California Homeowners
For the homeowners and voting citizens of the State of California already suffering with values of their homes having dropped and equities disappearing, the California legislature is bringing forth something special to increase your excitement about your homes. This time in the form of a gift to the citizens that might be considering bringing their homes to market.
Point of Sale Bill
This "Point of Sale" piece of legislation that ensures to delight all the eco-friendly, energy conscious folks that believe in conservation so much that they feel it must be mandated and for those that don't share that belief, they intend to convince them of their seriousness.
The Assembly Bill 2678 ( Nunez) The Point of Sale mandated Energy Audit is just a lovely expression from Mr. Nunez to the citizens of California . When they wouldn't extend his term limits in the last round of proposition voting ,this may be his gift in kind. Now whoever said that our heroes in Sacramento weren't gracious.
The Energy Audit and Implementation
If this Energy Audit becomes law, there will be a special treat for everyone, the real estate professionals, the homeowners and the buyers. To receive this wonderful gift of an Energy Audit all you have to do is agree to bring your home on the market. After the audit is completed estimated to be in the range of about $400 for an average home, then there is the 2nd half of your gift . The awesome pleasure of implementing the recommendations of the audit.
What might Implementation look like
Let's see what that might look like. For starters , how about some new windows. I would suppose that in some cases the old ones that are thermal pane (if you happen to have that type ) could be re-caulked but if the audit calls for new, they mean new. And then there is the air conditioner, heating system and the all the duck work. ( Now don't forget about the drywall guy here because that ductwork is buried behind the walls and ceiling). Let's not forget about all those appliances, from the dish washer, stove, washer and dryer to the refrigerator. If they are not energy star efficient, you could always take those with you on your way out of the state. Don't forget to change out all those incandescent light bulbs to the compact fluorescent before leaving. You know that great advertisement, "We'll leave the light on for you".
It just might get even better
Did I forget to mention the insulation and the weather stripping. Once all the drywall and ceilings are torn out, the new insulation should certainly not be a problem to get installed. Now, how about that water heater that is so seismic securely strapped in, is it energy efficient? Unless it is reasonably new, it probably isn't. Best plan on getting one of those too. It may get better. There is rumor that the mandated solar retrofit at Point of Sale that was denied us not more than a couple years ago, may be brought back in two years when we select our new Governor. But we should be happy enough with this first gift and not look our gift horses in the mouth, wishing for more.
All these energy saving items are so wonderful and the only way this gift could be better was if everyone got to receive this gift without having to bring their home to market. But they just have to limit the gift for now to only those that want to sell their homes, that's how this gift gets it name, "Point of Sale". I know they want all of us to have this gift that keeps on giving so maybe everyone would consider selling and then we could all get our share of the gift. When Assembly Bill 2678 gets its final passage by the senate, I so hope everyone, even if not planning to sell their home right now, will show their appreciation and send a special ‘Thank You" to the legislature.
Announcement of the Gift
From the voice of San Diego Real Estate, I am thrilled I could bring this announcement of these upcoming gifts from the outstanding legislators for helping all of us live our lives better here in California. I think I will send another card just to thank them for the opportunity to connect with my readers on this most important and exciting gift. Pull that level in November and be sure you thank all these wonderful folks for a job well done.
I was planning on selling my home to be able to get my share of the gift in the next few years so I am planning to get a head start so that all the drywall and paint will be dry in time to put it on the market.
What does the California Chamber of Commerce say?
In all seriousness, here is another opinion that is shared by the California Chamber of Commerce and it listed this bill in its annual "job killer bills" list and said the following of AB 2678 (Nuñez; D-Los Angeles) Building Energy Audits. " Threatens already-beleaguered existing housing and commercial real estate markets by establishing a process to adopt mandatory time of sale energy efficiency audits without any specificity on what would ultimately be required by the audits. "
It's that lack of specificity where I imagined this would most probably go when the Energy Commission sets up the standards for the audits and how the recommendations of the audits are to be implemented prior to sale.
Courtesy of William Johnson GRI CRS e-PRO and The Real Estate Text Book
Good Grief!! Don't you folks pay your dues to your local and state REALTOR associations??? Seems to me some good lobbying would be in order here.
This is really beyond the limits of logic. No longer is real estate a matter of negotiation between the buyer and seller for price, terms and condition. Big Brother in Action in CA in just took over.
What happens if a seller has no equity, has a buyer but with no net proceeds. In fact we just closed one last week where by seller brought $33K to the table to close.
If the seller can't replace the windows, do they just walk away and let the house go to foreclosure??? How are foreclosures for the environment???