green 300: greening your real estate business...

Green 300: Greening Your Real Estate Business

Student Manual

Copyright © 2011, Green REsource Council of the National Association of REALTORS®

Note: The Green REsource Council, the Center for Specialized REALTOR® Education, and National Association of REALTORS®, its faculty, agents, and employees are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, financial, tax, or other professional services through these course materials. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the student should seek competent professional advice.

Green REsource Council 430 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611 USA 800-498-9422 or 312-329-3281 312-329-8632 (fax) [email protected] www.GreenREsourceCouncil.org

Acknowledgments

In practice and in spirit, the development of this designation program has been a collaborative journey with the goal of providing advanced green training and resources for real estate professionals. The Green REsource Council would like to express appreciation to the following individuals for their participation and contributions:

Iris Amdur, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Greenshape, LLC, Washington, DC

Arlene Baxter, GREEN, Berkeley Hills Realty, Berkeley, California

Tom Coalson, LEED AP, PMP, Coalson Consulting, Castle Rock, Colorado

Marjory Lokahi Gentsch, Hill Country Green Team LLC, Austin, Texas

Curtis Hall, GRI, ABR®, CRS, SRES®, GREEN, RE/MAX Achievers, Chandler, Arizona

Robert Hart, GREEN, Century 21 A Hart Realty Inc., Santa Barbara, California

Julie P. Hawkins, LEED AP, Jobin Realty, Reston, Virginia

Steve Holmes, Vyridian Group, Pompano Beach, Florida

Catherine Horsey, LEED AP, Sustainable Places, Sustainable Organizations, Dallas, Texas

Melissa Ling, CIH, CEM, LEED-AP, AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc., Lisle, Illinois

Al Medina, GREEN, LEED AP, Chicago, Illinois

Joe Menashe, Hasson Company REALTORS®, Portland, Oregon

Hugh Morris, National Association of REALTORS®, AICP, LEED AP, Washington, DC

Adrienne Nichols, Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS®, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Lynn Nilssen, GREEN, RoseBay Real Estate Inc., Sarasota, Florida

Brenda Nunes, LEED AP, Sustainability Foundation, Kirkland, Washington

Anna Porter, PorterWorksTM, Stanwood, Washington

Dave Porter, MIRM, CGP, CGA, GLS, PorterWorksTM, Stanwood, Washington

Karen Storey, GREEN, SRES®, Peakland Consulting, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

George K. Tuhowski III, LEED AP, Leopardo Companies, Inc., Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Steve Wooster, Allen Real Estate Services, Sarasota, Florida

David J. Yocca, RLA, AICP, LEED AP, Conservation Design Forum, Elmhurst, Illinois

The Green REsource Council also would like to thank the curriculum developers at the Center for Specialized REALTOR® Education for authoring the content of this course.

Table of Contents

Course Learning Goal .................................................................................................................. 2

Learning Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 2

Ice Breaker Quiz .......................................................................................................................... 4

Green 300.1: The Green Scene ............................................................................................... 5

How Green Are Consumers? ....................................................................................................... 6

The Green Curve ........................................................................................................................ 13

The Local Green Scene .............................................................................................................. 14

Focus on Benefits ...................................................................................................................... 16

Greening Your Core Real Estate Skills ....................................................................................... 19

Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Communication .............................................................. 20

Practitioner Perspective: What’s Green About Your Community? ........................................... 23

Green 300.2: Your Green Real Estate Business ..................................................................... 25

Getting Started .......................................................................................................................... 26

Green MLSs................................................................................................................................ 28

Walk the Talk ............................................................................................................................. 32

6 Ways to Build Your Business Niche with Green Builders ....................................................... 40

The Green Designation—A Marketing Advantage .................................................................... 44

A Green Game Plan for Your Business ...................................................................................... 45

4 “Ps” of a Green Game Plan ..................................................................................................... 46

Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Green Game Plan ........................................................... 47

Practitioner Perspective: Taking an Active Role ....................................................................... 49

Green Designee Obligations—Do’s and Don’ts ........................................................................ 51

Green 300.3: Working With Buyers ...................................................................................... 53

Generating Leads ....................................................................................................................... 55

Boost Your Personal Green Brand ............................................................................................. 58

Exercise: 3-Minute Personal Branding Brainstorm ................................................................... 60

Green Buyer-Counseling Session............................................................................................... 61

Exercise: Asking the Right Questions ........................................................................................ 64

Practitioner Perspective: Understanding Green Homes and Buyers ........................................ 65

Finding Homes ........................................................................................................................... 66

Practitioner Perspective: Greening My Home, Sharing the Experience ....................................... 67

Seeing the Green Potential ....................................................................................................... 68

Financing for Greening a Home ................................................................................................ 68

Energy Efficient and Improvement Mortgages in Brief ............................................................ 69

Practitioner Perspective: Greening REOs .................................................................................. 70

Exercise: Adapting your Core Skills—Finding Homes ................................................................ 71

Presenting Objective Information ............................................................................................. 72

Follow-Up .................................................................................................................................. 73

Green 300.4: Working With Sellers ...................................................................................... 75

Pre-Listing Interview.................................................................................................................. 76

Listing Presentation ................................................................................................................... 79

Exercise: 5-Minute Brainstorm: Green Your Listing Presentation ............................................ 82

Greening a Home for Sale ......................................................................................................... 83

Valuation for the Green Home .................................................................................................. 85

Practitioner Perspective: Appraising Green .............................................................................. 88

Marketing a Green Home .......................................................................................................... 89

9 Tips for Sustainable Staging ................................................................................................... 93

Disclosures and Representations .............................................................................................. 94

Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Market This Home.......................................................... 96

Summing Up .............................................................................................................................. 98

Resources .......................................................................................................................... 100

Green REsource Council Member Benefits ............................................................................. 101

Designation Map ..................................................................................................................... 102

Checklists for Greening a Home .............................................................................................. 103

Building Envelope .............................................................................................................................. 103

Water ................................................................................................................................................ 104

Energy Efficiency and Lighting .......................................................................................................... 105

HVAC ................................................................................................................................................. 106

Indoor Air Quality .............................................................................................................................. 107

Materials ........................................................................................................................................... 107

Lawn and Garden .............................................................................................................................. 108

Waste Disposal .................................................................................................................................. 109

Websites .................................................................................................................................. 110

Read More ............................................................................................................................... 110

1



2

Course Learning Goal

Green 300: Greening Your Real Estate Business is one of three required courses comprising the curriculum of the Green REsource Council’s Green Designation—the only designation of its kind recognized by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The goals of this course are to:

Plan and implement strategies and tactics for building a green real estate business

Adapt your core real estate business skills to list and market green properties and represent green sellers and buyers

Learning Objectives

300.1 The Green Scene

Survey your market area—how green are awareness levels, homes, businesses, community organizations, and your competitors?

Adapt core real estate skills to serve the green market

Adapt market approaches based on client or customer values and priorities

300.2 Your Green Real Estate Business

Establish a market presence and position as a green real estate professional

Advocate for greening the MLS

Use the green designation in marketing

Identify action steps for developing a green real estate business plan

Green your real estate business skills

300.3 Working With Buyers

Adapt your core real estate skills to work with green buyer-clients through all phases of the transaction

Gain strategies for finding green homes

Introduction

3

Help buyers see the green potential in an existing home

Inform buyer-clients about financing options for green home purchase and improvement and assist in finding lenders

300.4 Working With Sellers

Develop a green listing kit and presentation

Suggest ways for greening a home to prepare it for sale

Make timely, informed, and objective disclosures

Understand appraisal and pricing approaches for homes with green features

Market green home features and benefits

Completion Exam

At the conclusion of the course, students will take a 30-question multiple-choice exam to demonstrate achievement of learning objectives. Passing grade is 80% (minimum of 24 correct answers).

Resources

The manual’s Resources section (page 100) offers information on learning enrichment sources.


4

Ice Breaker Quiz

Test your recall of green facts from courses Green 100 and Green 200. Mark the best answer.

1. A basic strategy for improving indoor air quality is source control. True

False

2. Walkability enhances property values by making walkable communities places where people want to live.

True

False

3. Green fatigue happens when a homeowner spends too much time on lawn care. True

False

4. For most consumers, green means “environmentally friendly.” True

False

5. Radon is a naturally occurring gas emitted by the breakdown of uranium in soil. True

False

6. Net metering is an informal term for what happens when a home system generates more electricity than it needs and sells it back to the grid.

True

False

7. The higher a product’s total embodied energy, the “greener” the product. True

False

8. About 20 percent of U.S. housing stock was built before the launch of the Energy Star program.

True

False

9. The federal tax code allows a tax credit of up to 30 percent of the cost of home solar photovoltaic systems.

True

False

10. Duct tape is the best choice for sealing leaks in air ducts. True

False

5

Green 300.1: The Green Scene


6

The chapter covers three topics that provide the foundation for the rest of this course:

The green scene Awareness of the local green scene: your community, local government, the real estate market, home builders, clients and customers, and competitors.

Focusing on benefits Tailoring your communications based on the priorities and values of your clients and customers and learning how to focus on the benefits of green real estate.

Adapting your core real estate skills Adapting your core real estate skills to capture and serve the green market successfully. As an experienced real estate professional, you already have all the skills you need to succeed; this course shows you how to green your core skills.

How Green Are Consumers?

Imagine a constellation in the night sky called “Green.” What would be the stars comprising the constellation? Would the stars have names like environment, sustainability, climate change, recycling, energy efficiency? Most Americans would say that all of these terms sound familiar. But a

Sustainability

Environment

Recycling

Energy efficiency

Climate change


7

shared understanding or consensus on their meaning is as murky and mysterious as the stars in a constellation. And the knowledge gap between early adopters, the mainstream, and laggards is almost as vast as the light years separating the stars.

None of these ideas are new to the scene. Conservationist John Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892. Rachel Carson’s influential book, Silent Spring, was published in 1962. Scientists first detected a gap in the earth’s protective ozone layer in 1979. A 1987 U.N. Commission report introduced the triple bottom line concept: people, planet, prosperity. The federal Energy Star certification has been around since 1992. So with all of the information that is now available about sustainability, energy efficiency, and the environment, consumers should be very knowledgeable about all things green, right?

Consumer research studies show that despite all of the information, range of opinions, media coverage, products, initiatives, and programs, many consumers—your clients and customers—feel “lost in space” when it comes to understanding sustainability and applying that knowledge in their daily lives.

Marketplace Confusion

A significant number of Americans feel that they lack enough information to make informed decisions. According to the research firm The Hartman Group, many consumers who say they know what sustainability means cannot identify a sustainable product. Harris Interactive polling found that only about a third (36%) of Americans express concern about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations.1

Consumers are confused about the phenomenon of climate change. The issue has become so highly politicized and divisive that many consumers just tune out. They don’t understand if it is actually happening, what causes it, or what they can do about it. A study by Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication found that about four out of ten people think that humans could reduce climate change but think it is unclear whether we will do anything to prevent it and one quarter feel people are unwilling to change their behavior. 2

1 “Fewer Americans Going Green,” Harris Interactive, News Room, www.harrisinteractive.com/

NewsRoom 2 Project on Climate Change Communication, Yale University, http://environment.yale.edu/

climate


8

The Shelton Group’s Energy Pulse™ study found that only four out of ten Americans can correctly identify coal as the source of most of the country’s energy production and only half could name one form of renewable energy.3

Over-emphasis on environmental reporting overshadows what consumers want to know—the social action of the company. Consumers who are tuned into living green prefer to do business with companies that they believe share their values of sustainability.4

Changing Behavior

There is a significant gap between intentions and actual behavior. Consumers aren’t necessarily seeing the payoff of energy-efficiency measures because they don’t change their consumption habits. They may actually use the enhanced energy-efficiency measures as a rationale for increasing heating or air conditioning use; the thinking goes like this: “I can turn up the furnace and be more comfortable because the extra insulation I installed means less energy is wasted.” Consequently, energy-efficient heating or air conditioning systems enable the consumer to stay even with energy costs but not see any savings. When energy costs increase consumers’ costs may actually increase despite installing energy-efficient systems.

It’s the Economy

For now, the economic malaise in the United States has trumped environmental concerns. Gallup consumer research found that, with the exception of a tick upwards during the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a wide gap has opened between the percentage of American consumers who prioritize economic growth (54 percent) ahead of environmental protection (36 percent). As recently as 1999, percentages were markedly reversed: only 28 percent of consumers gave higher priority to economic development compared to 67 percent favoring environment protection.5 American consumers haven’t given up on environment protection but their attitudes are flexible and priorities shift when confronted with economic difficulties.

3 Energy Pulse™ 2010, Shelton Group, Knoxville, Tennessee, www.sheltongroupinc.com

4 “Happy Employees Make Sustainable Companies,” HartBeats, December 1, 2010, The Hartman

Group, www.hartman-group.com/hartbeat 5 Jones, Jeffrey, “Americans Increasingly Prioritize Economy Over Environment,” March 17, 2011,

Gallup® Daily News, www.gallup.com/poll


9

Homeowners can’t afford or risk investments in expensive energy upgrades and only replace equipment that breaks down. For cash-strapped consumers, energy efficiency and environmental issues may have to wait until the economy improves.

Who Knows and Cares the Most?

The Shelton Group tracks shifting consumer perceptions by conducting four annual consumer opinion studies: Eco Pulse™, Energy Pulse™, Utility Pulse™, and Green Living Pulse™. The Group’s 2010 Energy Pulse™ categorizes consumers into four demographic groups (see next page): true believers, concerned moms, cautious conservatives, and working class realists.6 This study profiles consumers based on demographics, environmental and energy-efficiency knowledge, and concerns, which is one way to look at the marketplace.

6 Energy Pulse™ 2010, Shelton Group, Knoxville, Tennessee, www.sheltongroupinc.com


10

Shelton Energy Pulse™—Four Green Consumer Groups7

True Believers—22%

Aged 35–44, men and women

Household income of $50,000 or more

Married

Homeowners (88%)

Concentrated in the northeast

High usage of Internet and social media

Driven by environmental and climate change concerns, and preserving the quality of life for future generations

#1 energy issue: development of alternative energy sources

Cautious Conservatives—27%

Aged 45–54, men

High income, one quarter have $100,000+ incomes

Married

Homeowners (88%), suburban

Concentrated in the south

Moderate usage of Internet

Don’t believe that climate change is happening or that humans cause it

Driven by savings and energy independence

#1 energy issue: increasing domestic oil production

Concerned Moms—25%

Aged 35–44, women

Low to middle income, $25,000–$50,000

Two-thirds are homeowners

Geographically dispersed

Member of minority groups (57%)

Married with children under age 18 at home

Low or no usage of Internet

Believe that climate change is happening and is caused by humans

#1 energy issue: making homes and cars more energy efficient

Working Class Realists—26%

Aged 18–34 and 65+

Retired, students, or unemployed

Men (70%)

Low income, less than $25,000

Single, renter, urban

Concentrated in midwest

Member of minority groups (53%)

Low Internet usage

Believe car and truck emissions cause climate change

#1 energy issue: development of alternative energy sources

7 Ibid.


11

Targeting the Right Prospects, Framing the Green Message

The REsource Newsletter, August 2010

Though green has become a mainstream topic, the general population is less knowledgeable than most imagine about the details of sustainability. That’s according to Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group. The research, based on two Shelton Group surveys, EcoPulse™ and Green Living Pulse™, examines consumers’ green understanding, behavior, and attitudes. The Shelton Group also surveyed respondents about their likelihood to hire real estate practitioners with training like that offered through NAR’s Green Designation. The findings offer insight into everything from consumers’ understanding of green, identifying good prospects for green homes, and strategies for framing green marketing messages.

