While browsing the real estate section of the local paper (Saturday edition) there was an interesting article on “Going Solar”. The article did not just deal with solar but also talked about some other methods of saving energy and Green Building. John Friesenhahn of Imagine Homes was a contributor and explain that he builds homes that are 100% in compliance with Energy Star and Build San Antonio Green standards. He also highlighted some of the technology that goes into the homes he builds. John is also an EcoBroker (there are now three of us in San Antonio two active).
There was also a list of rebates provided by CPS Energy for making green/energy efficient improvements to your home. You can check their website (www.cpsenergy.com) for additional information; just look under “Rebates & Programs).
Also in the same issue was a short article on the Department of Energy (DOE) challenging builders to build green homes. The program is voluntary, but the challenge is for builders to build 220,000 energy efficient homes by 2012, in four years! For a home to qualify as energy efficient it must use a minimum of 30% less energy than a conventionally built home. You can find out more by visiting www.doe.gov.
I hope you all noticed that the Brokerage I am associated with changed! Yes, I am now a licensed Real Estate Broker (Texas License). I have just opened my own real estate business. I am now the Broker/Owner of Green Homes Realty. Green Homes Realty will specialize in helping clients find green built, green remodeled and energy efficient homes. Green Homes Realty will also assist clients in working through environmental issues affecting real estate transactions (such as lead base paint abatement, mold remediation, etc.).
I will be working with a virtual office concept (no brick and mortar office). Using the virtual office concept will allow me to offer better services to clients and to be more competitive in commission rates. As you already know commissions are negotiable and I will be offering rates between 4 and 8 percent depending on the amount of marketing and assistance you require in the selling of your home. Lower overhead and no franchise fees are a couple of the cost savers that allow me to put more money in you the clients pockets.
Think of selling or buying? Give me a call and let’s discuss your needs and see if we can save you some green!
James C. Smith, Broker, EcoBroker Certified
Green Homes Realty
210-316-4555
Okay a few things to talk about that are going on this week that are of interest to the green wave in real estate. First off, how many saw the article in Saturday’s Express News? What article you might ask! The one on “Alphabet Soup” explaining all of the designation you find behind realtors names. Why am I pumping up the article; I am on the front page, talking about EcoBrokers of course!!!
Okay, this coming weekend 28-30 September there are a couple of happenings going on. The Cibolo Canyon Builders Expo at the Alamo Dome will feature the latest in building technology. They will also have an area call Green Street showcasing the latest in green building techniques. There will also be a booth called “Move San Antonio” I will be in the booth on the 30th so stop by and say hello. The booth will have all of the industries involved in making a move.
The 8th Annual Renewable Energy Roundup and Green living Fair will be going on in downtown Fredericksburg, TX. I made it there last year and there was quite a bit of interesting films, speakers and exhibits. You can even find some very tasty vegetarian and organic foods there. The dates are the same 28-30 September. I am planning on being there on Friday to check it out.
Hi folks,
I am guessing it looked like I had fell off the face of the real estate earth! I just got very busy this summer and did not take time to post. I am back now and ready to talk green building, energy conservation and healthy homes.
I am amazed at the number of young people (and old too) that have asthma these days. I am of the opinion that our home environments play a big part in the problem. Good health starts with a healthy home and I am talking about the physical structure here. We have to ask ourselves what part does the way our homes are built and the way we maintain them have a bearing on our health. Looking at the materials used in making our homes and combining them with the cleaning solutions, pest control measures, auto products etc. you can quickly see we can turn our homes into a toxic environment that will have an effect on our health.
What can you do as an individual? One of the most important things is to read labels and follow the directions. If at all possible look for the green alternative when buying cleaning or pest control products. If the product says not to use it in an enclosed space do you really want to clean your bathroom with it? If you do then at least run the vent fan or open a window if your bath has one. When looking to control pest try to fight them from the outside of your home especially if you have small kids that may come in contact with the residue. Just keep in mind if you can smell it, it is affecting you in some way. Think of the business that has grown up around aromatherapy! When doing home improvements look to incorporate green features in your home. You should use natural products when possible or at least products that do not give off offensive fumes.
