GREEN BUILDING MEDIA FACT SHEET Past, Present & FutureWritten by Neda Dabestani-Ryba
GREEN BUILDING MEDIA FACT SHEET Past, Present & FutureBy Neda Dabestani-Ryba Prudential Carruthers REALTORS Past Specialized, niche home builders began constructing resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive homes in early 1970s. The home building industry coined phrase “green building” in late 1980s/early 1990s, turning a movement into a quiet revolution. The first official green home building program began in 1991 in city of Austin, Texas. The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver introduced first HBA-owned green building program in 1995. Over years, Built Green® Colorado has become largest green building program in nation, with more than 100 builder members across state. Present Today, new homes are twice as energy-efficient as they were 30 years ago, thanks to cutting-edge green building techniques and technologies available for new and remodeled homes. Nationwide, roughly 61,000 homes were built using local green building program guidelines from 1990-2004. In 2004 alone, more than 14,000 green homes were constructed. NAHB recently introduced voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines (www.nahb.org/gbg) to bring environmentally-friendly building techniques to mainstream builders and home builders associations. The guidelines offer builder and market-driven solutions in seven areas, including lot preparation and design, resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency and conservation, occupancy comfort and indoor environmental quality, and operation maintenance and homeowner education. More specifically, homes built today use a myriad of green building techniques and technologies that
| | Strategies for Selling a Vacant HomeWritten by Neda Dabestani-Ryba
Strategies for Selling a Vacant HomeBy Neda Dabestani-Ryba Prudential Carruthers REALTORS Homeowners employ one or more of these strategies to hasten sale of a vacant property and protect it during process. Give house a lived-in look to thwart any unwelcome visits. Set a couple of lamps on timers, and have a neighbor or friend check on house daily to take in mail, park a car in driveway, and close and open drapes and windows. Continue using a gardening service or hire someone to cut grass regularly. During winter months, arrange to have snow shoveled from walks and driveway. If you remove furniture, have house cleaned and painted. Furniture, rugs and decorations tend to hide or minimize imperfections. When furniture and artwork have been removed, every blemish and bruise becomes accentuated, faded paint and wallpaper become more noticeable and scratches and nicks stand out. Repaint brightly and boldly colored rooms to a neutral tone. What was an eye-popping room when fully-furnished may appear stark and small when empty. Leave utilities connected. Depending on season, make sure thermostat in house is set at a comfortable level. You don't want a potential buyer to run through home because it is too hot or cold. Leave behind a few select pieces of furniture and keep window treatments in place. Instead of producing a spacious appearance, an empty room tends to look smaller than a furnished room. A chair or lamp on a small table will confer a sense of scale and help potential buyers gauge whether their furniture will fit space.
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