SanJoseGreenHome.com

So you’ve heard about it, with the passing of PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) , many homeowners, municipalities and home performance contractors had great expectations of easy and accessible financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy installations.  However, something happened…  Call it a glitch but PACE, as of today, is still not available.  There is a solution though.  Keep reading… 

An innovative tool for financing, PACE provided a solution to declining home values in much of the nation by offering financing that the homeowner repaid as a tax assessment rather than a mortgage lien.  PACE Programs were active or soon to be implemented in California and 22 other states.  

However, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that regulates Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, declared that the PACE programs presented “significant safety and soundness concerns” to the housing finance industry on July 6, 2010.  This declaration closed the door on PACE funding.  Even though legislation and lawsuits are still pending against the FHFA, no funding is expected to be available before the end of the year from any PACE program.  Talk about taking the wind out of one’s sails. 

Although PACE funding is now unavailable homeowners still have many options. There are many (more…)

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So do green homes cost more? When comparing construction costs of green homes there seem to be all sorts of figures floating around.  Some builders say it does not cost much more to build sustainably, and some say it could cost anywhere from 5-20% more to build a truly green home.  Much of those added costs however, can be recouped via numerous rebates and long term operational costs as in the case of this newly build home in Menlo Park.  Come with me on a tour and meet Bill Lacs from Lacs Design and Construction and see this newly constructed property that boasts many elements of sustainable design and technology.  Perhaps you will be surprised why this home owner decided to spend a “few” extra bucks at the end…

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Imagine you’ve hit it big or you’ve finally saved up enough towards a decent down payment towards purchasing your own home and you have one major requirement – you want it to be a truly sustainable place to live, a green home so to speak. 

What’s important for you about the green home?  What matters?  How will you decide?  These are reasonable questions, aren’t they?

I find there are three types of eco friendly house buyers out there and I’m dying out of curiosity to find out where do YOU find yourself in this equation.  Below are three different mindsets, please read through them and let me know which one you relate to most.  There’s a survey at the end of this post and if you could answer the questions we will all be very curious to find out about the dominating trend in our area.  Now it is more than likely you will be a mix a all three personalities but please pick one that you feel would stand out for you.  Let’s have some fun!

1.     Economizers.  This is the class that is concerned with the idea of saving money by wise use of resources.  This category also entails land lords who are counting on a life-cycle cost analysis and the value of various earth friendly features that can boost their cash flow.  For economizers the mighty cash is the king and all the rest of the ecological issues is less important.   

2.    Idealists.  This is your typical Organicsons household.  They take environmentally conscious living very passionately and believe that (more…)

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Who said green homes have to look like hay barns?  Here is a great example of how sustainability does not have to define the aesthetic.  This was exactly the idea behind this ultra chic “Hillside House” in Marin that is on track to be the first Platinum LEED certified home in Marin County.  

Scott Lee, the mastermind behind the project and the president of SB Architects, said he and his family envisioned a sustainable and warm home that would be comfortable to raise children and did not aspire to museum quality finishes.  They wanted some quirky interior design elements that would make the house playful and inviting and that is exactly what they have accomplished. 

Lee’s brand-new home, a 2,100-square-foot, four-level dwelling built on a 50 percent slope, is clad in Western red cedar. It’s tucked into the hillside on three floors and fronted with glass, wood and balconies.

To an interview given to Houzz, Scott says the house is really quite small by custom home standards. It’s just 3 BR and 3.5 BA. “We didn’t want or need a large home.  The house appears (more…)

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When many of us think of a solar home we normally envision a specially designed, carefully crafted construction .  Hardly ever we can think of a modest 1,200 square foot tract home in South San Jose as being a model for passive solar benefits that almost all of us can achieve.  This is exactly what Frank Schiavo did when he retrofitted his 1978 home to harvest our greatest energy source – the Sun. 

Frank was an extraordinary man.  He was an enthusiastic passive solar home consultant, environmental educator at San Jose State and an avid social change advocate.  One of his most fascinating qualities was that he produced no trash.  That’s right; he composted everything and never bought anything that he couldn’t recycle.  He even stopped paying garbage bills to the city which was a highly controversial and highly publicized move.  Gotta love this spirit of sustainability! 

Unfortunately Frank passed away very unexpectedly last January, just a week before we planned to meet, but he leaves his solar legacy behind for all of us to marvel at and learn from.  He really wanted to use his house as a way of teaching others about benefits of a green solar home “on a budget”. 

As a very tiny way of repaying his years of kindness to the community I would like to share with you some of the things that Frank was able to accomplish in his home (more…)

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This is first net-zero carbon house in UK that reaches the highest level of sustainability. Dubbed the Lighthouse, the highly eco-friendly house was designed to “encourage a way of living that is inherently ‘light’ on the world’s resources whilst combining the practicalities of today’s average homeowner.

Almost all of us use the words green and sustainable interchangeably as if they have the same meaning.  But the more one delves deeper into the nuances, the more this funny little feeling starts creeping in that there seems to be some interesting differences there in these two noble concepts.  Why does it even matter?  Simply because by being able to separate the two we can make better decisions as consumers and become more mindful and equitable participants in our society.   

