male (two men together make people suspicious since their first thoughts are you are 'casing' their home before breaking and entering). If you have a child, bring him/her along (but avoid bringing several at the same time since they might attract too much attention - ration them out for subsequent trips if they are keen to accompany you).

An accompanied child often attracts positive attention from strangers, and may be a good way to introduce yourself to a prospective neighbor or for you to ask useful questions once you have explained that you're checking the neighborhood. Another useful prop is a dog (providing you bring a bag in case it fouls the path/sidewalk!). Like a child, a dog allows you to pass slowly through an area, paying attention to detail and innocently surveying the scene. Where possible and safe, examine on foot, rather than arrive in a car, eve if it means parking in a car park some distance away. For those who cycle, this is a non-invasive way to arrive and spend a little time without drawing undue attention. You can feign a mechanical problem and spend some time on the path/sidewalk 'fixing' your bicycle. If you can adapt or combine these props, you can make several visits to your location. Always bring a brochure/prospectus of the intended property which you can produce to demonstrate that you are a genuine prospective buyer.

Such surveys will yield a lot of useful information about an area that you might have missed by visiting during office hours. It allows you to take an informed decision about an area, to privately decide which factors might affect your quality of life and to use any adverse effects as bargaining power when negotiating with the property's owners.

Are you interested in relocating to the Florida area or even just buying a new home in the state of Florida? If you are, do you know if you would like to buy a home that is already listed on the Florida real estate market or would you like to have your own home built? If you are interested in having your own home built, you will need to use the services of a new home builder in Florida.

The first step in using the services of a new home builder in Florida is to find a builder to do business with. When it comes to finding a new home builder in Florida to do business with, you will soon see that you have a number of different options. Before you familiarize yourself with those options, you may want to think about what type of new home builder in Florida you want to do business with. For instance, there are some individuals or companies who are referred to as home manufacturers and there are others who are referred to as custom home builders. Custom home builders allow you to take part in the design of your home and home manufacturers tend to only build pre-designed homes.

Once you have decided which type of new home builder in Florida you would like to do business with, you can begin to start searching for a professional. One of the easiest ways to go about finding a new home builder in Florida is by using the internet. Online, there are a number of different approaches that you can take. You can try to find a new home builder in Florida by performing a standard internet search. When performing a standard internet search, it may be a good idea to search with a phrase like “Florida home builders,” or something else along the same lines. Your search results will likely lead you to the online websites of local Florida home builders.

In addition to performing a standard internet search, you can also use online phone books or online business directories to help you find a new home builder in Florida. The only downside to using these online resources is that the information given to you is minimal. Often times, you will only get the name of a new home builder in Florida, their business address, as well as their business telephone number. This information is similar to what you would find in your local phone book. In fact, you may also want to think about using your local phone book to find a new home builder in Florida.

Although the above mentioned approaches are ways that you can go about finding a new home builder in Florida to do business with, there is an even better way to do so. That way involves using the assistance of a professional real estate expert. A professional real estate expert is often referred to as a buyer’s broker or a real estate agent. These types of professionals can not only assist you with finding land to build your new home on, but they can also help you obtain the needed financing, as well as a quality new home builder in Florida to do business with.

Are you interested in owning a new home in Florida? If you are, you likely already know that you have a number of different options. For instance, you can buy a home that would be “new to you,” you could build your own home, or you could hire a professional to do it for you. If you are like many others who want to own a new, personalized home, you may be interested in seeking the assistance of a custom home builder.

When it comes to seeking the assistance of a professional custom home builder, it is important that you know that there is a difference between a home manufacturer and a custom home builder. Florida residents, possibly like you, who want to have some say in how their home is constructed, are urged to do business with a custom home builder. Florida home manufacturers may be willing to a little bit of customization, but not always. In most cases, home manufacturers are those who produce pre-designed homes; homes that cannot be altered.

