Archive for April, 2010

EPA’s Laws on Lead - Just got Heavier

With all the talk of market recovery, tax credits expiring, new Truth in Lending guidelines, this one may have snuck up on you.  Yes, the EPA’s new law requiring contractors to be certified to do renovations on homes built before 1978 went in to effect yesterday, April 22nd.

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.

Energy Star- Trouble in Paradise?

Apparently,  there is such thing as the  Government Accountability Office (GAO) and according to this NY Times Article the GAO recently audited Energy Star’s certification process with some pretty,  ahem… embarrassing results.

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 There Such a Thing?

HUH?

“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.

NES GGo Green on the Big Screen Contest offers HUGE prize!!

No More Excuses!

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?