Cape Fear Housing Land Trust
December 31st, 2009
Wilmington, NC home remodeler Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to introduce our readers to the Cape Fear Housing Land Trust. The CFHLT was formed after members of the City of Wilmington and the Affordable Housing Coalition of Southeastern North Carolina saw the need for more affordable housing options in our area. Below is an excerpt from their website outlining what makes the CFHLT such a valuable organization to the Cape Fear area and to learn more, visit their website!
“For most American families, their investment in homeownership is their single most important source of wealth creation. Community Land Trusts are pioneers in coupling the individual wealth creation of generations of their homeowners with the prudent use of public funding for affordable housing. CFHLT achieves these mutually satisfying goals in the following three ways:
1. Removing the cost of the land – As land costs can make up over 40% of a home’s selling price – by keeping the land underneath a Land Trust home in the trust – the price per unit is significantly reduced.
2. Subsidizing the units, not the homeowner – Rather than subsidizing the homeowner, as many public affordable homeownership programs do, CFHLT places the subsidies directly into the units. This avoids the need to provide additional public subsidy each time there is a turnover.
3. Employing resale restrictions – Because the price of the land is taken out of the purchase price equation and because public subsidies are place into the home, Land Trust homeowners gain significant advantages. In exchange – CLT homebuyers agree that, when they sell, they will sell at a price determined by a resale formula designed to keep the unit affordable to other modest-income families.”
Free Admission for New Hanover County Residents at Cape Fear Museum
December 31st, 2009
New Hanover County, NC home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes encourages fellow New Hanover County residents to take advantage of the Cape Fear Museum’s free admission the first Sunday of every month! The next available opportunity is Sunday, January 3rd, 2010. Featured exhibits include “Conservation Matters”, “Going to the Movies” and “Cape Fear Treasures: Drink”. Ongoing exhibits include the “Michael Jordan Discovery Gallery” and “Cape Fear Stories”. For more information, visit their website!
Five Tips for Choosing a Low-Flow Toilet
December 31st, 2009
Brunswick County, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share some helpful tips from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Home Guide. Below are the five helpful tips to choose a low-flow toilet for your home courtesy of author Willem Maas and to read more detail on each, click here!
1. While the technologies vary, what really matters is performance.
4. In general, more expensive does not mean better.
NC-3 Rolling Thunder's Veterans Memorial
December 30th, 2009
Pender County, NC new home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to announce that last month, Rolling Thunder, Inc.’s local North Carolina chapter unveilled a Veteran’s Memorial in Wilmington, NC. Rolling Thunder’s major function is to publicize the POW-MIA issue: to educate the public that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all previous wars, to help correct the past, and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become POW-MIA’s. The black granite monument, which was eight years in the making, honors all men and women that have served, both during war or peace.
More than 77,000 veterans live in Southeastern North Carolina and the monument is a testament to their service. Below the monument are engraved brick pavers purchased by family members in recognition of their loved ones. The memorial is located in downtown Wilmington, NC on Water Street, next to the Hilton Riverside.
For more information on Rolling Thunder’s NC-3 Chapter, visit their website!
Courtesy of: starnewsonline.com
Risley Padula Construction, Inc.
December 30th, 2009
Risley Padula Construction completes each job with care because they understand that customer satisfaction determines their success. They strive to build lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with their clients.
Their ultimate goal is to build a lasting company that family and employees love to work for and customers appreciate and refer to their friends.
Mark Johnson Custom Homes Featured on News 14 Carolina
December 30th, 2009
Wilmington, NC Green home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes attended the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series December 3rd at the Hilton Riverside in historic downtown Wilmington, NC. The entire Mark Johnson Custom Homes team attended the event that’s panel discussion focused on the local real estate market and was covered by News 14 Carolina. Our own Vice-President of Business Development, Kevin Johnson, was interviewed by Julie Fertig regarding the real estate market’s future in the Wilmington, NC area. To watch the video and read the complete coverage click here!
Mark Johnson Custom Homes Completes Fire Restoration
December 30th, 2009
Assistant Chief Frank Blackley, of the Wilmington Fire Department, had this to say about MJCH: “We are extremely pleased Mark Johnson Custom Homes has taken the initiative to learn more about residential fire sprinklers and is willing to educate future homeowners. This makes our job much easier too, as we try to reduce community risks. We see having residential fire sprinklers installed in a home as comparable to ‘having a firefighter in your home 24/7′. Not only do fire sprinklers protect the home and its owner, they also protect our firefighters.”
