These days with energy prices so high, many are turning to "Green" building in hopes of reducing our environmental footprint (and to ease the strain on our pocket books!). Today, homes with the "Green" label areone of the few hot trends in an otherwise morbid real estate industry and builders are jumping on board! This has given some builders a much-needed niche, but it's spurring others to apply the term with very little to back it up - a problem that is being termed "greenwashing" and it is spreading throughout the building industry like wildfire.
This has been a common complaint from both real estate professional and builders alike and advocates fear that the ever-more-widespread use of "green" confuses and misleads the public. "Some of these builders are putting that on as a tagline, when all they might be doing is putting in compact fluorescent light bulbs and Green Label carpet," says Drew Smith, a founding member of the Florida Green Building Coalition. So how do we as agents and consumers know if we are getting the real deal? The only real way for valid assurance seems to be an independent, third-party inspection that can verify what has been done will actually provide a green benefit.
There are sites that you can look at to further increase your "green" knowledge and soak your brain with the LEED for Homes, NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, the SBIC Green Building Guidelines, and the ICC-NAHB National Green BUilding Standards, and you will begin to find common threads between the different programs. They are based off of project design, energy efficiency, water efficiency, construction best practices, renewable energy source, material selection, lot planning and site preparation, and indoor air quality and maintenance. There is a LOT more to it than energy efficient lights and recycled carpet!
Always remember, buyer beware! Just because it says green, doesn't mean it is!
No comments:
Post a Comment