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Debut of the GREEN Designee!

It was a class of around 236 REALTORS from all over the US including Puerto Rico that made up the debut class for NAR's Sustainable Property Designation. It was a two day class in Orlando before the opening of the 100th NAR National Conference. All attendees, now designees, are recognized as the first in the world to obtain this designation and are all founding members of NAR's GreenREsource Council. Designees receive the Green Marketing Tool Kit allowing customized print and mail materials at reduced cost, Certificate of Membership in the Green REsource Council and a Member lapel pin. Ah, the lapel pin. I personally took this class in order to get the lapel pin. They are so powerful. The debut class was taught by Terry Watson, a familiar face on the NAR teacher circuit. He was very funny and kept the attention of the class. Seeing as this was the official pilot test group it had its up and downs and some kinks to work out. But they were obvious mistakes, more like growing pains, so I'm sure they will be fixed before the next class. The class was taught via poweroint and text book. A lot of video teachign as well. There is a lot of material to cover in the green world so obviously you can't learn everything in 2 days. So review of the text book after the class is very necessary to obtain the knowledge you seek.

Posted by Ford Craven, GREEN ECOBROKER on 11/09/2008 09:17 AM

Comments (5)

Green in the ActiveRain Channel

green realtor, green designee, nar sustainable property designation, green

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5 Comments on Debut of the GREEN Designee!

NOV

2008

Good for you Ford! I considered taking this course but could not fit it into my schedule at this time. I hope to complete it soon. I hope it brings you more business!

Betina

Ford,

I'm a broker and a builder. I've been building "green" homes for the last eight years here in Texas. Custom homes are there, production homes have a long way to go. The problem I've had with anything getting a "green" designation is that the term has been abused. Some builders put in low-e thermal windows in an otherwise conventional house, or they use recycled cellulose for insulation and call it "green". But these homes don't compare with serious technology green homes.

I've commented on this before. Since its the home that is green, what benefit does a green real estate agent bring to the table? How do green agents help me as a green builder? Most owners I've dealt with are way ahead of the curve. The RE and building industry have finally begun playing catch-up. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you could also post your reply in "The Green Zone" if possible.

Thanks for your post and reply in advance,

Mike Michaud,

Custom homes AT COST! by North Texas Help-U-Build

part of the Preferred Builders Network of Texas

Ford, Terry Watson was my instructor for the At Home With Diversity, NAR One America class earlier this year at the Maryland Association of Realtors Conference. He told us about the roll out for GREEN. I hope to be able to get this designation in the future. Hopefully they will have the bugs worked out by then.

Ford- This sounds like a great class. Green design is a really big new field in real estate. I have a YouTube video on Green Design on my YouTube channel. The video features advice from Sarah Susanka and is really interesting. Enjoy!

NOV

2008

In response to Mike Michaud: Mike, thanks for your response and kudos to being involved in the green building industry for the last 8 years! That's awesome. Your question was how do green agents help me as a green builder. The first thing that comes to mind is referring. One of the things we were taught was to get toassemble all of the "green" oriented contractors, builders, mortgage brokers, etc. in our area as a point of reference for our clients. This makes us a point of contact for anyone interested in the green movement. Lets call it a green referral network. What I see as greens biggest hurdl rright now is education to the masses. After I get my green referral network togther I am going to be partnering with them to do classes for the general public and for othe realtors in my board. I am also going to be doing some cross marketing with these partners to spread the word.

I also want to repsond to what you referrred to as putting low E windows in an otherwise conventional house or blowing recycled cellulose. These are green features. Obviously if you onlydo one of these your entire home is not green. But it is more green then a house without it. As an green agent I will be able to recognize what a home buyer has done and help sellers promote it as another positive feature of their home whereas an average agent won't have this knowledge. Likewise when helping a buyer. I understand that you sell green homes that are entirely green. Wouldn't it be great if you had a green realtor who could knowledgeably explain your product and it's benefits to a potential buyer or be able to refer you when in conversation with someone looking to go green?

I also understand that more then likely if someone is interested in going green that they are going to be more knowledgable then me. I'm ont trying to be a green expert, I'm just trying to make sure my clients understand the benefits of going green and can have access to the people and resources to make that happen.

Mike, I'd like to add you to my referral netowrk if that is allright. I occasionally have a client headed to Texas and as my green client base grows it is very possible I'll have a future green texan in my midst. I would also like to keep this channel of communication open as I have a lot of questions about the green building process. Thanks Mike!

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