Message Boards

We're taking the HGTV Green Home concept one step further. HGTV's Smart Home boasts the latest in home technology coupled with eco-friendly features and energy-efficient design.

Watch the Announcement Video

This message has been edited. Last edited by: HGTVAdmin,

Excellent!

Wow HGTV!!!! How do you keep outdoing yourself?? Sounds amazing!!

I can't wait to see the inside. the outside looks fantastic.

First impression is, great curb appeal. The stilts are not showing. Does that mean the home living area starts on the ground floor?

Beautiful house, looking forward to seeing the interior and learning about all the features.

HGTV always performs at an exceptional level. House looks good and I dream of owning such one day.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MandyPatkinson,

Such neat innovative ideas!

Nice. Its just so nice. Great idea.

Furniture Toronto

Nice. Its just so nice. Great idea.


Fine Furniture Toronto

Admission. I had no idea there were so many pics of the Smart Home on this site! It is beautiful! Congrats on the newest project!

It really is pretty, anxious for the 360 time.

Do we know if they will be giving tours of this house in Jacksonville Beach? I am not that far from there and would love to see it in person.

I am sure they will.

Hey! You!

Me and my team back at head quarters have been working hard this year to make our dreams house come true and we finally have a product ready to go to market!!

But! We need your help!

At this moment we are working on determining the viability of our product. Considering that i was wondering if any of you who are a member of this forum could take a small, 8 question survey on surveymonkey.com. (Don't worry this site won't install malware on your PC or spam advertisements. Microsoft sometimes uses survey monkey to conducts its own surveys.)

RHouse Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2T8SMZ5

Thanks for your consideration!

Any suggestions will help alot too!

Solicitations, nicht wahr?
Which "headquarters"?
Petrochuk, the survey request is not transparent
Bring the questions to the MB. Discuss. (Church Lady would be verklempt!)
Then tally the results. Happy Monday.
respectfully submitted,
shoes

Green Home: Now is the time. Let's define the Green problem, or at least a major item in the problem...let's stop continuously living in la-la land, paint and wallpaper.
Green Home contest winners say, "I am so thrilled', and then disappear into oblivion.
HGTV, There is a need to give out more details on tech features on the Green Home. In years past, HGTV'S casual commentaries and presentations of outstanding technical features have ended up in hype, platitudes and no real grit in the soundness of their design, the ease of their use or cost effectiveness. Good grief, Charlie Brown. Ask This New House!
My mother was more excited about her electric clothes washer in 1939 than this.
You and I, the country are spending, out of taxpocket, near a half trillion on green. A miniscule of the total is intact and offering something people say, "I want that." WSJ today describes Fisker Auto, an electic car, subsidized to the nines, as being defunct. China walked away from buying them.
This is wrong.
The HGTV Blog makes no inroads. It's a coffee clutch.
Personally, I would like to whoop it up! Sponsors, aren't you in the game?
All you MBers who have skin in the game like the sponsors, who own businesses in green, promote green here on MB and then don't present the issues of their use, get on with the reveal! And don't tell us it is better than it used to be, if you please.

I enjoy being green. We have MANY communities that don't scratch even the slightest surface of being green. Here's the thing.....I want our home to be energy efficient. COST IS a factor. I remember when discussing with the neighbors over the backyard fence ALL that we wanted to accomplish. They saw our energy efficient windows and doors going in (one item off the list) I rattled off our list, my neighbor wisely said,"You can only do things a few steps at a time." If it weren't for a woodpecker creating a hole in the corner of our house, I would not have been able to see that the outside wall and the inside wall is completely without insulation. No wonder we can use the backroom as a walk-in refrigerator during the winter. We hope to remedy this soon. We have had estimates, and are getting ready to get a few more so we can make a good decision. I LOVE seeing all the green incentives in the HGTV shows. Another young neighbor and I talk over the fence what we want for the exterior of our homes. So, there are many of us talking about it. The problem is when we can afford to get the jobs done? I do not OWN any green business. I volunteer here and there(sometimes walking to my locations). I like my electric lawn mower, 3 solar panels, gardening and reusing items. My DH is considering getting me a scooter. Woohoo! I DO have enthusiasm. My steps are just smaller. HGTV must do a sample study of the viewers to know not all of us are real estate/contractor professionals. We view Green with enthusiasm, but smaller pockets (or, pockets that have other pressing needs) make our wants a little longer to accomplish.

