Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Separating Truths

By Sherwin Sucaldito on December 16, 2010

There are many advantages to implementing green features into your home.  According to the yearly survey of home buyers, energy costs were the leading factor that many homeowners decided to implement green features into their home.  With sustainable and energy efficiency becoming a popular trend in homes, many are looking to capitalize off this billion dollar industry, but not always truthfully.

Heating and cooling costs were the leading category in energy costs that homeowners were most concerned about (followed by energy-efficient appliances and energy-efficient lighting).  Many energy-saving features installed in a home also become desirable features that buyers are also looking for.  The rising trend of energy-efficient features in the home have also led to a rise of falsifying green features in the home as recently published in The Chicago Tribune.

Home with green features have shown stability, even in the current market.  They often retain their value more than their conventional counterparts and average fewer days on the market as well.  It is not surprising that some sellers have decided to falsify certain green features in their home which is referred to as “greenwashing.”

There are ways that both buyers and sellers can confirm green features in the home.  If the home is certified, there would have been required processes and documentation involved.  Furthermore, additional  information can also assist appraisers and brokers in evaluating your home.   Because many of the technology are so new, many times it is difficult to place value on such features, thus careful discussion and evaluation of the market is important.

A broker with the GREEN Designation can help provide insight, understanding and information on current technology, certifications and information for both residential and commercial applications.  I attended Greenbuild 2010 last month, and learned many of the current and new evolving technologies being used in various applications.  Continually understanding the changing technology will also minimize fraudulent representations.

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Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Creative Commons LicenseSeparating Truths” by Sherwin Sucaldito is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Photo by Woodleywonderworks and used with the Creative Commons Attribution license.
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