Although it is important to know that you should do business with a Florida custom home builder, you may be wondering why you should do so. First, you should know that there are a number of benefits to doing business with a custom home builder. Florida residents, just like you, who want more information on those benefits are encouraged to continue reading on.

Perhaps, the greatest benefit of doing business with a custom home builder is that you are able to get the home of your dreams. There are many home buyers who spend months, even years, trying to find the perfect home. Unfortunately, many end up settling for second best or even less than that. That is the beauty of being able to have your own custom home built; you can have the home of your dreams and there is no having to settle for second best. Doing business with a Florida custom home builder can get you the home of your dreams.

Another one of the many benefits of doing business with a Florida custom home builder is their experience. An individual who has undergone the proper amount of training and has some work experience is often considered a professional custom home builder; Florida has a large number of them. What does this mean for you? It not only means that you have a number of different Florida custom home builders to choose from, but it also means that you will get professional results. When it comes to your home, professional results are not only important, but they are necessary. That is why it is advised that you choose to do business with a professional, highly rated and recommended custom home builder. Florida residents who have are almost always satisfied with the results.

The decision as to whether or not you want to do business with a custom home builder is yours to make, but it is something that you should definitely examine, especially if you want a customized, personalized home. You can use the internet, your local phone book, or recommendations from real estate professionals to get information on a local custom home builder. Florida residents have been using custom home builders for years now and you may now want to start doing the same.

Are you interested in relocating to the state of Florida? Or, if you already live in the state of Florida, are you interested in moving into a new home? If you are, have you already started to examine the real estate market? If you have yet to do so, you may want to get started soon. Examining the real estate market, with or without professional assistance, is a great way to determine if you are able to find the Florida home of your dreams.

Although a relatively large number of Florida home buyers are able to find existing homes to buy, there are many others who do not. Unfortunately, when many potential home buyers do not find the home of their dreams, there are many who make the decision to give up, even just temporarily, or settle for second best. Yes, the decision as to whether or not you want to hold off your move to a new Florida home is yours to make, but you may want to look at your alternatives. One of those alternatives is using the services of a Florida new home builder. A Florida new home builder can help to give you the home of your dreams, literally.

When it comes to doing business with a Florida new home builder, there are many potential home buyers who wonder if they really should do business with a Florida new home builder. If you are one of those individuals, there are a number of important questions that you will want to ask yourself. These questions, which are touched on below, may help make it easier for you to decide if you should hire a Florida new home builder to build a home for you.

One of the many questions that you will want to ask yourself, concerning a Florida new home builder, is whether or you were able to find the Florida home of your dreams. A large number of Florida residents or even just hopeful residents would prefer to find an existing home, one that they do not have to build. However, if you are unable to find the home of your dreams, or at least one that you could see yourself living in for years to come, you may want to think about at least meeting with a Florida new home builder for more information.

It is also advised that you ask yourself whether or not you can even afford to use the services of a Florida new home builder. When it comes to doing business with a Florida new home builder, you will find that have a number of different options. For instance, there are some Florida new home builders that specialize in making manufactured homes or those who build custom homes from scratch. You will want to examine your financial situation, as well as your ability to obtain financing, if you need it, before determining what type of Florida new home you would like or which Florida new home builder you would like to do business with.

If you are finding it overwhelming, deciding on your own whether you should use the services of a Florida new home builder, you may want to think about seeking professional assistance from a real estate expert. A real estate expert can not only help you find a lot of land to buy, but they should also be able to connect with a highly rated and recommended Florida new home builder.

Almost every house plan site offers to change their stock drawings to suit your specific requirements. That's a valuable service - but be careful, some seemingly small changes can be expensive to make, and even more expensive to build.

One Change - Lots Of Drawings

There was a time when changes to house plans were done in the field with no documentation at all. If you wanted to make the house a little bigger, you only needed tell your contractor - and you didn't have a plans examiner and a building inspector looking over your shoulder.

