Congrats to Brad Pitt for his "pink project."

The Active Rain Eco-All-Stars "Pink" Challenge:

My dream green home in Madison, WI...  if money were no object. 

Being green is really about community and therefore the whole area and how it is designed is important-my home would be part of a conservation subdivision.

I would have landscape that is natural for my area.  For Madison, WI this would be prairie plants.  Plenty of room for my organic garden!  (Probably a community garden)

The home would have a combination of: solar and wind for my electricity, solar hot water, geothermal heating and cooling.  I couldn't pick just one, they all would have to work together.

A must for my home is a healthy green interior: no voc paint, cork floors, recycled glass countertops, healthy carpets, etc...

My home would be built with all natural materials making the home tight- with a ventilation system that breathes for the home. 

Basically, I want it all!

My previous blog, Divorce Your Car, was about Brent (partner on my team) giving up the use of his BMW.  The car has been officially sold.  Brent isn't really car-less, he is using Community Car. Sometimes a person just gets lucky as in this case.  Community Car held a huge divorce party and it received great media attention.

The local media has been intrigued by this idea.  A reporter from the WI State Journal spoke shortly with all the people divorcing their cars.  Brent's career made his situation unique.  The reporter decided to dig deeper.  Friends and family were interviewed.

They called us three days before the article was to come out.  I was a bit nervous-they could play this up however they wanted.  I was expecting a paragraph or two about the crazy green real estate agent.  The morning it ran, I headed out to get a paper.  On my way another KW agent called saying they saw the great article.  I was so excited, I am surprised I didn't get a speeding ticket on my way! 

I nearly fainted when I picked up the paper.  Front page news, above the fold!

"Adventures In Car Sharing: A real estate agent divorces his BMW and uses a service that leaves cars around town for members to drive.  It's not always easy."  You can read the WI State Journal Article. The original story included three large photos as well.

We have already had a couple people email us that they would use our services the next time they moved.  Most importantly, they spelled our names right and mentioned KW a couple times as well.  This will make our marketing easy as well, people now know us as that agent in the paper with no car.

 If you know of any environmentalists that need an agent in the Madison area, send them our way!                               Enlightening Real Estate Group.

I just saw this in Grist.  Leonardo DiCaprio is producing a show about the green rebuilding of a town.  Greensburg, Kansas was wiped out by a tornado last May. 

It was unclear to me where the funding to build green was coming from.  Has anyone else heard about this?  I am sure the insurance companies wouldn't cover the extra cost of rebuilding green.

Hopefully this will turn the public's eye to green building.  What a great opportunity to get the word out!  I hope they have sense enough to be respectful of the town's loss or there could be backlash. 

My business partner, Brent Sainsbury,  is giving up his car (anyone need to buy a BMW?).  We have teamed up with Community Car here in Madison, which is a car sharing program.  He plans on using one of the Hybrids when he needs to drive clients.  Otherwise he will walk, bike or bus around town. 

When we have clients moving into a downtown condo, we purchase them a membership to Community Car.  I must admit, I was a bit skeptical-of all the professions out there, it would seem that a real estate agent should have a car.  I think he will be able to make it work and it sets a great example for our clients.  Many people that we work with want to move downtown so they can give up the second car or go car-less and bike/bus to work.

We did get some free press out of it.  There was a big party to celebrate the people who divorced their car.  The next morning our local news did interview Brent.  Once I get that clip, I will see if they let me post it.

Brent in the Daily Page.

Are there any other agents that are going car-less?

Midwest Renewable Energy Association

I felt so invigorated after attending the fair.  There was a great energy all around and there were plenty of options for people looking to do a green built/remodeled home.  After seeing all the possibilities, why would anyone not want a "green" home!  I came away with many ideas for our clients and a better understanding of how to market our clients' home.  Many people that I did have a chance to chat with seemed shocked that a REALTOR would be interested in their "green" home.  They were very excited to learn that I understood the extra value of the home.

Next year I am hoping to be a vendor at the fair.  They might even have me present on Green Real Estate!  Has anyone else had success with anything similar to this?