Things You Didn’t Know About Toilets

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Vital Things You Didn’t Know About Toilets

No home is complete without a proper working toilet. The thought of relieving yourself out in nowhere can be literally scary. However, with a toilet in place; it is simple and very convenient. However, simple as they may look, there is much to know about toilets. You need to know how they work in order to get trouble free use and long life from them. Here are some vital facts about toilets you need to know.

The shape of a toilet plays an integral part in how your toilet looks. Indeed it determines the style of the bowl, seat, and also lid. Additionally the shape of your toilet will also determine the amount of installation space that your toilet requires. Here is what you need to know about toilet shapes.

Elongated Toilets

Elongated toilet bowl shape is not the most common yet. However it has many ad

vantages such as these.

 

• Offers more comfort for adults.
• Provided added room for seating.
• Easy to install and operate always
• Are unique and stylish for aesthetic
• Gives you the best of both toilets.

Round Toilet Bowls

Unlike their elongated counter parts, the round toilet bowls are the most common designs due to these.

• They take much lesser space/ room
• They have fit many home designs
• They are usually quite affordable
• They are the easiest toilet to install

Elongated Toilet Bowls often extend from wall about 18 inches plus. On the contrary the Round Toilet Bowls take slightly below 17 inches making them super options for the very small space designs.

Oval Toilet Bowls

Also known as the Compacted Elongated Bowls, the oval toilet bowl saves 10% more space than the normal Elongated Toilet Bowls. They are likable for.

• They have stylish designs
• They are less demanding

Usually, round shapes require less space but are much more comfortable. Oval shapes on the other hand require more space to install, while elongated shapes are the master of class and design.

Toilet Seat Heights

The reason why a knowing the height of your toilet seat plays a key role is simple. It determines how comfortable your will be when using the toilet. When your legs dangle, they grow tired fast and a leaves you quite uncomfortable. Here is what you should know about the toilet seat height (Source: Toiletrated).

Toilet height is simply measured with a tape measure. The measurement is taken from the floor to the top of the seat. Heights vary, but more often they fall somewhere between 14 inches and 18 inches.

The standard toilets sit 14 inches. However the Chair Height Toilets or the Comfort Height Toilets – like Kohler refers to them will measure 15 inches or more.  Many of them 16″+ are ADA compliant.

Standard toilets are ideal for people with smaller stature or average heights. On the other hand, Chair Height Toilets are often two inches higher than standard-height toilets. They are easier to use as too.

Finally there are the Custom Height Toilets.  A good example of this type of toilet is the Wall-hung toilets that can often be positioned at a desired height from 15-3/8″ to 28-1/2″ to allow range of users.

Toilet Trapways

Another important consideration to go with is the toilet trapway. The main job of a toilet trapway is to carry waste from the toilet bowl to the main sewer line piping. A fully glazed toilet trapway will keep a smooth flow. Here are some toilet trapways that you can always go along with.

Exposed

The Exposed Trapway is traditionally designed. They can be easily seen from the side of any toilet that uses this design. They are characterized with standard caps to cover the exposed bolts that attach your toilet to the floor.

Concealed

These one features a smooth trapway surface. You can easily wipe the surface clean. Low-profile bolt caps are used instead of the traditionally exposed raised caps in order to provide a smooth, easy-to-clean surface on toilets (Visit: Toilet Rated).

Completely Hidden

This is also known as the skirted trapway. It offers an easy-to-clean uniform base usually extending from the front to back of the toilet base. Usually, no bolts are exposed and many models require no drilling or caulk to install.

Toilet trapways are easy to manage as you can learn how to remove your toilet caps and again replace them with a more exquisite design. The process is usually simple and more specifically a DIY procedure.

Flush Systems

Apart from what we have seen the next thing in line to play an integral part on how your toilet operates is the flushing system. From gravity, dual flush, to double cyclone, or single flush the choice literally lies with you.

Even so the way your flushing lever is placed will be determined with what types of design you need. Today, toilets come with varying flush leavers and some of the most common ones that you might find are these.

