Joe Capote

January 6, 2011 • 2:20 pm 0

Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement Changes for 2011

As part of a traditional residential 1-4 unit sales transaction, it is the seller’s responsiblity to provide the Transfer Disclosure Statement, or TDS. The TDS (known as California Association of Realtors form TDS) is the seller’s disclosure to prospective buyers of what he/she knows and is aware of regarding the property being sold. Things that are disclosed on a TDS include:

  • Items that the subject property contains such as appliances, pools or spas, sprinklers and air conditioning among other things.
  • The sellers knowledge of any significant defects or malfunctions in the subject property, for example leaks, foundation or roof issues.
  • If the seller is aware of any other known material facts such as hazardous materials, structural issues or repairs, room additions, zoning violations and homeowners association information. 

On January 1st  a new version of the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement was mandated by the legislature.  If the prior version of the RETDS was given to the buyer before January 1,2011, then it is fine to use it. Listings that are not in escrow prior to January 1 will require the new Real  Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement. That means changing out and redoing any RETDS in listings that was not in escrow prior to January 1. 

The changes to the new TDS:

  1. Inclusion of the Smoke Detector Statement Compliance and Water Heater Statement of Compliance (new Section “D” on Page 2).
  2. The addition of Carbon Monoxide Devices in Section “A” on Page 1 as well as the reference to carbon monoxide device at the end of Section “B” on page 2.  (Reminder that Carbon Monoxide Devices become a mandatory installation as of July 1, 2011 for existing single-family dwelling units).

In transactions where the seller is a trust, a bank (REO) or the subject property is a commercial/multi-unit(5 or above) the TDS may not be required.

The Seller’s Supplemental Statutory and Contractual Disclosures (C.A.R form SSD) is often discussed since it is where the seller discloses knowledge of a death on the property within the past three years. This form will remain unchanged for the time being.

For more information regarding selling your home, visit me on the web at www.JosephCapote.com. 

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, , ,

December 9, 2010 • 1:39 pm 3

How Eliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction Affects the San Bruno Park School District

Every once in a great while, the lines between Real Estate and Education blur. For example, putting a parcel tax on the local ballot to fund your local school district’s budget shortfall has been a hot ticket item for many localities over the last year. Once again real estate and education cross paths as congress fires up discussions regarding possible elimination of the mortgage interest deduction as a means of addressing the burden of the federal budget deficit.

As many of you know, owning a home has concrete tax advantages. The United States is one of the few if not only countries in the world that allows taxpayers to use mortgage interest as a way to reduce their tax responsiblity. This deduction has been instrumental in supporting a healthy housing market, including single family homes and investment properties. Yet once again the mortgage interest deduction has found itself in the crosshairs of a congress starving for ways to reduce the ever-growing federal deficit.

From the outside looking in, I can see why congress would want to consider this. And for the millions of people who don’t currently pay mortgage interest, the idea of reducing or eliminating the MID seems all well and good. Congress and the President Obama’s Fiscal Deficit Commission are throwing around some pretty hefty numbers in terms of deficit reduction if the MID is eliminated in part or even in full.

It would also be of little secret that the National Association of Realtors opposes this idea. I won’t lie to you, Realtors like myself have vested interests in the success of the real estate market. The last thing the real estate community wants is to see is a drop in the sales volume and median home price. However, if the mortgage interest deduction is eliminated, it is clear that the demand for home ownership will wane.

I believe Congress, and those who support the elimination of the MID, are well meaning but are missing the big picture. Eliminating the MID has very direct consequence on every home owner who pays a mortgage. It will also have a direct effect on home prices and sales as well as real estate investments and those who own condos or PUD’s. I mean, let’s face it. Who would ever consider purchasing a condominium without the benefits of the mortgage interest deduction?

But back to my point. There are also severe indirect consequences of MID elimination that congress may not be thinking about. On December 8th I watched as the San Bruno Park School District board discussed how they were going to address what appears to be a 4.9 million dollar shortfall in the current budget. The majority of the shortfall is a result of declining property tax revenue. For those who may not know, a large portion of a district’s revenue are tied directly to property tax revenue. Declining property values result in declining property taxes and ultimately mean less money for school districts.

So the formula as I see it is simple. Eliminating the MID will result in less demand for home ownership. Less demand for home ownership results in declining property values. Declining property values result in declining property tax revenues. Declining property tax revenues equal less money for school districts.

