Appraisal Value of Energy Star Homes
Posted 05/24/2011 by Dennis Crook
With soaring energy costs in the country, the question is being asked more and more if the energy efficiency of a home should be taken into consideration in the appraisal process? The answer is yes. As energy costs rise, the value of a home that is more energy efficient than an average, conventionally built home should receive a higher valuation. And that is just where the industry is beginning to turn, as fewer people can afford to pay two mortgages—one to the bank and one to the utility company. Energy Star Homes The Energy Star program for homes is a government based organization, dedicated to helping consumers save money and the environment. The […]
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Tax credit for energy in the 1980’s?
Posted 05/10/2011 by Siti Crook
Tax Credit for Energy in the 1980’s Dennis and I began building new energy efficient homes in the 1980’s. When we first started, builders were pleased if they had $10,000 a house left after completion, all bills paid and the sale of the home settled. If there were investors in the project the remaining $10,000 was shared with them. The Energy tax incentives in existence until the mid-1980’s, were primarily for alternative energy systems, and difficult to obtain for building envelope improvements that saved energy. Twenty plus years later and before the housing industry meltdown in 2008, builders aimed for a $100,000 profit on a conventionally built energy wasteful house. With $100,000 as a […]
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If you think understanding energy efficiency is difficult try writing about it!
Posted 05/08/2011 by Siti Crook
It was 1985 when Dennis declared his plans to build a condominium that featured energy efficiency technology. The country was in the midst of its first major oil crisis and gasoline prices were high. There were long lines at the gas pumps and frequent shortages. Dennis could see the “writing on the wall” and thought energy efficient homes would be a solution. At the time I understood his reasoning and how it could help to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Being dependent on oil that we needed to bring into our country from foreign sources, seemed like a risky arrangement. It doesn’t take much to disturb supply—a natural disaster or a […]
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ROI and Energy Saving Building Envelope Improvements
Posted 05/04/2011 by Siti Crook
Before you hire someone to mow your lawn, or cut the grass yourself, do you calculate the return on your investment (ROI)? Cutting the grass requires human labor, equipment and money and no sooner is the task completed than it’s time to do it again. A return on this investment is seldom if ever realized, unless you own a golf course, and yet week after week, year after year Americans mow their lawns. Why do people that own buildings and homes that waste energy unnecessarily and who suffer with high heating and cooling bills want to know the ROI for energy saving building improvements? What’s wrong with this picture? How have some people’s priorities gotten so […]
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