Realtors, Energy and Inspections....It's all about being educated!!!

Education is a way of life for all Realtors and brokers to keep their licenses current. Most states have mandatory continuing education or MCE requirements as a part of licensing renewal. I have found that because agents are so busy they barely have time to keep up with their MCE classes, let alone get educated about issues that are changing in the industry.
 If you're an agent or a broker with a number of agents, either way you owe it yourself to stay in tune with the changes occurring in the industry. Especially, when it comes to real estate inspections and energy. You simply cannot afford to put off what's coming in the future. Here are a few of those changes you can capitalize on now and get ahead of the competition. If you take the time to learn about it.

Cap n Trade: This legislation of some 1400 plus pages outlines the governments plan to establish a new national energy building code that not only applies to new construction but to existing homes as well. There are many reports, predictions and opinions of what the market is going to be like when this takes effect. Here is what my inside contacts and experience is telling me. New construction is going to be all but non-existent for the next 3-5 years. This means existing homes will be the market for Realtors until the foreclosure mess is ironed out and the demand for new construction comes back.

Under Cap n Trade the government is proposing establishing minimum energy standards for homes being put on the market for resale. These standards must be met before that home can be listed. This means an energy audit and home inspection up front or pre-listing. I have been preaching this to my agents and brokers for some time now to do these items on the front end because it just makes sense. Now, it will be required.
As an agent or broker advising sellers your first priority should be to get a home inspected for all the problems up front including energy issues. Then, get the work done and have it certified! Now the home can be marketed as well maintained and energy certified with lower cost of operation. In a buyers market agents need an edge and a better product to sell; not to mention, it takes the last minute request for price reductions, delays in closings or losing a deal off the table on the back end. What agents and sellers miss is that you pay for it either way, by a price reduction for repairs, or you have to make repairs to seal the deal. Either way it means less commissions and less money to the seller or a lost deal.
 With this information buyers agents just  loaded the proverbial price reduction gun big time. This information now allows them to tear a house apart in two ways. First home inspection and the problems that are  uncovered. Next, an energy audit to determine how much money the buyer is going to waste on the home due to poor energy performance. Wow..the double wham bam price reduction slam...avoid this by being proactive.

I have been told by agents and brokers well, that's all good! but, I lose as a buyers agent on commissions too if there is a price reduction. People short term thinking = short term results. You will build a business of referrals and name of gold if you show your clients your truly looking out for their best interest. Now , here is the best part. If a home is energy certified your sellers can get the tax rebates or credits before they sell and the home qualifies for an EEM mortgage. (Energy Efficient Mortgage) These FHA programs allow buyers to pay for the added energy renovation cost within their loan with no additional down and better terms to qualify which means! more house = more commissions. Sellers can pass on the cost or reap the benefits on the front end and get their price.

If you're a TEXAS realtor or broker and would like find out more or have a FREE seminar class conducted for your office contact 411 Energy Experts....in less than an hour you can have the information and power to take your business to the next level. Get educated now before the frenzy by regulation later.

But,they say it's "FREE"!

I hear this all the time from home owners and real estate agents. "Oh you charge for an energy audit?" "the other company said they do them for free!".

 Folks!, when has anything for free really been for free? I would say most energy businesses or who claim that's what they are...do FREE audits because they want to get in your door to sell you what ever product their peddling be it, insulation, windows, radiant barrier and air conditioning equipment. These would be the most common. Now, you may or may not need any or all of these items, what the problem here is how they go about doing the audit and what you really get in the end.

 A true energy audit should be about 30 to 40 pages with a lot of information about all the insulating and mechanical components of your home, along with diagnostics test results, readings to back it up and compared  to your current energy consumption. If your not getting thermal readings and imaging, along with a blower door test...folks your NOT getting an energy audit!

 Now, here is the real scary part...if you decide to go with the free guy and get your house all sealed up tight with new insulation and  air conditioning equipment. Oh yeah, everything is really great...right? well not if the company who sold you this stuff does not test it or do what we call a test out which is another blower door test to make sure everything got sealed and CAZ test. (Combustible Appliance Zone) to make sure the house is still ventilating properly. If this is not done you are risking you and your families life and safety. Why?, because in a perfect storm of energy efficiency you can create a back draft situation with your combustible appliances, which, can mean carbon monoxide poisoning. I have seen it happen!!
 
The home you live in is design to perform a certain way and if you change that without understanding it you can create a dangerous situation. If it is FREE! better ask some tough questions before moving forward with your FREE audit..........make sure they are certified auditors with proper training and equipment. For more information visit http://www.411energyexperts.com/

Blogging and Big Al...

Hey Folks,
Today, I am gonna comment on my blog itself. I do this blogging thing to talk about what's going on in my industry and the things I see, people I talk too and experiences I have on a daily basis. My dad always calls me" Big Al" so I thought it would be cool for my blog. Sometimes I dont think anyone reads this thing but then yesterday a customer said he checked it out in researching the company I work with so that made me feel like I am doing some good. I keep an avatar picture of me because that's the best picture of the real me I've ever seen...LoL
My credentials and accreditation's are real and I have others not listed as well. It's taken me 20 years to get where I am. To stay here and keep up to date I read, study and take a lot of test....however, real life field experience is still the best teacher in my opinion.

 I will joke around and talk about guy stuff sometimes or try to give you in plain terms issues to think about. My goal is to educate you on energy, real estate inspections, maintenance of your home or commercial property and if you pay attention! I will show you how to save you money and get your property working for you.

 I enjoy a fairly normal life and have no aspirations to rule the business world as I did in my younger days. I have learned some pretty tough lessons over the past few years with the change in the economey. I have two wonderful kids who are teenagers now. I live and work in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy golf off and online WTG.com is a blast if your a golfer. Work out 4 time a week to stay in shape although crawling in attics in the summer will make you sweat off a few pounds too. Read and follow many industry related topics which keeps me busy, my son and I enjoy air soft wars with friends and a trip to DQ once in while...
.....till next week!

