It seems like only a few weeks ago since the 2008 Parade of Homes. This year promises to be even more exciting. With gorgeous weather upon us, and two full weekends of open houses, what are you waiting for. Come Check out the 2009 Tallahassee Parade of Homes!
This year's Parade of Homes has some spectacular entries. Many of this year's entries have gone green and received certifications for their energy-efficiency or sustainable building practices. Great examples exist of both affordable (BrackenChase) and high-end (GBGH Construction) examples of energy efficient ENERGY STAR buildings. … (2 comments)
green building: Tax Incentives for greening your home
- 04/09/09 02:12 PM
A recent article in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/garden/09greenhome.html?emc=eta1) does a fantastic job of highlighting the new and improved tax incentives for 'greening' your home.
Given the state of the economy and a near-universal need to save money, these incentives could not come at a better time. With up to 30% of some improvements covered with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, and hundreds to thousands of dollars in savings each year on your utility bills, these improvements simply make sense.
As advised by the NYTimes writer, the best place to start if you are considering an improvement of your home, is … (5 comments)
I recently stumbled across a really great opportunity for developers, remodelers, house-flippers and homeowners to save some money, go green and avoid filling up our landfills: http://www.planetreuse.com/
This service offers - for free - the ability to either post offers of building materials, or to request specific building materials.
Skimming through the site, it is obvious that it is quickly gaining popularity. Listings covered free materials that were both high quality and offered all around the country.
This is definitely worth checking out, and a much better substitute than trashing those removed or excess building … (1 comments)
For a brief overview of the program, please see my first posting
Homebuyer Loan Process: Keeping it simple, keeps you happy!
1. Contact a HOP educated REALTOR and Lender to assist you with your homebuying process 2. Once construction on the Unit has begun, Members (HOP builders) will reserve your homebuyer financing (provided on a loan-by-loan basis) by providing the required date of foundation inspection on the HOP Homebuyer Reservation (“HOPRES201 (5/01/08”) - for more information, please see http://www.floridahousing.org/Home/Developers/HomeownershipPrograms/HOP. 3. Within fourteen (14) Calendar Days of making the reservation, Members … (0 comments)
DSIRE claims to be a "comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency."
Click on the link above to find out what rebates and incentives are available in your area.
While it is not quite as comprehensive as it claims to be, this site does provide a fantastic resource and a great starting point to finding out what is available … (1 comments)
An important and often-overlooked component of green design is the design charrette.
While not a mandatory requirement for most residential green certifications (e.g. LEED-H), it is a valuable practice that can help to save money and time down the road.
The design charrette enables members of the design/construction team and other stakeholders to come together at an early stage and develop an integrated design goal and schedule.
The charrette is typically an intensive single to multi-day effort, involving all interested parties in a comprehensive overview of the project. This process enables all parties to … (3 comments)
[for updates since publication of this blog, please send a request here]
Way back when I was studying for my LEED® AP, I thought I would take a look at the list of registered and certified LEED projects in Tallahassee, FL... the results were quite interesting!!!
We still had only one building that was listed as having fully achieved the LEED® certification (Silver level). However, there were a lot of projects in the pipeline!
[note: we're just talking commercial certifications here]
Certified Projects:
If you are interested in building a LEED® certified … (6 comments)
Just relaunched, GreenBuild365 is the USGBC's online portal to learning all about green building. Courses cover all aspects of LEED: schools, new construction, remodels, LEED for homes, etc...
Judging from the online poll that they are having, most folks are taking these online courses because they are studying for their LEED AP, while environmental interest is coming in second!?
(fig. 1. graph taken from the USGBC website: www.greenbuild365.org)
However, they have courses covering a wide range of green building issues. In total 81 course offerings covering topics such as architectural concrete, … (0 comments)
green building: Green Trends 2008
- 07/06/08 01:48 PM
Coming up in less than a month is the 2008 Green Trends Conference and Trade Show!
July 30th - August 2nd at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Florida
This year promises to be really exciting as we face the reality that green building may soon be the only building that gets done.
In addition to exciting building news, seminars, products and events, there will be a live music performance by the Charlie Daniels Band!
For more information, check out the Southeast Building Conference website.
Alex Mordas, M.Sc. EcoBroker® & REALTOR® LEED for homes, Field Agent … (13 comments)
For many of us, rain gardens, green roofs, and rainwater collection systems are awfully fun to think about, stand out as being exceptionally green, and yet we've never really seen any of them in action..!?
As popular of an idea as rainwater collection is, very few people are actually installing or using these systems. Why not?
Who knows..!?
Maybe because we don't know enough about them... Maybe because we don't see a direct benefit in terms of dollar savings...
Most of us would probably put changing lightbulbs, changing out windows, adding insulation as priorities well … (7 comments)
green building: The logic behind energy-efficient improvements...
- 06/16/08 07:22 AM
Thinking about upgrading your old (or new) home..? Wondering what the difference is in cost between your current home payments and your future costs if you invest in Energy-Star appliances, upgraded insulation, windows, etc..?
Here's the plain and simple logic:
Home costs = mortgage + utilities
(sure there are other payments in there, but let's keep this simple)
If your utility bills are high, but you bought a cheap house, you might be paying close to the cost of owning an expensive home with low-to-no utility costs!
Let's look at the chart: On the X-axis … (2 comments)
green building: Habitat for Humanity Builds LEED® certified homes
- 06/15/08 03:08 AM
Habitat for Humanity, in Tallahassee, FL, is currently in the process of obtaining LEED® certification for a home they are building. The home is sponsored by the Brinkmeyer Family and the Episcopalian and Methodist Communities.
This is the first LEED® certified (or any green certified) building to be built by Big Bend Habitat for Humanity. With a focus on energy-efficiency, indoor air quality, and environmental impact, this is going to be a great example of how green can be accessible for low-income housing. Let's hope we see many more of these to come!
The latest Green Building Council event is going to be held out at Mike Rogers' Southern Oaks development. This is the location of Tallahassee's first certified green development. If you are in the market to build a new home and are interested in building green this would be a great location to settle down with like-minded folks. If you would like to know more about this development of others like it, please contact me at: (850) 559-4976, or alexmordas@kw.com.
Directions: Take Mahan Dr. east past Cap. Cr., Left on Edenfield, left on Barfield to Southern Oaks.
Feeling Green? ...interested in networking? ...Like good conversation, good beer or drinks and great snacks?
Great! Come on by Waterworks bar Wednesday, April 30th for our monthly Green Drinks meeting. Everyone and (almost) Anyone welcome! A fantastic opportunity for meeting other professionals in our community and building business and/or friendly relationships.
This month, the Green Living Center will provide a short presentation on their business, what they offer for the community, and more details.
Hope to see you there (feel free to bring business cards or information to share).
Where and When: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 5:30 PM until ???? Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Road, … (0 comments)
green building: Tallahassee Goes Green
- 02/16/08 10:07 AM
I thought i would start my blogging on AR with a post about my city and some of the exciting green developments...Tallahassee, FL, just became listed as a "green city" with the Florida Green Building Coalition, making it only the second city in Florida to achieve this prestigious designation. What does this mean for real estate professionals and folks in the building/housing products/services industry?For starters, it means that we have a favorable environment for green development. In today's housing market, green is one of the only areas that is not experiencing a significant downturn. In fact, green building is on … (0 comments)
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