So, even if you don’t own a home or pay a mortgage, schools in the SBPSD receive less money. As a parent or a student, you get the added benefit of watching the SBPSD play yet another round of “Spin the Wheel of Reduced Education Services and Capital Improvements”, a game that has become all too well-known in our school district and others across the state.

But there’s more. If you own a home or multi-unit investment, you also know that home prices and rents are in part influenced by local schools. So underperforming schools have a direct impact on home prices and rental income whether or not you use the MID as a means of lowering your tax base. So ultimately, your home or your investment will be worth less money.

And don’t even get me started on how the further decline in property values will affect a San Bruno real estate market that is just starting to see a decline in distressed properties.

I’m imploring Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to consider this when discussing the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction. Are you?

For more information, please visit me on the web at www.JosephCapote.com.

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, , , , ,

August 31, 2010 • 12:19 pm 0

Announcing my Partnership with Alain Pinel Realtors!

This week I decided to switch office affiliations. I’ve joined Alain Pinel Realtors in Burlingame. Alain Pinel is an established company with a track record of success throughout the bay area. I’m stoked to have joined them! Check out my new website!

My mother Marilyn, who started her real estate career in 1974, once wrote an article on changing office affiliations. Though many things have changed since she wrote that piece, many things have remained the same. As per her advice, I did plenty of research before I made the jump. I really though about what was important to me and what I wanted out of my career as a Realtor. I really wanted to work for an established company with a stong online presence and name recognition. I also knew I wanted to work for a company that could provide superior marketing tools and cutting edge technologies. Finally, I really wanted to work for a company that was professional and team oriented.

After interviewing with many companies, I really felt like Alain Pinel Realtors in Burlingame fit all that criteria. I am proud to announce my new partnership with Alain Pinel and look forward to meeting the needs of my clients for years to come!

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Market Data, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, Technology, Uncategorized

January 29, 2010 • 10:46 am 0

Stronger Than Expected GDP

This morning, fourth quarter GDP increased 5.7%, above the consensus forecast of 4.6%. Inventory gains accounted for the majority of the increase, and inflation readings remained low. The January Chicago PMI manufacturing index rose to 61.0, which was also higher than expected. Despite the strong data, though, there was little reaction in MBS markets. The Dow is up 50 points. Consumer Sentiment will be released at 10:00 et.

Best economic growth in six years

By Chris Isidore, senior writerJanuary 29, 2010: 9:38 AM ET

 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in more than six years during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a government report Friday.

The nation’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, rose at a 5.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That was much stronger than expected and provides another sign that a recovery in the economy is taking hold.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast growth of 4.7%.

The growth in the fourth quarter was the highest since the third quarter of 2003. The economy rose at 2.2% annual pace in the third quarter of last year.

But even with the strong growth in the second half of 2009, the economy shrunk by 2.4% last year. That was the biggest drop in 63 years and first annual decline for the economy since 1991.

The GDP report does not mark an official end of the recession. That determination will be made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and that group typically waits months — if not more than a year — to declare when recessions ended and began.

But two straight quarters of economic growth is typically a sign of a recovery, and most economists agree that the recession ended at some point in the middle of 2009. The Federal Reserve even used the word “recovery” in the statement following its latest meeting earlier this week.

Much of the improvement was driven by a turnaround in inventories, the supply of goods that businesses produce in anticipation of sales. Businesses slashed inventories in late 2008 and early 2009 due to concerns about worsening economic conditions.

But 3.4 percentage points of growth in the fourth quarter came from the change in inventories, according to Friday’s report. A pickup in auto production was a significant part of the inventory turnaround, even though auto sales themselves only rose modestly.

An 18% jump in the value of exports also played a major role in the economy’s rebound, contributing nearly 2 percentage points of growth.

But the U.S. consumer was somewhat of a bystander in the fourth quarter, as personal consumption grew at only a 2% annual rate in the period. Spending by consumers accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.

Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Cal State University Channel Islands, said there was good news in the report, but cautioned that the economy is unlikely to keep growing at such a strong pace.

“The not-so-good news is that most of the growth came from temporary factors such as inventories and government stimulus which can’t be sustained,” he said.

Federal spending on stimulus does not show up on any one line of the GDP report. In fact, government spending contributed nothing to growth by itself. But Sohn said it is clear that tax cuts and spending by businesses that received stimulus dollars helped to feed growth in the third and fourth quarters.

