Starting the first of the year, a new form reared its ugly head on the Nevada real estate scene. It is 
officially called the Seller's Energy Consumption Evaluation Form, and either a completed copy or a signed waiver is required on almost every sale of residential property in the State. There are a couple of very specific situations that are exempted, but they probably don't apply to anyone who is reading this post (sorry), and no, banks are NOT exempt (but will almost certainly demand the waiver, just as they currently do with the Seller's Real Property Disclosure form).
The new form is designed to provide information to residential property purchasers as to what they might look forward to finding in their mailboxes in the form of energy bills after they take possession of the home. The first section requires the seller to input annual total costs for any sort of energy service product: electricity, natural gas, oil, propane, kerosene, or "other" (cords of wood, for example). Section two breaks down the expenditures by month, but may be satisfied by attaching copies of monthly energy bills for a one-year period. The third section asks questions about the structure: its insulation, type of foundation, any improvements that may have recently been completed, etc. Next comes a page of questions on the Energy Star status and/or efficiency rating of all appliances, HVAC components, windows, doors, etc. Finally, if you haven't already left to TP the State Capitol, you will find a series of questions on lighting fixtures.
As annoying as this may be, I think the intentions were good. If filled out conscientiously, it should provide valuable information to homebuyers that will allow them to realistically plan their budgets for their new homes. And it could have been much worse. The original bill required a full-on energy audit for every single residential real estate transaction. This is just speculation on my part, but I can't imagine that there are enough energy auditors in the state to provide this service in a timely manner. Would have resulted in more delays, more expenses, another monkeywrench in the escrow process on EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION! Furthermore, it is possible, if both buyer and seller agree, to waive the form entirely. A signature block is conveniently provided on page four for that purpose, and it doesn't require notarization.
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