• Single Flush toilets with levers on left or right sides of the toilet.
• Dual Flush toilets with the flushing lever for small and full flush.
• Touchless Flush that uses a sensor to trigger the flush of your toilet.
• Wall Mounted flush that works with wall hung toilets for convenience.

Benefits of Good Flushing Toilets

Looking at what having a great toilet entails, we can’t still walk away from the benefits of a good flushing toilet.

High Flow toilets offer an easy to use method to remove waste. They are very hygienic and will help to keep germs and bacteria away. Additionally, a high flow toilet is easy to take care of will last longer than a normal toilet. They also keep odor away and leave you with a fresh breath always. One last thing though, they are eco-friendly but can a little pricey but generally worth it.

Conclusion

To keep your toilet functioning at best, it is important that you learn some of the most Common Problems of Toilets and how to take care of them. This will help you to learn more about your toilet and also work with it in the most appropriate ways.

Summary

Toilets are a necessity in a home. They also help to boost the value of your home and also to keep your options for improvements open. Always choose a design that is best for you.

 

Contributed by: Perfectbath foremost experts in Toilets and bathroom fixtures

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SOMA by SDAE on Cambie

SOMA by SDAE is a new development at West 62nd Ave & Cambie, centrally located to connect to the airport, downtown, UBC and more. Surrounded by beautiful parks, trails, and minutes away from shopping and entertainment. SOMA offers 32 residential 1-3 bedroom units. SOMA’s striking contemporary architecture has been designed to complement its natural surroundings. Abundant landscaping around the exterior provides privacy at ground level, while Soma’s rooftop gardens bring the natural beauty of the surrounding area to your home.

 

 

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Meet the RE Tech Founder: Simon Davis of Nimbus Maps

In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with the co-founder and CEO of Nimbus Maps, Simon Davis.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I am the CEO of Nimbus® Maps, which is in effect a dedicated property search engine for real estate professionals allowing them access to information on 99% of the properties in the UK and then we have mapped it all, using Google Maps of course.

What problem does your product/service solve?

The mind-numbing process of having to find quite simply the most basic information on a property you are working on whether as a broker, buyer, seller, valuer or other professional. For every professional working in the real estate industry, you have to look for the same information, over and over again, on every property we look at, and we look at a lot, every day! It was sheer madness that you couldn’t access all this information, much of it free, from a single source. So, we created it!

What are you most excited about right now?

The massive adoption by our industry of our products, making it all worth it. We wanted to share in the intellectual property we have had created for us by some very bright minds at Warwick Uni. and our current adoption rate is over 40 companies a day which we are overjoyed about. It gives us a buzz to know so many professionals are benefitting from all our hard work.

What’s next for you?

We have some really exciting data linkages which we have managed to create through using the latest machine learning techniques from the guys at the university. This will enable our customers to instantly see relationships between properties, their owners, occupiers and their representatives, which will completely open up the industry to everyone working in it. This will be a big wake up to an industry which otherwise has been slow to adopt technology, certainly compared to other industries.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

Mental health, both in the workplace and people’s personal lives. I am particularly concerned about peoples’ ability to cope with the stresses induced by being given so much information to digest on a daily, hourly basis via all the communication channels we are all tied into. The difficulty of “switching off” these days with all the electronic devices we are almost permanently connected to is a serious issue for us all, and not going away. Look at the issues affecting children being bullied through social media at all hours – there is no escape. I love technology, clearly, but I am genuinely concerned about our ability to deal with it all and the consequences this is going to have on us in the long term as we create more data.

Thanks to Simon for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).

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The Secret to No-Fuss Holiday Decor? Use What You Already Have

#GivingTuesday & GiveBack Homes

It’s #givingtuesday …. and I wanted to remind you my dear friends at Giveback Homes (Caroline is one of the founding members of Geek Estate) are always a great option for your philanthropy dollars.

Happy giving!

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Why Haven’t You Started a Real Estate Startup?

An entrepreneur I spoke to in Columbia a few weeks ago asked me a question I’ve heard a few other times over the years.

Given your experience and connections in real estate, why haven’t you done a real estate startup?

Valid question for sure.