Your home is one of the most important stops on the way to good health. Is your home making you sick? Time to think GREEN!!!!
Last week I talked briefly about how your home is situated on your lot, the prevailing winds, vegetation, and sun exposure. In the language of “green” this is known as “Microclimate” and there are other parts to it such as the lawn itself. When we think of out lawns we often see them as nice evenly cut grass of some type.
There is another way to look at them, and that is as an ecosystem of their own. Our lawns are alive with all types or organism that is unless you have killed them with pesticides and fertilizer. There are organisms that break down the dead vegetation and return it to the soil enriching it. There are organisms in healthy soil that help to remove some of the greenhouse gases from the air. You should do all you can to improve the quality of the soil around your home. There are a couple of easy things to do! Go easy on the pesticides. Let some of your yard go back to its natural state. Instead of using fertilizer spread compost on your lawn to give it the nutrients it needs. Taking these action will lead to cleaner air in your microclimate and also help to bring your lawn back to a more natural state. When was the last time you saw a bird hunting for insects in your yard? Do you worry about your kids or pets playing outside? Do you know why it is required now for new homes to be equiped with anti-siphon faucets?....to keep what ever we have attached to the end of the hose from getting into the water supply, be it fertilizer or pesticides we are spraying on our lawns.
Here is some food for thought; grass is the most widely grown crop in the United States. We cultivate it, water it and harvest it (mowing) and then we in most cases throw it away. Would it not be better to recycle it? I mean after all you do have a significant investment there! You do have a choice! Compost it!
Yes, I know we been having some rain here in south Texas, but I am not going to talk about rain harvesting this time. I want to talk about your present home and how it is situated on your lot! Have you given any though to how your home was placed on your lot? Think about your home and its orientation to the sun. Do you get lots of natural light in your home? Does the sun heat it up in both the summer and winter? Is it blasted by a north wind in the winter? Is your home new construction? Was the subdivision clear-cut during the site preparation? I know a lot of questions and you maybe thinking what can I do about it anyway!
There are a lot of things you can do to influence the climate around your home. If you get a lot of sun heating (passive solar) in the summer time plant some trees to shield those windows. As tree will take time to grow you can place awnings over the windows until trees provide some shading. Also speaking of windows you should experiment with opening windows on opposite sides of your home to catch the prevailing winds. In the spring and fall you can shorten your cooling and heating season respectively. You can also use trees and shrubs to block the wind from hitting your home full blast. They can also help to block traffic noise, they also cool the air around them and of course they do help to clean the air. You will need to pay attention to the types of trees you plant to get the most benefit from them. If you want passive solar heat gain in the winter you need to plant trees that loose their leaves in the fall. Evergreens will block the sun year round and provide almost permanent shade.
You can use plants such as ivy to help block the sun from the walls of your home. I would be very careful in using and plant that grows on the home, as it could be a vector for wood destroying insects. You can add latticework on a frame in front of a wall for the ivy to grow. Another area to look at is your roof! I know we are taught not to have trees or plants contacting the roof of the home to keep from causing damage and again insects, but a tall tree can shade the roof part of the day without coming in contact with it. Watch the path of the sun and plant trees accordingly. Also the next time you replace your roof shingles go with the lightest shade possible to match your home.
Every thing you do to maximize natures natural heating and cooling cycles will impact your wallet. If you pay attention to how your home is situated on your lot and work in hormany with nature you can save money!
I am talking about the Solar Fest in Maverick Park. I met some interesting people there doing some interesting things with solar energy. I do have to confess a slight error on my part by not mentioning there was a Live Green Fest at the Live Oak Convention Center also. I did manage to make both events.
At the Solar Fest I spoke with an architect that open my eyes to new possibilities of using solar. I was asking him about the feasibility of going completely off grid (disconnecting from the local electrical utility) with an existing home. He said yes it is possible but might be expensive. He also said it might be better to do a limited solar application and generate enough power to run the heating and cooling system one of the bigger energy users here in south Texas. You would need less of an array of solar panels and the payback would be quicker.