Shelton found that potential prospects for green homes are ethnically diverse (38 percent are minorities) and that 42 percent have household incomes of $50,000 or more. Some additional data about prospects for green properties indicate they are:

25–34 year-olds (22 percent vs. 16 percent total population), with an additional 21 percent in the 45-to-54 age range

More likely to currently be renters

More likely to most often agree with the Democraic party

Plain Talk Shelton suggests talking to prospects about green property in simple, jargon-free language. Though many people can get through a fluffy conversation about sustainability at a cocktail party, consumers, when probed more deeply, tend to be fuzzy about what a “green” house actually means. Terms like photovoltaic, low-VOC, and post-consumer content may elicit question marks, for instance. Spell out what LEED means, she suggests, and opt for easy-to-understand terms. That may entail describing low-VOC paint as non-toxic. And consumers may understand energy-efficient windows better than a discussion of thermal performance and dual-pane windows with a low-E coating. Moreover, consumers tend to associate the term “green home” with high cost. So it may be beneficial to point out that installing costly items, such as solar panels, isn’t the only route to sustainable living.

Wooing the Committed “Understand your target audience and don't spend time converting people,” advises Shelton. “Find those already embracing green in their life.” Shelton suggests chatting up prospects and probing them about their thoughts on topics like water and conservation and the steps they’ve taken to green their homes to determine if they’re already living a green lifestyle.


12

Green Profiling In many cases, Shelton points out, consumers aren’t always driven by the message to save the planet. Many have a host of emotional drivers, and tapping those drivers often is key to winning them over. For some, for example, installing effective insulation is motivated by a desire for comfort and to keep a family cozy. Saving money may be of secondary importance to them. What also works may be suggesting that it feels good to do the right thing and pointing out how an energy-efficient home aligns with their values. “You’re making an emotional play, but backing it up with rational information,” Shelton observes.

Of those who’d use a green practitioner, 77.7 percent say reducing home energy consumption is important. That group also has taken steps to green their lives, with 77.1 percent of them indicating that they’ve replaced most incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LED lighting.

“Your audience is green in all aspects of life. They’re making their own green cleaning products, opting for natural care products, and buying organic food,” comments Shelton. In addition, nearly half (48.9 percent) say they’ve bought Energy Star qualified electronics, and 36.9 percent bought Energy Star qualified appliances. Another 25.4 percent say they’ve completed energy-efficient home renovations and 25 percent have installed a programmable thermostat.

Shelton offers a quick run-down of some of the characteristics of prospects for green homes and some of what to keep in mind when talking with them. Address their interests including:

Renewable electric power generation systems, such as solar, geothermal, or wind

Water-conserving features like low-flow showerheads, toilets, and rain water collection systems

Construction featuring materials made with recycled or post-consumer-waste content

Shape messages that include information that resonates like preserving natural resources, making money-saving changes in their homes, creating energy independence, protecting the environment, or using green, energy-efficient construction materials.

Opportunity to Fill in Knowledge Misconceptions abound, and that knowledge gap can entail everything from what’s actually green to a belief that even 20-year-old homes are energy efficient. But those misconceptions provide an opportunity. “Practitioners with green expertise can fill in those gaps and help consumers better understand these green issues and show them ways to make their homes more efficient,” Shelton observes. “That's an expert role you can play, and it can be a market differentiator for you.”


13

The Green Curve

Now that we’ve examined some consumer trends, let’s focus on your local market. The green curve concept, 8 introduced In Green 100: Real Estate for a Sustainable Future, provides a frame of reference. Five distinct groups can be identified: innovators, early adopters, early and later majority, and laggards. What characterizes these consumer groups in the context of making green choices?

Innovators and early adopters are already convinced of the benefits of adopting a green lifestyle and greening their homes. The critical tipping point occurs when opinion leaders among the innovators and early adopters communicate their approval.

Early and late majorities quickly overcome uncertainty, the major obstacle to adopting something new, when benefits outweigh the social or financial costs. Potential loss of status or economic viability motivates them to follow suit rapidly. When a new idea crosses the chasm separating innovators and early adopters from the majority groups, it becomes mainstream—the new normal.

Laggards are the last group to adopt an innovation. Extreme skepticism about the benefits or social isolation blocks them.

8 Moore, Geoffrey. Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, Revised Edition. Harper Business, New York, 1999.

Early Majority

Late Majority

The

Ch

asm

Mainstream The Future Opportunity

The Green Curve The New Normal


14

The Local Green Scene

When communities, governments, and people function in a way that “meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,”9 they are living the principles of sustainability. Look around your community and marketplace. Do consumers seem to be concerned about environmental causes? Is there already a concentration of green homes? Do building codes facilitate or block construction of homes with green features? Let’s use the concept of the green curve to assess the location scene.

Exercise: Mapping the Green Curve

On the green curve diagram below, place a mark to indicate where you are you on the green curve. Then mark the positions of:

Most of your clients and customers

Your broker

Most of the home inventory

Builders

Local government

Your community

Your competitors

Your local REALTOR® association

9 “Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future,”

United Nations, 1987, www.un-documents.net

Innovators

Early Adopters

Early Majority

Late Majority Laggards

The Green Curve


15

? Discussion Question

Considering your position on the green curve in comparison to others, what are the challenges and opportunities?

Did your opinion or viewpoints change as a result of this discussion?


16

Focus on Benefits

Paralleling the triple bottom line, a new wave of green marketers now propose that authentic green brands must demonstrate a Triple Value Proposition™: practical, social, and tribal10. The Triple Value Proposition™, in other words, must show practical benefits, social and environmental benefits, and an affiliation with a community of those who share similar values.

Although categorizing consumers into demographic groups, such as the groups described on page 10, helps us understand the market, few conform closely to these archetypes. But consumers do have a predominant mindset that shapes priorities and decisions. When we think in terms of promoting the Triple Bottom Line™, we can tailor communications to demonstrate the benefits of a home’s green features.

Even skeptics and laggards appreciate practical benefits and will respond to the messages of energy independence and cost savings. Remember what moves consumers along the green curve from left to right—loss of status and economic viability.

For this course on building your real estate business, we will use the following four benefit focuses as a way to generalize about clients and customers and understand their motivations and priorities. In reality, most clients and customers probably have a blend of all these motivations, but one is more characteristic of and influential on their decisions about buying a home, greening a home, and living green.

Four Benefit Focuses

Cost savings

Health first

Sustainability

Lifestyle

10

BBMG, Inc., http://bbmg.com


17

Focus: Cost-Savings

Value Proposition: Practical benefits

Priorities: Saving on operational costs through energy efficiency, maintaining home values

Home Features: Energy-efficient HVAC systems and appliances, water-saving methods, tight building

envelope, high R-value insulation, high-quality windows and doors, power generation systems (PV or

wind), public transportation to save on commuting costs. High-performance homes.

Messages: Green homes use less energy and therefore are less expensive to operate. The owner has

some control over future energy costs. Green homes sell faster and closer to list price.

Focus: Health First

Value Proposition: Practical benefits

Priorities: Good indoor air quality free of allergens, VOCs, and pollutants, health benefits of green living

Home Features: HVAC systems that provide adequate ventilation and support indoor air quality,

walkability, low-VOC paints and finishes, carpets, cabinetry, environment that facilitates healthful

activity

Messages: Green homes are constructed with non-toxic building materials. Ventilation and air filtration

systems help control indoor air quality and minimize health concerns. A walkable neighborhood

encourages healthful exercise.

Focus: Sustainability

Value Proposition: Values consistency

Priorities: Reducing personal carbon footprint, conserving resources (water, land), recycling, using

public transportation, using renewable energy sources, connecting to nature

Home Features: Recycled and reclaimable building materials, design for daylighting and solar heating,

renewable energy sources, preservation of the natural environment and connection to nature

Messages: Green homes help people live in harmony with nature and minimize carbon footprint. Using

recycled and reclaimed materials diverts waste from landfill. A green home demonstrates personal

commitment to a sustainable future and sets a good example for others to emulate.

Focus: Lifestyle

Value Proposition: Social capital

Priorities: Demonstrating that the owner is a trendsetter and ahead of the curve; more interest in

owning the latest green feature or technology than sustainability ideals

Home Features: Innovative and cutting edge materials, systems, and design; high quality appointments;

smart homes.

Messages: Green homes are built to a higher standard than other homes. A holistic approach to design

and construction creates a comfortable, aesthetically pleasing home. Green homes combine smart

thinking and innovative design to create a pleasing home experience.


18

Core Skills Inventory

As an experienced real estate professional, you already have the skills to serve the green market. You still need to do the homework to expand your knowledge. And, there’s no substitute for authenticity. Your belief in and commitment to living and working green will always show through. You can use the core skills you’ve already acquired and adapt them to green your real estate business. Let’s start by taking a look at an inventory of skills.

Regulatory Knowledge

Product Knowledge

Market Knowledge

Financing, Credits,

Incentives

Image

Networking

Customer Service

Negotiations

Advocacy

Representations and Disclosures

Communications

Marketing

Technology Use

Community Involvement


19

Greening Your Core Real Estate Skills

Regulatory Knowledge Know about environmental issues and laws, property use restrictions and covenants

Product Knowledge Know about green home features and systems, potential payback on improvements, homes, and product certifications

Market Knowledge Know about local green market trends, know who is building green and how much local housing stock is green, know about green resources like schools and parks

Financing, Credits, Incentives Know about green mortgages, home improvement loans, government tax credits and incentives, utility company incentives

Image Walk the talk, set an example, use green products, recycle, use green practices in the office environment

Networking Develop a professional network of vendors and service providers, join local green organizations, nurture contacts with other green businesses

Customer Service Provide post-transaction follow up to maintain contact, be the source of green service provider information

Negotiations Help sellers price homes and buyers develop offers reflective of value of green home features

Advocacy The voice for green real estate and sustainability for local government, the REALTOR® association and MLS, support sustainable community development

Representations and Disclosure Seek and present accurate, objective information about green home features, make required disclosures

Communications Adapt listing presentations, buyer counseling, and showings based on prospect’s motivations and priorities, ask what green means to the client or customer

Marketing Homes and Services Promote benefits of green homes features, promote your green expertise and values

Technology Use Adopt technologies that enable paperless business methods, use social media to build market position and credibility

Community Involvement Get involved with local community groups, support community sustainability initiatives, mentor School of the Future teams (see page 37)


20

Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Communication

Focus: Cost-Savings

Value Proposition: Practical

benefits

Priorities: Saving on operational

costs through energy-efficiency,

maintain home values

Part 1. What are the challenges in selling the benefits of green home features to these groups?

Examples: Identifying the buyer’s primary focus. Spouses with different focuses. Understanding health issues.

Focus: Health First

Value Proposition: Practical

benefits

Priorities: Good indoor air

quality free of allergens, VOCs,

and pollutants, health benefits

of green living

Focus: Sustainability Value Proposition: Values

consistency

Priorities: Reducing personal

carbon footprint, conserving

resources (water, land),

recycling, using public

transportation, using renewable

energy sources, connecting to

nature

Focus: Lifestyle Value Proposition: Social capital

Priorities: Demonstrating that

the owner is a trendsetter and

ahead of the curve; may more

interested in owning the latest

green feature or technology

than sustainability ideals


21

Logo and photo reprinted with permission of the NAHB Research Center. www.nahbgreen.org

The Gem

Built by Treasure Homes, Valparaiso, Indiana Award Level: Emerald Home Features 1 ½ story Prairie Bungalow, 1,650 square feet

Three bedrooms, two baths

Priced under $250,000

Built with insulated concrete forms in the basement and structural insulated panels on the main floors

Tankless water heater, low-flow toilets

Energy-efficient lighting

Low-maintenance, sustainable landscaping includes rain barrel, bioswale, and pervious concrete driveway to filter storm water

Indoor spaces open to outdoor “rooms” including two porches and patio

Located close to commuter transportation options

Universal design features include: a ramp incorporated into landscaping for no-step entrance to family foyer, no-barrier thresholds, first-floor master suite, multiple kitchen work surfaces, and roll-under work area.

Part 2. Skill Practice: Focusing on the Benefits Which of this home’s green features would you emphasize for a buyer whose focus is:

Cost Saving Health First Sustainability Lifestyle


22

Part 3. Do most of

your clients and

customers focus on

cost savings, health

first, sustainability,

or lifestyle?

What did you learn as a result of this exercise?


23

Practitioner Perspective: What’s Green About Your Community?

I try to offer prospects a complete picture of how the community helps residents live a fully green lifestyle. Yes, saving dollars and improving the environment are important, but so are aspects like a neighborhood’s walkability, access to a farmer’s market, transportation, recycling opportunities, and quality of life. Through my website and blogging (http://greenhomesnashville.com), I try to help people understand what’s green about the community, or a particular neighborhood, along with ways local amenities support an eco-friendly lifestyle. Lots of my marketing is about education and providing quality information about what’s unique to our region. But you can’t shy away from number crunching. I scour the MLS to find the statistics that illustrate the benefits of home green features. You can tout the numbers that show green properties are selling quicker and closer to list price.

Building a green network There’s nothing like networking with like-minded individuals to stay up on national and local issues, get your name out in the community, and build relationships with other green professionals for education and referrals. I chair the environment committee for the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®. To other practitioners, I would say push your local REALTOR® association to form an environmental committee or group if it doesn’t have one. And get involved in various local green groups. There are obvious choices, such as the local chapters of the USGBC and NAHB, but there are also smaller local groups to consider too. For example, I’m involved in a women-only networking group that brings together professionals who have expertise in sustainability.

Making money by specializing in and marketing green I feel like the pendulum is moving our way. More people are finding me through Trulia blogging and through the green reputation I’ve established. Even though they may not go out and buy a green home, they like my core values and they’re selecting me based on that. My approach enables me to reach and appeal to a broad swath of prospects, including those interested in a light green lifestyle, others who are seriously committed to environmental causes, and still others who may be focused on bottom line costs. It’s a good marketing strategy, provided you’re doing it with integrity.

“Even though

they may not

go out and

buy a green

home, clients

like and

select me

based on my

core values.“

Anna Altic, GREEN Village Real Estate Services Nashville, Tennessee [email protected]


24

Next Chapter

In this chapter we’ve looked at the challenges of discerning the predominant mindset of your clients and customers and greening core real estate skills in order to move transactions to a successful, profitable, and satisfactory conclusion. In the next chapter we’ll focus on how to “walk the talk” when it comes to greening your real estate business.

25

Green 300.2: Your Green Real Estate Business


26

Chances are that because you are already participating in this course you have personally taken the first steps toward living by principles of sustainability. You may already have participated in a transaction that involved a home with green features, or worked with buyers who wanted a green home. Now the question is—how can you turn your personal interests and values into an actionable business game plan?

