courtesy Reflection & Justin Call

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Long before green was the new black...

Eco-Friendly Mortgages

Once you find your perfect home, you might consider an energy-efficient loan. If you plan to retrofit your home for sustainability, you could qualify for a larger mortgage without increasing the amount of down payment the lender requires. To qualify, you must provide plans and drawings that are approved by a home energy auditor, says Eric Peltier, owner of Dovetail Lending LLC, (303) 449-0343, dovetaillending.com. If you find a home that’s already green, you might qualify as well: “The home energy auditor will inspect the home and if approved, the buyer is then able to qualify for a larger mortgage,” Peltier says. Glossary of Green - learn what all those terms mean. Green Building Tips - Want to build an eco-responsible home? Here, a few tips to help you get started. Eco Guidelines - Kari Foster of Associates III guidelines for eco-living.

...and inconvenient truths led to Nobel Peace prizes, Boulder was championing eco-friendly lifestyles. As early as 1898, for example, city planners began setting aside land for parks. Today, this quiet university town of more than 100,000 residents is the perfect place to examine trends in building, buying and selling green homes.

“From Hollywood to the White House, green features are now performing throughout the marketplace, but Boulder has set the tone in the green industry,” says Deanna Franco, broker and owner of 8030 Realty, which specializes in sustainable real estate. “It was the first municipality in the country to mandate a residential green building code.”

Experts agree that more than 20 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emission comes from the construction and operation of residential homes. Boulder County is addressing this issue by mandating further changes in its already strict green building code. Eventually all new construction in the county will have a zero-carbon footprint, meaning that a building will consume no more energy than it produces. “Soon people are going to have no choice but to build green in Boulder, and I only see that as a positive aspect of real estate,” Franco says.

The push to build greener homes matches homebuyers’ growing savvy, realtors say. “I used to have to label everything in the home that was sustainable,” says Botsy Phillips, realtor for Colorado Landmark Realtors of Boulder & Christies Great Estates. “Now buyers are going through a home and noticing and appreciating the green components on their own. I see buyers looking not only for a price point, but also for an open floor plan, integration of indoor and outdoor space, abundance of natural light and living with a clear conscious—all qualities of green homes.”

As with any kind of real estate, there’s no guarantee that an eco-friendly home will sell more quickly than a standard home, but realtors think this segment of the market is ripe for activity. “My experience has shown me that green homes are appraising at a higher cost and selling faster,” says Stu Galvis, EcoBroker and owner of Boulder Green Properties. “I would be very surprised if 10 years down the road, people are even able to build using the same practices as today. Everything will be sustainably oriented.”

This push is not only happening in Boulder. In towns and cities across the country, the demand for energy-efficient, high-performance homes has created a lively market for buyers and sellers. And ultimately, the community benefits from the economic and environmental strength this segment of the real estate ­market provides.

Seven Energy-Efficient Retrofits by Priority of Return on Investment

Evaporative cooling uses 1/4 the energy of a typical air conditioner.

Reduce air leakage by caulking and sealing the home and using spray insulation, such as icynene.

Install low-e windows, which will reduce the energy required to heat and cool the home.

Improve Electrical and Hot Water Efficiency by installing appliances that are Energy Star-labeled. Use CFL or LED lights.

Increase Roof Insulation to R-50, which will reduce the amount of hot air lost and lower heating costs.

Install Photovoltaic Panels. Generate electricity directly from sunlight, a cost-effective way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Use Solar thermal panels to heat the water you use in your home. 

courtesy of Jim Logan Architects