3834 Clover Lane

Features and Upgrades
From the owner:

Appliances

Furnace

Installed in 1996 by Fox Water in Madison, WI.

New windows and trim installed throughout the entire house in 2002/2003.  Windows are easy-to-clean double hung style with a maintenance-free white frame.  These energy-efficient windows will help reduce heating and cooling costs.

Hot Water Heater
Over-sized 60 gallon hot water heater installed in 2004.  Never run out of hot water!

Exterior

Garage Door
New electric garage door opener installed in 1996.  Opener included.  Garage door was recently scraped and repainted a neutral white.

Garage
Over-sized one car garage has a very sizable work bench, good attic storage space, and a brand new steel door to the back yard installed in August 2009.  The door and new framing cost approximately $500.  There is also a door to the covered breezeway.  There is plenty of room to store your garage items AND park your car.

Driveway
Paved driveway is wide enough to fit two cars side by side.  No need to double park!  Minimal grade of driveway is easy to enter on even the snowiest winter days.

Yard
Lawn has been meticulously maintained by someone who doesn't enjoy crabgrass, creeping charlie, or other weeds.  The lawn is healthy and has been overseeded for the past several years to keep it dense and vigorous.  The back yard is completely fenced and very private, so it's safe for children and pets.  Nobody can see people in the back yard from the road or even the sidewalk.  The back yard has five maple trees which were pruned in 2008.

Gardens
Extensive terraced garden was installed in the back yard in 2005/2006.  Over 15 tons of dirt were needed to fill the terraced planters which were constructed using railroad ties.  The back yard garden is primarily perennial plants which will grow year after year without maintenance.  Owner is willing to answer questions about the garden after the property is sold and also to provide buyers with a map showing where the flowers are planted.  It was my baby and it's hard to leave it!

Some of the plants include:  peonies (white and pink), purple and white coneflowers, many varieties of hostas, lilies of the valley, beautiful red asiatic lilies, stargazer lilies, sedum, hens and chicks, lavendar, sage, thyme, green chives, garlic chives, strawberries, oregano, mint, creeping ivy, butterfly bushes, wormwood, shasta daisies, various types of day lilies, purple balloon flower, black violets, purple violets, several varieties of climbing clematis, creeping phlox, lamb's ear, tall phlox, and more.  The garden was designed to have flowers blooming from April (dianthus and lily of the valley) through October (phlox, balloon flower, violets, sedum).

Added a rose garden in the front yard in 2007/2008.  This garden contains eight varieties of roses, yarrow, astilbe, sage, and a mature purple lilac bush which produces tons of lilacs each year.

The cost of installing the terraced back yard garden was over $3,000 for materials, not including labor.  This collection of plants would cost close to $750 from a greenhouse.

Patio/Porch
The back yard features a concrete patio running the length of the house and garage.  On the patio is a wooden porch which repainted in August of 2008.  There are two small perennial gardens in front of the porch which contain red lilies, hostas, and catmint.

Kitchen

Dishwasher
New white Whirlpool dishwasher purchased in 2005.  Energy efficient model.  It's difficult to find a full-size dishwasher in houses of this age or in this area.

Refrigerator
White GE refrigerator purchased in 2005.  The freezer is frost-free and the fridge has a large crisper drawer for your veggies.

Cabinets
New light oak cabinets were installed in April of 2009.  The cabinets, excluding labor, cost $1500.  New silver knobs were installed.

Kitchen Countertop
White and grey marble countertop was installed in April of 2009.

Kitchen Flooring
New light oak grain laminate floors were installed throughout the kitchen in May of 2005.

Other Kitchen Features
New garbage disposal was installed in 2007.  Plumbing was upgraded in 2009 to add easy shut-off switches below the sink.  New lighting was installed in 2005.  Tile backsplash was installed in 2009.  All paneling in the kitchen was removed in 2005 and replaced with drywall.  Total kitchen renovations, including appliances, cost over $8000 in the past four years.

Bathroom
New tile floor installed in Spring 2009.  Tile tub surround installed in 2009 also.  We replaced the backer board behind the tiles with greenboard for added durability.  Bathroom renovations in 2009 cost over $1000.

Living Room/Bedrooms
New neutral frieze carpet installed throughout living room, hallway, and bedrooms by CTW flooring in February of 2009.  This was not cheap carpet:  500 sq feet cost over $1600.  This carpet is a speckled oatmeal tone which doesn't show dirt.  The "frieze" style doesn't show wear like berber or other styles of carpet which are easily mashed down in high-traffic areas.

We also installed a tile entryway to the living room using the same tile as was used in the bathroom.  No more need to worry about getting your carpet dirty when guests come to the front door!

New cane blinds were installed in the living room in 2008.  They don't collect dust!

Basement
Washer and dryer are included and are new in 2003/2004.  A new dryer vent was installed in 2009.

Basement was completely refinished back to the studs by a contractor in 2009.  We removed inferior work done by previous owners and replaced it with wall framing which meets code.  We also removed a large laundry chute and storage area which severely limited storage and natural light in the basement.  The refinishing included new drywall, new studs, complete insulation, electrical updates, new ceiling tiles, finished window surrounds, newly-painted walls and floor, and new paneling where needed.  We installed cable to both finished basement rooms so you can have an office in one room and cable television in the other.  Perfect family room, kids' room, room for guests, or office space.

Sometimes I find myself wondering why I keep bothering to educate about and persuade people to go green.  I often get the roll of the eyes, a sigh, or they mutter under their breath that everything is bad for you or causes cancer anyway.  With my family and friends I have to be sure to pick my green battles.  I try to promote green to all my real estate clients.  Most people do care about energy efficiency (financial costs) and most have never really thought more about what a green home can mean for them. 

Got asthma? They say "no carpets please" because of the dust.  Then I bring the topic of offgassing.  People rarely think about the paint or cabinets in the home as being dangerous.  We would never knowingly expose children (or ourselves) to these chemicals, yet that is exactly what homes do. 

Many of my buyers have been excited with the discounts in price we have found.  They are hoping to buy an older home near downtown and do some updating.  I always point out some of the green remodeling opportunities that I see.  I let them know the WI Green Built Home program provides checklists for their green remodel.  At this point people have had enough time with me to know that I am not "one of those crazies" and that I am truly looking out for them!  If I keep talking about green, I hope that others will begin to see what I see--and then do what I do!

I had family visiting me this last week and that is what inspired me on this topic.  Some of my family may still roll their eyes at me (they may think I am one of those crazies) but my nieces are soaking it all up.  We went to the Madison zoo.  We didn't think the kids wouldn't remember the zoo from two years ago. The zoo in Green Bay doesn't have seals so we excitely pointed those out.  My four-year-old niece promptly replied she had seen a seal before and said that last time the seal died when the lady threw the bottle in the water.  I was so confused!  Then I remembered-we had gone to the Dane County Fair last summer and there was a little show with seals.  The lady had talked about pollution and when she threw a plastic bottle in the water and the seal played dead.  My niece was three years old and that is the part she remembered!

I am going to keep talking green.  We learn from watching others.  I am the monkey and I just have to keep doing it until everyone else follows.  My dream is to make green the standard and not a niche market.

If you are green, I would love to hear how you go about educating others.

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?