But as we'll learn in Chapter #4 "A Set Of House Plans Isn't Enough", building codes across the country are getting tougher and plans examiners are looking at house plans more closely. When a change is made to a set of drawings, that change must be as well documented as the original plans, regardless of the size or complexity of the change. Sometimes that's not a big deal but sometimes it requires quite a few changes to the set of drawings and expensive changes to the house itself.

Consider for example, a theoretical two-foot extension of a family room at the back of a two-story house with a basement. If you're working with a typically complete set of plans, your two-foot extension will require a change to all of the following drawings in order to be accepted by your local building department:

Foundation plan

First floor plan

Second floor plan

Roof plan

Left side elevation

Right side elevation

Rear elevation

Main building section

Those are just the "architectural" drawings - you'll also need to have structural changes made, which may require review by a Registered Architect or Professional Engineer. And in areas that require compliance with energy codes, those calculations will have to be redone.

Don't let this scare you away from considering altering your design - just be sure you get a firm quote on all of the work needed to get your drawings completely ready to submit for permits. Or better yet, find a plan that doesn't need these changes.

Some plan services have popular "pre-designed" additions and alterations with all of the necessary drawings already completed. If one of those designs meets your needs, that's a much more efficient and cost effective way to go.

Consider The Impact On The Rest Of The House

If you find that the change you want to make isn't offered as a pre-design, you may want to have a custom alteration made. But don't get caught up in major changes - the trick is to avoid doing so much modification that you'd have been better off choosing another plan, or designing a custom home from scratch.

Every day, my staff counsels homeowners who have gotten their home design almost done - and then added just one more room. Too often we find that final room (frequently a screened porch) is difficult or impossible to blend seamlessly into the design.

If they don't consider the entire design from day one, they risk "cobbing up" a perfectly good home plan.

The same concept applies to pre-designed house plans. Don't buy one that has almost everything you want and assume that your other rooms can be easily added. That one more room could mess up everything you fell in love with about the house plan in the first place.

Adding rooms to a completed plan can sometimes start a chain reaction of changes - the new room blocks a bedroom window; the window can't be moved without moving a wall; the moved wall makes the bath too small...etc.

Instead, take advantage of the "study plans" that most services offer. Buy a study set of the plan that's closest to what you want, and have the plan service or your design professional evaluate it for the feasibility of the change you want. Study sets aren't cheap, but they're a lot cheaper than having to rework an entire plan.

Architects Can't Stamp Plans

It's written somewhere on every plan service website: "You may need to have your house plans reviewed and stamped by a local engineer or architect."

Unfortunately, that's against the law in many jurisdictions - for Architects. By statute, Architects must prepare or supervise the preparation of architectural drawings before they can affix their seal or stamp to them. To do otherwise is called "plan stamping" and is a practice than can cost an Architect his license.

It's a bit of a catch-22; you have permission from the plan's author to alter the plans, but not from your state's Architect licensing board.

An Architect can - in some instances - stamp a set of plans he didn't prepare if he's made significant alterations to them. What's considered "significant"? That's for your Architect and his State Board to decide. If you're making lot of changes to the plans, you're probably in the clear, although there's no accepted legal threshold for what are "significant" changes. But what if the design you've found is ok as is, and you simply need to get it ready to submit for permits?

Ironically, a "non-architect" - a residential designer, drafter, or structural engineer - might be a better choice in this situation. As an Architect myself that's tough to say, but the law is the law!

For structural review the answer is easy - find and hire a local structural engineer to review the plans, size the structural members, and place his stamp on the set. An experienced structural engineer might catch a few "non-structural" code issues along the way, too.

For non-structural issues you may be able to have an Architect provide a sheet of standard notes that you can attach to the drawings - without the need to stamp the drawings. You may also be able to get this information from your builder, or from a residential designer or drafter.

But then again all this might be moot - since very few jurisdictions in the country require an Architect's stamp on single-family home construction drawings!

So check with your building department first - but don't assume an Architect can always "stamp" your pre-designed plans.