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, ,

November 12, 2009 • 11:30 am 3

My Date with the Donald

Today I met with the Donald. Well, really I spent one and a half hours at an introductory Trump University course. And if you are willing to alter your conception of ‘met’ to include a ten minute introductory video on a 6 foot projection screen, then yes, I did meet him.

I didn’t really know the Donald all that well until today. Sure, I know he routinely fires people as his schtick on ‘The Apprentice”, is an east coast real estate magnate, grew up in a well to do family. But today, I got insight into the mind of the Donald that I’ll never be able to give back.

You see, the Donald has money. So much money that he is not interested in making money anymore. That is why he has founded Trump university. To give back to the masses and to leave behind his legacy, a legacy so bold it transcends high rise buildings and Atlantic City casinos.

During his ten minute introductory video, the only point today at which he was present, the Donald described what students of Trump University could expect. Firstly, the instruction. World class teachers, scholars, laureates. The world’s smartest individuals, hand picked by the Donald to teach us, the masses, what we couldn’t know by simply attending these ‘accredited’ universities and business schools. Secondly, the cirriculum. Forget those blase’ topics the world’s most esteemed universities try to teach you. Trump University will teach you what you need to know to be rich in business. Exactly what you need to know, as opposed to the mundane, waste of time topics that other institutions provide.

When the video ended, the speaker was presented to us. No, it was not the Donald. The Donald is a busy man, and the demands of the Trump empire are great. What we, the masses, got was one of the Donald’s minions. His name was Jim, but I’ll choose to call him “Greasy”.

Greasy entered the stage dressed in apparel that would make any swampland salesman stand up and take notice. The slicked back hair, loosely buttoned collared bowling shirt and blue jeans just reeked credibility. Greasy was not a slow talker. He like to talk fast, and it became clear that he was into the wheel and deal, baby. Greasy was quick to point out that he was not used to giving presentations, but rather teaching his cirriculum as a three day weekend retreat. He did not mean to brag, but he did let us know that he taught as many of these classes as his time as a multi-millionaire real estate magnate would allow him.

After wowing us with his incredibly fast paced speech and regailing us with stories of his personal success, he made sure we knew he was hand picked by the Donald to speak with us.  Despite his assertion that he should be making tons more money elsewhere, Greasy had a  desire to give back to the world and teach us, the huddled masses, his secrets of becoming incredibly rich. As a forty-one year old retiree, Greasy had worked hard in his life and now just kicks back and lets his money work for him! (When he is not teaching his three day retreats and indroductory classes, of course).

Without delay, Greasy jumped into his ‘cirriculum’. He began by informing us that people that hold things in their own name (real property, in this case) were ‘idiots’. An interesting position, but after all, his point was that eventually we all go out and cause great personal harm to another individual, resulting in a lawsuit in which we lose our shirt. Greasy was kind enough to then point out that ‘smart’ folks create LLC”s, and that nothing ever goes in their name. Gee, Greasy, I’ve been to a few similar presentations and they never begin by teaching us how to best protect ourselves from expensive lawsuits. However, I’m not Greasy and I’m certainly not the Donald so what do I know?

Next up, Greasy presents the meat of the presentation: How to make money in real estate. Greasy begins by telling us that all the conventional wisdom of the ‘professionals’ is off base. To make gobs of money in Real Estate, one does not need money, credit or even a real estate license. You simply need the ability to do one thing and one thing only: Find incredibly naive and trusting people, and attempt to fleece the living hell out of them.

As much as I would like to tell exactly how the Donald and Greasy propose to help you make gobs of money in complex real estate transactions, the material is copyrighted and, not being an LLC, it could get sticky.  But I will tell the general idea.

  1. What you need to do is find incredibly desperate people in desparate situations.
  2. Coerce them to sign legal equitable title over to you.
  3. Have them sign documents stipulating that you can walk away from any deal at any time for any reason.
  4. Coerce said trusting people into accepting real estate offers and other complex real estate transactions for their property at well below market value.
  5. Sell the property yourself at market value.
  6. Pocket the difference.
  7. Success!

This is an extremely high level overview of Greasy’s presentation. He presented lots of specific ways to make money in this fashion in the real estate game. And to Greasy’s credit, he made it sound incredibly easy, quick and fun. Sure, you would have to continue with his three day retreat and sign up for a long term mentorship program with him, but as Greasy pointed out, smart people take action on this, stupid people are lazy and do not. Afterall, who can argue with that logic?

