Happy St. Patrick's Day from the REEF Team!
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Tags: St. Patrick's Day
*** This new post should correct any tecnhical issues we had with the last one! - now you should be able to download the guide or be sent an email with a link to the document***
if you don't receive it for some reason, please call 508-394-3090 and we'll send a copy directly
2016 has been an intersting year so far with several changes in the marketplace! Custom home projects are still in high demand, along with major renovations and additions. It seems like everyone still wants to improve their home on the Cape Cod. Costs are changing with the marketplace, and things like new code changes, new local regulations, materials and labor costs all have an impact. This year, we have completed several finely appointed custom home projects, and we have found a new partner to keep construction costs low, in some cases 20-30% less than the current market! So if you want to find out how much your new home project will cost - Download our new 2016 Construction Cost Guide!
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Sunrooms are an element that serve as a pleasant transition between the inside and outside when designing your custom home. If you are building a custom home on Cape Cod, and have water views, a sunroom is a must! There are few better ways to enjoy sweeping panoramic views of the ocean than witha smartly designed, and well thought out sunroom. The real challenge in a sunroom is how to balance all of that glass and light with furnishings that are both functional and serve to complement the scenery.
Click Here for ideas that you might want to consider for your custom Cape Cod home!
Style Sunrooms
Beach
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Tags: sunroom
2016 has been an intersting year so far with several changes in the marketplace! Custom home projects are still in high demand, along with major renovations and additions. It seems like everyone still wants to improve their home on the Cape Cod. Costs are changing with the marketplace, and things like new code changes, new local regulations, materials and labor costs all have an impact. This year, we have completed several finely appointed custom home projects, and we have found a new partner to keep construction costs low, in some cases 20-30% less than the current market! So if you want to find out how much your new home project will cost - Download our new 2016 Construction Cost Guide!
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Over the last several years, REEF, Cape Cod's Home Builder has had the opportunity to design and build a few contemporary homes. Many people don't associate modern, hard edge, contemporary homes with Cape Cod, but in several areas, especially the outer cape towns of Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown, these houses are very popular.
Our design team, headed by Jim Hagerty, has the capability, expertise and acumen to work in both the traditional shingle style and the linear, contemporary style. Here's a few of the homes we are currently working on.
If you are cosidering designing and building your contemporary or modern custom home, please reach out to us, we would be proud to show you some of our work, and we know you would enjoy working with our very talented design team
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Building a custom Cape Cod home is always a blend of Craftsmanship and Style
Our team at REEF, Cape Cod's Home Builder understands the team approach to building a home, the customer comes in with an idea and budget (that's right, everyone has a budget!), our team works through the deasign, finshes, permitting, and we trust our fantastic team of field staff, contractors, and craftsmen to make all of that hard work a reality. When you are designing a Custom Home on Cape Cod, there are a lot of great examples of simple, yet elegant shingle style, or traditional cape cod style construction, but without a team of men and women in the field who have spent decades perfecting their skills, we could not build the fine homes we build today.
It is as much a plesure for us as it is for our customers to see the results of style and craftsmanship come together.
If you are considering building a Custom Home on Cape Cod, and you understand that building a home is a team effort, and a fine balance between style and craftsmanship, please contact us. You won't be dissappointed!
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Intererest rates have been at historic lows. Where do they go from here? Probably not down. This article talks about the Boston market, but the parallels are clear: Buy Now or Buy Less Later
If you are house hunting in the Boston area, you know all too well about sky-high prices.
But as we head into 2016, you may also finding yourself grappling with higher mortgage rates when it comes time to crunch the numbers on how much house you can afford.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is expected to hit 4.5 percent by the end of the year as the Federal Reserve slowly but steadily raises its funds rate to as much as 1.25 percent.
That represents a modest but still significant increase given that mortgage rates are now hovering at 3.9 percent.
The increase isn’t enough to drive home buyers out of the market. But it nevertheless means an added cost burden, especially in pricey markets like Greater Boston, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com.
“People’s budgets are stretched to begin with and they don’t have a whole lot of savings,” McBride said.
For a buyer looking to take out a $500,000 mortgage, borrowing is likely to be measurably cheaper at the start of 2016 than it will be early next year.
The mortgage rate jump to 4.5 percent by year-end—forecast by Bankrate’s McBride—could push monthly payments to $2,553. That’s compared to $2,415 now based on the current, 3.9 percent rate.
That’s a difference of $138 a month.
By contrast, buyers who took out a $500,000 mortgage three years ago, back in February, 2013 when the average rate hit 3.5 percent, its lowest point in decades, would have done even better.
Based on a 3.5 percent rate, the monthly payment would have been $2,245, or $308 lower than the same $500,000 mortgage with a 4.5 percent rate.
That’s a different of nearly $3,700 a year.
With rates rising, some home buyers may have to rethink how much house they can afford and possibly refocus on something more affordable, Bankrate’s McBride said.
But he believes overall sales activity will remain robust given the economy has been picking up.
“They may just have to look at a different place to buy,” McBride said.
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Tags: cape cod
"Every build is different" is one of the common sayings you'll hear at REEF Custom Homes. Whether it's replacing a house with a new home on the same foundation footprint, or placing house sections like Lego's, it's different every day.
One of our current projects is a ranch-style home in Harwich. We're using a truss roof system to reduce build cost and time. A conventional roof system would have been more expensive to build on-site for this home.
Here are some photos of a real-life Lego set in action!:
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Tags: Cape Cod Home
What is a HERS energy rating? Why should my home be energy rated? How do I get a HERS rating?
As if there wasn't enough to know and consider when building or buying a new home...welcome the HERS rating. Actually the HERS index has been around for quite a while. It is the standard by which a home's energy efficiency is measured.
Every home that REEF builds is energy rated, so it's part of our daily life. Here's an easy way to get up to speed on energy efficiency ratings:
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Tags: residential construction
Has the stock market gotten your attention yet? The recent downward nature of global stock markets have many people wondering if their investments are in the right place.
Advisors often speak of having a "blanced portfolio". Where does real estate fit in? You may own a house, but what about a second home? Or an investment property?
Here's some good insight into why real estate may be a great addition to your portfolio:
Why real estate may be a better investment than stocks
Real Estate versus Stocks and Bonds
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Tags: cape cod homes, Cape Cod Home, Cape Cod Life, cape associates, Custom Homes, Building Costs, Cape Cod Builder, beach house, cape cod new home