Over at the Green Living Fest there was great example of green building material and alternative energy applications. A gentleman from Saint Phillips had a display of a fuel cell there. He also told me that fuel cells had been used in commercial applications at Brooks City Base—some of the housing there is supplied electricity by fuel cells.
They also had a screening of Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” and the film “Who Killed the Electric Car.” I found both of these films to be enlightening. I also was not aware of the extent that the electric had been developed. I mean all of the major car companies had working electric vehicles.
First Time Rental
• 1,752 sq. ft., 3 bdrm single story - 
MLS® $1,150 USD Monthly - Move in Ready
Brauns Farm, San Antonio - Clean, move in ready, open floor plan with high ceilings. Ceramic tile in common areas for easy cleaning, carpets in bedrooms. Two fireplaces one in master bedroom and one in family room. Split bedrooms, master has large walk in shower and walk in closet. Covered pation for enjoying the outdoors. Close to loop 1604 and Bandera (Texas Hiway 16). Plenty of shopping in the area, nice established neighbor.
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There is a Solar Fest happening in San Antonio this Saturday May 19 at Maverick Park. This will be a good time to learn about solar energy and some of the ways you can employ it in your home or business. Once you have the initial outlay recouped the only other cost is periodic maintenance.
Some applications are pretty evident as the way to go solar lights to light a path or walk way at your home. You can even put solar cells on the roof of a shed or a gazebo to run lights for it. Depending on the area of the roof you may be able to generate enough power to run other items as well. Deck lighting that is solar powered is already available.
The fest will feature a solar powered stage so the bands will be running their equipment off sun energy. The will also have alternative fuel vehicles, green building information and information on sustainable living. See you there!
Green is in, it is on Network news and the town is hosting a meeting of Architects that are looking at ways to build LEED certified buildings. Everywhere you turn these days you are hearing about green building, sustainable lifestyles and organic foods.
In all of this turn towards green you the consumer must be aware of “Green Wash.” That is the attempt to dress an item in a suit of green clothing to make it appear green. When it comes to building there are several certifications of green built homes and structures. The two most common in our area is Energy Star and LEEDs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). When you see these designations on a home you can be sure you are getting energy efficient home. You have to be careful with Energy Star as they certify appliances also. So when you see energy star in an advertisement be sure it is referring to the home and not just the appliances in the home.
Okay folks now that there is a developing market for green built homes hold on to your hats! Where there is money to be made is where the business world turns. In this case it is a good thing, just be aware that “Green Wash” will be everywhere. Double pane windows and a sunroom does not make a house solar! You do have a choice!
Hi folks another rainy day here in San Antonio, I know the low water crossings are filling up and there will be some high water rescues before the day is over. I know many of us think the answer is water (runoff) management and I agree with that to a point.
We can prevent a lot of the runoff by just using different building practices. As I look out my window I see water running down my driveway and into the street to be joined by water running from other homes in the neighborhood. This runoff when it gets to the end of the street rivals a small stream and is more than the street gutters can handle.
What can we do differently? One thing is to use a different material for driveways! Pavers come to mind as a way of eliminating some of the runoff. Pavers allow some of the water to seep into the ground beneath them. We could use this method for all walkways and patios etc around our homes allowing more water to seep back into the ground and not run down the streets.
Think about this one example the Forum Shopping Center, think of all the paving there! Have you drove there during a heavy rain, reminds me of the song “A river runs through it.” Not all but some of that water would have seeped into the ground if it did not land on pavement. I know it is cheaper to just float some concrete or lay asphalt, than putting down pavers or some other material that will let some water through but sometimes you have to look at the big picture and then make the right choice. Remember you do have a choice!
Okay a little late with this weeks post but I want to give you some more numbers to look at. I have put together a conservative comparison of two homes, one built green the other conventional. I added $15,000 to the cost of the green built home and lower the interest rate .75%. Remember you get a better rate with a green built home.