If I had to boil it down, I’d say there’s only so much time in the day — and startups are a hugely time consuming endeavor.

I’ve had my hands full the last few years with Oh Hey World and Horizon. On the surface Horizon is all about travel and community — technically, it has a real estate angle given we facilitate sublets and roommates. Readers here can join the Geek Estate hospitality network here (unlock code “geekestate2015”).

So, I actually already have a “real estate startup“. Keep in mind, AirBnB is multi-billion dollar “travel” company that (not so) secretly has a massive “real estate” business.

In all seriousness, I don’t consider Horizon a real estate product. At its core, it’s a community product.

In terms of straight real estate plays, there are three ideas I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. Were I to undertake a real estate startup, I’d like work on one of these:

1. A social network for the real estate industry (see this post from many years ago). Geek Estate is very well suited for this opportunity. Love the concept and want to fund it, or are you an engineer and want to build it for equity? Send me a note.
2. Help home owners understand all their options to monetizing their property. The product would have components of Zillow’s instant offers, and blend into the history of a home opportunity I’ve been tracking for years.
3. A socially conscious real estate brokerage is another idea I wrote about way back in 2013. Maybe “socially conscious” isn’t the right branding. Maybe community orientated. What if the brokerage invested a percentage of commissions earned back into local businesses? Think Community Sourced Capital, Kiva US, and Kickstarter — blended with a real estate brokerage.

Want to hear more specifics on any of the ideas listed? If so, consider applying to join our community of real estate innovators (more details here). There are 15 founding memberships left that will receive discounted pricing for life.

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5 Holiday Looks on the Nice List

If Santa's decor has been on the top of your wishlist ever since he claimed his home on Zillow, now you can make it happen. We highlighted five ways you can easily incorporate his holiday style into your home.

Related:

• An Insider's Look at Santa's House
• The Untold Story of Tiny Homes, Straight From the North Pole
• How to Decorate Simply for the Holidays (With Big Impact)

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The Untold Story of Tiny Homes, Straight From the North Pole

Elves: They're just like us. Or is it the other way around? For instance, did you know that many of our trends originated from elf culture? It's true. Perhaps the biggest (or maybe it's the smallest) trend is the tiny home.

A short history of the tiny home

Elves didn't just invent tiny homes, they perfected them. When elves first joined Santa in the North Pole, they decided to live on-site – the traffic jams caused by migrating polar bears made the commute intolerable. So they quickly got to work building their own community on Santa’s land.

Because the diminutive craftsmen didn't need much space, they kept their homes small: 150 square feet. While each elf added their own flair, the layouts are similar with the living area and bathroom on the main level and the bedroom in the loft. Word of these mini dwellings spread south and so began the rise of tiny homes for larger humans.

The design hub of the north

The North Pole serves as the address for many elves. Nobody quite knows how many, but when Santa claimed his home on Zillow, we got a glimpse of one elf enclaves. Being the trendsetters they are, each elf had at least one statement-making feature created by their own ingenuity. These are our three favorites.

1. The serving cart

One look at those itty-bitty Moscow mule mugs on the stylish cart will make you crave a peppermint julep. Popularized by elves, bar carts like this one got their start by serving as an extension to the limited countertop space in tiny homes.

2. Wood panels and exposed beams

There's something about wood paneling and exposed beams that make this home feel so inviting. Before it became a design choice, wood planks were the preferred siding for elf homes because of their ability to insulate from the cold, harsh climate.

3. Yoga zone

Having your own home gym is a luxury reserved for those with extra space, so it's impressive this elf found room for a dedicated yoga area. While home gyms are a convenience for most, they were started by elves out of necessity due to regularly getting snowed in.

 

Related:

• An Insider’s Look at Santa’s House
• 5 Holiday Looks on the Nice List
• This Hobbit House Will Have You Dreaming of Middle-Earth

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An Insider's Look at Santa's House

When Santa claimed his home on Zillow, updated the home's facts, and uploaded photos and a video walkthrough, we wanted to learn more about his house. We tracked down the people in charge of Santa's remodel - interior designer Marian Bright and general contractor Doug Fir - and asked them to spill the details.