What Greasy did not really do a good job of pointing out was the incredibly high risk inherent in such complex real estate deals. If any part of the transaction does not go exactly according to plan  (very common, I can assure you), the transaction falls apart. Who do you think is left holding the bag? (Hint: Not Greasy. He is in an office somewhere laughing his ass off). The answer is you, and your property owner. A property owner who is now very angry with you and in all likelyhood has strong reason to believe you have committed fraud against him. It starts to become a little more clear why Greasy thinks an LLC is necessary, doesn’t it?

Aside from those strategies, Greasy also offered the following gems: 401k’s and retirement plans are scams. Pull your money out, or borrow against it, and you can then use it to invest is complex real estate transactions in which you CAN make 50% or more return on investment! Or totally lose your shirt. But Greasy ran out of time and didn’t cover that part.

Private investment money. Want to buy a property to flip it, but have no cash and sucky credit? No problem. Private investors will lend money to you with down or no credit check. Easy qualifying. They will quickly lend you the money to buy and fix up the place, at that time you can turn around and sell it for big bucks. What Greasy failed to mention is that if the job goes wrong (large construction jobs always go according to plan and never incur cost overruns, correct?) is that it’s your ass when Mr. private investor comes to collect. And since you’ve borrowed more than what the property will sell for, well, you get the picture.

The bottom line, and in all seriousness, is that this cirriculum was teaching folks amazingly unethical and irresponsible business dealings. About the only people guaranteed to make any money is the Donald and Greasy. Firstly, getting desparate people to sign legal title to you is frought with peril. Even if the deal works as Greasy laid it out, you are still opening the door for litigation from multiple parties. Not to mention the lack of ethics it would take to engage in this type of transaction in the first place. Secondly, borrowing money from private investors based on the future value of properties is risky. Short term, high interest loans to acquire properties that you will flip for profit can result in you being foreclosed against and or sued for the full amount (more lawsuits for you!). Lastly, cashing out or borrowing against your retirement to engage in these deals is EXTREMELY irresponsible advice. So is mortgaging yourself to the hilt with home equity lines to conduct these deals.

The bottom line is simple. If these methods were so easy and so successful, Greasy would be doing it and not getting paid to teach you how to do it. So would everyone else around you. But they are not, go figure. If this is your legacy Donald, do us a favor and stick to Atlantic City high rises.

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog

October 24, 2009 • 8:29 pm 0

Dodd Looks to Extend First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Based on this, it appears that at least some of congress is listening to the N.A.R’s efforts. The FTHTC needs to be extended, and should even be increased in areas where the median home price beats the U.S. average. Reducing foreclosures in also a good part of the effort, as loan modifications regulations should be pushed. Especially to institutions who have accepted TARP funds.
By Stacy Kaper, American Banker
October 21, 2009

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd on Tuesday endorsed extending and expanding a first-time homebuyer tax credit that was included in the economic stimulus package but is due to expire next month. 

The Connecticut Democrat was joined by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who testified at a committee hearing Tuesday that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit should be continued through June and broadened to more homebuyers. 

“The credit is set to expire in five weeks. But the work of stabilizing the housing market won’t be done,” Sen. Dodd said at the hearing. 

“We still need to use every tool at our disposal to try and fix this problem.” 

Dodd added that reducing foreclosures needs to be a part of any housing recovery effort. 

“The utility of the homebuyer tax credit will be maximized only if it operates in tandem with an effective program to protect struggling homeowners from foreclosure as well.”

Posted via web from josephcapote’s posterous

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, ,

August 1, 2009 • 3:50 am 1

New Federal Lending Regulations: What do They Mean to You?

Starting July 30th, 2009, the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) amendments to the Truth in Lending Act (TIL) — also known as Regulation Z — take effect.  These regulations, passed by our swell friends in congress as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, are designed to allow homebuyers adequate time to review specific information related to their loan. Changes include:

  • Initial TIL disclosure. A seven-business-day waiting period is now required between the delivery of initial disclosures and the signing of closing documents. This will eliminate the possibility of closing in less than seven business days unless the borrower faces a bona fide personal financial emergency.
  • Up-front fee collection. Up-front fees cannot be charged until after the borrower receives the initial disclosures. If disclosures are mailed, the fee is charged the fourth business day after mailing. If disclosures are hand-delivered, the fee is charged the same day.
  • Redisclosed TIL. If the interest rate or fees change, causing the APR to increase by more than 0.125% then a revised TIL must be sent to the borrower so that the customer receives it no fewer than three business days prior to closing. Each time the TIL is redisclosed, the waiting period starts over and could affect the original closing date. If the rate is in float status, a redisclosed TIL will not be provided each time there is an APR increase. Redisclosure should be sent, if needed, eight business days before the estimated closing date.