The damage was not only extensive, but rendered the home unlivable for 90 days. Our team was successfully able to work with the insurance agency and the homeowner who lived across the country.
- Installing both smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system reduces the risk of death in a home fire by 82%, relative to having neither.- Only the sprinkler closest to the fire will activate, spraying water directly on the fire.
Fire hoses, on average, use more than 8 1/2 times the water that sprinklers do to contain a fire.
- The likelihood that sprinklers will accidently discharge because of a manufacturing defect is extremely rare.
Home Maintenance Quiz
December 30th, 2009
Brunswick County, NC home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share a Home Maintenance Quiz from the National Association of Home Builders. This helpful quiz offers tips and reminders for typical household chores you may have overlooked. Below are 10 of the 29 tips and to read the complete quiz, click here!
1. How often do forced-air furnace filters need to be changed?
At least every three months during the heating season.
2. What part of the faucet usually needs to be replaced when you have a water leak?
The washer.
3. Should you run hot or cold water through your garbage disposal?
Cold water.
4. How often should the moving parts of garage doors be oiled?
Every three months.
5. What tools can you use to unclog your drains?
A plunger and a plumber’s snake.
6. What tool can be used to unclog a toilet?
Coil spring-steel auger.
7. What faucet part needs to be cleaned every three to four months?
Aerator—the screen inside the end of the faucet.
8. What can you use for traction on icy sidewalks, steps and driveways?
Cat litter or sand—never use salt because it damages the pavement.
9. Where should the fire in your fireplace be built?
On the andirons or grate, never on the fireplace floor.
10. What will prevent soot and add color to the fire in your fireplace?
Throw in a handful of salt.
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Recovery
December 30th, 2009
Pender County, NC home remodeler Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share the latest Real Estate Outlook by RealtyTimes.com’s Kenneth R. Harney. According to the National Association of Realtors, there was a 7.4 percent increase in home resales last month and the current sales price is 44% higher than it was last year. Below is an excerpt and to read the complete article, click here!“Equally important: Sales are up in every region of the country. They rose by 6.6 percent last month in the Northeast, 8.4 percent in the Midwest, 5 percent in the South, and nearly 11 percent in the West.
And for the second month in a row, sales totals were higher in all price classes. For most of the year, by contrast, only lower and moderate priced houses saw sales gains, while higher cost properties languished on the market. Now they’re moving too.
Unsold inventories of houses also are down this year — 16 percent below where they were the year before.”
Fort Fisher Commemorates the 145th Anniversary of the Second Battle with Artillery Demonstrations and Special Programs
December 30th, 2009
Wilmington, NC custom home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is excited to share that Kure Beach, NC will be marking the 145th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War with a special three-day event. CarolinaNewsWire.com reported that to commemorate the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, the largest land-sea battle of the Civil War, the Fort Fisher State Historic Site will stage the three-day event January 15-17, 2010. From a panel discussion at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to authentic reenactments, these events should not be missed! Below is detailed information from Carolina Newswire and to read more, click here!
“The event kicks off on Friday, January 15 at 6:00pm at UNCW’s Fisher Student Center with a panel discussion entitled ‘Black Men Bearing Freedom: U.S. Colored Troops and their impact on North Carolina’ that explores the experiences of the U.S. Colored Troops. Continuing with this theme, Dr. Richard Reid, author of ‘Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina’s Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era’, will present a talk on Saturday at Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
On Saturday, approximately 300 costumed soldiers will clash in a Civil War re-enactment of the 2nd Battle of Fort Fisher. Lantern light tours and evening firing of the site’s 32-pound rifled and banded cannon will highlight this anniversary program. Visitors can see artillery and infantry demonstrations and walk through Union and Confederate camps established on the fort’s grounds beginning at 10:00 a.m. Earplugs for noise protection may be needed. Tickets for nighttime vignettes (seen on guided tours) will be $5 for adults and $3 for children. The 30-minute tours will start at 7:00 p.m.; the last tour leaves at 8:30 p.m. Daytime activities are free and open to the public.
A second recreation of the Battle of Fort Fisher on Sunday will begin at 2:00 p.m. Sunday’s event will also showcase musicians performing popular period music throughout the day. Local authors will present their work and sign books before and after the battle scenario. The event concludes at 4:00 p.m.”