Getting Started

We can borrow some wisdom from a world-renowned source, the Sloan School of Management at MIT, about how large companies gain a business advantage as “embracers” of sustainability. In a special report on how the largest corporations integrate sustainability into their business strategies, companies were categorized into two groups: cautious adopters and embracers. The study surveyed 3,000 business executives and managers around the globe and concluded that “while measuring resource use and waste efficiency is a good way for companies to start …[those] that are moving most aggressively on the sustainability agenda are doing more than reducing their environmental impact…by taking that leap of faith—they are finding that unexpected benefits emerge.”11

The cautious adopters focus on reducing risks and complying with regulations. “Embracers not only claim that sustainability strategies are necessary to be competitive—they also believe these strategies are helping them to gain competitive advantage.” The reality is that the first movers are likely to grow such a commanding lead, it will be difficult for competitors to catch up.12

If embracing sustainability provides such a powerful competitive advantage, why don’t all businesses go green? Businesses are as confused as consumers about what green means and many think only in terms of environmental issues. Consequently, companies do not take action because it is difficult to:

Predict consumer response to sustainability-related strategies

11

“Sustainability: The ‘Embracers’ Seize Advantage,” Research Report, MIT Sloan Management Review in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, Winter 2011, http://sloanreview.mit.edu 12

“The Business of Sustainability,” MIT Sloan Management Review in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, 2009, http://sloanreview.mit.edu


27

Find adequate measures to indicate success—the bottom-line difference

See the impact of strategies on reputation or brand

What large “embracer” corporations are learning is that the more you talk and engage, the more opportunities you will find. And that is a lesson that can be emulated even if you are a one-person business enterprise.

7 Action Steps Sustainability Embracers Do13

1. Move early—even if information is incomplete

2. Balance broad, long-term vision with projects offering concrete, near-term wins

3. Drive sustainability top-down and bottom-up in the organization

4. Aggressively de-silo sustainability and integrate it throughout company operations

5. Measure everything and if ways of measuring something don’t exist, they invent them

6. Value intangible benefits seriously

7. Strive for authenticity and transparency; they don’t overstate motives or set unrealistic expectations and they communicate their challenges as well as their successes—warts and all!


How could you adapt these 7 action steps to your real estate business? How would you measure results?

13

Ibid.


28

Green MLSs

The MLS is an important tool for the majority of real estate professionals. Many would have a difficult time doing business without it. The good news is that MLSs can green the data they report about listed homes; an online toolkit provides information on the best practices of these MLS “green shoots”. These multiple listing services are ahead of the curve in greening their data fields and compiling data. In fact, in early adopter cities like Seattle, almost a third of transactions involve homes listed on the MLS with green features.

In some markets, however, especially those in areas with a strong older home presence, real estate professionals express concern about adding green MLS fields. Nevertheless, many practitioners report a growing interest in exploring the concept because of the obvious advantages.

MLS data fields for certifications, renewable energy, indoor air quality, and water conservation measures enable real estate professionals to list and find homes with green features.

The richer the stream of data on green home features, the larger the pool of comparable properties for real estate professionals and appraisers to use in calculating property value.

Homeowners can get credit for green features they’ve added.

Data can be aggregated to show green market trends, such as time on the market and sale-to-list price ratios for green homes

When their listings appear on the MLS, real estate professionals who specialize in green homes can enhance brand marketing and reputation as go-to green practitioners.

The long-term result is a powerful business tool that responds to consumer awareness of sustainability issues and supports business building for green real estate professionals. Some examples of MLS “green shoots” follow.


29

Traverse Area Association of

REALTORS®

Traverse City, Michigan

www.taar.com

SoCal MLS Los Angeles, California

www.socalmls.com


30

Why Is Data Accuracy Important?

Everyone involved in the MLS has the same goals: accurate data and fair value for a home at closing. But, both a lack of representation and false representation of properties’ green attributes can result in sellers under-pricing or buyers overpaying for a house. Exaggerations of green features and certifications can create the impression of green-washing of MLS listings. Consequently, environmentally and financially beneficial green home attributes and features can lose value. Furthermore, agents and brokers are at legal risk when aspects of properties are misrepresented in MLS listings.

MLSs, however, can implement procedures and policies to mitigate the risks of inaccurate or incomplete data. For example, they can institute a requirement that documentation or confirmation of green attributes must be uploaded within a specified time frame or the information, or the entire listing, is deactivated or a modest fine is imposed. Some MLSs for example, require agents to upload certification documentation within four days of placing a listing; if they do not, the listing is deactivated.

RMLS Portland, Oregon www.rmls.com


31

MLS images courtesy of Traverse Area Association of REALTORS, SoCal MLS, RMLS .

The Traverse Area Association of REALTORS® uses this seller

disclosure form to ensure accurate MLS data


32

Advocating for Greening the MLS

Are you interested in becoming an advocate for greening your MLS? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. The MLS committees and administrators can draw on a deep well of experience. The Green MLS Tool Kit, compiled by the Green REsource Council, provides step-by-step guidance. The kit includes case studies, best practices, and a six-step action plan. Go to www.greenresourcecouncil.org/greening_the_mls.

Walk the Talk

So far, we’ve looked at how large companies approach integrating sustainability into strategies, operations, and corporate culture. And we’ve looked at how REALTOR® association multiple listing services incorporate green home data and ensure its accuracy. Now let’s focus on what you can do to green your own real estate business.


33

If you want to position yourself as the “green go-to” person in your market, there are a couple of important ideas to keep in mind:

Becoming a green real estate professional is a journey, not a destination. It is an ongoing process of learning and deepening in your commitment to principles of sustainability in your business and personal life.

You can’t fake it. Lip service to sustainability principles will always show through. If your commitment is not authentic, it will be difficult to participate honestly and consistently with those who truly walk the talk of sustainability.

Green Your Office Environment

When you meet with prospects, a green office environment demonstrates your sustainability values. You could:

Use recycled paper and plastic products in the office. Look for Green Seal certified office products.

Use low-toxicity office products like non-toxic dry erase markers and green cleaning products for janitorial use.

Use glass and ceramic dishware and stainless steel flatware.

Participate in recycling programs—recycle paper, plastic, and printer cartridges

Unplug office equipment when not in use—plugged-in appliances continue to draw electricity in hibernation or standby modes.

Furnish the office with Certified Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) furniture or low-VOC wood alternatives.

Maintain an online green library of information resources with links to sources like Energy Star, Energy Savers, Earth 911, and other sources.

Green the printing of property flyers and other marketing materials with environment-friendly papers and inks. Replace print advertising with paperless media—e-zines, websites, and social media.

Give green closing gifts like smart power strips, tire gauges, gift certificates for green stores and services, CFL light bulbs, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and tree saplings.


34

Green Blogging

What makes blogs such a powerful communication method for real estate marketing is this: as your readership and reputation as a reliable information source grows, you gain social capital and recognition as an authoritative, trusted information source. Although there are numerous writers blogging about green topics, you have the advantage of combining your local real estate market experience with knowledge of green home features. Blogs allow you to answer questions in a thoughtful and informative format. Ultimately, it saves you time because you have an opportunity to educate future clients and customers and, as you develop blog entries about various topics, you will be building an online library of answers and solutions to direct clients and customers to when they have questions.

You don’t have to be an English major or a journalist to be a successful blogger. Nor must you be an expert on everything green, but you do want to be perceived as a source—the source of the source—of reliable and interesting information. As with any marketing technique, the decision to

blog should be integrated into an overall marketing strategy. Veteran real estate bloggers advise allocating time for blogging, just as you do for other prospecting activities.

Like integrating sustainability into business strategies, measuring the return on investment for blogging and other social media requires a long-term viewpoint. Real estate professionals who maintain active, content-rich blog sites attest to the medium’s effectiveness in bringing them new business. They caution, however, that contacts that produce transactions, not reader comments, indicate return on investment.

The best way to get started blogging is probably just to jump in, try out applications, and learn from what other real estate professionals do. Fortunately, many blogging sites are free for basic services so there is no financial risk. There are no hard and fast rules, except for a couple of common sense principles:

Find what works for you and what you enjoy because you are more likely to stick with it

Use the right sites to reach your target audience

You don’t have to be a journalist to be a successful blogger but you do want to be perceived as a source of reliable information.


35

NAR Code of Ethics: Electronic Marketing Guidelines

Carefully monitor all online content, including blog posts and comments, to ensure alignment with the NAR Code of Ethics and your company policy. Always maintain professionalism and compliance with legal requirements such as discussions of commission and privacy laws. This is critical to your credibility and your ability to generate potential buyers.


What green real estate topics could you blog about?


36

Community Involvement

For many real estate professionals community involvement and volunteering is something they do anyway. They invest the time and effort because they want to better their communities and make them places where people want to work and live. Of course, community involvement has the side benefit of meeting and getting acquainted with potential prospects on a personal level. Sincere, altruistic community service is one of the best ways to walk the talk of sustainability while raising your profile as a green go-to person. You can use the community involvement skills you already have, and focus them on green opportunities.

When we talk about community involvement in relation to sustainability, we mean two types of communities. There is the physical community, your market area, the town where you live and do business. And there is the community of people, some call it a tribe, who share your values about creating a sustainable future.

Your involvement may open opportunities to influence community development toward sustainability. Remember, local government representatives may not be aware of the factors that enhance property values—like walkability and public transportation—and support community vitality. You may be able to make a valuable contribution by sharing your front-line knowledge of the real estate market.

There are many potential green partners in your community. You could start by looking for potential partners in:

Local chapters of associations

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) chapters

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) local builders’ associations

Urban Land Institute (ULI) district councils

Chambers of Commerce

Government planning commissions

Local conservation organizations

Neighborhood organizations

Focus your community involvement skills on green opportunities. Photo National Renewable Energy Lab, www.nrel.gov.


37

School of the Future Design Competition

A good way to boost your profile as a green real estate professional is participation in the “School of the Future” design competition. The National Association of REALTORS® participates with the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) to recognize and celebrate winners’ accomplishments. The annual competition, open to middle school students, challenges student teams to redesign their schools to enhance learning, conserve resources, be environmentally responsive, and engage the surrounding community. Volunteering as a mentor requires a significant commitment of time and energy, but it is a fun and enjoyable experience. The mentor’s job is to promote and facilitate learning by acting as a technical advisor and providing a role model of civic engagement. Mentors can share their “how to do it so it turns out right” stories. Students have the opportunity to spend time with skilled and motivated community volunteers who provide guidance and teach by personal example. For information on the competition including competition deadlines, go to www.realtor.org/government_affairs/ smart_growth/schools_of_the_future


How can you green your community involvement skills and meet others who share your sustainability values?


38

Source of the Source

Some real estate professionals who have made sustainability a major focus of their businesses find that clients and customers turn to them as a source of information about greening homes. Of course real estate professionals should always be cautious about recommending specific services and vendors. But there are some steps you can take to compile a list of professionals who share your sustainability values and viewpoints.

There are likely many self-identified green vendors in your area. As a result, it can be difficult to determine if a vendor is truly “green.” Consider the following factors as you help guide your clients and customers to other green professionals.

Area of green specialization

Certification by a recognized green building organization

Membership in a professional association for the trade

Communication of green-related knowledge and experience

Completion of projects similar in size and scope

Availability of references

Use of materials and products certified green by a reliable certifier (Green Seal, FSC)

Recycling or reuse of demolition or construction waste

Verification of work by a third party

Community involvement in programs related to sustainable practices

Use online directories to find green professionals in your area:

USGBC LEED Approved Providers

American Society of Interior Designers

NAHB Certified Green Professional™

Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified professionals

RESNET Certified raters

Energy Star partners


39

Start a Green Business Roundtable

Take the lead in your business community in breaking down the silos of information that impede communication and collaboration by forming your own business roundtable. You could start a business roundtable by inviting a few key business owners to a breakfast or lunch. Be up front about your aim to exchange client leads and build each other’s businesses. Keep the group small enough to be manageable. Include local developers and builders—they need the real estate professional to sell their product. Tap into their knowledge and expertise; invite them to be guest bloggers or columnists for your newsletter—they want to reach the same clients and customers that you do. Not every member of the group has to share the same depth of commitment to sustainability principles or even of agree on definitions of concepts to start talking to each other.

Business owners want to know about green real estate market trends because they impact their businesses too. Plus, business owners who serve the same market are a source of referrals. For example, if your interest is in alternative energy, stay in touch with the local businesses that install solar PV and wind turbine systems. Provide links on your website to local businesses. Pay a personal visit to the business owner and offer to provide a monthly or quarterly market update.

Exercise: 3-Minute Brainstorm

Who could you invite to join your green business roundtable? Who wants to reach the same audience?


40

6 Ways to Build Your Business Niche with Green Builders

If you’ve not connected with local builders doing green development, you may be missing out on a promising niche. As green housing continues going mainstream and more green homes come on line, you, armed with your NAR Green Designation, are in an excellent position to market such properties and become allies with green builders. Several NAR GREEN Designees have already done the footwork to tap this niche. Here are some of their suggestions.

1. No-sell sell: Rather than hustling or hard-selling builders for new business, look to them as

knowledge sources and allies. Stephanie Ebbesen, GREEN, a broker with Green Home Residential, Dallas, got a list of local green builders from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and started calling them for sit-downs. She talked to them about what they were building, the science behind green building, and their perspective on the market. “I don't ever ask builders to use my services,” she comments. Instead, business relationships evolve naturally. The approach has served her well, and she’s marketing White Rock Crossing, an energy efficient co-housing community in Dallas.

2. Be a student of your niche: Ebbesen participates in various green activities in her community

and calls herself a student of her niche. She finds others interested in green through Meetup.com, the Sierra Club, and by volunteering at the North Texas Green Council, which is the local USGBC chapter. “That way, you’re meeting people who are already considering this lifestyle,” she says. And then no hard sell or green 101 education is needed. Moreover, when someone is ready to shop for a green property, they naturally gravitate to the real estate person they know best. You.

3. Start online dialogues: Hailey Knecht, GREEN, a practitioner with Intracoastal Realty, Oak

Island, N.C., suggests starting threads about green buildings and technologies on LinkedIn groups to branch out and explain what you know to others. It’s a way to make connections with prospective clients, pass on knowledge, and get insight from other green professionals, she says. Knecht, who markets new houses built by Hall and Wright Builders, an energy-efficient homebuilder in Southport, N.C., is also a fan of online conversations through the GRC community. There, she’s gained new insight on simple, inexpensive greening techniques to share with clients.

4. Read your clients: Veronica Imery, GREEN, a practitioner with Chastain, Jenkins & Leathers,

Athens, Ga., did a focus group among local hybrid car owners to find out what people cared about in a green house. She’s marketing green properties for Imery Homes, Athens, Ga. Common community space and walkability rose to the top of the wish-list for the focus group. She also discovered that prospects were willing to give up a big yard for community parks and gardens, for instance. Such information can help you help your builder to incorporate what’s important to the green buyer.


41

And Ebbesen feels out clients to see what drives them, rather than launching into a green spiel. That means not making a pitch for saving the whales if their main concern is indoor air quality. “I can’t sell them something until I understand their motivation. I don’t do heavy solicitation and I don’t jam information down their throats,” she comments.

Imery, too, aims to make it simple for the layperson to understand, both in words and pictures, what exactly an eco-home delivers. She focuses on the homes’ health and comfort rather than using industry jargon to explain the minutiae of building technology. She’s marketing two award-winning Platinum Level EarthCraft houses built by the Imery Group. The Imery Group won a National Association of Homebuilders’ 2011 Project of the Year, Small-Volume Single-Family Builder award and it was a 2010 EarthCraft House “Platinum” Project of the Year Winner.

5. Market the right stuff: Imery notes that some of the most important aspects of the

EarthCraft projects are behind the drywall. Thus, she held open houses prior to the drywall installation to educate the public about the benefits of the house and to show just what was in the guts of the property. She also documented the pre-drywall stage with videos and extensive photography.

