City Properties Journal

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The American Dream Down Payment Act authorizes $200 million in grant aid for each of the coming four years to low-income, first-time home buyers. It certainly is a dream come true for many people who have harbored the fantasy of buying a home but were not able to get the cash for it.It is a joint government and banking program to help people put together that initial down payment which is crucial in buying a home. Such ventures also uplift the economy of the country, when loans are more accessible to people and first time home buyers.

Interest rates are hitting an all-time low, and assistance professionals are urging you to come forward and avail of this opportunity. Not only do these grants help in that down payment, but also are tremendously useful when closing the mortgage. The sooner you pay it off, the better. Even bad credit doesn’t go against you if you are a first-time home buyer, in the sense that you haven?t had housing ownership in your name within the last three years.

The prefabricated pieceHomes line is a stunning collection of green modular home designed by Davis Studio Architecture + Design. Because the houses are factory-built using green materials, wastage of materials is drastically decreased. Modern, healthier and reasonably priced homes can also be customised. The nine available designs range from the Container House, a 320 sf 1-bedroom house with a covered deck to the 2610 sf 3-bedroom Rindge House, which has a 2-car garage. Solar panels feature in most of the designs. Balance living need not be a single family experience with pH: The Double has two units; 3×4 puts together 3 single family homes.

Austin, Texas-based Rick Black Architects is a partnership between husband and wife Rick and Cindy Black. A 2520-square-foot artist’s residence-cum-studio situate in Long Branch Valley was completed this year. Also upcoming is the Volkshaus, four upcoming single family houses with shared carports, also in Austin. Each residence is envisioned to achieve a five star Green Building Rating. Aside from houses, Rick Black Architects also works on buildings and commercial establishments, drawing on Rick Black’s experience with Frank O. Gehry and Associates. The residence they designed for a graphic designer and a choreographer was featured in the March 2008 edition of dwell magazine.