What motivated you to take on this project?

Marian Bright (MB): Santa is synonymous with the holiday season. He has inspired people around the world to change their home decor for at least one month out of the year. How could I say no to a challenge like that?

Doug Fir (DF): This is a man who appreciates fine craftsmanship and woodworking. One look at his gorgeous log home and I knew I had to get my hands on it. This was my chance to impress the jolly old elf and get on the nice list for good.

How did you incorporate Santa's style into his house?

DF: I didn't want to compete with the rustic vibe of the cabin that Santa himself built. So I found ways to enhance that atmosphere with outdoor elements. I brought grandeur to the mantle with floor-to-ceiling river rock, since the fireplace is such a large part of Santa's background.

More windows and skylights were incorporated into the new open concept design, making the home feel more spacious - especially for his many tiny guests.

MB: I wanted to meld Santa's iconic festive style with his wintery wonderland surroundings. That's why you'll find so much fresh greenery, knotty pine furniture and cozy linens all throughout. I call the look Falalala Fabulous.

Which area of the home proved to be the most challenging?

DF: Definitely the garage, which was converted from a rinky-dink one-sleigh space to a grease monkey's dream. Not only does Santa have dedicated parking for his all-weather sleigh, but he has room to work on it, too.

He was very specific about his needs for the area. I had to create space to accommodate a specialty lift, as well as incorporate an intricately wired system for the Elf Launch Staff who communicate with NORAD* for sleigh-tracking purposes on Christmas Eve. Who knew he was such a garage enthusiast?

MB: For me, it was the living room. Doug created this masterful fireplace and I needed to match its stateliness with decor that could keep up - without overpowering the space.

That's why I mixed in just a couple of statement pieces around that mantle: 17th-century German nutcrackers and lanterns Santa used on a camping trip with Teddy Roosevelt. Of course, Santa requested I leave room for his 4K Ultra HD Sub-Zero Edition Smart TV programmed with a Christmas documentaries setting.

What inspired your designs?

MB: There were so many wonderful pieces around the home that Santa had picked up from his world travels. One item that served as my muse was an apron with a Scandinavian print that he got for Mrs. Claus in Sweden. That helped inspire some of the Nordic elements that you see in the kitchen.

What's your favorite element of the design?

DF: Before Santa hired me, the area above the dining and living rooms was closed off. Opening it up gave the house a whole new look, with more room to breathe. So I'd have to say the lofted ceilings is my favorite feature in the house.

MB: Doug's addition of the lofted ceilings allowed me to suspend a custom-made light fixture over the dining room table. I adore that piece. I commissioned it to be modeled after the property's landscape.

Want the full tour? See more photos of Santa’s house. 

*Endorsement by the United States Department of Defense or NORAD is not intended nor implied.

Related:

• 5 Holiday Looks on the Nice List
• The Untold Story of Tiny Homes, Straight from the North Pole
• 5 Home Repairs to Make Before You Host a Holiday Gathering

Originally published November 30, 2016

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Collectors Corner: Aaron Judge Rookie of the Year Figure

I considered a lot of different things, but my only Cyber Monday purchase was this Aaron Judge rookie of the year limited edition figure by Imports Dragon.

I am really looking forward to this figure, and it’s a much better rendition of Judge in figure form than the one produced in the mid-summer where he had lower socks.

We will be running this column quite a bit to update you on some different things in the collector market or some things we run across.

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Campbell Residences at Cambie Village

Campbell Residences is located in the heart of Cambie Village, introducing a limited offering of eight townhomes with the modern luxury of new construction to create a true one-of-a-kind home ownership experience.Campbell Residences is set along a serene tree-lined street in Cambie Village, with convenient access to urban amenities, shopping, restaurants, and parks

 

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Meet the Real Estate Tech Founder: Sean Conway from Pillow

In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with the CEO & co-founder of Pillow, Sean Conway.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I am the CEO and co-founder of Pillow. Pillow is a short-term rental service used by property managers and building owners to facilitate compliant home-sharing for residents of multifamily buildings.

What problem does your product/service solve?