6. Show up: Knecht stresses the importance of showing up in the right places to get your name

out in the industry and among consumers and stay on top of new developments. That means participating in green groups, such as local USGBC and NAHB chapters and attending local and national building shows, such as GreenBuild and National Association of Homebuilders. She uses trade shows as an opportunity to vet vendors, ask questions, look at and touch products, and assess how the products are working in the field. “You’ve got to be at the tradeshows and where the builders are,” Knecht comments.

Reprinted from the Green REsource Council Newsletter, May 2011, www.greenresourcecouncil.org.


42

Sponsor a Green Home Seminar

Presenting a green home seminar is a great way to build your visibility as a real estate professional and a green designee. A seminar begins the process of building a relationship with potential prospects without making a commitment. Attendees get an opportunity to get acquainted with you and check you out. Presenters have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, values, and professionalism.

Service organizations, associations, civic groups, and community colleges, to name a few, are always looking for programming ideas and interesting speakers. Creating a program opportunity could be as simple as contacting the organization’s leadership or administration and offering to make a presentation on a real estate topic.

Sponsors want to reach the same audience that you do and usually for the same reasons—to gain customers. Sponsors help by sharing costs, providing expertise as presenters, lending credibility, and offering promotion assistance.

Presentations by other professionals enhance your standing as a real estate expert. You could ask two or three representatives of your business network, such as a builder or landscaper, to make a presentation.

Although the seminar environment should not be sales focused, following up on contacts made at seminars provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise and offer helpful services. Because attendees have already seen your presentation, and perhaps talked one-on-one, you have accomplished the first step in establishing a relationship.

Presenting a seminar accomplishes the first step in building a relationship with prospects.


43

3-Minute Brainstorming Challenge

Topics—What topics would be interesting? Sponsors—What businesses and services want to reach the same prospects?

Presenters—who could you invite as a presenter?

Giveaways—What information and items would be memorable giveaways?

1-Minute Lightning Round: Do’s and Don’ts

Write one do and one don’t—in 10 words or less—for presenting a green real estate seminar.

Do: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .

Don’t: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .


44

The Green Designation—A Marketing Advantage What does NAR’s Green Designation say about you as a real estate professional? Displaying the Green designation shows that you have dedicated your professional skills to supporting and encouraging sustainable real estate practices. It demonstrates your achievement in learning about the principles of sustainability and green building.

Who Can Display the Green Designation

Members of the National Association of REALTORS® who have successfully completed all course requirements and who are members of the Green REsource Council. See page 102 for a Map to the Green Designation.

How to Use the REALTOR® Trademark and Green Designation Correctly

Descriptive words or phrases, like green, eco-friendly, or sustainable should never be used with the terms REALTOR® or REALTORS®, even if they are separated by a comma or hyphen

Do Don’t

With your name REALTOR® Jane Doe, GREEN Jane Doe, REALTOR®, GREEN

Jane Doe, GREEN REALTOR®

Do Don’t

With other designations

John Smith, REALTOR®, GRI, ABR®, GREEN John Smith, ABR®, GREEN, GRI, REALTOR®

John Smith, ABR®, GRI, GREEN, REALTOR®

Do Don’t

In e-mail and Web addresses

realtorjanedoe_green.com [email protected] greenjanedoerealtor.com [email protected]

greenrealtor.com greenrealtorjohnsmith.com [email protected] [email protected]

Designees must maintain both NAR and Green REsource Council membership in order to display the designation.

Misuse or unauthorized use may violate your local REALTOR® association’s bylaws and/or the

REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which can subject you to sanctions. To avoid blurring or diminishing the

distinctive features of the logo for AR’s Green Designation, the logo should not be combined with any

other graphic or typographic features. The designation should always be used with the name of the

member who has obtained the designation, not the name of a real estate business or an individual other

than the designee.


45

A Green Game Plan for Your Business

We’ve examined some of the things that real estate professionals can do to “walk the talk.” Returning to the question posed at the beginning of this chapter, how can you integrate your commitment to sustainability into business planning and actionable steps?

Part of your planning process should include a conversation with your broker. You want to be sure that your plans are a good fit with the firm’s business goals and value proposition. Plus, there may be opportunities to raise awareness of sustainability trends among your colleagues and share your knowledge.

A 10-Point Sustainability Audit14

The start of most business planning is taking stock of the current situation. You could use the following 10-point sustainability audit to assess your current position and action already implemented.

1. Articulated a clear definition of sustainability and an understanding of how it will affect the business

2. Analyzed forces and trends that will have the greatest impact and present the greatest opportunities and risks

3. Translated the analysis into action by defining how to deal with sustainability as a business issue, how to position the business

4. Developed a short-term (3–5 years) business case for sustainability efforts

5. Drafted the long-term business case, 4 years and more

6. Established targets and metrics for measurement

7. Asked for management support for sustainability strategies

8. Integrated sustainability strategies into operations, processes, and culture

9. Aligned sustainability strategies with the values of relevant stakeholders—clients and customers, broker, business network, regulators, nongovernmental organizations, lenders, and others

10. Obtained the tools and capabilities to execute a sustainability strategy effectively

14

Adapted from “The Business of Sustainability,” MIT Sloan Management Review


46

4 “Ps” of a Green Game Plan

After taking stock of your current situation, you could organize your thinking about action steps in terms of the four Ps of business strategy: planning, promotion, processes, and products.

Adapted from “Successful Green Transformation,” The Four Ps: What Green Consumers Want and How to Deliver It,” MIT Sloan Management Review, Special Report, February 25, 2009, http://sloanreview.mit.edu/special_report

Planning

Processes Products

Promotion

4 "Ps" of a Green Game Plan Embedding green targets and resources in business strategy

Planning for and capitalizing on green trends on the horizon

Redirecting waste, recycling

Encouraging others to operate in a green way

Going paperless

Communicating a consistent message on sustainability and green issues

Talking about green and sustainability issues with stakeholders

Demonstrating commitment, market knowledge, and experience

Reshaping current and determining new service offerings

Innovating to help clients and customers live green

Knowing which green benefits really matter to clients and customers


47

Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Green Game Plan

Planning:

Embedding green targets and

resources in business strategy

Planning for and capitalizing

on green trends on the horizon

Part 1: Identify issues, challenges, and needs to implement action steps in each phase of developing a green game plan.

Processes:

Redirecting waste, recycling

Encouraging others to

operate in a green way

Going paperless

Products:

Reshaping current and

determining new service

offerings

Innovating to help clients and

customers live green

Knowing which green

benefits really matter to clients

and customers

Promotion:

Communicating a consistent message on sustainability and green issues

Talking about green and sustainability issues with stakeholders

Demonstrating commitment, market knowledge, and experience


48

Part 2: Identify action steps: What can I do tomorrow? In 1 week, 2 weeks, 30 days, 60 days, 6 months?

Planning Processes Products Promotion

Part 3:

What did you learn as a result of this exercise?

What is one action step that you will do tomorrow?


49

Practitioner Perspective: Taking an Active Role

Attending Denver zoning and planning board meetings and participating in related events are ways to have your voice heard and to influence changes that affect local housing. I’m a regular

face in the crowd at task force and zoning committee meetings around the city and at neighborhood association meetings. The issue that got my attention and drove me to attend zoning board meetings was a proposed modification to a zoning law that goes back to 2002. It concerns the right of homeowners to add a second story or build a tall house, even when those projects block sunlight from reaching other neighboring houses. It’s an important issue because it impacts residents’ ability to enjoy Denver’s approximately 300 days of sunshine and it also limits the opportunities for tapping solar power with roof-mounted solar collectors. Even though the zoning board’s decision didn’t go the way I wanted, I learned the importance and value in

continuing to weigh in on zoning matters. In some ways, such participation is a matter of social conscience. Whether or not it makes a difference, it does make us feel good that we did what we could. And hopefully, in the end, it will do good.

Taking an active role A good starting point for those who want to influence zoning decisions is joining the government affairs committee at the local and state levels of your REALTOR® association. It’s amazing how people don’t volunteer for these things. Another way is to get involved with your local neighborhood association. I showed up for the first time for mine four years ago and I got on the board of directors at the first meeting. At the second meeting, I was named zoning director. At the most recent meeting I was elected president. Opening doors Just participating, it turns out, provides tremendous access and a chance to schmooze with city leaders. It’s a way of connecting with our community leaders, and you can walk up to them and ask questions. How many avenues are there for you to be able to talk to the manager of public safety, the chief of police, or the manager of community planning and development for a big city and have a one-on-one conversation? It’s a great thing for REALTORS® to do. Finding common ground Most of my new business comes from referrals. In fact, an environmental activist I know recently sent a new client my way. So just participating in community meetings and events gets my name out and puts me in touch with like-minded citizens. My experience and green knowledge helps me find common ground and make a connection when first meeting someone who shares my interest in environmental issues.

“Green

knowledge

helps me

connect with

others who

share an

interest in

environmental

issues.”

Don Tressler, GREEN Metro Brokers Denver, Colorado [email protected]


50

Next Chapter

In this chapter, we’ve looked at how real estate professionals can turn their sustainability values into business strategies as well as how to make business-building connections. In the next chapter, we’ll look at working with buyers. Before beginning the next chapter, take a moment to read the article on the next page. It provides baseline knowledge on do’s and don’ts for working with buyers and sellers.


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Green Designee Obligations—Do’s and Don’ts

By Nan Roytberg, Senior Counsel (retired), National Association of REALTORS®

Whether you’re representing a seller who wishes to market her home as “green” or assisting a buyer in finding a property that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient, you are assuming legal obligations. These obligations are similar to the obligations you have to clients and customers with respect to other types of properties, whether such obligations arise from your state’s common law, statutes or license law, or from NAR’s Code of Ethics. You must represent yourself, your knowledge, and the subject properties accurately. You must dedicate your efforts and competence to the best interests of your clients, while dealing fairly and honestly with customers.

Your legal obligations when dealing with green issues, however, can pose some special challenges. First, as with environmental hazards, green features often involve technical information that requires specialized training and study. Second, many green and green-adverse property features are not easily observable. Third, the scope of what “green real estate” means and the number of new green building products and concepts being constantly introduced into the market is very large. For these reasons, it can be difficult and risky—even for a licensee who holds NAR’s Green Designation—to guide a seller or purchaser interested in residential or commercial properties that are green through the various stages of a transaction. Here are a few Do’s and Don’ts that will help you meet your obligations—and limit your legal liability—in such transactions:

Don’t market or describe a property simply as a “green building” or “green home.” There are many degrees of “greenness” and it is therefore better to talk about specific green features. You, the seller and the buyer may all have different ideas as to what makes a property “green.”

Do find out what green features are most important to your buyer. Does she care more about keeping the utility bills manageable or more about using recycled building products or having compost facilities? You must know what your buyer means by “green” in order to match her with a property that has the features she cares about and that will result in a successful purchase.

Do keep current on green issues. The amount of information is—and will continue to be—overwhelming, but to the extent you represent yourself as a “Green Broker” by putting NAR’s Green Designation by your name or otherwise, you create a reasonable expectation by your client that you are more knowledgeable than the average licensee—or buyer or seller—when it comes to sustainable and energy-efficient properties. You should be sure you can and do live up to that obligation. Pass on accurate and helpful articles on green issues to your clients.


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Don’t overstate your knowledge. After completing this course, you will have significant knowledge about features, products, and services that can make a property eco-friendly or energy efficient. But that does not mean that you are sufficiently expert to advise a purchaser as to every green or green-adverse aspect of the property—whether there are any latent noxious materials that could affect air quality or health; whether the current plumbing and water sources are water-saving or water-wasting; what kinds of retrofitting needs to be done to the property to make it more energy efficient—and what such retrofitting might cost for a particular property. If you overstate your knowledge, you may find that a court will hold you to a higher standard. Moreover, be sure you convey to your client the limits of your knowledge, so that he or she does not rely on you for information or advice that you are not capable of providing.

Do encourage purchasers to engage experts before they make a commitment to purchase a property. With respect to green features, this will probably mean that the purchaser must find inspectors, testers, and other experts who have very specific knowledge—knowledge about the green features the purchaser is most interested in. Make it your business to know who some of these experts are in your area and share a list of them with your clients.

Do review the seller’s property condition disclosure form and provide it to the purchaser. Compare the representations on the form, as well as any other oral or written representations the seller may make, to what you observe through the level of examination required of licensees in your state and point out any discrepancies to your buyer. In most cases the law does not require you to confirm the seller’s representations unless your reasonable examination of the property gives you a basis to suspect those representations are not accurate. Also consider whether any of the conditions disclosed via your state’s seller disclosure form could be relevant to the green issues your buyer cares about.

Don’t just look for eco-friendly and energy-efficient building features. Also keep your eyes open for features that could be green adverse—like poor insulation, leaky window frames, and older energy-hog appliances.

Do remind your sellers of their obligations to comply with any duties imposed by local, state, and federal laws that are related to environmental issues. Rules and regulations related to sustainable building and energy-savings are sure to be enacted in the future, so stay on top of these, too.

Just as in the case of any other property features, don’t guess, make predictions, or state opinions about green issues as if they were fact. While most states do not hold agents responsible for discovering latent defects or for knowing about matters beyond the scope required of real estate licensees in that state, when a consumer reasonably relies upon your statements about green features and suffers a loss as a result, you may find yourself held liable by a court for such losses.

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Green 300.3: Working With Buyers


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Veteran practitioners know that a successful real estate business is built on a foundation of personal relationships and connections. Among REALTORS®, about 37% of their business comes from repeat clients and customers and referrals. With 15 or more years of experience, the share of business from repeat clients and referrals increases to 56 percent.15 Most buyers (64%) interview only one real estate agent; only 21 percent interview two agents and 10 percent interview three. Almost half of all buyers (48%) find that one real estate agent to interview by asking a friend or neighbor.16 When a buyer asks a friend for a recommendation, you want to be the one.

How Buyers Find Real Estate Agents

15

National Association of REALTORS® Member Profile 2010, National Association of REALTORS® Research, www.realtor.org/research 16

National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2010, National Association of REALTORS® Research, www.realtor.org/research

Referred by a friend, family, neighbor, 48%

Internet, 10%

Open house, 7%

Personal contact by agent, 3%

Newspaper, 1%


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Generating Leads

Although more than half of home-buying transactions start out with repeat business or referrals, the remaining number—about 44 percent—originate from other sources like the Internet, open houses, signage, and walk-ins. Clearly, real estate professionals who are just starting out don’t have a large pool of past clients and customers to draw on. How can a green real estate professional turn contacts into leads for the prospects that don’t come from a referral or repeat business?

How Buyers Find Homes

Source: National Association of REALTORS® 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, National Association of REALTORS® Research, www.realtor.org/research

36% 19%

88% 89%

59%

45% 43% 41% 38% 37%

56%

43%

29% 21%


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Make It Easy for Buyers to Find You

One of the best ways to generate leads is to make it easy for prospective buyers to find you. Since most home searches now start on the Internet, a strong Internet presence—on listing sites, company websites, and social media—is a proven lead generator.

As the statistics cited previously demonstrate, MLS sites receive the most search traffic, which reinforces the importance of green search fields. But a significant number of prospective homebuyers also search Realtor.com as well as real estate company and other websites. Green websites that include directories of real estate professionals include:

Green REsource Council

USGBC Greenhomeguide.com

GreenandSave.com

Greenbuilder.com

LowImpactLiving.com

ListedGreen.com

GreenHomesForSale.com

Green designees’ profiles are automatically included in four directories: Realtor.com, Realtor.org, Green REsource Council, and USGBC Greenhomeguide.com.

