From the EPA Website:

“To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.”

Exclusions:

From what I can tell the exclusions are owner’s working on his/her own home, areas that are less than 6 sq feet indoors and 20 sq feet outdoors, and homes that have been tested for lead by a certified professional.  Landlords renovating their own properties are required to be certified or hire a certified professional.   Windows are NOT considered a minor repair and will not be exempt.  Renovators working on properties they own but intend to sell don’t seem to be addressed so far in my research.

Penalties:

The penalties can be up to 37k a day and anyone can report the violation including a neighbor and  you will be investigated.   There are states that have opted and been approved by the EPA to administer their own programs including: Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina, and Mississippi.   Each of these states should have details of their program on their State Govt. Websites.

What’s this Mean for You?

It sounds pretty life altering but the EPA suggests for contractors and painters that have been following previous EPA guidelines on reno jobs, should only see about a $8 to $167 per job, jump in their costs. I spoke with Fred Lawrence of Lawrence Bros Builders, established green builders who have complied and gone through the training and certification process.  He feels that cost estimate could be conservative given the additional time it takes to isolate the affected areas.

The EPA continues to provide the certification course and their webpage on lead is extremely comprehensive if you are planning a project and want more info.  I have located  15  firms within a 50 mile radius of Nashville that have completed the required course work and are certified.  This number should grow because the paperwork takes time to process and some completed the course very  recently.    The EPA contends this law will effect about 35 million households and Nashville certainly has a number of properties built before 1978 that will be affected.

Among the bogus products that received the supposedly prestigious distinction were a “gasoline-powered alarm clock” and an air purifier which was nothing more than an electric heater with a feather duster glued to the front of it.

In all, 15 products out of 20 bogus applications were approved and 2 out of the 3 fake businesses were accepted and listed as “partners” on the website.  Some of these products would have been eligible for federal tax credits and state rebates and one of these bogus companies was contacted by consumers to do work.

The two glaring issues (besides the fact that human beings must not be processing these applications) the GAO’s report illustrated so effectively is that it’s hugely likely that companies can/will defraud and mislead if they can conduct their own studies on efficiency and submit that with their product application.  Independent verification from approved labs? – what a novel idea..

The second issue is that once a  company “vouches” for themselves and becomes a partner, they have complete access to all of Energy Star’s promotional pieces and logos and well we all know American businesses work diligently to be transparent and honest in their marketing.   Right…

What does this mean for Real Estate?

Besides feeding the growing skeptical nature of our culture , there are some things to take away from this report.  First of all, a builder can’t take a picture of his cat and  get his   Home Certified Energy Star.  There actually is an independent verification system by a third party  called a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) so don’t look at flyers with logos (cuz that might be bogus) ask for the Energy Star Certificate and check out the energy auditor who issued it.

Secondly,  while it’s pretty darn late in the game considering the array of products out there that may be bogusly certified,  the EPA (Energy Star’s parent Agency) has eliminated the “self certification” process for products wishing to don the label as of this week. (yay!)

Energy Star has been around for a while and I don’t doubt they have had significant effect on saving energy but they got lazy.  If you or your client want to take advantage of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency perhaps it would be a good idea to look at something like Greener Choices by Consumer Reports in addition to what is  listed on Energy Star’s website for a while until this all shakes

“Over Greening” is a phrase I am publicly coining today.  Not even Urban Dictionary has a pithy or perverse definition for this phrase and alas it’s up to me to bring it to the masses.  It’s meant to be a play on the more well known Real Estate phrase “Over Improving.”  As in,  this home is over improved considering it’s location or size.

Along that vein, one must wonder can there be such a thing as over greening considering the mounting evidence of global warming and impending energy shortage?  Can a home boasting 50-70% reduction in energy usage with a volume of sustainable upgrades offer a buyer or seller a sure a return on investment?

I have worked heavily in this niche for about 3 years now and have run in to more than a few builders who converted from ho-hum spec building to green building with the fervor of a Southern Choir on Sunday morning.    I’ve seen the light right along with them and found myself caught up in the idea of reducing emissions and cleaning up the planet one house at a time.   I have embraced their enthusiasm and championed their success.

I have also witnessed their struggle in trying to sell these homes.  In some cases, at a 30% premium over comparable homes in their market and ultimately finding themselves lucky to turn little to no profit for their time and effort.  Unfortunately, a declining market can bring out the skittish in even the most idealistic buyers and as one builder recently lamented to me, “we were about 5 years to early” it can prove to be a tough sell.

Finding Balance

I listened in on a great webinar today hosted by The Green Resources Council about the EPA’s new Indoor Air Plus program (more to come on that).  There were two bits of data that grabbed me from the session. One was a survey done by McGraw Hill of builders about how they define a green home.  The number one answer was better constructed home in terms of quality of materials and workmanship.  The same question was posed to consumers and the answer was a home with reduced energy costs and healthier indoor air quality.

I think the  Ah Ha! moment from these survey answers  is that there is some gap between builders and buyers in what they expect. In my humble opinion,  in order for green building to succeed, it is necessary to understand the consumer’s expectations for a green home and strike balance between the benefits verses costs in achieving these better building standards.  Much easier said than done but certainly a crucial part of the process for anyone looking to purchase or build a green home.