By now you probably know that illegal short-term rentals are a widely prevalent issue in apartment buildings across US. We aim to solve this problem by allowing residents to host Airbnb rentals that are 100% legal and easy to manage, and that also honor the lease agreements set by building owners.

What are you most excited about right now?

I am extremely excited about our recent partnership with Airbnb to bring compliant short-term rentals to our San Francisco communities. I’m also thrilled about our new program, Pillow Price Guarantee, which provides new residents with peace of mind in earning guaranteed income for listing their apartments on Airbnb.

What’s next for you?

We are rapidly expanding and planning to launch our Pillow program in additional buildings across the US. I hope that more and more apartment buildings will see the value in home-sharing and join our mission to bring the sharing economy to everyone.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

I have incredible sense of gratitude that I was born in this country and had the means to start a company and turn my vision into reality. This has made me become passionate about providing a platform for those who might be less fortunate to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams or at least risk striving towards them. Whether I can provide education, idea development or funding, I like supporting striving entrepreneurs who also want to change the world by helping turn their ideas into reality.

Thanks to Sean for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).

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The beggar and the guru

A baker wanted to get to know a great guru in his town a little better, so he invited him to dinner. The day before, the guru went to the bakery disguised as a beggar, picked a bread roll off the display and began to eat it. The baker saw this and tossed him out […]

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Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals for Designers – Huge Savings!

Black Friday is a wonderful time of the year to go shopping for all sorts of things. Today, I’m bringing you a list of discounts for designers and some...

The post Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals for Designers – Huge Savings! appeared first on Onextrapixel.

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Watch young Darryl Strawberry on the David Letterman Show in the mid-80’s

It’s great what you can find while surfing the web on Thanksgiving night. I miss Darryl Strawberry and the 80’s. It’s harrowing and neat to hear a 26-year old Strawberry – when he was on top of the baseball world and New York – talk to Letterman a little about life.

I got on the Strawberry train in about 1990 when I first discovered the game. But to be a kid who was old enough to know what was going on in the mid-80’s when Darryl was playing every night for those Mets, well what a thing that must have been like.

The best part of this clip is easily when asked if he would ever play for George Steinbrenner. This video also took place in 1988, not 1987 as noted.

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Amber 633 W King Edward on South Cambie

Amber by Aragon Properties is a new condo and townhome development at 633 W. King Edward & Ash that is coming to the South Cambie neighborhood, defining a lifestyle of convenience. Amber offers 31 one- to three-bedroom condos and townhomes. Shops, cafe, health center, and theatres are just steps away. With Canada Line station only a block away, Amber makes it easy for residents to travel to downtown Vancouver, Richmond, and the airport.The South Cambie neighborhood borders include Queen Elizabeth Park to the east and the residential Shaughnessy to the west. South Cambie is located right between the busy north-south corridors of Oak and Cambie streets, and it stretches from West 16th Avenue in the north, to West 41st in the south.

The post Amber 633 W King Edward on South Cambie appeared first on Vancouver New Condos.

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The Morrison in North Vancouver

The Morrison in North Vancouver built by the award-winning Haebler Group to rigorous standards and are registered under the LEED Gold building program, offering the collection of 40 London-inspired West Coast Modern townhomes and garden flats. The Morrison features 1-4 bedroom homes adjacent to the newly expanded Moodyville Park and entrance to the Spirit Trail, many with private rooftop decks with stunning views. All homes feature private walk-up entrances and were crafted to embrace the North Shore’s coveted indoor-outdoor lifestyle with generously sized patios, decks, and vehicle-free courtyards.

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What Happens When a One-of-a-Kind Home Needs a New Owner?

When shopping for a home, it’s not uncommon to come across one that truly stands out. It's not because the home is an old fixer-upper or that it's a newly renovated home with a designer kitchen. It's a home that's architecturally significant or in some way conveys a "different" attribute. For instance, it might be a castle, a church or even a fire station that has been converted into one or more living spaces.

With an unusual home, pricing and marketing can be a challenge. Here are three things to keep in mind when either buying or selling a truly unique property.

