Subscribe RSS

Rent2Buy Blog

The global eMarketplace to rent or lease anything with the option to buy it.
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Rent2Buy Explained
  • Contact

BIG project in the works in NYC: Bjarke Ingels breathes new life into New York real estate space

February 14, 2011 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, News, Real Estate
No Comments

A new project is in the works for Bjarke Ingels, 36-year-old Danish architect and head of Bjarke Ingels Group.

Bjarke Ingels Group, also known as BIG, was founded in 2005. Since then, Ingels has headed up the construction of several unique and innovative structures both in Denmark and abroad, including the building of the Copenhagen Harbour Bath and a residential project in Ørestad. BIG currently has offices on two continents and is operating projects on three.

Despite strict building codes and the historically non-creative architectural design of New York City’s apartment complexes, Ingels is setting out to construct an apartment building that will merge feasibility with sustainability and bring new life to architectural innovation in the city.

The apartment building Bjarke Ingels has designed will look like a pyramid but with a hollow opening in the center and a slight curvature in its façade that is arguably very un-pyramid-like. One of the goals of the design is to provide the new building’s residents with a view of the waterfront without interfering with the already spectacular views of the building’s neighbors.

If the project lives up to its vision, it will surely add some life to the New York rental space. And if we’re lucky, we might see some very unique pyramid-esque apartments available for rent to buy.

Read more about Bjarke Ingels’ new project from New York Mag.

Monthly Rent2Buy Real Estate Agent Meetup – Join Us Feb 24th!

January 24, 2011 Posted by Sandie under All Things Rent To Buy, Announcements, Real Estate, Rent2Buy Concept
No Comments

At Rent2Buy, we value the input of those we serve and are always looking for new ways to reach out to our users. We have decided to start hosting monthly meetups at our New Jersey location to reach out to the real estate community and offer a forum for discussion about the industry and Rent2Buy’s role in the ever-changing real estate marketplace. The meetup is designed for real estate professionals in the area to get together, network, and learn a little bit more about Rent2Buy.

Our first event will take place February 24th from 6-8pm. At February’s meetup we will present our Agent Network Program, explain what Rent2Buy does, and give attendees the opportunity to meet members of the Rent2Buy team and ask us questions. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet other agents and learn about Rent2Buy firsthand!

RSVP on Facebook.

We hope these meetups will become a useful tool for agents to learn from each other, and from us, about how to prosper and grow despite the current state of the real estate market.

We hope you’ll join us on the last Thursday of every month for wine and cheese and lively discussion. See you in February!

Rent2Buy’s Facebook Page Removed in Error: Should Be Up And Running Soon!

January 19, 2011 Posted by Sandie under Announcements
No Comments

If you’ve tried to check out Rent2Buy’s facebook page lately, you probably noticed it doesn’t exist. Facebook made an error and kicked our company page off of the site instead of disabling the account of a third party using the Rent2Buy name despite our trademark. Please be patient as we try to get this fixed. In the meantime, there is plenty of content on the blog to be read and shared and discussed!

Share

Happy New Year from Rent2Buy!

December 31, 2010 Posted by Sandie under All Things Rent To Buy, Announcements, Autos, Real Estate, Rent2Buy Website
No Comments

Tonight when the clock strikes midnight, we’ll begin a new decade. The last ten years have been filled with ups and downs, economic instability and uncertainty. With the beginning of a new year comes the hope that the next decade will be better than the last.

At Rent2Buy, we have big plans for 2011. Besides continuing to improve and update Rent2Buy real estate with new homes and expanding our inventory, we will also be focusing on new areas.

In 2011 we will be launching Rent2Buy autos. The autos section of the site will provide comprehensive car listings and will allow users to search for vehicles using our comparative shopping model. The ability to compare rent to buy inventory which comes out of the rental car industry will allow consumers to make educated decisions based on all of the options available to them. We will have rent to own (owner financed), buy here – pay here,and  lease to buy inventory. On top of this we will have regular inventory on which consumers can make an offer to a dealer or another individual.

