This, from a recent eco-broker listserv:“Do you address the issue of secondhand smoke in multi-unit buildings as a component of indoor air quality? A condo could be built with the healthiest eco-construction but still be hazardous to your health if you end if living next to or above a smoker.After many inquiries, I finally found a smokefree condo property recently – the new Mississippi Lofts has a provision in the bylaws for no smoking anywhere on the property…. And a realtor or developer championing the smokefree condo issue could have a nice little niche.”Per LEED standards, Version 2.2 (page 31 of this PDF):Zero exposure of nonsmokers to ETS (Environmental Tobacco Smoke) by prohibition of smoking in the building, OR, provide a designated smoking room designed to effectively contain, capture and remove ETS from the building…. A quick search of the MLS shows a couple of single-family properties being marketed as “no smokers have ever lived here” and “house being sold as-is – owners were smokers” …There is more to the story than houses and developments that are designed to be “green.”
Browsing Category Green
Sustainable building workshop in Albemarle
Kudos to the County of Albemarle:The Virginia Sustainable Building Network will be holding a training session for Earthcraft House™ in Charlottesville for the first time on January 18, 2007…. The EarthCraft House™ green building program works with home builders to construct resource and energy-efficient homes that lessen the impact on the environment. Earth Craft homes were first built in Virginia about one year ago when the program did a test run in Charlottesville.The EarthCraft program standards were developed through a unique partnership between Southface Energy Institute and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, government and environmental leaders…. My prediction is that the housing market will see a return to buyers staying in houses longer and thus will be able to recoup the costs from living greener, more earth-friendly lifestyles.
Friday links 12-22-2006
An example of mortgage fraud?Staging Q & A – staging/preparing one’s house is becoming more and more important in this market.Fun with conservationMy new favorite local radio stationMainstreaming of solarThis guy says that the real estate market in 2007 will be good (video). That CNBC is FINALLY offering video is fantastic.
Houses are selling!
Removing condos from the equation – In Charlottesville/Albemarle/Fluvanna/Greene:141 properties sold in October 2006…. 196 in October 2004 and 194 in October 2003. Putting condos back in the mix, as they have become the de facto choice for many seeking affordable housing, the numbers change a bit:161 properties sold in October 2006…. 197 in October 2004 and 196 in October 2003.
Links for 13 November 2006
Condo Buyers Take Developers to Court Over Failed Promises – I wonder if we’ll see any of these in the Charlottesville area.What to do when a Builder Offers to find you a loan – Read the whole thing with an extremely critical eye.Helping bloggers license content.UVA’s new nanotechnology center – Wisldorf Hall – will help cement our area’s status as a leader in this area of development, and likely will encourage some people to move to our area (Hint, hint 🙂 ). Surprisingly, finding information on the burgeoning nanotech sector and Charlottesville is somewhat challenging, but there are a few results in Google Scholar.
We’ll all be Earthcraft soon
Friday, I met with some potential buyers who spoke to exactly what I foresee as being what is “next,” both from a want and a need perspective.A bit of research led me to this excellent interview with John Beldock, CEO of EcoBroker…. I don’t necessarily agree with the severity of all the comments, but there are some valid points regarding the speed with which homes have been built of late and the accompanying level of quality…. I said the other day in The HooK: “In the last several years, people had gotten away from the ‘buying smart’ mentality and were just buying,”Change that sentence around a bit – In the last several years, people had gotten away from the ‘builders smart’ mentality and were just building whatever they could, as fast as they could.Not surprisingly, none of the EarthCraft builders in Charlottesville market are “production” builders. Waldo has collected a few useful links.Can homes with these offerings be built in a dense environment?What will Homeowners’ Associations’ response be to solar panels?Solar power is becoming more affordableA look at alternative energy and moreHow to green your heatingA lot of the green “trends” are simple common sense.
Links for 11-01-2006
A possible way to get a data off a dying hard disk- wish I had an external HD enclosure handy.With all the talk about Zillow, why no fuss about ditech.com’s implementation of “eAppraisals”? They are trying to entice folks to refinance based in part on their “eAppraisals,” versus Zillow’s (current) ad-based revenue stream.Can concrete be green?Housing recession isn’t spreading?Virginia is for Losers.