thanks for your post, Trish.
BTW, my $800 scooter got 45 miles to the gallon. A Camry 4 cyl gives 42 at 55 mph and is safer, less emissions and all-weather. Sold scooter.
Elec lawnmower is first-rate green vs a gas unit, (has extraordinary emissions.)
Sure would like to hear from a grid-solar customer who monitored his/her bills for a year. These systems are costly.
My 8 panel FAFCO solar panel system heats pool water. Dec and Jan are marginal output months even here in SW Florida.
I considered using the system for house hot water in the hot climate days, but the corrosive nature of the water, both pool and house sources, in the heat exchanger gives these units less than ten years' service, and they are not cheap.
The elec water heater has a clock that turns it off one 8 hour cycle at night, as a green approach to water heating.
shoes

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TangoW,

Thanks, Tango.

Honestly, I think dh is considering the scooter as a money saver. He realizes I can't bring home "finds" on a scooter. lol

The electric lawnmower is awesome. It is so much easier to mow the yard, and I truly don't like having to mess with the gas.

As for the solar panels, we have only a few panels on the shed. It's truly a backup resource that we must have. This is what I don't understand when people talk about solar energy. Pure sine is needed for medical & computer equipment. Cosine is used for general appliances. If people are needing backup source for medical....invest in the pure sine inverters. My dh was a hardsell when it came to solar; but, he saw how this WAS an important investment.

After having several years of successful gardening, I think I have him convinced about the rain barrels. There are several videos from homeowners who have incorporated them into their gardens WITH a SOLAR pump. Yep, I'm so ready to have this.

I'm very ready to get the insulation and house sided 1st. Baby steps. Baby steps. But, we'll get there. : ) As for a swimming pool....Not practical in the cold midwest.

I love this home waht I have seen inside and out. So close to the beach, My ideal area to live. Best part no more cold winters!

Is it smart to have so little roof overhang shading the dwelling in this hot climate? There are awnings for the problem.
Perhaps the designer was considering hurricane wind by avoiding overhang on this particular two story design?
A low profile, hip roof is most suitable for hurricanes.
New code-criteria is set at 130 mph for siding punctures, and glass, which this design meets.
The interior ceiling height is very high, which limits efficient cooling and heating. Much of interior design is like that, it seems. But the home does have ceiling fans.
The concrete block construction of many Florida homes is absent. The 16 inch-on-center 2X6's appear to be the outside wall base. The hurricane 12 foot main-level design height (of the Dream Home 2013) is absent, apparently because the location is sufficiently distant from the ocean to be in-code without it.
Second floor designs such as this are really improved using cell-foam sprayed across the under-roof and walls. Interior air is circulated and air conditioning demand is reduced big-time, perhaps 40% over conventional insulation. I compared a neighbor's new cell-foamed house elec demand to ours without the foam. Solar elec contractors told him he wasn't a candidate for the solar Photovoltaic panels because of his low elec bill.
edited for new information gathered. I hope those who visit the home can correct any comments made on this post.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TangoW,

I am anxious for the 360 which will give us the opportnuity to really focus on each area, how it was made, what is used and how the green and the smart innovations are really being used. It should make good discussion as we learn more.

Hey everyone, ok so we didn't win that fabulous Dream Home at Kiawah Island. But I like Jacksonville's weather better anyway. So here we go, are my old buddies already signed in? Where are you Nurse Judy, Tango and Vinnie among others?

Are there any Gators to contend with in this beautiful place?

Congratulations to the winner of the Dream Home and Semper Fidelis to you....


Phil

Greetings, Phil,
I am fresh from the Entry Form where I placed one order for the Smartzhaus.
For Florida residents: It looks like cash option's take-home-total after Fed taxes is about $400,000+. (rate of 39.6%. That's the route I am taking.)
But can you take the SmartHome itself and get a big loan to pay the taxes? -more power to you.

Note that, regardless of your choice:
One's current income will be subject to nearly double the fed tax rate you would have paid if not a winner: the winner's Prize SmartHome $942,310.88 income and his/her current income are combined, subjecting the winner to a 39.6% Fed tax rate on adjusted gross income. If you have state income tax, that tax total will be higher as well.

The cash prize is without caution unless you don't pay taxes.
respectfully submitted,
TangoW

Hi Phil and tango. I too like the smarthome. I have been enjoying the 360.

Make it a good day, NJ :>)

Thanks Tango, you as well. I know taxes are tiered with a certain amount at the higher value working down. I don't remember the percentage, at each tier, but as you mentioned Tango, that top bracker is up there.