We will also be expanding and improving the Rent2Buy ‘Stores’ section as well, bringing in inventory in new categories and increasing the amount of stores we have on the site. Stores can be opened by an individual or can be operated by a business or company. We will continue to encourage anyone with items they’re looking to rent or sell to list their items on the site, and encourage businesses to open stores with comprehensive listings of their inventory.

We’ll keep you posted on what’s new with Rent2Buy as we continue to expand and improve our platform. Enjoy the last hours of 2010, and look forward to an even brighter 2011.

Happy New Year from the Rent2Buy team!

Share

Vancouver May Begin Renting Out Olympic Village Units

November 30, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, Real Estate
3 Comments

The $1 billion former Olympic Village located in Vancouver, British Columbia has faced sluggish condo sales since the conclusion of the Olympic Games held there last winter. The City of Vancouver, that is the project’s major creditor, might begin to encourage the Village to start renting out units in order to generate revenue.

Real estate consultant Michael Geller believes renting units could be good for the City of Vancouver. Taxpayers are now putting pressure on Vancouver’s Mayor to minimize losses from the project .The additional revenue generated would make it difficult to pinpoint the exact amount taxpayers are losing due to the project’s failure.

The Olympic Village was approved in June of 2007. The NPA council signed on to be the guarantor of the project. “That decision was kept secret until we made it public in January of 2009,” says Mayor Gregor Robertson.

Geller offers the city a piece of advice : Don’t rent out those units. “Besides,” he says, “there are things the city could do in a more positive way.”

Geller believes renting out those units would lose too much money. He instead advocates a different kind of leasehold system outside of the traditional rent or buy model.  One such type of agreement is a shared ownership deal, where the city would sell a unit valued at $700,000 for $600,000 (for example) and have a contract such that the city would receive $100,000 when the buyer eventually resells the unit.

A Rent-To-Own program is another option. The way a rent to own transaction is structured, a renter puts down a small deposit and slowly accumulates equity with each additional rent payment that he makes.  Geller states that “Most developers don’t do this because they always need the money now.” But if they looked at solutions that put things in perspective, “The city can have a much longer-term horizon.”

To read the original article, click here.

Share

Rent2Buy Adds Translation Feature to Expand Global Audience

November 22, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, Rent2Buy Website
No Comments

A recent article on Mashable totes the benefits of embracing foreign languages for online businesses. This seems like a logical and fairly straightforward idea, yet a large portion of businesses operating on the internet today only connect with users searching and transacting in the English language.

According to the article, “All signs point toward an increasingly multilingual future for the web.” It is estimated that computer usage across the globe will continue to increase significantly into the future, and that much of this increase will be in non-English-speaking countries.

Rent2Buy has recently added a translation feature to the site in order to make it more user friendly and ensure that anyone using the internet can have access to our content. Our mission is to continue to expand our services to reach the largest audience possible in a way that best serves our users.

Click here to view the Rent2Buy Real Estate page and take advantage of the Google Translate feature.

Anyone can use Rent2Buy! So no matter what country you’re from or what language you speak, go to Rent2Buy.com and start benefiting from the many functionalities of our e-commerce platform including listings in real estate, electronics, furniture, and more!

Share

University of Kentucky Lets Students Rent Books With Option to Buy

November 21, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, Rent2Buy Concept
No Comments

Offering students the option to rent textbooks has become increasingly widespread. Colleges across the country have adopted new practices that allow their students to take advantage of rental and rent-to-buy programs.

The University of Kentucky is one such school that has recognized the need for more affordable ways for students to obtain textbooks. The UK Bookstore’s parent company, Follett Higher Education Group, offers students the option to rent instead of buy. This option can save students more than 50% of what they would pay to purchase a text.