Thanks Congress! This is just another awesome way you are looking out for the consumer. Really, and I mean that. In all seriousness, though, it really is an attempt to by congress to look our for the borrower, given that so many cried dumb during this mortgage crisis. Additonally, it aims to help protect many borrowers who can’t qualify for conventional loans, and are getting ripped by the high points and fees game of private money mortgage lending. (Predatory lending practices).

Heres the Skinny

Enough jibba-jabba! What does this mean to the Seller/Buyer? More time on the transaction if you are not careful, and potential transaction killers if this is messed up. Realtors and lenders will need to be diligent in understanding the changes, so that they can be accounted for during the offer and acceptance process. Lenders must be acutely aware of the timelines as well. There must be additonal coordination between the realtor, lender and escrow to ensure that all final TIL numbers are within a .125% (1/8) prior to issuance of docs or closing. Otherewise, the TIL must be redisclosed (ouch) and another six day waiting period will begin. (Yikes).

As a buyer or seller, you need to understand that the Realtor and the Lender must be tightly integrated (hah, tech jargon at last) during the entire process. Rate fluctation and specific timelines  must be closely monitored and communicated, for the consequences of a redisclosure could potentially shoot down a deal. Ask your Realtor TODAY about the new federal regulations, and take the time to understand how they can affect you.

Filed under: Buyer's Blog, Realtor Trends, Seller's Blog, , , ,

July 21, 2009 • 9:58 pm 0

Venture Capitalist Funding Half of Last Year

This article appeared in the business and technology section of the San Jose Mercury News this morning. According to this article, venture capital investing rose modestly nationwide over the last quarter, but still at 3.7billion total is only half of what it was last year. This means that venture capital funding is on track to end the year at it’s lowest levels since the mid 1990’s, before the boom of technology resulting in the internet as we know it today.

Additonally, the bay area’s share of this pie has declined as well. Venture capitalists invested 1.8 billion in bay area companies this quarter, a downturn of 61% from the second quarter of 2008. According to John S. Taylor, VP of resarch at the National Venture Capital Association, the small numbers are a result of lack of available capital and the rise in reserves by VC’s to support their earlier investments. Furthermore, Mr. Taylor indicated that the stock market crash has drastically altered the portfolios of institutional investors, who are rebalancing by pulling back on additonal funding.

This information does not bode well for the economy of the Silicon Valley as well as the SF/Peninsula as a whole. Startups funded by venture capitalists provide a wealth of jobs in the technology sector, and the innovations they provide have a resonating effect in other areas. For example, Facebook was a venture capitalist funded startup, and it’s success fuels all sorts of venure capitalist funded technology companies that build applications and services for the Facebook service and  platform. In turn, in order to support all these services, companies require major infrastructure purchases (servers and software from companies like HP), technology and consulting services (IBM and Accenture) and back office software to support the workforce (Microsoft Office, accounting and budgeting software). . In addition, established companies, as a result of lost sales from this fall out, continue to cut costs in the form of layoffs and flattened spending.

As real estate indicators are trending upward and home sales in Santa Clara county hit a 3-year high (San Jose Mercury, July 17), today’s news continues to drive uncertainty into an already uncertain employment and consumer market. According to Mr. Taylor, “Unless there is a significant increase in IPO’s or acquisitions, or unless captial becomes plentiful, I don’t see this changing much of the paces for the next few quarters”. 

As real estate professionals, we need to continue to be persistent with our contacts and improve our knowledge and skillsets. As we live and work in or around the Silicon Valley, we should be sensitive to venture capitalist money and how it relates to our overall economic ecosystem. As these numbers improve, our overall opportunities for business should improve along with it.

Filed under: Realtor Trends, Technology, , , , , ,

July 17, 2009 • 11:46 pm 0

Time for the Green Designation?