1. Buyers should be cautious

As crazy as it sounds, a would-be buyer may want to reconsider purchasing an offbeat home. While it may be a home you love, it is also an investment. A home with a unique, unchangeable structural feature will likely alienate a large portion of the market.

If you're faced with the opportunity to purchase a unique home, don't get caught up in the excitement of it all. Think long term. Understand that when it comes time to sell, it may be a burden, particularly if you try to sell in a slow market.

2. When selling, don't assume buyers will love what you love

As the owner of an interesting or different home who is considering a sale, be aware that not everyone will have the same feeling about the home as you did when you bought the place. While you're likely to get lots of activity, showings and excitement over your property, a lot of that may simply be curious buyers, nosy neighbors or tire kickers.

Time after time, sellers with unique homes believe that since they fell head over heels, another buyer who might feel the same. But that person could be hard to find.

3. Hire the right agent and have a serious marketing/pricing discussion

A unique home requires a unique marketing plan and pricing strategy as well as a good agent. The buyer may not even live in your local market, and instead might be an opportunist buyer open to a unique property. So you should consider advertising outside the mainstream circles. Media and press can help get the special home the attention it may need.

The buyer may not want to live in your town but is fascinated by an old church or castle. The more you get this out there, the better your options for finding the specific buyer.

If you get lots of action but few offers, you may need to drop the price below the comparable sales to generate interest, particularly if you really need to sell. Just like a home with a funky floor plan, on a busy intersection or with a tiny backyard, the market for your unique home is simply smaller.

With online home listings, blogging and real estate television shows, unique homes stand out and get more exposure than ever. But selling a distinctive or offbeat property requires out-of-the-box thinking early on, and with a top agent. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Be certain to price the home right, expose it to the masses and have a strategic plan in right from the start.

Top image from Zillow listing.

Related:

• How to Live in Your Home While It’s on the Market
• Saying Goodbye to the Family Dome
• 5 Steps to Selling a Home

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

Originally published October 10, 2014.

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Meet the RE Tech Founder: Ethan Lieber from Latchel

In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with the co-founder of Latchel, Ethan Lieber.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I help property managers and landlords grow their income streams. Latchel was created with that goal in mind. Latchel gives them more bandwidth to focus on business growth by coordinating maintenance for them. We take over the process end to end. Everything from taking and troubleshooting tenant calls at all hours, scheduling contractors to do work, confirming work was completed, and getting invoices for work. Software and process technology is a big part of how we’re able to coordinate so efficiently and cost effectively.

I love where we are as a company because we’re the only end to end solution for property managers and landlords that want to reduce the time and money they spend on maintenance coordination. We’ve gotten so good at what we do that our customers can efficiently manage maintenance on over 400 doors with only a single admin in their office.

What problem does your product/service solve?

Property management companies and landlords face a huge problem coordinating maintenance. It often prevents them from increasing the size of their portfolios and generating additional income. It is one of the biggest costs of being in the property management business and it takes property managers more time to resolve than any other issue. It is the number 1 reason that landlords turn to property managers for help and it is the number 1 reason that property managers across the US turn to Latchel for help.

They’re so busy dealing with emergencies that the routine work falls through the cracks, which leads to bigger problems down the road. Latchel takes all that coordination off their hands and we do it for less than 1/3 the cost of hiring an employee.

What are you most excited about right now?

We recently won the Seattle Angel Conference. I know the whole team is pumped about that and it validates where we’re heading as a company.

We have a service update that I’m also very excited about. In December, we’re launching a Night & Weekend emergency service specifically for landlords with one to nine rental homes. Tenants call us during nights and weekends, our team diagnoses if it is an emergency, and if it is then we dispatch an emergency contractor and ensure the issue gets fixed. We also take a credit or debit card on file so the payment to the contractor is seamless. I’m targeting California property investors right now, but hope to expand that out soon to rentals across the US. I’m excited because I think it is a hugely valuable service that will introduce landlords to Latchel. It only costs $180 for an entire year and Latchel will take all your night and weekend tenant calls. I’d gladly pay $0.50 a night knowing that I get uninterrupted sleep.

