HOUSE LUST

Posted by jondavis on Tuesday, 15 of January , 2008 at 3:25 pm

House Lust: America’s Obsession With Our Homes by Daniel McGinn

While I have not read this book (it is new in 2008) it is clear from the publisher’s notes that it is about the house building mania we have seen in the US over the past several years. I’m not suggesting that you run out and buy it, rather I use it as a documentary of the insanity that has been America’s recent obsession over their houses. 

This is taken from the Amazon listing for the book: In a compelling narrative that takes us inside the homes and psyches of the House Lust afflicted throughout the nation, McGinn examines the forces that turned housing into the talk of dinner parties. He explores the arms race for square footage and introduces readers to a menagerie of characters from the real estate world from renovation psychologists who treat remodeling-addled clients to a guy who trades vacation time-shares the way kids trade baseball cards. McGinn also jumps into the fray himself by enrolling in real estate school and buying an investment property, sight unseen, over the Internet. House Lust shows us just how contagious the ideal of owning the best home on the block can be. And as the real estate boom recedes into memory, McGinn offers cautionary tales to help us curb our lust when prices start rising again.

It is my opinion that, if you are considering buying or building a home in the future, it would be a good idea to stay away from the dying house paradigm of the McMansions that have a lot of bells and whistles but no substance…no integrity. In my opinion the recent housing boom has been a boondogle of huge proportions. In addition to the important issue of how to pay for one of these large houses is the issue of how you will heat and cool these new (but instantly obsolete) homes in the future. I can tell you with absolute certainty that it will be a very expensive proposition.

Energy issues are going to be front and center in the future and paying attention to them now is crucial. I believe the handwriting is on the wall, in fact it is all over the wall in giant capital letters. It says that the old paradigm houses are quickly becoming obsolete and have already started to lose their value and that your money will be much better invested in a zero energy home that makes (on-site) the power it needs to run and maintain itself using renewable resources. The technology is here and the time is now and this is why these are exciting times at Sunlight Homes!

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Category: Passive Solar

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