Ask Susan Webster what her dream “green” home would be like, and prepare to sit awhile. According to the Des Moines Register, the Iowa real estate agent is focused on promoting healthier, more environmentally friendly living.
Ruth Wallace said she loves her Jefferson City, Mo., home on a tree-filled lot, but there is just something missing.
She hopes a new development in Columbia will give her a sense of community she desires, along with “smart growth” and environmentally friendly options for her and her husband now that their children have moved out.
The 80- to 90-home “green” development of Bear Creek Prairie is planned on 17 acres of prairie and woodlands off Northland Drive.
Developers Andi Guti and Sherri DeRousse have worked more than two years to create a neighborhood they say will be energy efficient, have a low impact on the environment and promote neighborliness through pedestrian walkways and trails. In other words, a perfect candidate for green mortgages.
“The entire approach since the inception has been extremely different from the usual approach to development,” Guti said. “Environmentally responsible development methods must be the future of land development.”
Despite lessened Missouri mortgage demand than in past years, Guti said he expects the “unique features” of his development to attract buyers.
“It’s nice to find a place to live… that has exceptional views and a social connection,” said Wallace, who works for the state Department of Natural Resources. “It would feel good to know I’m contributing to a community that is growing smart.”
Plans for the development outline three neighborhoods, including two areas of clustered town homes and flats surrounding a common green space with native plants and an area of freestanding single-family homes.
The “carriage duplex” designs - increasingly popular in today’s Missouri housing market - offer between 1,000-1,200 square feet of living space, a one-car garage, a deck and options for one or two bedrooms.
Prices range from “the lower $100,000s up to about $300,000,” offering mortgage loan payments that middle-income Americans can actually afford.
The real estate developers will be taking deposits for units in the first of a three-phase development and reservations for lots in upcoming phases.
Guti said that the layout, based largely on European villages, encourages socializing, offers affordable housing and promotes safety.
“This place is designed in such a way that a lot of eyes will be on the street,” said Chip Cooper, who has been involved in the project and is looking at buying a home in the development.
“It will be a closely knit group because of the pedestrian aspects… and opportunities to see, meet, greet and talk to neighbors.”
Guti said interaction will be helped in part by a neighborhood coffee shop. But energy-saving features of the homes will be one of the biggest benefits of the development, in this era of soaring energy bills.
“When you build in this way, you might incur costs upfront for high-efficiency building systems and techniques,” Cooper said. “The life-cycle costs of these new places will be far superior.”
SOURCE: Columbia Tribune
With winter fast approaching, and the cost of natural gas and oil still far above historic norms, many Americans are feeling the heat (no pun intended) in their efforts to stay warm. On top of property taxes, insurance and yes, home mortgage loan payments every month, this is not something to take lightly.
That said, here are six simple steps - courtesy of the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) and CNN Money - that could save you big on heating bills and help protect the environment.
1. Clean your furnace filter. This could be as easy as cleaning the lint from your dryer, says ASE spokeswoman Ronnie Kweller. Or it could entail running to the store for a $10 replacement, she says.
Although hard to quantify, your furnace will struggle less, and hence will be more efficient, if it doesn’t have to keep pushing hot air through a clogged filter. Also, get the furnace tuned up at least once a year by a professional to further boost efficiency.
2. Get a programmable thermostat. For about $100, you can tell one of these devices to automatically turn down the heat or air conditioning when no one is home, like during the workday, and that alone can shrink your heating bill by about 10 percent - and when your homeowner’s insurance and taxes are already sky-high, that’s nothing to sneeze at.
3. Take advantage of the sun. This doesn’t even require any extra spending! Just remember to open up the curtains on south-facing windows during the day, close all the curtains at night, and let the sun help naturally heat your home. If you’re building a new home, see about green mortgages along with other eco-friendly options offered by the builder.
4. Turn down the hot water. Kweller says most hot water heaters come with a default water temperature setting of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
“That’s hotter than you need for showering and dish washing, and can risk scalding,” she says, recommending 120 as a safer, more efficient choice.
If you’re in the process of home remodeling and are in the market for a new water heater, a tankless variety that heats water up only when needed, using 30 percent less energy, is a smart move. Also, using cold water to wash your clothes can save up to $68 a year on water heating bills.
5. Insulate and seal. It might be worth taking out a home improvement loan and adding an extra layer of insulation to your roof or walls, and using caulking, foam or weather stripping to seal cracks around windows, light fixtures or electrical outlets. It not only saves energy, it can get you a tax break as well.
6. Upgrade your windows. Ones that carry the government-stamped Energy Star rating label, both for efficiency and to take advantage of a tax deduction, are great for insulation. Energy Star windows, which will be either double or triple paned, start at around $300 each.
“It’s a big investment, and we don’t think people should do it just for the tax credit or energy savings,” Kweller says. “But if you need new windows anyway, definitely go for Energy Star.”
As the housing market continues to slow, home builders must find ways to stand out from the competition. If buyers are hesitant to pluck down cash on property under these circumstances, what can be done to attract them?
Weighing this question, a small but growing number of builders are looking to environmentally friendly construction to differentiate themselves from the crowd.
So-called “green” construction can take on various forms, ranging from certifying a home as energy efficient to using nontraditional construction materials and different kinds of home mortgage loan financing.
No matter the approach, builders say the method is a way to separate themselves.
“So many people have gone out and gotten their general contractors license and built a house,” said Donnie Canaday, owner of Canaday Custom Homes in Jamestown. “This is something we can do to set ourselves apart.”
Canaday will soon begin work on a home where the exterior walls will be built from concrete blocks, which provide better insulation, weather protection and lower energy costs than traditional wood framing. The 4,242-square-foot home, which does not yet have a buyer, is being built in the Vineyards subdivision in Summerfield.
Canaday is not the only builder looking for environmentally friendly options. Paul LaVene, president of the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association, said he knows of two other concrete masonry homes that have been built in Guilford County.
And Cheryl Collins, executive officer of the Greater Greensboro Builders Association, said the association is organizing training in green construction, since several members have expressed an interest.
While environmentally friendly construction generally costs 3 percent to 5 percent more than traditional construction, buyers can make the difference up quickly in reduced heating and cooling costs.
Hamrick said the energy efficient home still for sale in Spring Lake Farm is about 4,600 square feet. The builder has guaranteed heating and cooling costs for the home will be less than $50 a month