Go Where the Buyers Hang Out

A good way to include green-oriented prospects in your spheres of influence is participation in events where they are likely to be. Find out where green prospects are likely to hang out informally or in organized events. And don’t forget about hanging out online on social media sites. If you live in a community with strong environmental awareness—Seattle, Portland, Denver, Austin—it will be easier to find networks, events, and groups who share your interests in sustainability. If there are no local green events or groups, you have the opportunity to break new ground by starting a common-interest group like Green Drinks.

GreenDrinks.org

GreenDrinks.org is an informal meet-up for people who work in the environmental field. Participants meet once a month at informal sessions known as Green Drinks. There are more than 700 Green Drinks groups in cities around the world. Find a group or start one at www.greendrinks.org


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Green events—participate or schedule your own

Community events that offer opportunities to set up an exhibit booth or information table are a great way to meet prospects. There may be opportunities to sponsor portions of events too. But you don’t have to wait for another group to schedule an event; you can sponsor your own event. Invite past clients and customers and encourage them to bring friends.

Arbor Day and Earth Day events

Clean up, beautification and

planting, graffiti removal

Street fairs, farmers markets, garden and

home shows

Green-home tours by bicycle, green

seminars and speakers

Recycling events, shredding events


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Boost Your Personal Green Brand

A personal brand is about creating a memorable image that pops into mind when prospects think about real estate. Name recognition is crucial in a down market—even with a shrinking pool of competitors.

Everything you do and say—your appearance, car, office, your phone greetings, interactions with clients and customers—creates a brand image in a prospect’s mind. A strong, consistent personal brand:

Establishes you as an expert

Builds your reputation with other real estate professionals

Enhances both recognition and perceived image in the marketplace

If you do not take action to create your own personal brand, the marketplace will do it for you by default. What does your marketing say about you as a real estate professional, your specialty, the services you provide, and how you conduct your business? Try Googling your own name and see what comes up.

8 Principles of a Personal Brand

1. Value proposition: Identify what distinguishes you from your competition and express this distinction in terms of customer services and value added by your distinctive qualities. This is your value proposition and promise of customer service.

2. Repetition: Use this value proposition in all of your marketing materials, website, advertising, signage, and so forth.

3. Logo and tagline: Graphic elements, such as a logo or signature color, and a memorable tagline stick in a consumer’s mind.

4. Consistency: Be consistent and give it time. Some make the mistake of tinkering with a personal brand if they think that results are too slow. This confuses the consumer. Developing a personal brand is a long-term process.

5. Commitment: You must be passionate about your personal brand, because creating and sustaining it will take a lot of energy.

6. Authenticity: Because your personal brand expresses your personal values, way of doing business, and expertise, authenticity matters the


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most. Your personal brand may be with you throughout your career, it should be something that becomes second nature.

7. Congruence: Your personal brand should be congruent with your broker’s business strategy and value proposition.

8. Separate personal and professional: The proliferation of social media like Facebook blurs the line between business and personal online presence. Branding specialists recommend maintaining separate Facebook pages for business and personal.

Qualities of Successful Branding17

Idiosyncratic—it reflects some aspect of the creator’s personality.

Memorably unique—it’s presented in a way that isn’t easily forgotten or copied by others.

Attractive—it’s pleasing, warm, friendly, reassuring, and fun.

Congruent—the look and feel of the branding elements speak to the target audience.

17

“Becoming Your Brand, Personal Marketing Tool Kit”, REALTOR® Magazine Online, www.realtor.org/toolkits


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Exercise: 3-Minute Personal Branding Brainstorm

Step 1: For 3 minutes, brainstorm all of your

personal green passions and interests. Nothing is too silly or out of bounds and it does not have to relate to real estate.

Step 2: Now take 3 minutes to brainstorm all

of the unique ways you could appeal to your target market. Idiosyncratic is great but keep it appropriate to the audience.

Step 3: Now take 3 minutes to evaluate the ideas from the two brainstorming sessions and

select the one—an interest or a unique appeal—you feel most enthusiastic about. Write a personal-brand slogan that expresses this idea.


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Green Buyer-Counseling Session

The process and techniques you use for a buyer-counseling sessions can be applied to the green buyer. As with any counseling session, the objectives are to:

Build rapport with the buyer

Distinguish yourself from competitors

Learn the buyer’s needs and wants

If you plan to represent the buyer as a client, the counseling session objectives also include obtaining a commitment and completing a buyer representation agreement.

Presentation Packet

A presentation packet showcases your personal brand. It jogs the buyer’s memory and continues to market your services after the initial meeting with buyers. It presents your green real estate experience and expertise as well as describes the services that buyers—as clients or customers—can expect. It is also an opportunity for you and your firm to articulate your sustainability values; an opportunity to say, “we’re green, here’s why.”

There are no fixed rules about the specific content or format of a presentation packet for green properties. You could, however, think about how you evaluate the vendors you include in your green network. Prospective buyers want to know many of the same things. In addition to the items you usually include in a buyer presentation packet, content might include:

Real estate experience in relation to green properties

Area of specialization

Services

Professional designations and certification

Community involvement related to sustainability

Statement of sustainability core values

Membership in environmental organizations

Website, Facebook, Twitter, and blog addresses

Testimonials


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Building Rapport

The way you go about building rapport with prospective buyers makes you presentation memorable. You can begin the process of building rapport by seeking the green common ground you share.

As you begin to talk about the buyer’s motivations, needs, and wants, listen for the clues that reveal the buyer’s focus. In choosing to go green, is the buyer seeking:

Energy efficiency

Health first—indoor environmental quality

Sustainability

Lifestyle

Buyers who are interested in a home with green features will likely seek a combination of these benefits.


What items would you include in a green buyer presentation packet?


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Buyer’s Motivations, Needs, Wants

In addition to the usual questions to determine motivations, needs and wants, neighborhood, and price range, counseling a buyer who wants to go green should include questions like:

The motivation for seeking a home with green features

Cost savings on energy

Health-related factors

Personal lifestyle quality

Consistency with sustainability values

Potential investment opportunity

Seems like the latest trend

Combination of the above

Previous experience of living in a green home or working in a green building—likes and dislikes about the experience

Importance of:

Public transportation

Walkability

Parks, open spaces, connections to nature

Bike and walking trails

Preference for a particular aesthetic look and feel

Preference for a green-certified home

Interest in doing green renovations or retrofits on an existing home or building

Knowledge about grants and incentives available for greening a home

As any experienced real estate professional can attest, the process of determining a buyer’s needs, wants, and motivations is not an exact science. Ambiguous responses to questions and statements call for probing questions to clarify the meaning. The following exercise provides some practice at asking the right questions.


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Exercise: Asking the Right Questions

What could you ask to clarify the meaning behind these statements?

I’m not a tree hugger, but I don’t like expensive utility bills.

We’re interested in a zero energy home.

We’re really green, our home should be consistent with our values.

How’s the public transportation?

I have a lot of allergies and so do my kids.

We don’t need a McMansion—just enough space for our needs and hobbies.

Green homes look weird.

Is this a sustainable community?

We’re really nature people.

Only Energy Star homes are green, right?

We heard that houses in this subdivision are radioactive.

Is this a walkable area?

How is this home in terms of carbon footprint?

A green home is a nice dream, but we can’t afford it.

We’ll need room for organic gardening.

We don’t want to be downwind from any large farming operations.

What’s offgassing? Does this house offgas?

A strong sense of community is important.


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Practitioner Perspective: Understanding Green Homes and Buyers

One of the primary tools we have to screen and find green homes is the MLS system. There are features people are looking for, and a green MLS allows you to search for those in an efficient way.

Comfort, health, and safety The green features consumers seek vary by client, but what really sells a green home are the comfort, health, and safety aspects. High-quality, efficient furnaces and home certifications are tied to that desire for comfort. Prospects often say straightaway, “don’t take me to see a house with a 40-year-old oil heater.” With an Energy Star rated property, they know they can have the heat on and it won’t cost an arm and a leg, plus the house will be really comfortable. Green finishes, like bamboo floors, won’t make or break a sale. It’s nice, but not critical. Finishes are frosting on the cake,

whether they are green or not.

Understanding certifications—3 types of clients Clients fall into three distinct groups when it comes to understanding and valuing of green home certifications: very knowledgeable, middle-of-the-roaders, and unaware. The highly knowledgeable, often architects and others who work in green fields, need little guidance and are the most discerning. They know about LEED, Energy Star, and the ins and outs of the certifications, along with the importance of things like a home’s orientation. They’re also the ones who place value on green features and will pay more for things like a LEED rating. Middle-of-the-roaders are unsure whether they should pay more for a certified property and if such houses are right for them. They need help figuring out what the certifications mean and what is an appropriate level for them. The third may be unfamiliar with the certifications and may not even realize that they want a green home. Yet they often identify a desire for walkability or talk about allergies that need to be accommodated with the right carpeting or HVAC system.

Scoring lifestyle I include WalkScore® rankings in property descriptions as well as a “lifestyle score.” The lifestyle score, a market distinction for my business, rates the kind of lifestyle and amenities a neighborhood or house offers. It looks at intangibles, such as residents’ ability to walk with their kids to Gymboree, for example. Talking to prospects about daily strolls to the bakery or coffee shop helps people imagine a new, different lifestyle in a thriving, vibrant, urban environment. When you walk to a coffee shop every couple days, you make connections with other people and that starts to build your community. That’s an integral part of sustainability. The lifestyle score takes into account what you need to make your home choice sustainable for you and your family.

“Lifestyle scores take into account what you need to make your home choice sustainable.”

Teresa St. Martin, GREEN Windermere/ C&C Realty Group Portland, Oregon [email protected]


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Finding Homes

Assuming the buyer has clearly defined what “green home” means, prioritized green features, and set parameters for price and location, the next step is the challenge of finding the right homes for sale. If “green home” means a walkable neighborhood, close to public transportation, or room for a garden, the search will obviously be easier. What if the buyers want a home with a “deeper shade of green”?

First Stop—the MLS

If you are fortunate to have access to a multiple listing service with green search fields, that will likely be the first place to search. As we learned at the beginning of this chapter (page 55), more than half of buyers begin their property searches at MLS websites. Searching MLS listings will likely be a process of searching for green features like Energy Star appliances and upgraded HVAC systems.

Green Property Listing Sites

After searching the MLS, buyers look for properties on other sites. Several websites help to bridge the information gap between buyers who want green features and listed properties. For example:

www.listedgreen.com

www.greenhomesforsale.com

www2.greenbuilder.com

New Home Builders

Don’t overlook the websites for production home builders who are building green. Some of the major home builders, mentioned in Green 100, who are leading the trend to high-performance home brands include:

Meritage Homes

PowerSmartsm by Lennar®

My Home, My EarthTM by KB Homes

HouseWorks® by Ryland Homes®

eSmart Homes® by Beazer


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Practitioner Perspective: Greening My Home, Sharing the Experience

My first experience with green housing was buying a house that actually had energy-efficiency problems. So my partner and I started investigating ways to save money and reduce the environmental impact of the house. The green changes we've made to our house, built in 1983, were installing a solar water heater, upgrading windows, installing a radiant barrier, and putting in R-50 insulation in the attic. An energy audit was key. We thought some other systems were gulping the most energy, but it turned out that it was the dryer and the hot water heater that were making the greatest demands. Without doing the audit, we would’ve spent money on something that wasn’t our biggest target. Now, over the six-year period starting in 2004, we’ve cut our home electricity usage by 41 percent.

Buyers’ knowledge of green home certifications Currently knowledge about green home certifications is a bit iffy. Right now, maybe one client in a hundred knows what the certifications mean. Some are familiar with Energy Star, but have limited understanding of its nuances. But I believe that in upcoming years that will change. My approach is to point out features, not certifications. Knowledgeable clients look at things like insulation, an upgraded HVAC system, and low-flow water features. A lot of my business involves existing homes and they don’t have any “merit badges” yet.

Green—the deciding factor The green features can help buyers make a decision between properties. When they’re trying to differentiate among the last two or three homes, I discuss floor plans and features and interject information about how the properties will perform in terms of energy efficiency and how easily they could be upgraded.

Promoting green to consumers I meet those interested in going green by setting up booths at green festivals and other events, like the Dallas Auto Show. The goal is to increase name recognition and widen my sphere of influence. But, it’s not a sales pitch—the focus is on sharing my knowledge and retrofitting successes. People are disarmed when I say, “I'm not here to sell anything, but to share ideas and show you what I’'ve done to my house.” Then they are willing to engage with me and I can direct them to my blog, www.DallasGreenStreets.com.

Green as an agent-recruiting pitch Fortunately, other practitioners who are greening up in my market are friendly with each other, so I actually use green as a recruiting tool. My pitch is: “If you want to be at a company that’s going to be doing something important for the next 30 years, well, we’re doing it now.”

“When buyers are trying to differentiate homes, I talk about the properties’ energy efficiency and how easily they could be upgraded.”

Bob McCranie, GREEN Texas Pride Realty Carrollton, Texas [email protected]


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Seeing the Green Potential

As described in the profile on page 67, the path to owning a green home may be buying a conventional home and adding green features and upgrades. An energy assessment as part of the inspection process is an important step in evaluating the home’s energy efficiency and estimating the costs of upgrades. Application for financing energy improvements usually start with a HERS® rating, as we will see in the following discussion of energy efficient and improvement loans.

The energy assessment or audit process can also include an evaluation of the home’s location and orientation in regard to installation of features like solar water heating or generating solar energy.

You can refer to the “Checklists for Greening a Home,” introduced in Green 200: The Science of Green Building, as a reference for checking out the potential for greening home features and systems (see page 103).

Greening REOs

As illustrated in the profile on page 70, don’t rule out REOs, short sales, or foreclosures. A home selling at a discount may make green upgrades affordable.

Financing for Greening a Home

Many buyers, and lenders too, are surprised to learn that special financing is available through FHA and VA lenders, as well as underwritten by Fannie Mae, to make energy-efficient upgrades more affordable. Energy efficient or improvement mortgages work in one of several ways; the loans take into account potential savings on utility bills to:

Stretch buying power by adding the potential savings to the borrower’s income, or

Adjust the loan-to-value ratio, or

Increase the allowable debt-to-income ratio

The loans usually require a HERS® rating as part of the underwriting process.


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Energy Efficient and Improvement Mortgages in Brief

FHA 203B Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM)

FHA 203K Energy Improvement Mortgage (EIM)

FHA EEMs stretch buying power by allowing the lender to increase the borrower’s income by the amount of estimated energy savings, thus increasing the debt-to-income ratio. Lower utility costs offset the higher mortgage payment.

Loans may be 15–30 years, fixed or adjustable

rate. Underwriting and down payment

requirements are based on the value of the home;

no additional down payment, closing costs, or

adjustment of LTV ratio is required.

New and existing homes (1-4 units) including manufactured housing

Requires a HERS® report with estimated cost of improvements and energy savings

203B and 203K loans can be “stacked” Loan cannot exceed projected energy savings

or cost of improvements Cost of HERS® rating (up to $200) and closing

cost may be included in loan Improvements must be “cost effective” which

is defined as: total cost of improvements is less than total present value of energy savings over the useful life of the improvement

Installation must be completed within 90 days Funds are held in escrow until work is

completed and savings verified 100% of cost of improvements can be

financed up to loan limits Maximum loan amount is LESSER of:

5% of property value, or 155% of median area price for single family

homes, or 150% of conforming Freddie Mac limit.