With the rent-to-buy program, each student can treat the text like it is his own. Students are free to highlight and take notes in rented books. At the end of the semester, students can return the book or have the option to buy it. The national pilot program put in place by the Follett Higher Education Group has received positive feedback, with more than 90% of students surveyed as being satisfied. The Group found that the rental program saved students close to $2 million on course texts in one semester at seven different schools.

Students have the option of renting or buying texts in the campus store or online at the book store’s website. There are various different payment options to accommodate students’ needs. The rent-to-buy program makes textbooks more easily accessible to all students, and eases the financial burden placed on students who may not have the means to afford a full courseload worth of books each semester.

Sally Wiatrowski, store director at UK’s Bookstore, said that “the results and feedback from UK students who were able to select rental as an option were very positive. In response, the Rent-A-Text at the UK Bookstore is now offering a much wider expanse of titles.” Student feedback on the ease and financially less burdensome option of renting texts is decidedly positive.

Click here to read the original article.

Share

Real Estate Flourishes in College Towns Despite Economic Downturn

November 11, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, Real Estate
No Comments

Coldwell Banker recently came out with a new real estate survey that finds interesting trends in the real estate markets of college towns. The College Home Listing Report shows both the most affordable and most expensive college-town markets and gives insights into the factors that drive the real estate market in university hubs.

Real estate markets in college towns have benefitted from “parent investors” who buy property in the city where their child attends school instead of paying for room and board.

The survey finds that about 64 percent of real estate agents report large numbers of parents investing in homes where their children can live while attending college. According to Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker, “Interest in college towns is always going to be high, especially for people who once went to school there – and people are seeing value in this investment.”

Despite the economic downturn of recent years, interest in the college real estate market has not suffered. This type of investment continues to play a prominent role in the overall market for real estate in these areas. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed see a significant number of people buying homes near campus and renting them over the last few years, while only 21 percent note a decrease in the number of investors buying properties in this manner.

“Our survey suggests two types of investors see value in college towns,” Gillespie said. “Long-term investors take advantage of the steady stream of renters, including students, professors and university officials. ’Parent investors’ buy homes for their child to live in while attending college. Roommates provide rental income for the mortgage, and the hope is that students care for the home and it appreciates over time.”

Parents see purchasing a home in their child’s college town as a financially responsible decision. The cost of room and board for the 2010-2011 school year has increased by 4.6 percent for public schools and almost 4 percent for private universities according to the College Board.

It is not just strategic investors that want to purchase property in college towns. Alumni and retirees also flock back to their alma matters. According to the survey, 51 percent of respondents cited a large amount of alumni homebuyers. Forty-nine percent saw a significant amount of retirees moving to town as well.

Gillespie recently bought a 3-bedroom townhome for $120,000 near his old alma matter, the University of Illinois. He leaves his home in New Jersey several times a year to cheer on the Fighting Illini, and will likely retire to the Champaign home when the time comes.

To see the full report, click here.

Share

New Energy Efficient Code Benefits Building Owners and Occupants

November 3, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Announcements, News, Real Estate
1 Comment

Historic gains were made in the energy efficiency of new homes and buildings at the Final Action Hearings for the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). At the hearings, building officials voted for a new model energy code that will likely achieve a 30% boost in energy efficiency. The gains in energy efficiency were achieved with a push from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Assn. of State Energy Officials, Congress, and broad-based Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC).

A Washington, DC-based nonprofit, The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) also had a hand in promoting the energy efficiency code proposals. The IMT worked with the EECC and educated DC area officials about the 2012 IECC proposals and the benefits of energy efficient buildings and codes.

Cliff Majersik, Executive Director of IMT, was enthusiastic about the vote. “This is a big deal! Most new buildings are built to the code –no better and no worse. These changes to the model energy code will slash pollution from power plants and furnaces while saving Americans billions of dollars in energy bills.”

The new code will benefit consumers, industry, and America’s future. It addresses both residential and commercial building construction. Improvements have been added from “The 30% Solution 2012,” the EECC’s comprehensive package, and other stakeholder proposals.

