By Steve Rypka on November 4th, 2010
When we have a choice to make, taking the high road means choosing the honorable or ethical course over some lesser alternative. In terms of housing efficiency, Nevada has a choice to promote an ethical path toward increased home energy efficiency and savings, or to maintain the dismal and expensive status quo.
I’m referring to legislation passed in 2007 to require a professional home energy audit whenever an older home is sold in Nevada. The requirement could be waived if both seller and buyer agreed to do so. To allow time for the industry to prepare, the activation date was set for January of 2011. I won’t bore you with the torturous details, but the bottom line is that due to opposition from industry trade groups, primarily the Nevada Association of Realtors, it may not happen. This would be a tragic outcome for the citizens of Nevada.
Home energy audits provide the key to reducing energy consumption, improving the environment, increasing home comfort and establishing an honest real estate market that acknowledges the true value of home performance. Energy costs are a significant part of a home’s operating budget, yet home performance is rarely a factor in the buying decision. When looking for a home, a prospective buyer will find more information about granite countertops and fake fireplaces than energy consumption.
For those lucky enough to find a good, high-performance home, there are additional hurdles to overcome. Typically, most realtors, appraisers and lenders are not well-versed on the unique benefits and true value of such homes. Current practices tend to focus on square footage, number of bathrooms and cosmetic amenities. This represents a gross distortion of the market since high-performance homes have significant intrinsic value representing real dollars. Why should they not be represented, appraised and funded accordingly? With a home energy audit at the time of every sale, our existing housing stock will have a mechanism to improve over time and help prospective buyers make decisions based on the real cost of home ownership.
It’s all about education. The so-called “free market” has not led to a solution since even in the best of times the industry has not acknowledged the true value of energy efficiency. That’s why wise legislators passed the law and it’s why we need corresponding regulations that meet the intent.
Read the complete article at Green Dream