VA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM)

Single-family homes owned by military personnel or veterans

HERS® rating and contractor bids required Installation must be completed within 90 days

Maximum loan amount:

Up to $3,000 based on contractor bids and HERS® rating

Up to $6,000 if projected energy savings exceed increase in mortgage payment

Over $6,000 cap, additional amount must be offset by increased valuation as determined by the VA

If labor is DIY, loan is limited to cost of materials

Monthly payment (PITI) cannot exceed likely reduction in monthly utility costs

Fannie Mae Energy Improvement Mortgage

Fannie Mae underwrites conventional mortgage

EIMs through lenders. An underwriting allowance

(applicable to fixed- or adjustable-rate mortgages)

allows monthly savings from energy efficiency

improvements to be applied to the borrower’s

maximum monthly payment, which enables

qualification for a larger mortgage. Maximum loan

amount is 10 percent of the as-completed

appraised value of the property.

Find EEM Lenders at:

www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/EEM

www.energystar.gov/is/partners/ bldrs_lenders_raters


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Practitioner Perspective: Greening REOs

Greening REO properties before they’re sold often entails making small changes, such as installing CFL bulbs and incorporating water efficiency features. It would be nice to perform more significant green changes for REOs, but the funding, such as rebates and incentives, remains a challenge. Ideally, I’d like to see REOs undergo more major renovations, including upgrades to air conditioning systems and window retrofits to really boost properties’ efficiency.

Why green REOs? Particularly for owner-occupied properties, green features make a property more appealing to prospects. It makes it much easier for buyers, especially if it’s an owner-occupied property and you’re doing this in an area where the socio-economics are at a lower level. It’s no surprise that lower utility bills are quite an attraction. It’s also paying it forward and it makes good economic sense.

Spearheading a green task force The Green Task Force I helped spearhead at the Tucson Association of REALTORS® is now a full-fledged committee. Although the group has numerous goals, the thrust is still education of both real estate practitioners and consumers. We tap green pioneers from the community and those with a national reputation to share their knowledge and offer strategies like harvesting rainwater and pointers on installing cisterns, among many other green topics.

Green blogging I use three main avenues that help me promote my green knowledge: advertising, blogging, social networking, and community involvement. I advertise in several local green publications—that way the money stays in our community. My work with TAR’s green committee really puts my name out in the community in a new way. The name recognition from the committee work brings in calls from other practitioners and people in different areas of the country seeking advice about green housing and listings. My website and blog are full of green information and links. I write about everything from a green MLS and small steps people can take to reduce consumption, to green legislative news and the solar PV system on my house.

Tapping the sun In July 2009, we installed 2.8 kwh of photovoltaic on our roof at home. We’re thrilled and it feels fabulous. Once rebates and incentives were calculated, the investment was well under $20,000, but it’s a worthwhile long-term investment. The first year alone, we saved 3.59 tons of carbon dioxide from begin emitted into the atmosphere, as well as $700 that would have been paid to our local utility for coal-based power production.

“It’s no

surprise

that lower

utility bills

are quite an

attraction.

It's also paying it forward and it

makes good economic sense.”

Nicole Brulé-Fisher, GREEN Keller Wiliams Southern Arizona Tucson, Arizona [email protected]


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Exercise: Adapting your Core Skills—Finding Homes

Part 1: Identify issues and challenges involved in finding green homes in your market area.

Part 2: What sources of information and methods could you use to find homes with green features or green potential in your market area?

Part 3: What did you learn as a result of this exercise?


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Presenting Objective Information

When working with buyers—as clients or customers—real estate professionals should be cautious about describing the green features of homes. The standard for presenting information is: objective and verifiable.

As a green designee, you should not position yourself as the expert on all green-related issues. Clients and customers should not misconstrue your knowledge of the market as scientific insight. Therefore, you should be cautious about making statements of fact or claiming expertise on specific green-related issues. The best approach is to refer buyers to authoritative sources of green information. Like the REALTOR® profiled on page 67, you could point out the green features of homes or pose questions to help buyers see the green potential. Consider the following do’s and don’ts.

Don’t Say: Do Say:

“This is a green home.” “This is an Energy Star home. You can check out the Energy Star website for information on what the certification means.”

“This home has healthy indoor air quality.”

“Considerations for indoor air quality include ventilation, exposure to chemicals, and the like. Some experts think that improving indoor air quality offers health benefits. I can refer you to some websites that provide good information about IAQ considerations.”

“This is a high-performing energy-efficient home.”

“The seller represents that an energy audit has been conducted. I recommend verification of the audit results, the auditor’s credentials, and the date of the audit.”

“The home’s low-e windows, no-VOC paint, and bamboo floors make this a good choice.”

“The listing sheet states some green features that look appealing. It is important to verify this information by asking the seller if any documentation or product information is available.”

“Southern-facing exposures are best.”

“In my opinion, homes with a southern exposure have advantages such as more direct sunlight.”


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Follow-Up

Considering the importance of referrals and repeat business, staying in touch with past clients and prospects is a basic principle of generating leads. Veteran real estate professionals say that the five groups you should follow up with on a regular basis include:18

Past clients: they already know you

New prospects: be patient and maintain contact

Spheres of influence: stay top of mind

Farm area: become a familiar name

Local business owners: source of referrals

A green-themed follow-up plan to stay in contact with these essential groups will not only provide a steady stream of business and leads, it will also build your reputation as the “green go-to person.”

Green Closing Gifts

A traditional method of showing appreciation offers an opportunity for creating a long-lasting green impression. Some ideas include:

Green-living tip sheet personalized with your contact information

CFL bulbs

Smart power strip

Kill-a-Watt® meter

Electrical outlet insulators

Programmable thermostat

Weather stripping or caulk

Green cleaning products

Seedlings

18

Mayfield, John, “Marketing Impact: 5 Groups You Should Contact Monthly,” Sales Coach Column, REALTOR® Magazine Online, September, 2006, www.realtor.org/archives/ salescoach200609


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? Discussion Questions

1. How could you “green” your follow-up with past clients, leads, spheres of influence, farm area, and local business owners?

2. What are some ideas for green-themed closing gifts?

Next Chapter

In the next chapter we will look at the flip side of the transaction—working with sellers to list and market homes with green features.

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Green 300.4: Working With Sellers


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Listing and marketing homes with green features share the same objectives as conventional homes:

Obtain a written contract—a listing agreement—with the homeowners to sell their home.

Sell the home quickly and as close as possible to list price.

You can use your core skills to list and market green homes. How you “green” those core skills will set you apart from competitors. Throughout this series of courses, we’ve looked at the importance of networking with others—colleagues, community members, vendors, business owners, past clients, and others—who share your sustainability values and priorities. When it’s time to sell, homeowners who have invested in greening their homes want to place their trust in a real estate professional who will appreciate and know how to market the home’s green features.

Pre-Listing Interview

Like any listing opportunity, contact with a green home seller starts with a pre-listing interview. The goal of the interview is to obtain enough information about the home and the sellers so that a customized listing presentation can be prepared. Two basic questions are: why are the homeowners selling their house and how soon do they need to make a move? Asking how the sellers found you can reveal a lot. If they came to you through your green network, it should alert you to the possibility that the home may include green features. You can open a conversation about the green aspects of the home and its location with questions like, “tell me a little about your home.” In an area where green awareness is high and there is a concentration of high-performance, energy-efficient homes, the location of the house could be a tip-off. Is the neighborhood known for its greenness? Are the people who live in the area tuned into a sustainability lifestyle?


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9 Pre-Listing Interview Questions

The prelisting interview for a home with green features includes the usual questions asked in a green way.19

Why are you selling? Owners sell high-performance homes for the same reasons as conventional homes—like job transfers and additions to the family. If they’re just “thinking about” selling, ask follow-up questions. The answers many reveal information about the house or neighborhood.

When do you plan to move? If the sellers need to move soon, you can emphasize that energy-efficient homes tend to sell more quickly than conventional homes.

What is more important in the sale—speed, price, or an easy transaction? Observe that energy-efficient, high-performance homes not only sell more quickly, they also tend to sell closer to list price.

Have you ever sold a home? If the sellers have experienced several transactions, you may not need to spend time explaining the basics. But, if this is the first time the sellers have sold a high-performance home, you could alert them to the documentation that may be needed.

How much of the proceeds of this home will you need to purchase your next home? The answer may help you understand the seller’s knowledge of pricing for homes with green features. It may be an opportunity to discuss how EEMs (page 69) can stretch buying power.

What did you like the least or most about the other real estate practitioners you’ve worked with? The answer may provide clues on the best way to serve these clients, particularly if previous agents didn’t understand green home features or share the sellers’ sustainability values.

What have your previous home buying and selling experiences been like? If the sellers have preconceived notions—negative or positive—about real estate transactions, you’ll have to work to make sure the current transaction is a good experience.

Do you use e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter? How tech-savvy are the sellers? Will you be able to go paperless? It’s also a good time to remind sellers not to discuss confidential information on social media sites others can view, like Twitter.

Would Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. be a good time or is Wednesday better? Are the sellers ready? Are you ready to meet with them? Try for daylight hours so you have a clear view—outside and inside—of the home’s features.

.

19

Adapted from REALTOR® Magazine Online: Toolkits, “Listing,” www.realtor.org/toolkits/list01


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Pre-Listing Information Packet

The pre-listing interview initiates the discussion of the home’s green attributes and enables you to prepare a pre-listing information packet. Customizing the packet, based on the information you gathered from the seller, can set you apart from competitors who don’t take the time to tailor to content. Some veteran practitioners recommend hand delivering the pre-listing information packet. But if you are greening your real estate practice, why not go paperless? Deliver a virtual information packet online or on a reusable flash drive.

The packet can include the usual components, but should be customized and greened. For example:

Cover letter: confirm the listing appointment and compliment the owners on the home’s green features and their sustainable lifestyle.

Summary of your skills: feature your experience with listing and marketing high-performance homes with green features.

Personal marketing brochure: be sure to feature your Green designation and other green credentials.

Your bio: Highlight your specialized training and experience with selling homes with green features.

Profiles of your team and information about the company: showcase your team members’ experience and accomplishments and highlight their green activities. Describe your company’s sustainability values and actions to go green.

Testimonials: always a powerful marketing tool, testimonials reinforce your green expertise and ability to produce satisfactory transactions for your clients and customers.

Disclosure form: give the sellers a head start on completing the disclosure form.

Documentation checklist: As we will see later in this chapter, documenting green features like third-party certifications, savings on utility bills, and receipts for green upgrades is crucial for presenting a complete picture of the home’s value and performance.


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Listing Presentation

A customized listing presentation that showcases your knowledge of green home features and appreciation for the sellers’ sustainability values are a winning combination for listing and marketing the green home.

Start with a Tour

You could start by touring the house. Try to schedule the listing presentation appointment during daylight hours so you can clearly see all of the green features—inside and outside—of the home. Ask the homeowners what they have done to green the home. Some green features will be clearly visible like skylights and PV panels on the roof. Many green features, however, won’t be that easy to see, like high R-value insulation, low-e windows, or low-VOC paint. As homeowners point out green features, think about how the “unseen” items can be documented. You could ask the owners, “What is the greenest feature of the home?” As a green real estate professional, you should be on the lookout for the green features that command a premium on the market.

Touring the home is a good way to start building rapport with the sellers and hearing their opinions in addition to gathering information about the condition of the house and its sales potential. All of these inputs should shape the “sit-down” portion of the presentation and the follow-up questions you pose.

Listing Packet

Selling a high-performance, energy-efficient home requires more than a standard approach. That’s the marketing edge you can offer. For example, a sample brochure that presents the home’s green aspects, based on information gathered during the pre-listing interview, is a listing presentation component that can set you apart from your competitors. Other components include:

Comparable market analysis

Marketing plan

Summary of services you’ll provide

Agency disclosure form

Listing agreement ready for signature except price and terms


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Listing Presentation

The sample marketing plan should describe what you will do to get the home sold within the time frame of the listing contract. For example, include some screen captures or website addresses of places where the listing will appear online. Show what you will do to market the home.

If your MLS has green search fields, point out the advantages for presenting information about the home and buyers seeking such homes with features like high-efficiency HVAC systems or solar PV installation.

The essential element of every listing presentation is answering the question, “how much is the home worth?” Veteran practitioners are well aware that pricing the home can be a contentious issue. The CMA you present should feature images of several similar homes on the market, the prices, and days on the market. In an area with a concentration of high-performance homes, obviously it will be easier to find comparable properties. When the home is a one-of-a-kind, finding comparable properties is a challenge. We’ll look more closely at pricing and appraisal issues later in this chapter (page 85).

Try estimating the price using a couple of the online valuation programs like Zestimates. Chances are the sellers have done this on their own. If there is a wide gap between the online app’s estimate and your recommended pricing, you need to be prepared to show how your pricing is based on real-world market experience and market knowledge.

Of course, listing presentation materials should reflect your sustainability values—like using recycled materials or going paperless.

A Two-Way Conversation

Don’t forget that the listing presentation is a dialogue between you and the potential client. For example, ask why did the sellers invest in green home features? Ask, who would be an ideal buyer for this home? Adjust your focus based on the points that sellers emphasize; it may provide clues on how market the home. Take your cues from the sellers. If energy efficiency for cost savings is their focus, don’t gush about saving the planet.


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Take a Second Tour of the House

After completing the presentation, the next step is a repeat tour of the house. What you have learned about the sellers’ opinions and the home’s features can help you see the house with a clearer point of view. This is an opportunity to talk about actions the owners could take to boost the home’s sales appeal to green buyers.

Clinch the Deal

Once you’ve completed your presentation, it’s time to press for a commitment and signed listing agreement. What clinches the deal?

Product and service: your experience with listing and selling similar homes.

Trust: demonstrating that you understand the circumstances, the property, and the seller’s sustainability values.

Chemistry: intangible, but so important—the seller should think, “this real estate agent gets it and understands my values.”

4 Listing Presentation Listening Tests

Am I taking good notes?

Will I know this person better when I get back to the office?

Am I asking questions to determine motives, needs, wants?

Can I determine their personality style (analytical, emotional?) based on the information they give to me?

Adapted from “Smart Selling,” by John Mayfield, REALTOR® Magazine Online, Feb. 1, 2008, www.Realtor.org


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Exercise: 5-Minute Brainstorm: Green Your Listing Presentation

For the next 5 minutes, brainstorm how you could “green” the following prelisting and listing presentation kit items to showcase your green values and expertise.

Pre-listing kit:

Cover letter

Summary of your skills

Personal marketing brochure

Bios of you and your team

Testimonials

Property disclosure form

Other items to include?

Listing presentation:

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

Marketing Plan

Explanation of your services

Agency disclosure

Listing agreement

Other items to include?


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Greening a Home for Sale

If it will be several months before the seller is ready to list the home, there’s time for making green improvements, repairs, and upgrades and tracking results. You can help the sellers identify the green upgrades that add value and boost sales potential. A pre-listing consultation on green upgrades will establish your credentials as a real estate practitioner who is tuned into sustainability and a trusted “source of the source” for information on greening a home.

Prepare the Home

An energy assessment is a good first step. Contact the local utility company to see if this service is available at no or low cost. The energy assessment report should contain suggested fixes for improving energy efficiency. Using the report results, start with easiest steps such as caulking and weather stripping, duct sealing, and adding insulation—remember that air leaks should be fixed first because they are hard to find under deep layers of insulation. The earlier the homeowners can start the more time there is to show results from upgrades. If the home is already energy efficient, the assessment results offer a persuasive marketing tool.

If homeowners are planning to replace wall or floor coverings or appliances before sale, it’s an opportunity to make green choices. For example, if the owners plan to replace carpet in a room or repaint, why not go green by using low-VOC paint and carpeting. If an appliance will be replaced, why not upgrade to an Energy Star?