I was looking at the garage and trying to determine how much space is on the small ledge above where the surf boards are hanging. If you needed to store something, that might work as the garage is so pretty, would hate to make it cluttered.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nursejudy:
I know taxes are tiered with a certain amount at the higher value working down. I don't remember the
percentage, at each tier, but as you mentioned Tango, that top bracke(t) is up there. /QUOTE]
We have had a tiny number of MBers who say they could afford these sweepstakes' prizes that allow them to keep them, and not just pay the taxes on the cash option.
Since CPA left MB, taxes are pretty much left to guesses. And, besides, each winner has a different tax situation.
But this is a dream to win and a dream to pay for, regardless. I have already estimated my taxes if I won. The Issue is the SmartHome prize is simply too big an income amount to avoid a large loan he/she will need to pay all taxes after figuring the AGI, which takes into account all deductions.
One's adjusted gross income, AGI, will likely result (for nearly all of us on MB,) in a tax rate of 35%+, and the amount of tax due on income will likely be near $300K after using up the $100K cash.
In addition, SmartHome property taxes, utilities and insurances when added together will likely be 2.5X higher than that being paid where they now reside.
MBers need to consider that they might not qualify for such a large loan.
...hence, the dream. At least, for me.

Tango,yes we do know that the tax rate would be up there, and cost much more than the cash, but do we have any idea what the property tax rate is there? It is interesting how different property taxes are from state to state.


Another issue would be if the winner has alot of equity in their home or paid off which could pay for the remainder of the tax, but them there would be another 15% tax on whatever their house sales over the purchase price.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nursejudy,

quote:

Originally posted by nursejudy:
...but do we have any idea what the property tax rate is there?

$4.09 per $1000, going up 3% likely on this year's valuations, is the property tax. That would make the winner pay a bit over $200 a month. I would pay more attention to the fed income tax increase this year; this year there is also a rise in Florida home insurance premiums.
We again need CPA on the subject of capital gains regarding home sales gains, which cause home capital gains tax when the home is sold: where the owner has occupied the dwelling 2 years out of five the gains on sales are reduced $250,000 for the owner/seller. Most who had paid off their home would not likely pay any capital gains on their sale of their home since they would have lived in the home long enough. And who makes much on current sale of a home?
Insurances are any winner's issue, and Florida/Jacksonville/Coastline is getting a recent smash in the face. Insuring the dwelling and contents i.e. on a 250K home is nearly $3500 annually. Flood insurance is $400 more.
The value of the Smart Home dwelling might go up during the sweepstakes-to-tax-due day period. That would be a new wrinkle in the contest, one not seen for a few years!
Good luck, MBers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TangoW,

Thank for the good information Tango.
Now the property tax you mentioned is better than I now pay, but the home owners and flood insurance appears to be more than I pay for the same plus earthquake insurance in Calif. That would take some getting use to.

capital gain tax is 15% of what your present home sells for over what you bought it for.Like Tango mentioned with the state of home prices, for many that would not be to bad, but for those who purchased and paid off your home before the big price drop, could be something one would need to look at.

Now the income taxes, would need some calculation by your accountant as Tango mentioned which would include both the amount of income you already have plus the home, car, and the $100,000.

This gives a winner alot to consider.

It's really a ton of fun every time. Winning the Smart Home results in a terrific home (for half the market price thanks to HGTV's effort) in a low interest rate market.

It is one fine home. I am loving the wall of storage in the dining room for all your fine items. When you can see your lovely dishes, you are more likely use them.

Smart, smarter...
Smart might, to everyone, suggest using high gas mileage guv fuel mandates (ones that apply to ultra high mileage vehicles.)
Ahora, GMC has avoided ultra high mileage vehicles in its HGTV Sweepstakes offer, like the Volt. They offer SUVs with truck engines.
So, okay.
The new trucks now have 11:0 compression ratios; they have computers and valve trains that handle even regular fuel octane without too much engine damage.
Then, too, if driven like little old ladies might do, the advertised sticker mileage comes close to actual mileage.

There is more to it, though.
If one runs these exotic vehicles at lengthy periods at high stress and temperature, especially using lower octane, damage will occur. Ford has already found that to be the case even in their SUVs.
The answer to damage is: apply the engine's capability to the task-demand. These engines are hybridic in their concept. i.e. avoid driving high speeds with a heavy trailer load.
This is how America is approaching the pickup truck mileage problem, as trucks are still the most popular vehicle.
Green and smart are great concepts. If you pay $36K-40K for a truck or SUV, it still takes intellect.
respectfully submitted,
shoeshine boy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TangoW,