Minimum Code Compliance

Plan services sell plans that conform to the code that was in effect in the location the house was built, and at the time the house was built.

In the United States, local building codes are based on one of four current "model" codes. Each of those codes share similarities, but each has its differences, too. Each code goes through periodic revision, so they're constantly changing.

It's very likely that the house plan you buy will need some changes to bring it "up to code".

More importantly, however is the idea that the plan you buy will at best be only minimally compliant with the building code. That will get your plan past most building departments but will leave quite a bit of the specifications and details of the house undecided.

That's the case with most single-family construction drawings, even the ones you get from an Architect. It's your job to work with your builder and maybe your interior designer to address all the details you need to build out the interior and exterior finishes.

Check your plan service's list of drawings - some services include more detail than others. The plans are a good start, but you might still have a lot of work yet to do!

House Plans are 2D; Houses are 3D

Does this statement seem a little obvious? Of course it does, and yet it's at the root of the dissatisfaction of the buying and building experience of many house plan purchasers.

The drawings that you see on house plan websites and in plan books aren't well suited to describing the design of the house to you. They're really just marketing diagrams - at a very small scale - that tell you a little bit about how big rooms are and which rooms are next to each other, and not much else.

The Design Process

Architects and home designers are "three-dimensional" thinkers; they draw on paper in two dimensions what they see in their heads in three. Architects can look at a "2D" drawing and accurately imagine what it looks like in "3D" because they do it every day. It's a learned skill and one that you probably don't have (yet!). You've probably said to yourself while you looked at a house plan, "This is so frustrating - I just can't visualize it!"

So why don't home designers prepare drawings that show more about the "third dimension" for consumers? Well, they do - during the design process - you just never get to see them! The design process involves lots of 3D sketches, computer modeling, interior elevation sketches, detail studies, and 3D "massing models". But these are tools for the designer, not information to be presented to you, the consumer (unless you've hired an architect for a custom home design). Once the design is done, the 3D information is coded into the construction drawings to be interpreted by the builder.

Construction Drawings

When a plan service purchases the rights the sell a house plan, they receive a full set of "construction drawings" from the designer. Construction drawings are engineered for use in the field and should contain all the information needed to get a building permit.

But all that detail gets in the way of selling house plans - it clutters up the drawings and it "gives away" too much information; information the plan service doesn't want you to have until you purchase the plans. Some of that information describes the "third dimension" of the spaces in the house.

So house plan services "clean up" the construction drawings; all of the notations and details are stripped out before they're placed in the plan book or on the website. The only part of the house that's represented to you in 3D is the front elevation (that nice color rendering we talked about earlier).

Finding The Hidden 3D

But if you know where to look, there's still some 3D information in the plans - maybe enough to give you an idea of what the spaces are like. Here's how to ferret it out:

Find the "stacked" rooms In a two-story plan, some rooms are going to be "stacked" above others but this isn't always immediately obvious. Find a common "reference point" on both floor plans - a stair is good for this - and look at where the rooms on each floor are located relative to the stair. You should be able to see that some rooms can only be "one-story" spaces, while other are or have the potential to be raised or two-story ceilings.

Compare the plans and the elevation Two-story spaces will often have taller windows, or windows "stacked" above others. They're usually in the larger living spaces - family rooms, living rooms, etc. Sometimes they're next to stairs. Look for these kinds of windows on the elevations and line them up with the rooms they're in on the floor plan.

Look for "ceiling breaks" on the plan Ceiling breaks are places where the flat ceiling intersects with a sloped ceiling or where two sloped ceilings intersect. Ceiling breaks are (or should be) indicated on the plans with a dashed line; usually fairly close to the wall. You'll want to know how tall the ceiling is, how steep the slope of the roof is, and how tall the wall is. Sometimes the elevations will give you a clue if the room with the ceiling break is on an outside wall.