Improvements in residential home construction will entail:

  • Better sealing homes to reduce heating and cooling losses
  • Improving the efficiency of windows and skylights
  • Increasing the insulation of ceilings, walls and foundations
  • Reducing wasted energy and water in piping by improving hot-water distribution systems
  • Improved lighting efficiency

Commercial improvements will be comparable to those of residential homes, but will also include:

  • Continuous air barriers and daylighting controls
  • Offering designers and developers a choice between three different paths to increased energy efficiency: committing to the use of renewable energy, incorporating more efficient HVAC equipment, improving the efficiency of lighting systems used

“In the 10 years I’ve been attending ICC code hearings, I have never seen a larger single stride taken for energy efficiency,” said Dick Meyer, Building Codes Program Director at IMT. “I am so proud to have played a role in this historic moment, which has so greatly improved the efficiency of our residential and commercial building codes.”

One of the most concrete benefits of the energy codes is the monetary savings for both building owners and their occupants. Efficiency improvements in building codes reduce monthly energy bills and generate positive cash flow that is greater than the cost of those improvements.

According to a study by the U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, making an average home 30% more energy efficient yields $511 a year in savings after taking into consideration the cost of those improvements. The benefits of energy efficient buildings will last for generations, and continue to benefit home and building owners into the future.

According to Caroline Keicher, Program Associate at IMT, “The average homeowner spends more than $2000 a year on energy bills, more than what they pay for home insurance or property taxes. These are not theoretical savings. This is real money in the pockets of homeowners and a critical step toward making home ownership more affordable.”

Not only do energy efficient buildings benefit home and building owners, but they also contribute to a marked reduction of US energy consumption. A reduction in the national level of energy consumption stabilizes energy prices for businesses and producers, eliminates the need for new power plants, and improves national energy security through a decreased demand for energy.

To read the original article, click here.

Share

Top 10 Haunted Homes

October 28, 2010 Posted by Sandie under Real Estate, Special Events
No Comments

1: Winchester House

The Winchester House, in San Jose California, is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sarah Winchester. The house is one of two homes sanctioned by the US Commerce Department as haunted, and is said to be the most bizarre haunted house in the United States. Sara Winchester, widow of William Winchester (founder of Winchester rifles) dreamt up and designed the home. She built the home as a way to deal with her misguided feelings after the death of her daughter (1866) and her husband (1881); the house was intended to ward off evil spirits. The house was under construction from 1884 all the way until Sarah’s death in 1992. The interior consists of a maze of hallways that twist and turn, some leading to dead ends, all of which are intended to confuse evil spirits.

2: Lizzie Borden House

The Lizzie Borden House is located in Fall River, MA. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of Andrew and Abby Borden. On August 4, 1892, someone killed Andrew and Abby Borden with an ax. To this day, no one knows who killed them. Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter and Abby’s step-daughter, was a prime suspect. The Lizzie Borden House was turned into a bed and breakfast where guests can hope to catch a glimpse of the ghosts of the Bordens.

3: LaLaurie Mansion

The LaLaurie Mansion is located in New Orleans, LA. It is said to be haunted by the victims of Madame LaLaurie, who used to torture and abuse the slaves that worked in the house.

4: White House

The White House is said to be haunted by many notable ghosts, including those of Abigail Adams and Abraham Lincoln. Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams (our nation’s second president) is the “oldest” ghost in the White House. Abby and John Adams were the first people to live in the White House back when it was still unfinished in 1800. To this day, Abby is spotted hanging laundry in the East Room. Abraham Lincoln is also claimed to haunt the White House, and many former presidents and White House staff have felt his presence still lingering.

5: Franklin Castle

The Franklin Castle in Cleveland, OH is supposedly Ohio’s most haunted home. It was built in 1860 for Hannes Tiedemann, a German immigrant. The property truly looks like a haunted house, and is said to be haunted by three babies that mysteriously died in the home. One can still hear the babies crying..