Currently, we’re pre-selling this service with a huge discount. If you go to http://ift.tt/2BdQMYX and use Promo Code EARLYBIRD then you’ll get 73% off. You get an entire year of night and weekend emergency dispatching for less than the cost of 10 Starbucks lattes. I’m a major caffeine addict (over 600mg a day), but even I couldn’t resist an offer like that. I’m also very cheesy when it comes to writing marketing copy. If you’ve ever gotten an email from me then you’d know.

What’s next for you?

#1. What technology improvements can we make to increase the efficiency of our maintenance process?
#2. What is the next big product or service that will help property managers and landlords spend less time handling maintenance?

In regards to #2, there is a big problem that large property management companies face with the quality and reliability of incoming maintenance requests. If you’ve ever had to screen a maintenance request from a tenant then you’ll know what I’m talking about. Even at Latchel, we get requests like – “Leak in the kitchen and heater not working.”

Requests like this are very common, but they present a couple problems for property managers. First, the tenant is talking about two very different issues. The property manager now has to split these up so that they can send one issue to an HVAC contractor and the second issue to a… well, we’re not sure who should fix the leak in the kitchen. Is the sink leaking? Is the freezer leaking? Is the kitchen ceiling leaking after a rainstorm? We also don’t know much about the heater. Is it a central heating unit or is it a heater for a single bedroom?

This is a big problem that Latchel is going to fix in the next couple months. How do we get better quality maintenance requests from tenants? Fixing this problem means less calls going back and forth with the tenant and an easier time booking contractors to do the job.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

I hope that one day everyone has the freedom to pursue a vocation that they find meaningful and impactful. I believe the global effort to cure genetic disorders will help bring that freedom to more people. I am lucky enough to be an entrepreneur despite having a genetic disorder, but I understand the personal and family struggles that it can create and how it often limits someone’s ability to pursue their calling.

Thanks to Ethan for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).

The post Meet the RE Tech Founder: Ethan Lieber from Latchel appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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Go Exploring With This Tiny Home in Tow

Architect Duff Bangs and social worker Ashley Rodgers were ready to leave Seattle - and the nine-to-five grind. Taking a leap of faith, the couple quit their jobs, sold their condo and spent the past summer traveling the western United States in the Adventure Wagon 28, a 200-square-foot tiny home with a 70-square-foot sleeping loft. Now settled in Eastern Washington, Bangs and Rodgers are continuing their business Modern Wagon with the mission of building affordable tiny homes that are ready to hit the road, and donating a portion of the proceeds to housing for the homeless.

When designing the prototype, the couple aimed to include amenities like a bathtub, washer and dryer, and space for a yoga practice. The 28-foot trailer, carefully balanced for weight distribution, features a sloped roof and angled front and rear walls for maximum living volume. The exterior is composed of aluminum composite rainscreen with pre-finished birch lining the interior and Europly cabinets.

Bangs and Rodgers traveled nearly 11,000 miles over three months beginning in June 2017 - heading east to Chicago, back west to Colorado and Yellowstone National Park, and then south to Utah and Southern California before ending up in Eastern Washington. “We stopped at every national park we could,” says Bangs, who still lives in the prototype with fiancée Rodgers. “Living in a tiny home is better than I expected. [We] downsized from a 1,000-square-foot studio, and our lives are so much less cluttered and more simplified.”

Photos courtesy of Modern Wagon

The 13,000-pound tiny home stayed steady, even through storms in Montana and the Midwest. Says Bangs, “The entire journey has been extremely rewarding. It was pretty amazing to set a goal to design and build such a fascinating project within our deadline and be able to have the freedom to travel for three months all while towing our home.”

If you’re curious to hear more, check out the Modern Wagon blog for an account of the design process and road trip, and the website to get in touch with the creators.

This article was written by Jenny Xie and originally appeared on Dwell. Check out more of their content on Dwell.com.

Related:

• Could You Live ‘Tiny’? See How a Seattle Couple Found Room for Their Dreams
• The Tricky Thing About Buying a Tiny Home
• Here’s the Wackiest Tiny Home You’ve Ever Seen

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