The “Checklists for Greening a Home” in the Resources section of this manual (see page 103) offer handy reminders of levels of upgrades from low to high cost.


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www.nrel.gov/ap/retrofits

www.energysavers.gov

Check out these websites for information on value-adding energy efficiency improvements.

www.houselogic.com

http://hespro.lbl.gov


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Prepare the Documentation

As we’ll see in the next section on pricing a green home, documentation is a crucial component for supporting the value of green home features. Particularly in the case of energy efficiency upgrades, installation costs and before-and-after results substantiate savings and payback periods. Third-party certifications, like Energy Star and ratings like a HERS® report, provide objective proof of the home’s energy efficiency and other green features.

If documentation is not available, the homeowners could check the Energy Star website for data on average savings for green features and appliances (look up by model number) or call the local utility company and ask for their data on estimated average savings; be sure to consult the utility company where the property is located.

If the home has undergone extensive retrofits, an album of before-and-after photos can tell a compelling story.

Valuation for the Green Home

Valuing a green home, particularly in an area where it may be one or few of a kind, presents challenges for appraisers, lenders, real estate agents, and the sellers. Almost everyone agrees that green features add value to a home but they don’t agree or know how much or how to measure and value it. New-construction customers may be willing to pay more for energy-efficient upgrades, but the resale value may not reflect the contribution of utility bill savings to the home’s value. “Appraisers aren’t trained to consider how a building is constructed or how its green features impact its performance.”20 Consequently, the ability to appraise green, high-performance homes lags behind the demand for them.

Many in the appraisal community are acutely aware of this gap and the Appraisal Institute offers training for its members, but so far the standard appraisal curriculum doesn’t include education in green home features. Few appraisers are tuned into valuation of high-performance homes and standards and guidelines are lacking. The required Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) form, however, doesn’t include specific entries for green features, leaving only the “additional features” line to list important factors like energy efficiency, which significantly impacts the

20

“Green Buildings: An Appraiser's Perspective,” Theddi Wright Chappell, MAI, Appraisal Institute Podcast, October, 2007, www.appraisalinstitute.org/professional/podcast


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home’s operational cost. As a result, methods and values vary widely and reliable sales data is elusive. The fact that most MLSs do not yet provide green listing fields or track sales of high-performance homes further complicates the process of valuing a home with green features because comparable sales data is unavailable.

The traditional methods consider the value-added potential of the resource efficiencies we’ve looked at throughout the course. Appraisers who evaluate high-performance homes can consider the positive contributory value of factors such as:

A good HERS® rating

Third-party certifications like Energy Star and LEED

Monthly energy savings times the area’s gross rent multiplier

Cost of energy-efficiency upgrades (new or depreciated)

Note that all of these factors are quantifiable and documentable. The qualitative aspects of living in a high-performance home, like indoor air quality or connection to nature, are difficult to capture.

Solutions

What can a real estate practitioner or home seller do to move a high-performance home appraisal in a greener and more positive direction?

Confirm that the appraiser is trained in assessment of green home features. USPAP standards require that “an appraiser must be competent to perform the assignment, acquire the necessary competency to perform the assignment; or decline or withdraw from the assignment.”21 If the appraiser lacks the needed knowledge and experience, the homeowner can ask for someone else.

Appraisers generally use data on comparable homes in the neighborhood. Do some research to find out of there are similar homes in the vicinity and identify these to the appraiser.

Make sure the appraiser has all the documentation for the home like third-party certifications, receipts for installation of green features, and documented savings on utility bills.

Lenders require comparable data on homes within a very tight radius—usually within a mile. If it is necessary to go beyond this

21

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal, 2010–2011 Edition, Competency Rule, Appraisal Standards Board, The Appraisal Foundation, www.uspap.org


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limited area to find comparables, ask the appraiser to explain to the lender the need to expand the geographic scope.

Green Valuation Trends

Although appraisers lack standardized methods for assigning value to green home features, some encouraging “green shoots” show progress:

Vancouver Valuation Accord: The 2007 Accord signatories (including the Appraisal Institute) commit to review sustainability and valuation through education, standards creation, and practices.

Appraiser training: the Appraisal Institute offers a curriculum of green valuation topics through the Valuation of Sustainable Buildings Professional Development Program. The Appraisal Institute offers two informative courses on green home appraisals: Introduction to Green Buildings: Principles and Concepts and Case Studies in Appraising Green Residential Buildings. Go to www.appraisalinstitute. org/education/green_offerings.

Appraisal Foundation and Department of Energy collaboration: In June 2011, the Appraisal Foundation, the congressionally authorized source of appraisal standards and qualifications, signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, to collaborate on issues of energy efficiency and the valuation of green buildings.

Greening the MLS: Like real estate professionals, appraisers use MLS data to calculate value. Therefore, the more data that is available on sales of high-performance homes, the easier it is for appraisers to establish value. It’s a dollars-and-cents issues for sellers, buyers, appraisers, lenders, and brokerage commissions.


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Practitioner Perspective: Appraising Green

The appraiser is supposed to get into the minds of buyers and understand what they’re buying and valuing. If trends are changing, we need to know that. That is why appraisers and green real estate practitioners can and need to work together to advance the green real estate movement. Appraisers are facing some challenges, but there are simple ways that green real estate practitioners can ease those difficulties.

1. Reading trends, finding comparables Comparing apples to apples is crucial, but in many markets comparables are in short supply. It’s also difficult for appraisers to identify green trends and the features consumers want. Solution: when real estate agents write descriptions, put in green features and show us the trends. Make it simple for appraisers to search for and

identify green properties by playing up anything having to do with green, such as solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and green certifications.

2. Documentation Green washing and labeling properties green that only have some green features or appliances are frequent problems. Chasing down paperwork to substantiate green claims wastes a lot of time. Solution: Distinguish between properties with green features and those with certifications. Also have documentation ready to substantiate green claims and be prepared to share it with appraisers.

3. Leverage the green MLS Some MLS systems require listing agents to include an exact HERS® rating. But when appraisers do data searches, they must plug in that exact number to get that specific listing to pop up. It’s arduous and inefficient and an appraiser could overlook strong comparables. Solution: if you’re involved with your green MLS committee, keep tabs on the coding tweaks that can make locating certified properties easier for appraisers, like a number range for HERS® ratings. The exact HERS® rating can appear in the features and comments section.

4. Cross training Real estate practitioners need to understand the appraisal process and its challenges, and appraisers need to understand real estate practitioners’ business. Yet too few have the advantage of such cross education. Solution: Get professionals from all industries together. Include appraisers in green networking events and invite them to join green business groups and to talk at sales meetings and association events. When I conducted a seminar for builders, appraisers, and lenders, you could see the light bulbs going off. Some builders realized they had valuable documentation, such as green certifications and HERS® ratings, that never made it into the hands of appraisers.

“We need to

get into the

minds of

buyers and

understand

what they're

valuing. If

trends are

changing, we

need to know.”

Sandy Adomatis, SRA Adomatis Appraisal Service Punta Gorda, Florida [email protected]


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Marketing a Green Home

Although measurable elements like energy efficiency and comparable sales help establish the value of a home, figures don’t create a picture of living in the home and the lifestyle buyers can enjoy.

The high-performance home is much more than a roof and four walls. And, as we’ve learned throughout this series of courses, it takes more than bamboo floors and low-VOC paint to create a sustainable home. It is an amalgam of interrelated building design, construction methods, systems, and materials with the goals of resource efficiency and sustainability. For the homeowner, it is a statement of personal values and commitment to a sustainable way of life.

Regardless of where you practice, from the cold northeast to the arid southwest, the factors that sell a home are the same: location, value, comfort, health, durability, and efficiency. How do these factors sell the green home?

Marketing a high-performance home with green features draws on all of the aspects of sustainable home construction, resource efficiency, and sustainability values we’ve studied and discussed throughout these courses. It is “where the rubber meets the road” for the real estate professional. Let’s review briefly:

Location

Site orientation for an optimum blend of sunlight and shade

Water-resource management—supply and runoff

Walkability and public transportation

Community with shared values

Connection to nature

Value

Thrifty operating costs

Appreciation and resale value

Energy-efficient system payback, net zero energy savings

Comfort

Indoor environmental quality

High-efficiency, right-sized HVAC systems


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Home right-sized for occupants’ needs

Health

Indoor and outdoor air quality

No VOCs, reduced toxins and allergens

Location encourages physical activity

Access to farmers’ markets, gardening, organic food markets

Durability

Use of recycled materials

Cradle-to-cradle deconstruction and job site recycling

Sustainable construction methods

Systems designed for low maintenance and long life

Efficiency

Energy and resource efficient

Future-proofing for energy costs and independence

Four Top Marketing Messages

Marketing messages for the high-performance home must be a combination of selling the mechanical elements and the lifestyle benefits. For example, after surveying consumers about the most effective messages for marketing green homes, the Shelton Group researchers formulated the following top statements: 22

Beauty of green homes Green homes bring a higher standard to home building, using more efficient systems and a more complete way of looking at all the elements that make a home more comfortable, long-lasting, and beautiful. Green homes are the combination of smart thinking and beautiful design to create a more pleasing experience.

Health and indoor air quality of green homes

22

Adapted from Green Living Pulse 2009, Shelton Group, Knoxville, Tennessee, www.sheltongroupinc.com


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Green homes are built with non-toxic building materials and many include ventilation systems that help homeowners better control their indoor air quality and minimize health concerns.

Harmony and oneness with nature Green homes help people live more in harmony with nature. By using eco-friendly building materials, consuming less energy, and conserving natural resources, green homes bring people closer to living in tune with the environment.

Control and saving money Green homes use less energy and incorporate lower maintenance components, meaning they are less expensive to operate and homeowners are more in control of their home expenses.

Marketing Materials—Go Green

Marketing materials for a green, high-performance home need to show both the practical benefits like savings on utility bills and the quality-of-life benefits. Recall the four buyer focuses presented at the beginning of this manual (see page 16). Effective marketing messages and materials appeal to all four: energy efficiency, health, sustainability, and lifestyle.

Think about the typical home brochure. It usually includes four photos—the kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and view from the curb—and it’s all fairly standard stuff. When it comes to marketing a home with green features, photos are most effective when they show the benefits of the home’s green features, like the luminosity of daylighting. The brochure is an opportunity to create a picture for the buyer of the lifestyle they can enjoy in the home. Even the most die-hard energy saver wants to live in a healthy and comfortable home. Although it’s best to avoid fuzzy terminology that can sound like greenwashing. As we’ve learned throughout these courses, terms like eco-friendly, sustainable, and even green have many shades of meaning. Instead use precise terms like non-toxic, energy-efficient, and renewable resources.

Energy efficiency gets a lot of emphasis because it is quantifiable, but don’t overlook the documentable health benefits and other resource efficiencies. For example, low-VOC wall and floor finishes or a radon-venting system contribute to indoor quality. Building materials manufactured from recycled or renewable resources like recycled-glass countertops and bamboo flooring are consistent with sustainable lifestyle values. Can the homeowners park the car and take public transportation to work? Can they walk to parks, restaurants, and shopping? Include


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information about public transportation and walkability, like a WalkScore® (www.walkscore.com). Will they be able to live a lifestyle that is consistent with their sustainability values? Considered individually these factors may not clinch the sale. But when the choice is down to a couple of homes, the cumulative effect of green features, in addition to energy efficiency, could tip the decision.

Don’t forget that the systems that make a home energy efficient and add to its comfort may be hidden, like extra insulation or a geothermal heating/cooling system. In these cases, the marketing materials can describe these hidden features and explain the benefits. Imagine the marketing power of describing how a net-zero-energy home can put money back into the homeowner’s pocket through net metering. You could use the back of the flyer to list benefits and the value like the savings derived from a high-efficiency furnace or solar PV panels. List the monthly saving on utility bills, monthly, yearly, and over a period of 5–10 years. $100 monthly savings on utility bills comes out to $12,000 over ten years.

Showing the home’s operating costs—utility bills—is a powerful marketing tool. But, the best approach is to be conservative about quoting numbers. If the new owner’s consumption patterns differ from the sellers’, potential disclosure issues could arise. Instead of quoting numbers in marketing pieces, try using colorful graphs or charts to illustrate potential savings in comparison to conventional homes. When showing the house, the actual utility bills can be shown to substantiate the home’s energy efficiency.

It’s also prudent to be careful about quoting payback times on energy efficiency upgrades. Refer buyers and sellers to authoritative sources like www.greenandsave.com, Energy Star, or Home Energy Saver Pro (http://hespro.lbl.gov), which contains an extensive dollars-and-cents database of upgrade costs and savings based on Zip Code location. In high-transient areas, long-term paybacks may not be very compelling for buyers who plan to move to another home in a few years.


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9 Tips for Sustainable Staging

Verify energy efficiency: schedule an energy assessment and outline upgrades accomplished as a result of the findings, like new caulking or insulation.

Include a recycling center: recycling bins have evolved so it’s possible to make separating bins a sleek design element.

Use living plants, not silk or plastic.

Eliminate odors: aim for an odor-neutral environment. Use fragrance-free, green cleaning products and avoid odor-emitting items like vinyl shower curtain liners.

Incorporate green products by making sure cleaning supplies in cabinets are eco-friendly. Food on display in pantries should be labeled organic.

Post wall placards inside the home to indicate energy-efficient appliances, insulated hot water pipes, tankless water heater, passive daylighting, and other unseen features. Add a blurb that explains the benefit of the feature.

Upgrade sustainably with energy-efficient replacements like low-e windows and eco-friendly finishes like low-VOC paints.

Highlight green features: offer a list of the property’s green features, along with the benefits that each offers. Create a notebook or online photo album that illustrates a home's green aspects.

Swap a care-intensive lawn for something more eco-friendly, like native grasses. Play up other green features, like composting bins and rainwater barrels.

Adapted from “Sustainable Staging,” Green REsource Council Newsletter, May 2010, www.greenresourcecouncil. org.


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Disclosures and Representations

By Nan Roytberg, Senior Counsel (retired), National Association of REALTORS®

The disclosure duties of real estate licensees and sellers with respect to green property features will vary somewhat from state to state, just as they do with respect to more mundane property features or defects. However, in general, licensees will have the same disclosure duties they have when assisting clients and customers with transactions where green features are not the focus. Similarly, disclosure obligations under the Code of Ethics will remain the same when green issues enter the picture.

The place to start is your state’s agency disclosure requirements. Most states specify when and how the agency relationship should be disclosed to clients, and what kinds of agency relationships are permitted. The point at which you disclose the agency relationship is also a good time to explain your expertise in green matters to your client.

While you can proudly point to the educational requirements you have met in order to list NAR’s Green Designation after your name, you should also be careful not to overstate your level of expertise. Explain that you are conscious of and sensitive to green building issues, but that there will be some matters which will require that the buyer seek assistance from experts with a higher degree of technical know-how. Tell the buyers that you will let them know when you feel a situation requires the use of experts, inspectors, testers, and/or environmental or energy auditors. Tell them that when you don’t have expertise in a particular matter of concern to them, you will say, “I don’t know.”

If you follow this advice, your conduct will also be consistent with Article 12 of the NAR Code of Ethics, which says that:

REALTORS® shall be honest and truthful in their real estate communications and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations.

In addition, you will be managing your client’s expectations and preventing a situation where you could legally be held to an unrealistically high standard of care. It is important that you always balance promoting yourself as someone whom eco- and energy-conscious clients can trust with conveying a realistic understanding of how far your green expertise goes.


