ecobroker: A Few Green Steps in Amador County Real Estate
- 08/13/09 08:58 AM
A Few Green Steps in Amador County Real Estate As Amador County’s First EcoBroker certified® REALTOR® and GREEN designee, I obviously have a thing for “GREEN,” I love to share and discus opportunities and choices in energy efficiency, sustainability, and the triple bottom line in Real Estate. In these next few posts I aim to share a few ideas on ways to save you money as you save energy, water, and other resources. Making good green choices is not about suffering for savings, but just the opposite, living a comfortable life with less waste.So lets go!Low Hanging Fruit.Lighting and electrical use…This … (1 comments)
ecobroker: JUNE CHALLENGE... I'm cheating!
- 06/21/08 09:41 AM
From the ECO-All-Stars~ GREEN Resources, Trends & Friends GroupJUNE CHALLENGE...YOU Design A GREEN Community…1) Pretend you are in a position to design this LAND for use by all living things...Human and animal and plant and yourself . . .2) WHAT STEPS would YOU take to create an eco-village/community/conservation neighborhood here? Would you bring in landscape architects? Environmental scientists? permaculture experts? Do a botanical survey? Hydrologists? Interview and select eco-savvy architects and green builders?Give us your process. Tell us the steps you would take if you owned 2,000+ AC and could create an eco-community there.3) Write a post about your envisioned Green-Built … (0 comments)
ecobroker: Energy audits?
- 06/21/08 03:17 AM
Recently California Association of REALTORS® successfully did some heavy lobbying against a bill that would have forced “point of sale energy audits.” To over simplify it, the bill would have made it so that all residential sales would need to be inspected for energy efficiency before closing. Many good arguments were made on both sides of the question.I am torn on the point of sale energy audit issue. On the one hand, I can step back and say: Every home sold should have an energy audit; both sides should have a clear understanding of the house’s efficiency. On the other hand, … (5 comments)
ecobroker: Wow, I can just about feel my head swelling
- 05/08/08 11:26 AM
In the mail yesterday I received my May issue of California Association of REALTORS’® monthly magazine, California REAL ESTATE. Low and behold right there on Page 10 in the Technology column by Rick Broida, Who do you think was blabbed about and quoted? That’s’ right yours truly!I answered his call (here on ActiveRain) for REALTORS® in CA. who use Flickr.com to help clients, gave him some ideas on how I use the great photo website’s services to preview properties for my out of town clients. Rick mentioned the way I use flickr.com, published a picture of my ActiveRain blog, and even … (3 comments)
ecobroker: Solar? Not shure yet? Don't buy it yet, just rent it!
- 05/08/08 02:49 AM
Many of us want to go solar but are either just not in the financial position or are thinking that ‘as soon as I jump in something better will pop up.’ In the mean time we are using dirtier power and watching energy get more expensive almost by the day. Well now RENeU system offered by citizenré can change all of that. The way it works is they rent you an installed solar array, custom built for you and your situation and you pay them a flat monthly rental. They contract to a local solar design and install company who plans, … (0 comments)
ecobroker: Amador City, CA. Area Photos
- 04/21/08 07:37 AM
Amador City, The smallest incorporated city in California, has all of the charm and old gold rush feel that sets Amaodor County apart from all of the other areas of this great state. Not to mention André's Bakery. If you've been you know... Amador City sits on highway 49 just North of Sutter Creek, less than an hour from Sacramento. If you are coming out to see the area, click over to Mainstreet Brokers first to see what's up.
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ecobroker: Ok, You say the house is Passive Solar, But what do you mean by Passive Solar?
- 01/07/08 03:34 PM
This post is not so much about Amador County Real Estate as it is about green building and general knowledge. Lots of people toss around “green” statements, one of the most common, often misused term in listings is “PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN”. Now its not that these people are being dishonest or even trying to fool you. Its just that the term is not officially defined, so it is very unclear. I want to help clear it up for you. That way when you look at a house that someone has claimed to be “passive solar” you will have some background to … (8 comments)
ecobroker: Find a Donkey in Amador County?
- 11/21/07 09:18 AM
One more little thing that put a smile on my face and makes me love Amador County that much more! In today’s local paper; the Ledger Dispatch, a headline read ‘Donkey Needed for Las Posadas’ that just tickles me. It turns out that four churches in Sutter Creek are sponsoring the customary pre-Christmas parade re-enactment and they are having a hard time finding “Mary” an appropriate ride. I have faith that someone will come through. I just love the small town life! Even if the real estate market is slow, life goes on, and a donkey will be found. … (0 comments)
ecobroker: My little activerain real estate Thanksgiving.
- 11/20/07 05:52 AM
Today, I woke up thinking about Thanksgiving, makes sense as it is one of the big family holidays and it’s just around the corner. But what I was thinking about was my wonderful clients and friends that I have made over the last few years, working in real estate here in Amador County. From clerks at the new county offices, to househusbands who grind glass in the basement, from city council members, to high-tech supper-men (and women). It’s all about you people! And this is such a great people based industry; I just wanted to say “Thank You to all of … (1 comments)
ecobroker: "Take-It-Back!"