YOUR HOME IS NOT SELLING???

 We are in a time where older homes are more of the real estate market than ever before. Home builders have had to cut way back on new construction because of the flood of foreclosures on the market. This buyer's market has made it tough for sellers to get the most from their investment. Here are some thing to consider as a real estate professional or individual selling your home.
I work with a lot of real estate professionals and one interesting thing I find is how many do not understand the importance of getting the home prepared for the sale. Don't get me wrong, it's not that they are doing a bad job or are not good at what they do, it is more, they are victums of the rapid change in the real estate market over the last 24 months.
 In the past or "the old days" they listed your home, had you clean it up and placed some ads, then bang it was gone in a few weeks. Those days are long gone and savey buyers and investors are taking advantage of the sellers if they are not prepared. Whether you are a seller working with an agent or attempting to sell on your own, here are a few things to consider and ask yourself before you put your house on the open market.

1. How many homes are for sale in my neighborhood or area that are like mine in size and condition?
2.What makes my home a better buy compared to those similar to mine?
3.What is the age of my home? homes over 10 years in age need more work to be competitive.

If your answers are any of the following you need to rethink your stratigy and go out of the box.
1. My home in my opinion is as nice or nicer (curb appeal) that the others.
Buyers answer: Who cares what you think, I am looking for a bargan, the most bang for the buck!..Price, look, location and aminities.
2. I have a nice yard, clean home, good area, great schools....
Buyers answer: Yeah, we like it, but you have a lot of repairs and the house is hot up stairs in the master.
3. My home is 16 years old. I have taken good care of it as best to my knowlege. The air conditioning and the water heater still work fine.
Buyers answer: I want it inspected to find everything wrong so I can get a better price.

 If this is happening to you then here are some out of the box things you can do besides cleaning it up and staging the home. Have the home inspected first and find out what is wrong. Then, get those item fixed either way your gonna pay in a price reduction request from the buyer or fix it as a condition of the close. The other big item is have the home energy certified. This can give you a big advantage because you can show the buyer will have significant savings on utilities compared to the other homes in the area.( FYI, less than 1% of home over 10 years of age are to current energy standards). So, chances are your home is gonna beat the competition.
 Here in Texas, for example, we offer to do the inspection and energy certification work first then get paid when you sell your home out of escrow. You win with a big advantage and little or no money out of pocket.
The agents love it because they take the haggel out of the sale and the sellers love it because they get top dollar for their home.....Win..WIn.....until next time!

Home Star....It makes sense!

  I am not a big fan of our political climate right now or the folks in charge. However, there is one stimulus program in the legislative pipeline that does make sense to me. Home Star is an expanded version of the current $1500 tax credit for doing energy renovations to your home.
  Home Star passed the house in May 2010 and has been in and out of repackaged legislation before the Senate for a vote. But, Republicans and some Democrats have been holding out because they want their pork too. The bottom line is this legislation is the first thing I've seen that makes sense in stimulating the economy. It allows homeowners to get up to 50% of a wide range of energy renovation projects back in an instant rebate up to $8,000.00. In addition, It's estimated to create over a 168,000 new jobs within 18 months of coming on line.    So, Home Star can put $6 billion dollars into homeowners hands over the next 24 months, lower their energy bills by 20-40% and create green jobs! What's other programs are doing this win win? any way you slice it money is getting back into the economy. For more information visit www.bpi.org see you next week!

Your attic could be costing you money!

   In my travels I see a lot of attics and the one thing they all have in common is the attic access. In Texas the attics for the most part are big enough to store boxes and Christmas stuff. The one thing most significant that folks don't realize is that access is one of the reasons the house or the room where it is located it hotter in the summer and colder in the winter.
 Most all attics I go into the access is missing insulation over it, this means energy leak big time! People ask me so how do I keep the insulation on the lid? I know every time you go into the attic it's a pain in the butt because the insulation gets in the way or when you close the lid it does not stay on or completely cover it. One way is to purchase a insulated cover, there are many types on the market some are like a tent that zipper open and close other are of a solid core insulated foam.
    A lot of people ask me about doing these things your self. I refer to it as DIY, which for some things around the house is fine. When it comes to simple things such as wasted energy most people think well if I seal all the holes I can find and pile up the insulation in the attic and install a access cover that will solve or a least make my home feel better and save me some money... right? to be very clear...WRONG!
 You can do more damage than good and in some rare cases put you and your family in danger if you seal your home up to tight and do not allow it to complete what is called air changes. I,ll save the danger side for another blog. In a nut shell have your home audited by a certified BPI or HERS auditor that uses a blower door test. This will pin point the leaks in your home both visible and non and true trouble spots including that attic access. What is great about these test is they also can give you a report of what is needed and where it is needed to make your home perform and be energy efficient. Stay tuned as I will be touching on more information about home energy performance in my upcoming blogs.

Saving Money with Energy Renovations

A good man law is saving money to keep the big boss happy! One way to do that is to make sure your castle is energy efficient. Energy renovation is the remodeling of your homes energy performance. The older a home gets the worst it performs thus using more energy. A home should be evaluated every 5 years for energy performance this should be done by a certified auditor using a blower door test to determine where the energy is going and can pin point the best methods to fix those leaks.
 I have seen as much as 40% cut from energy bills by having an audit and performing the recommended energy renovation work. 40% guys! that could equal a lot more date nights..which means you might get lucky!...and get to watch the game on Sunday cause the Big Boss is comfortable!! not to mention the extra cash means beer in the frig too!
Til next time!