The product manufacturers, as well as building industry would certainly benefit by embracing “Sustainable” vs simply “Green” practices. Whereas green addresses mostly environmental elements, sustainable takes a more comprehensive view, including environmental, economic, social, and cultural elements. 

For example, a more sustainable and socially responsible approach to manufacturing would entail a fair and humane treatment of overseas workers, while the building community would certainly include a standard of quality well in excess of mere code compliance for “green” construction”. 

You see, building a house out of vastly renewable wood from a thousand miles away or engineered lumber, installing solar panels and solar water heater to satisfy the energy needs of the building would be enough to deem it “green”.  However, if the construction quality is poor and not much effort was invested into longevity of the structure (more…)

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Unawareness can be costly… Please, someone tell her the facts before she flushes!

Did you know most home owners are not aware that their green upgrades can affect their insurance?  Sadly, most insurance agents are also in the dark.  That is why you should be pro-active and take the savings opportunities into your own hands. 

Truth is, in some ways, homes are like auto drivers – the safer the property the better insurance rate one should get.  Energy efficiency improvements will save you on your energy bills, so why not take an extra step and save on your insurance? 

Here are top 5 ways to save real dough: 

PLUMBING, HVAC, ELECTRICAL:  As homes age, they require maintenance, and at some point plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical will have to be updated. The newer infrastructure is often safer, healthier, and more energy efficient. Not only is this greener for your life, but greener in your pocket. Be sure to tell your agent about home infrastructure updates because it will give you a better rate on your policy. 

SOLAR POWER/ENERGY STAR HOMES:  Often I get asked how and where to buy solar system insurance. I tell people that buying insurance specifically for your home solar system is like buying an auto insurance policy, and then buying a second insurance policy for your tires. It doesn’t make sense! Add the solar system to your home owner’s insurance policy because (more…)

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Who threw this monkey wrench in here?

You might have been reading or hearing all sorts of conflicting news about our market.  Prices are up, prices are down, inventory is up, foreclosures are down… Trali wali, trali wali as some say in Eastern Europe. 

Forgive the media, they generalize too much and often pick the more negative side of the story.  Then they lick that bone like a golden retriever after a day’s out in the field. 

The word is out that there are 3 monkey wrenches that may derail our slowly recovering real estate market.  

First, the expiring homebuyer’s tax credit. It’s been credited with getting a lot of buyers into the market that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. It goes bye bye in spring.

Second, foreclosures.  They continue to rise because many homeowners in financial distress are simply making the decision to walk away from their homes.  Sometimes getting rid of debt can be as easy as that.

Third wrench is the low interest rates are taking a train to Canada as well.  They’re low now in large part due to Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage-backed securities.  Those purchases are due to stop near the end of March. This move will likely cause interest rates to turn upward. 

So what do you think?  Is it possible that these three factors coming together at roughly the same time could create a perfect storm and throw our fragile real estate market into (more…)

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Do you ever find yourself so deeply entrenched in your beliefs that you miss a bigger picture?  It’s safe to say we all do.  Recently, I had a chance to speak with a lovely lady who had purchased a fantastically green home.  The house had all the latest in green building like engineered lumber, sustainable materials, non-toxic finishes and many other bells and whistles.  You can imagine that my eyes sparkled like a five year old’s at a sight of an ice-cream truck.  Meeting her filled me with much excitement.  

My first questions obviously were:  “So how do you like it?  Does it feel good to have a low carbon footprint?  Don’t you just love your solar water heater?”  I was expecting to hear something profound like: ”Wow, we love the fact how much less wood was used to construct this house, how much stronger it is because of engineered lumber, how low the heating bills were,” you know…, the standard stuff that we greenies get jazzed up about.  But you know what her answer was? “It’s nice; we love the quality of the floors and are very comfortable here.”  

My jaw dropped.  “What?” uninvited but silent thoughts started creeping in, “She’s got to be kidding… this home should be like a Lincoln monument for green building and all she cares about is bamboo floors… For the sake of the planet, what’s wrong with her!?”  

Needless to say, this was puzzling as hell but on the way back home it dawned on me (more…)

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In a market where hardly anyone is building green in San Jose, this newly constructed house in Milpitas area stands as a monument of energy efficiency and inspiration.  

It is about 35% more energy efficient than a standard home and prides itself on green elements like engineered lumber, radiant barrier roof, solar water heater, energy star furnace, extra thick insulation, excellent indoor air quality and much more.  

Come with us on a video tour and discover for yourself what makes this property truly unique.

This beauty is a five year project by Green Earth Construction, a Milpitas based and family run company.  Sylvia Leung and her husband had a vision to go green 15 years ago and are finally able to marvel at the fruits of their labor.  In addition to what you’ve seen on the video, keep in mind that the home is wired for solar and if one decided to invest into solar panels, one’s utility bills for the most part of the year could be virtually zero.  Now that’s a good number, isn’t it? 

Building green normally commands higher costs so perhaps the most pleasant detail about this home is that when considering a dollar per square foot basis, the home is priced comparably to a 25 year old home.  If you like more details, you can find all the info under Featured Listings on http://GreenHomeParter.com.  Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. 

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