- 11/07/07 01:26 PM
Amador County residents now have a great new option for disposing of used batteries and fluorescent tubes & bulbs. We all know how much energy can be saved by using compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent light-bulbs, but some of the materials in CFL's are very hazardous to people and the environment, as are old household batteries. "Take-It-Back Amador!" is a partnership that promotes the proper disposal and recycling of used fluorescent tubes & bulbs and household batteries. In response to new waste regulations, Meeks Lumber & Hardware, in Martel and ACE Hardware and Lumber stores located in Pine Grove and Ione … (3 comments)
ecobroker: How I beat a guy with a Duck Billed Platypus.
- 10/24/07 10:55 AM
For the record, NO egg-laying, poisonous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammals from South of the equator, were hurt in this story. Ok, I should probably give a bit of background on this one, I was hanging around with a bunch of friends one night and one of them piped up that global warming is just ridiculous, we could not be having that much of an affect on the whole earth. If it is happening it is just a natural cycle and there is nothing we can do about it.Now these are people that I have known for quite some time and we … (2 comments)
ecobroker: West Coast Green residential building conference and expo
- 09/27/07 03:02 AM
On Thursday September 20th 2007 the ’07 WEST COAST GREEN conference and expo opened at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in down-town San Francisco. This trade show focused on the greening of the residential home. From advanced SIPS construction to zero VOC coatings just about anything that could go into a green home was there to be seen. Whether you were looking for the high tech end of things like an owner installable master power switch system, that can cut you power consumption way down and also cut EMF in your home, to a group explaining why you might want to … (1 comments)
ecobroker: Well, Amador County is only the Ninth best place to live…
- 09/19/07 12:05 PM
At least that is what Progressive Farmer magazine said in the article on the “Ten Best Rural Areas to Live in America”. I of course think that they must have missed something. But nine is good. In the article on Amador County, Jamie Cole the author, points to the wide spread of climatic regions in this small county, the historic towns and the great wine industry. All of those things are good but the people and the lifestyle are what gives Amador County it’s charm and warmth. The article dose a good job of summing it up in a quick read, … (0 comments)
ecobroker: Who wants to live in a town called Bedbug?
- 09/11/07 07:35 AM
Yes, during the days of the Gold Rush, the miners knew this town by the names of "Bedbug" and "Freezeout." But the Name Ione, believed to have been given by Thomas Brown (after one of the heroines in Edward Bulwer Lytton's drama "The Last Days of Pompeii.") finally stuck. Unlike many other communities in Amador County, which were founded on gold mining, Ione was a supply center, stage and rail stop and an agricultural hub.The first school was built in 1853. The historic Methodist Church was organized in 1853 and the structure was completed in 1862. The first flour mill was … (1 comments)
ecobroker: Twenty-one things that you might not know how to recycle, and how you can.
- 09/11/07 03:23 AM
1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, www.batteryrecycling.com.3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women's shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer them up at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they'll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com.5. Clothes: Wearable … (6 comments)
ecobroker: Come to the Amador County Farmers' Market in Plymouth, Ca.
- 09/07/07 07:09 AM
Yesterday I dropped by the Amador farmers market that is held in Milo Sharkey Park on Main Street in Plymouth from 4:00 pm. to 7:00 pm. This market is held each Thursday afternoon for the month of August and the first two weeks of September.These markets are run as a fund raising event for the Plymouth Elementary School.With wine tasting ($5.00 donation) of many of the great local Amador County wines, the majority of which are made just up the road in the Shenandoah Valley, this is one of the more relaxing farmers markets you can find anywhere. For parents, the … (2 comments)
ecobroker: Amador County Farmers' Markets
- 08/29/07 03:50 AM
Farmers’ markets are catching on all around Amador County.Not that the idea is new, the idea is as old as farming itself, but over the years many of us lost track of the idea of local produce sold at local markets. This is one of the fundamental practices that build communities and now we have them all over our county.The Amador Farmers Market has been going for fourteen years, these days with markets in Sutter Creek, Pine Grove, Ione, and Plymouth. The Sutter Creek market is on Saturday in the parking lot on Eureka Street from 8:00-11:00 am. Pine Grove holds … (4 comments)
Michael I. Pulskamp of Mainstreet Brokers in Jackson, CA. Rambles on and shares thoughts about Real Estate, Amador County, Green homes, and foothill life in Northern California. buying and selling houses these days is anything but simple, you want a professional on your side. Finally Amador County has a real estate professional with the training and awareness to help you with green/efficient real estate.
That Amador County real estate pro is Michael I. Pulskamp. Lic. #0174833
A Few Green Steps in Amador County Real Estate As Amador County’s First EcoBroker certified® REALTOR® and GREEN designee, I obviously have a thing for “GREEN,” I love to share and discus opportunities and choices in energy efficiency, sustainability, and the triple bottom line in Real Estate. In these next few posts I aim to share a few ideas on ways to save you money as you save energy, water, and other resources. Making good green choices is not about suffering for savings, but just the opposite, living a comfortable life with less waste.So lets go!Low Hanging Fruit.Lighting and electrical use…This … (1 comments)
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