Realtors have an interesting roll in this balancing act because they can provide data on how these types of homes perform in their markets and what particular features seem to be gaining the most traction.  I plan  in my next post, to discuss the process of greening your MLS and how you can begin to build some hard data to provide to your clients that will hopefully aid them in building or purchasing green according to their unique market.

In the meantime dive in, think green but make sure you know how deep the pool is.

Do you say to yourself on those cold winter days, “geez it’s friggin freezing in here!”? Do you look at your charming old Victorian and think “This old thing? There’s no way you could seal this puppy up.” Trust me, I’ve heard all kinds of reasons including mine (a complete lack of gainful employment) as to why making energy upgrades are just not doable right now.

So now, NES is having a Go Green on the Big Screen Contest for any of their customers and YOU should enter.  All you have to do is make a video of the leaking sieve that you lovingly call home and let them know why you need the work to enter.  The prize is up to $4500 in upgrades from E3 innovate.  Can I get a WOOT?

I found the most concise explanation of what qualifies and how much is being offered per item  through the US Department of Energy tax breaks page.  The highlights are a 30% tax credit on Energy Star Certified items such as AC’s, windows, insulation, roofing with a $1500 cap.  The big boon was for alternative energy sources such as solar or geothermal.  These now qualify for a 30% tax credit with no cap through the year 2016.  Be sure to check the Energy Star website for more specific list of items that can qualify and how to apply for the credits.

After the success of the Cash for Clunkers program, the federal government rolled out a plan in the fall that would provide funding for rebates on energy efficient appliances.  Through the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, individual states will be able to offer rebates for energy efficient appliances so check this out if you are in need of anything from a new fridge to new AC’s.  It varies by state so click on your state, it could mean $100’s in savings.

I have one more trick up my little green sleeve.  Before you consider any improvement and/or appliance purchase or if you have recently made an improvement, be sure to check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.  This too varies by state and offers updated info about programs and incentives that promote sustainability in your area.  You can actually “stack”   most of these credits, rebates, and incentives currently offered so be sure to take full advantage.   Going green can actually mean making some green so do your homework and reap the benefits!

The good news is that the majority of builders I am encountering who are touting their homes as green, seem to be doing it with integrity and transparency.  In fact they are opting to use third party green builder certifications so that their entire building process can be inspected and even tested for things such as building efficiency and air quality.  In the case of green building, these certifications are a legitimate way for a buyer to know exactly what about the home is green and to what extent it’s more energy efficient then the average home. 

There are three major builder certifications that are being implemented nationally.   The US Green Building Council has it’s LEED program, The National Association of Home Builders has NAHB Green, and Energy Star `has a certification that you can get for an entire home.   Of the three, Energy Star is the the most basic and LEED is probably the most stringent and has the longest track record in the green building industry. If you take a little time to familiarize yourself with these certifications then you will certainly be better prepared to evaluate what a builder has done.   You may also find some very credible regional builder certifications in your area as well. For example, in the Southeast we have Earthcraft which is also very similar to LEED and NAHB Green in that they are muli faceted and all exceed Energy Star’s criteria.

On a note of personal plug, a qualified Realtor who has gotten some additional education on green homes, can most definitely help you to differentiate between the programs.  In addition if they are familiar with the builder certifications that are included in your Local MLS, then they can help you to evaluate if there is a premium for one particular certification in your area or if you can even get credit for it through the MLS which could impact resale.   Bottom line is that there are some legitimate programs in place that have a lot more “teeth” in the game than a pretty marketing and they are a wonderful tool in helping you define what “green” means in a new home.

I have a standing argument with my children’s principle about our school offering more healthy options in the lunchroom.  She claims that our school qualifies for little to no funding to improve the food quality because so few of the students eat our school’s lunch.  Of course my argument is that more would eat it if the food were fresher and more healthy.

That seems an unproductive argument and I think now is the time for us to speak to our priorities on how our tax dollars are invested in Nashville’s infrastructure and how it would change our habits if these things were made available to us.

Even with the popularity of bottled water (I’m not a fan but that’s another day), most of us consume quite a bit of water in our homes via cooking, icemakers, coffee, etc.. It’s seems prudent that we take something like water quality as seriously as say school zone or proximity to shopping.

Thoughts? Metro Water in Nashville, seemed to fair ok but it appears they aren’t giving out a whole lot of updated info.

I just pulled this gem of an article from USA Today and it’s reporting that Energy Star Certified Homes made up 17% of the market in 2008.   Despite a 30% reduction in new home starts last year all of the independent certifiers of green homes reported growth last year.

I think this is important to note as an agent, buyer, or seller because the question is whether or not in a few short years, will a program like Energy Star becomes the industry standard?  I worked with our local MLS in getting these certifications added in our searchable features in 2008 and have since consulted nationally with other MLS’s looking to add these features as well.  This will enable Realtors and Appraisers to pull statistics of average days on market and price per square foot which we anticipate will be a premium for certified homes.    Beyond the environmental benefits,  these green certifications are worthy of your consideration both if you are in the market to purchase or considering improvements as they may prove to be a real benefit for resale.

Here are some basic stats for Middle TN so far.  We have 235 active green certified listings starting in the 130’s, we have 132 currently pending (meaning there are no financing or inspection contingencies), and 536 sold this year.