Understand ceiling profile terms The terms for common ceiling shapes aren't common at all. It isn't unusual for different builders in the same market to call the same ceiling profile by several different names. Occasionally, designers will include notes on the plans that describe the ceiling profile and/or height.

Complexity of roof shapes Finally, the exterior of the house can tell you a lot about what the rooms inside are like. Sloped ceilings are sometimes reflected in the slope and shape of the roof. If you can put the roof shape, window height, and ceiling break lines together in the same room, you'll have a great start on understanding the character of the space inside.

The list above is intended as a reference to be used while you're looking at plans. The most important this to remember is this: don't assume that what you're looking at on paper is what you think you see in your head - take the time to find exactly what the "third dimension" of the spaces are before you commit to a design.

There is no question about it. "Going Green" is in. No matter where you are or what you do, you have probably heard the buzz on global warming, conservation, or at least the words, "reduce, re-use, re-cycle". As neutral a topic as the weather, most people are interested in at least discussing anything eco-friendly. In fact, nine out of ten Americans are interested enough to choose a more energy efficient home over a lesser one, yet eight out of ten Americans said no one talked about energy efficiency during the buying process, according to a survey by energypulse.org. Two out of three Americans surveyed were also willing to pay a premium for homes that have solar systems installed. So for your next party conversation or your next real-estate foray, listed below are the most basic of eco-friendly terms to be a savvy real estate buyer or just somebody "in the know":

A green home: A green home is designed to conserve the environment – whether it is energy, water, building materials and land. Equipped with one or more renewable energy systems, a green home uses alternative resources for heating and cooling - solar electric, solar hot water, geothermal, bio mass or any combination of these.

Green remodeling: Green remodeling is an upgrade where the goal for builders and architects is to use as much as the older structure and materials as possible. A green renovation can cost 5 to 20 percent more than a normal one, however, it also means that there will be reduced energy costs and reduced maintenance costs durability.

Greenhouse gases: Greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely, and trap the heat in the atmosphere instead of reflecting it back towards space. This causes temperatures to rise and form the atmosphere known as the Greenhouse effect.

Energy star appliances: Every one knows that energy star appliances save energy, but it is a little known fact that it saves as much as 20% annually of your energy costs. These appliances help you get the most out of the products you purchase and also meet all the efficiency guidelines set to prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL): Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) is the one-step of going green that is the easiest to do. These may seem three times as expensive compared to incandescent bulbs but last approximately ten times as long and use one-fifth of the energy.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels or Solar Heating: Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels or Solar Heating refers to the technology for harnessing solar power or usable energy from sunlight for practical applications from heating to electrical power generation, usually good for domestic and light industrial applications. Passive Solar Design: Passive solar building design involves the modeling, selection and use of new technologies to maintain the building environment at a desired temperature in a way that minimizes the use of energy.

Xeriscape gardening: Xeriscaping gardening is where plants are specially selected to suit their environment, creating a landscape that makes the most of watering. Plants are grouped by their water needs, while mulch and drought tolerant plants are integrated to conserve water usage.

Low-emittance (Low-E) windows: L-E windows are coated with thin metal or metallic oxide layers, which are almost invisible. These coatings reflect radiant heat originating from indoors back inside, keeping heat inside in the winter, and infrared radiation from the sun away, keeping it cooler inside in the summer.

Geothermal heating/cooling: Geothermal heating/cooling is a method of heating and cooling a building, using the earth’s temperature. Pipes are drilled deep into the earth, where temperature is around 55 or 60 degrees. Water, antifreeze or other transfer fluids are circulated and a heat pump uses these as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer.

Now that you’re at home on eco-friendly terms, here are a few points again that you have probably gathered. If you are looking for a green home, it will always appear to be more expensive compared to others. However, it is designed to save your energy costs over several years besides giving you bragging rights. If you are adding green elements to your home, it is a value-added upgrade. You will be able to add to your asking price too since there is no question that “going green” is the movement of our times.