6: Sprague Mansion

The Sprague Mansion in Cranston, RI is haunted by the ghosts of Amasa Sprague and Charlie the butler. The Sprague family, one of Cranston’s most prosperous families, owned the Cranston Print Works textile mill. After Mr. Sprague’s passing in 1836, the business was left to his two sons, Amasa and William II. Amasa was found shot dead and beaten on a road between the textile mill and his mansion. The true murderer was never found. The Sprague Mansion is said to be haunted by Amasa and the spirit of Charlie the butler, whose dreams of riches were destroyed when his daughter did not marry into money.

7: Chambers Mansion

The Chambers Mansion is located in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco California. The Mansion was built in 1887 for Richard Chambers. He is said to still live there to this day and haunt the mansion with his two nieces.

8: Myrtles Plantation

Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, LA is an old, antebellum plantation home. In 1808, Clark Woodruff took over the plantation. He took a liking to a slave named Chloe. Chloe became jealous of Woodruff’s family and baked a cake filled with poison that killed Woodruff’s wife and two children. When Chloe confessed, she was hanged by fellow slaves who then dumped her body in the Mississippi. Since Chloe’s hanging, various other natural deaths have occurred on the plantation. Chloe haunts the place, along with another previous plantation owner William Winter, who was shot and killed on the front porch in 1871.

9: Stranahan House

The Stranahan House is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The House was built by Frank Stranahan, a young entrepreneur. Frank Stranahan originally went to Fort Lauderdale to operate a barge ferry across the river. He was the first non-Indian to live in the town, and ended up starting a trading post, post office, bank and hotel. Frank built the Stranahan House for his wife, local school teacher Ivy Cromartie. As the story goes, Stranahan took his own life on June 23, 1929 after battling depression and struggling to deal with the economic downturn of the Great Depression and the impact of a hurricane on his local businesses.

10: Whaley House

The Whaley House is located in San Diego, California. Tom Whaley built the two-story brick Whaley House on top of a plot where gallows had once stood. Though he had witnessed the hanging of “Yankee Jim” Robinson just a few short years earlier, Whaley, apparently unfazed, bought the property and constructed his home. After the Whaley family moved into the home, they started to hear heavy footsteps throughout the house. Whaley believed these footsteps belonged to Yankee Jim who was haunting the house, and is said to still stomp around the house to this day. The home was declared a California State Historic Landmark in 1932 and is now open to the public.

Click here to see the original article on Zillow.

Share

Next Page »
Recent Posts
  • Rent2Buy Acquires HiGear
  • Peer-to-Peer Carsharing Gains Popularity
  • Upper East Side Sees Increase in Vacancies: New Market Trend or Census Data Flaw?
  • Real Estate Market Shifts: Buyers Seek Smaller Houses
  • Start planning your next getaway; TripAdvisor ranks top vacation rental hot spots for 2011
Recent Posts
  • Rent2Buy Acquires HiGear
  • Peer-to-Peer Carsharing Gains Popularity
  • Upper East Side Sees Increase in Vacancies: New Market Trend or Census Data Flaw?
  • Real Estate Market Shifts: Buyers Seek Smaller Houses
  • Start planning your next getaway; TripAdvisor ranks top vacation rental hot spots for 2011
Recent Comments
  • Sheffield estate agent on Spanish CAM Bank in New 'Rent to Buy' Partnership
  • Columbus Lease To Buy on 7 Reasons to Rent to Own Your Next Home
  • Brittany on 2 New Social Media Tools: TwentyFeet and Postling
  • rosemary on Rent-to-Buy Program Takes Off in South Africa
  • Joshua on New Energy Efficient Code Benefits Building Owners and Occupants
Meta
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org
Pages
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Our Team
  • Rent2Buy Explained
Rent2Buy Blog powered by WordPress and The Clear Line Theme