Like a lot of us hippie liberals (thats what dad would have called those who follow whole green movement), I am concerned about the environment and that state of what I’ll be leaving behind for my kids. Over the past couple of years, there has been a real movement in all things green and the environmentally sound goodness from green products and services. I was first exposed to the green movement in the IT world, as green computing began it’s ramp up (less power, more efficient comuting resources and fully recyclable computing products). Heck, even here at the office we buy all of our computing equipment from GreenCitizen (www.greencitizen.com). So, it came as no surpise to see this movement in the Real estate world. Eco-friendly green products are now on sale in most major purveyors of home improvement products,  encompassing everything from countertops, drywall to windows and flooring tile. Green products such as household cleaners and other eco-friendly goodies crop up all the time. Heck, even the NAR now recognizes the official Green designation, the sustainable housing effort sponsored by the Green REsource Council. (http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/).  So I wondered aloud, how does the Green designation translate into a competitive advantage for the Realtor. After realizing I was talking to myself and that the folks around me were shaking their heads in disapproval, I decided to find out.

For a mere couple of dollars and a three day class, you too can achieve the Green designation, a “comprehensive training and access to cutting-edge resources and tools as well as promoting green excellence, leadership, and consumer awareness within and across multiple real estate disciplines.” (http://www.realtor.org/education/realtor_university/designation, par 13). Sounds great! After all, Kermit the frog was green, and loved being green though it wasn’t easy being green. In any event, sign me up. But wait, I have some questions. Before I drop down the money, time and effort for the green designation, how much business or competitive advantage can I expect from the designation? What marketing tools will I have access to once I achieve the master rank of all that is green? Will this comprehensive knowledge allow me to quickly compute the ROI for my clients investment in green products such as energy efficient windows and THX certified soundproof doors? Will I be admonished with respect after educating my sellers on the benefits  super-insulated drywall and the 380-800% increase in insulating value it provides? After all, these numbers do not translate directly to monetary savings, so I would assume that at some point someone is going to ask me what being green really means to them.

In the IT world, being green was a somewhat quantifiable means to an end. Green computing resources utilized lower power and required less heating and cooling than their non-eco friendly, non-green counterparts. IT managers could review the operational cost of the data center resources, calculate the operational cost savings to be achieved by implementing green computing resources, and ultimately understand how long it would take to achieve the return on investment. But in the world of Real Estate, this seems more complicated to achieve. What mathematical formula should I use to promote green awareness across multiple Real Estate Displicines? To find out, I went to the source, the green council website at http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/. Under the course information, I found the following learning objectives:

  • Explain to your clients what makes a home, building or property green
  • List and market green properties
  • Implement green practices into your life
  • Determine the energy efficiency of a property
  • Help your clients take advantage of green grants and incentives
  • Assist your clients in their efforts to go green
  • Build coalitions with community planners and groups to further resource-efficient communities
  • Explain to your clients what makes a home, building or property green
  • List and market green properties
  • Implement green practices into your life
  • Determine the energy efficiency of a property
  • Help your clients take advantage of green grants and incentives
  • Assist your clients in their efforts to go green
  • Build coalitions with community planners and groups to further resource-efficient communities

    • Now this makes more sense. The ability to determine the energy efficiency of a property and ways that green products can reduce costs is a key component to convincing buyers, sellers and investors in the merits of green-ness. According to the Healthy House Institute, most folks polled appeared to be “more focused on doing what they can to save money rather than what they can do to reduce energy consumption. “I’m doing a lot to help myself and save money,” one focus group participant said. “I don’t go out of my way to be green.” (http://www.healthyhouseinstitute.com/a_983-Cost_Savings_Energy_Efficient_Appliances_Highlight_Consumer_Focus_on_Green, par 7). This makes sense, after all, most all homeowners and investors want to know whats in it for them. Ultimately, it is how much they will save that will sell them on green products, while the environmental friendliness is simply the green icing on the cake.

    So is the world ready for the benefits of the Green Designation for Realtors? Overall, I think that the full benefit of Green products will get realized when their price points align with their non-green brethren. This appears to be two to three years off, from the opinions of my resources. But the cost savings in green products promises to get better and better as technologies and production strategies evolve. And all of us can find benefit in cost savings. After all, even my crusty old dad thought the ‘hippie liberals’ were out of their minds, until they started saving him money.

    Filed under: Realtor Trends, Technology

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