Okay so here are the numbers:
| Conventional | Green |
Cost of Home | $ 200,000.00 | $ 215,000.00 |
| | |
Loan Amount | $ 180,000.00 | $ 193,500.00 |
| | |
Interest Rate | $ 6.75 | $ 6.00 |
| | |
Principle/Int (P&I) | $ 1,167.48 | $ 1,160.13 |
| | |
Insurance | $ 75.00 | $ 77.04 |
| | |
Taxes | $ 348.83 | $ 375.00 |
| | |
Total Housing Cost | $ 1,591.31 | $ 1,612.17 |
| | |
Utilities | $ 180.00 | $ 153.00 |
| | |
Housing + Utilities | $ 1,771.31 | $ 1,765.17 |
| | |
Savings | $ - | $ 6.14 |
| | |
As you can see even with the additional cost of the green built home and using conservative estimates on utility saving and interest rate discount we still manage to save $6.14 compared to the conventional home. If I remember correctly for a home to be Energy Star Rated it must be a minimum of 15% more energy efficient than a conventional built home of same square footage etc.
Okay folks you gotta commit sooner or later...Now is the time!
Okay it is one thing to talk about water running off a roof and into the sewer system. The question that comes to mind is how much water is running off that roof. Using the figure from the weather service of 7 inches of rain last month I had a friend (former water master for our county) figure out how much water would run off a single story 2000 square foot home. Are you ready for this? The home would have 8,724 gallons of rainwater coming off of the roof.
Some more numbers the average water use for my neighborhood was 5,985 gallons; my household used 4,489. As you can see the water that ran off the roof was more than enough to supply the needs for one month of any family in my subdivision. Lets look at it another way the charge for water is .0878 per 100 gallons so the 8,724 gallons of run off could be a savings of $7.66 in water service charges. As you know there are other charges associated with water use. Supply fee for 8,724 gallons is $12.97, Sewer charge $21.49, not noted here is Federal Storm water Fee and Edwards Aquifer Authority Fee. Using these figures you could save roughly $42.12 by capturing the runoff from your roof. There is one thing I do need to point out and that is water coming off of a roof is not suitable for indoor use without proper treatment. The water can be used to water lawns and gardens. If you have a metal roof it is a little easier to treat the water for indoor use.
You might not be impressed by the monetary savings but think about the amount of water that could be save in a subdivision the size of mine where there is approximately 500 homes. As you can see the amount of water that could be saved is exceptional to say the least and the money adds up too!
Okay still not ready to drop a cistern in your back yard, then how about a few rain barrels? You could catch enough water to take care of the flowers and potted plants in your home. You would also be doing your part to alleviate flooding in your area. You do have a choice, choose green!
I am talking about the Green Living Fest at Eisenhower Park this past Saturday. Yes it was cold and windy, made for a miserable day to be outside. I was however impressed with the turnout; parking was at a premium. There were numerous vendors and grass root organizations that are involved in helping San Antonians live green at the fest.
I also was surprised to see members of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association there and participating as panel members discussing green building. I also have to admit I was very surprised at the progress one of the builders has made in building green homes. I had looked at some of their products last year and they have really gotten into the spirit of green building with their latest offerings. I did not check to see if they have a green lender that they work with but if you are interested in healthier IAQ*, Lower heating and cooling bills and making less of an impact of the environment give me a call (210-316-4555) or send me and email james@jamessmith-realtor.com. I would be happy to give you a tour of one of their subdivision and explain some of the green features of their homes.
Remember, an EEM* in most cases will have an interest rate lower that a conventional mortgage. Those savings added to savings on utilities and the healthier environment of a green home make it a win-win-win situation for you the buyer. Don’t you think it is time you made the right choice???
* IAQ = Indoor Air Quality, EEM = Energy Efficient Mortgage
• 1,952 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 1 1/2 story - MLS® #643789 $1,000 USD Monthly - Large home for the money
Northwest Crossing, San Antonio - Large home with spacious bedrooms, great location close to elementary school and shopping. Home is clean and ready to move into. Nice deck and located on corner lot. Will work with client on deposits if needed. Small pets/outdoor dogs/cats okay.
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