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Your disclosure responsibilities also extend to green and non-green property conditions, whether they must be disclosed by sellers via a state-mandated property condition disclosure form or under common law, which generally requires sellers and their representatives to affirmatively disclose any material defects of which they are aware, especially if the defect is something that would be difficult for a buyer to observe himself. Article 2 of the NAR Code of Ethics also mandates (and limits) your disclosure responsibilities as follows:

REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction. REALTORS® shall not, however, be obligated to discover latent defects in the property, to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license, or to disclose facts which are confidential under the scope of agency or non-agency relationships as defined by state law. (Amended 1/00)

If you are representing the seller, encourage him to disclose all material defects completely, including any that might be adverse to a buyer’s desire to purchase a property with green features. For instance, the disclosure of problems with a sewage system or septic system or the existence of underground storage tanks could suggest negative impacts to the environment. Similarly, problems with the roof or windows could impact the energy consumption of the property.

A defect or condition is material if a reasonable buyer would consider it important in his decision to purchase the property at a certain price and on other desired terms and conditions. Since eco-conscious buyers are often willing to pay more for properties that have green features, the absence of a particular green feature or a circumstance adverse to the environment or energy efficiency is likely to be material.

If you are representing the buyer, you must not only disclose material defects of which you are aware, but also investigate any aspect of a property that your buyer-client specifically identifies as important in making the decision to purchase. Don’t just rely on the seller’s claims; compare his claims to what you observe, and advise the buyer to seek the help of experts when a matter is beyond your scope of expertise. For example, with buyers who are energy-conscious, confirm the seller’s claim that the appliances have certain Energy Star ratings, but suggest that an expert be consulted if the question is whether existing solar panels are adequate.

Helping clients to market and purchase properties with green features can be rewarding. Make sure, however, that you always present an honest and truthful picture of such properties and their green and non-green features, as well as your own skills and knowledge.


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Exercise: Adapting Your Core Skills—Market This Home

Going Green at the Beach

In October 2007, Dave and Anna Porter completed a major renovation of their beach home near Seattle. “Going Green at the Beach,”23 as the home is called, achieved the following certifications: Built Green™ 5 Star, Energy Star Home, American Lung Association Health House®, Environments for Living®, LEED® for Homes Gold

- Job-site recycling and deconstruction of original structure, 80% diverted from landfill

- Salvage and reuse of doors, cabinets, and other materials from original structure

- Wine racks made from salvaged decking

- Vegetated green roof

- “Insectory” attracts beneficial insects

- Edible landscaping

- Drought-tolerant plant selections

- Pervious paving material

- 1.2 KW photovoltaic solar system

- Geothermal heat pump

- High-efficiency windows

- Awning to reduce sun exposure

- Natural light

- Advanced framing

- Energy Star appliances and ventilation fans

- Compact fluorescent lights

- Radiant floor heating system

- Passive solar heating and daylighting

- Spray-foam insulation and air barrier

- Heat recovery ventilator

- Dual flush toilets

- Low-flow showerheads and faucets

- Rainwater collection system

- Tankless hot water with recirculation system

- Drip irrigation

- Water-saving front-loading clothes washer

- Water-saving drawer dishwasher

- FSC-certified wood products

- Recycled glass tile

- Cork flooring produced from leftover material from wine cork production

- 50-year siding, 40-year metal roof

- Sustainably produced materials and

- Fireplace façade made from local stone

- Low-VOC paint

- Non-toxic finishes on flooring and cabinetry

- Formaldehyde-free insulation

- Minimal use of adhesives

- Formaldehyde-free cabinets

- Operable windows

- No carpet

- Heat recovery ventilator

23

Porterworks, Going Green at the Beach, www.goinggreenatthebeach.com; photos by Northwest Property Imaging, www.nwpimaging.com


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How would you describe the home’s features in terms of benefits for the buyer whose main concern is: energy efficiency, health, sustainability, or lifestyle

How could you document and substantiate the home’s resource efficiencies (energy, water) and sustainable construction?

What are your ideas for staging this home to showcase its green features—seen and unseen?


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Summing Up

A significant number of Americans feel that they lack enough information to make informed decisions about green choices.

There is a significant gap between intentions and actual behavior. Consumers aren’t necessarily seeing the payoff of energy efficiency measures because they don’t change their consumption habits.

We can generalize about clients and customers and understand their motivations and priorities based on four focuses: cost savings, health first, sustainability, and lifestyle.

Becoming a green real estate professional is a journey, not a destination. It is an ongoing process of learning and deepening in your commitment to principles of sustainability in your business and personal life. You commitment must be authentic.

Green marketers now propose that authentic green brands must demonstrate a Triple Value Proposition™: practical, social, and an affiliation with a community of those who share similar values.

Large “embracer” corporations are learning is that the more you talk about sustainability and engage others, the more opportunities you will find.

MLSs that green the data they report about listed homes offer a powerful business tool that responds to consumer awareness of sustainability issues and supports business building for green real estate professionals. Exaggerations of green features and certifications, however, can create the impression of green-washing of MLS listings.

Community involvement in relation to sustainability involves two types of communities: the physical community—your market area, the town where you live and do business—and the community of people who share your values about creating a sustainable future.

Real estate professionals can use the community involvement skills they already have, and focus them on green opportunities.

Business owners want to know about the green real estate market trends that impact their businesses too. Take the lead in your business community by forming a business roundtable.

Start your business planning process with a sustainability audit to assess your current position and actions already implemented.

The four Ps of business strategy formulation include planning, promotion, processes, and products.


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More than half of home-buying transactions start out with repeat business or referrals. For other prospects, one a good way to generate leads is to make it easy for prospective buyers to find you.

A personal brand is about creating a memorable image that pops into mind when prospects think about real estate. Eight principles of a personal brand include: value proposition, repetition, logo and tagline, consistency, commitment, authenticity, congruence, and separation between personal and professional images.

The way you go about building rapport with prospective buyers makes your presentation memorable. You can begin by seeking the green common ground you share.

When working with buyers—as clients or customers—the standard for presenting information about green features is: objective and verifiable.

You can use your core skills to list and market green homes. Homeowners who have invested in greening their homes want to place their trust in a real estate professional who will appreciate and know how to market the home’s green features.

An energy assessment is a good first step in preparing a home for sale because it suggests fixes for improving energy efficiency. If the home is already energy efficient, it’s a persuasive marketing tool.

Energy efficient or improvement mortgages take into account potential savings on utility bills to stretch buying power by adding the potential savings to the borrower’s income, adjusting the loan-to-value ratio, or increasing the allowable debt-to-income ratio.

Lack of guidelines, standards, and comparables makes valuing green homes a challenge for appraisers, lenders, real estate agents, and the sellers. Homeowners can assist the appraiser by supplying documentation of the home’s features. If the appraiser is not “competent” to appraise the home’s features, homeowners can ask for another appraiser.


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Resources

Green REsource Council Member Benefits .................................................................... 101

Designation Map ......................................................................................................... 102

Checklists for Greening a Home .................................................................................... 103

Websites ..................................................................................................................... 110

Read More .................................................................................................................. 110

Resources

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Green REsource Council Member Benefits


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Designation Map

3 Required Courses

Green 100: Real Estate for a Sustainable Future

Green 200: The Science of Green Building


Courses can be completed in any order but the Green REsource Council recommends the above numerical sequence. Students who take any of the above courses online at REALTOR® University must complete the course within 6 months from purchase. All courses, regardless of format (live or online), must be completed within 1 year.

Designation Application

Upon completion of all required courses, complete the designation application form at www.greenresourcecouncil.org/apply_now

Send the completed form to [email protected] or fax it to 312-329-8632

Processing time is 2–4 business days after we receive your course materials from the association that hosted the course.

Maintain Membership

Be a member in good standing with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Maintain Green REsource Council Membership

Green REsource Council membership 1st year: Free (begins upon completion of 2 of the 3 required courses) 2nd year: Prorated through end of calendar year 3rd and following years: $99 Designees must maintain both NAR and Green REsource Council membership in order to use and display the designation.

Resources

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Checklists for Greening a Home

$ = low cost, low effort, DIY $$ = medium cost, professional installation recommended $$$ = high cost, professional installation required

Building Envelope

Weather stripping $ www.energysavers.gov

Caulk window trim $ www.energysavers.gov

Repair glazing $ www.energysavers.gov

Putty around window panels $ www.energysavers.gov

Remove shrubbery around foundation $ www.epa.gov

Seal foundation cracks $$ www.energysavers.gov

Replace outer doors $$ www.energystar.gov

Reflective exterior paint $$ www.paint.org

Attic floor and hatch insulation $$ www.energysavers.gov

Insulate floors above crawlspace $$ www.energysavers.gov

Install acoustic insulation $$ www.energysavers.gov

Draft stopper in fireplace chimney $$ www.energysavers.gov

Blow-in insulation in walls $$$ www.energysavers.gov

Install double pane windows $$$ www.energystar.gov

Energy Star windows $$$ www.energystar.gov

Install a cool or green roof $$$ www.greenroofs.org/


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Water

Laminar faucets $ www.toolbase.org

Aerators on faucets $ www.toolbase.org

Wrap hot water heater and pipes $ www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_ heating

Dual flush toilet controls $ www.toolbase.org

Fix leaky faucets $ www.thisoldhouse.com

Low-flow showerhead $ www.toolbase.org

Circulating hot water pump $$ www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_

heating

High-efficiency (low-flow) toilet $$ www.toolbase.org

Energy Star water heater $$ www.energystar.gov

Tankless water heater $$–$$$ www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_

heating

Install heat recovery system $$–$$$ www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_ heating

WaterSense appliances and products $$–$$$ www.epa.gov/watersense

Solar water heater $$$ www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_

heating

Dual plumbing system for greywater $$$ www.toolbase.org

Resources

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Energy Efficiency and Lighting

Switch to CFL or LED light bulbs $ www.energystar.gov

Solar garden lights $ www.solarhome.org

Install dimmers $ www.energystar.gov

Timers $ www.toolbase.org

Sensors, motion and occupancy $ www.toolbase.org

Install a clothesline $ www.energysavers.gov

Power strips (avoid phantom load) $ www.energysavers.gov

Energy monitoring application $ www.google.com/powermeter

Clean refrigerator coils $ www.energysavers.gov

Install LED down lights $$ www.energystar.gov

Tubular skylights $$–$$$ www.energystar.gov

Energy Star appliances $$–$$$ www.energystar.gov

Solar water heater $$ www.solarhome.org

Electric car recharging hookup $$ www.electricauto.org

Increase glazing for more daylight $$$ www.wbdg.org/resources/daylighting

Install insulated airtight skylights $$$ www.energystar.gov

Solar PV generating system $$$ www.solarhome.org

Solar passive heating $$$ www.solarhome.org

Small wind turbine generator $$$ www.awea.org

Net metering $$$ http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/netmetering

Deep energy retrofit $$$ www.regreenprogram.org


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HVAC

Programmable thermostat $ www.energystar.gov

Thermal drapes $ www.doityourself.com

Air filters $ www.energystar.gov

Duct sealing $ www.energystar.gov

Cross ventilation upgrade $$ www.energystar.gov

Dehumidifier $$ www.energystar.gov

Awnings $$ www.awninginfo.com

Whole house fan $$ www.energystar.gov

Condensing furnace $$$ www.energystar.gov

Ceiling fans (dual direction) $$ www.energystar.gov

Exhaust fans $$ www.energystar.gov

Zone control heat and cooling $$ www.energystar.gov

Heat pump $$$ www.energystar.gov

Air source pump $$$ www.energystar.gov

Energy Star furnace, boiler $$$ www.energystar.gov

Radiant heat $$$ www.energystar.gov

Radiant floor heat $$$ www.energystar.gov

Ground source heat pump, geothermal $$$ www.energystar.gov

Trombe wall or window $$$ www.energysavers.gov

Resources

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Indoor Air Quality

HEPA air filters $ www.epa.gov/indoorairplus

Low-VOC paint and finishes $$ www.epa.gov

Remediate lead-based paint $$ www.epa/gov/lead

Radon sealing and venting $$$ www.epa.gov/radon

Replace off-gassing materials $$$ www.epa.gov/indoorairplus

Remediate mold $$$ www.epa.gov/mold

Remediate asbestos $$$ www.epa.gov/asbestos

Materials

Low-VOC paint and wall coverings $-$$ www.paint.org

Deconstruct and recycle old material $-$$ http://earth911.com/recycling/

CFI Green Label carpet $$ www.carpet-rug.org

FSC©- and SFI®-certified wood $$–$$$ www.fsc.org, www.sfi.org

Formaldehyde-free cabinetry $$–$$$ www.epa.gov

Recycled-material countertops and flooring

$$$ www.isfanow.org, www.rfci.com

Reclaimed or recycled materials $$$ www.epa.gov/mold


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Lawn and Garden

Drip irrigation $ www.thisoldhouse.com

Irrigation timer, rain shutoff device $ www.the-organic-gardener.com

Rain barrel or cistern $ www.epa.gov

Organic, slow-release fertilizer $ www.the-organic-gardener.com

Compost bin $ www.the-organic-gardener.com

Mulch $ www.the-organic-gardener.com

Native plants, xeriscaping $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Group plants by water needs $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Deep root plants $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/

greenscapes

Reduce grassed lawn size $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Electric or push mower $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Set mower height at 3 inches $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Pest-resistant plants, natural repellant $ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Evergreen trees for wind block $ www.arborday.org

Leafy trees for shade $ www.arborday.org

Bioswale and rain garden $$ www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard

Permeable pavement materials $$ www.perviouspavement.org/

Solar pool heater $$ www.builditsolar.com

Outdoor living space upgrade (porch, outdoor kitchen, shaded patio)

$$$ www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/ greenscapes

Greywater usage, dual plumbing $$$ http://greywateraction.org

Resources

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Waste Disposal

Recycling bins $ http://earth911.com/recycling

Compost bins $ www.howtocompost.org

Recycle building components $–$$ www.deconstructioninstitute.com

Proper appliance disposal $–$$ www.epa.gov/ozone


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Websites

Green REsource Council,

www.greenresourcecouncil.org

National Association of REALTORS®,

www.Realtor.org

Energy Efficient Mortgage Lenders

www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/EEM

www.energystar.gov/is/partners/ bldrs_lenders_raters

Green and Save www.greenandsave.com

Green Building www2.greenbuilder.com

Green Drinks www.greendrinks.org

Green Homes for Sale www.greenhomesforsale.com

Home Energy Saver Pro http://hespro.lbl.gov

Listed Green www.listedgreen.com

NAHB Research Center www.nahbgreen.org

National Renewable Energy Lab www.nrel.gov

School of the Future www.realtor.org/government_affairs/ smart_growth/schools_of_the_future

Valuation of Sustainable Buildings Professional Development Program www.appraisalinstitute. org/education/green_offerings

WalkScore www.walkscore.com

Read More

REALTOR® Mag Sales Coach www.realtormag.realtor.org/sales-and-marketing/sales-coach

REALTOR® Magazine 2011-2012 Cost vs. Value Report www.realtormag.realtor.org/home-and-design/cost-vs-value

Styled, Staged & Sold http://styledstagedsold.blogs. realtor.org

Natural Home and Garden Magazine www.naturalhomeandgarden.com

Ecohome Magazine www.ecohomemagazine.com

Homepower Magazine www.homepower.com

Green Home Builder www.greenhomebuildermag.com

green 300: greening your real estate business...

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