Living Green

Live Broadcast a Success

Many thanks to the folks we interviewed on the air during our live radio broadcast at this year's Green Home Seminar and Tour at Blacksburg Recreation Center.  Steve Ayers did a fabulous job emceeing the show, and I enjoyed chatting with Abi Convery, formerly of the New River Valley Planning District Commission; Ed Tuchler of Shelter Alternatives; Colin Arnold of the Community Design Studio at Community Housing Partners; and Bill McGuire of Builderscrete/Auz-Bloc.

Here are some of the themes we covered:
*The increase in people's awareness of environmental issues, as well as the increase in participation at the Green Home Seminar and Tour.
*The usefulness of home energy audits, like those performed by Blacksburg's Energy Check.
*Green Home Remodeling: The importance of taking an holistic approach to green home improvements and envisioning the home as a system of components working together for energy efficiency and health.
*Small steps individuals can take to improve the energy efficiency, comfort, or health of their homes.
*Auz-Bloc product and the open house we were to hold at 153 Gracie Lane in Floyd on Sunday, April 27th.

Green Moments on the Radio

You may be familiar with the NRVLiving Radio Show on WPIN 810 AM, which my teammate Jeremy Hart broadcasts every Saturday morning from 10:00 - 10:30.  If you've never heard it, you should - it covers everything from the most recent mortgage market news and homeowners insurance insights to local commercial property developments and home improvement tips.

The month of April will be a particularly great time to tune in to the NRVLiving Radio Show, as each broadcast will feature a "Green Moment" with news or tips regarding sustainable housing.  These green snippets are teasers for a full one-hour LIVE remote broadcast from the New River Valley's Green Home Seminar at the Blacksburg Recreation Center on April 26th from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.  We'll be interviewing vendors, participants, and speakers, and offering all kinds of neat green tips and news.

One of the most exciting aspects of the live, on-site broadcast is that it will be hosted by YOURS TRULY.  Am I nervous?  You bet!  But with teammate Steve Ayers assisting with the production, I think we'll do a fine job. 

Auz-Bloc is green - and it supports the local economy

I wrote yesterday about our seller clients who are walking the green walk.  Today I want to tell you more of the story...

Auz-Bloc is a locally owned and operated company that manufactures and sells the Auz-Bloc product, which is the American version of a similar Australian product called Timbercrete.  Timbercrete was developed "down under" by a potter who wanted to build his own sturdy home affordably.  Using cellulose, cement, sand and binders, and other  materials to create a building block with unique qualities, Peter Collier invented a material that impressed researchers and inspectors with its durability and stability.  Mr. Collier patented his product and started a company - Timbercrete - that allows other local business people to open Timbercrete franchises.  That's what Auz-Bloc is - the first and only Timbercrete franchise in the U.S. - right here in Floyd, Virginia!

The use of recycled raw materials and the franchise concept are two major keys to the sustainability of the Auz-Bloc/Timbercrete product.  The block is made of materials, like sawdust, reclaimed from other industry's waste.  In our area, large forest products companies that harvest trees for timber framing create a lot of sawdust waste.  Instead of burning or composting the waste (which could create problems with pollution or space), this sawdust can be used in the production of Auz-Bloc.  In addition, the raw materials come from LOCAL industries, so they don't have to be shipped half-way around the world (thus saving fossil fuels and preventing pollution from transportation).

Walking the Walk

In my blog, I do a lot of talking about green stuff, particularly as it relates to real estate and the home environment.  If you look around, you'll see lots of folks talking the talk about green.  But who do you know who's actually walking the walk?

I know a family who's walking the walk.

At the NRVLiving Real Estate Team, we were thrilled when this family decided to work with us to sell their home - not only because their home is exquisite, but also because their home offers unique green and energy efficient features.  The house is constructed of a revolutionary material called Auz-Bloc, which is new to the U.S.  The block, also known as Timbercrete, is made of sawdust and other waste materials from the local timber industry.  So in addition to turning one industry's trash into a treasured building product, it helps reduce the pollution involved in transporting the raw materials and finished product from the manufacturing site to the construction site.

Auz-Bloc also touts its energy saving qualities, claiming to offer up to six times the insulation capacity of conventional bricks.  Our sellers didn't just take the product's word for it, though; they had an energy audit performed to assess the home's energy efficiency.  After blowing in some additional insulation in the attic and plugging some air leaks (nothing related to the Auz-Bloc itself), the home qualified for 5 Stars on the Energy Star certification scale.

What is Energy Star?
Energy Star Qualified Homes is a national program that qualifies homes based on energy efficiency.  To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC) and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

The Energy Star Scale
In order to certify the energy efficiency of a home, it must be tested by a qualified and independent energy "rater" according to the Home Energy Rating System (HERS).  The HERS scale goes from 0 (the most efficient) to 500 (the least efficient).  Here's how Energy Star explains the ratings:

The lower a home’s HERS Index, the more energy efficient it is. A home built to code scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net zero energy home scores a HERS Index of 0. Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption compared to the HERS Reference Home. Thus a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than the reference home and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is 20% more energy efficient.

Our clients' Auz-Bloc home achieved a HERS rating of 81, which means it is 19% more efficient than the index home.  On a scale from 1 Star (lowest HERS ratings) to 5+ Stars (highest HERS ratings), our clients' home received 5 Stars!

The upshot
Okay, big deal...what do the 5 Stars REALLY mean?  The 5 Stars really mean that this house's energy efficient features will provide more comfort (particularly in terms of indoor temperature) and save its occupants money on utility bills.  How much money, I can't say, because that's influenced by fluctuating fuel prices and the weather.  I've been told that the utility bills for this 2235-sqft house average less than $100 per month; the Home Energy Rating Certificate has the bills estimated at less than that.  Compare that to the bills for my own house, which at approximately 1300 sqft averages $100 per month, and you're talking about a significant per-square-foot savings!

The energy efficient features of this home are just a few of the reasons this house is such a great deal.  For more information, contact me or my teammate Jeremy Hart!  (Home listed and marketed by Jeremy Hart, REALTOR.  NRVLiving Real Estate Team - Real Estate. Simplified. Coldwell Banker - Townside, REALTORS. Blacksburg, Virginia)

Good news for Virginia taxpayers - Land preservation tax credits explained

As some of you may know, I am a member of the New River Land Trust (NRLT), an organization that helps educate landowners in southwest Virginia on options for conserving or preserving the natural and cultural characteristics of their land.  Through my membership in the NRLT, I've learned a lot about conservation easements, the ecological and cultural benefits they provide to the public, and the financial incentives that make them possible.

Many folks who are staunchly pro-development or even on the fence between development and conservation may consider the idea of conservation easements to be a bit of hogwash.  I am not one of those people - I think conservation easements are a beautiful thing, but I will be glad to let the naysayers enjoy their own opinions.  Having said that, though, there are some true benefits of conservation easements to the public and to individuals, and that's what I will be covering in this blog post.  WARNING: this tends to be a very complex and confusing subject, so I will do my best at explaining it as succinctly as possible.  If you find my description lacking or would like more information, please refer to the resources available through the New River Land Trust.

THE BEGINNING - CONSERVATION EASEMENTS EXPLAINED
A conservation easement is an agreement between a private landowner and a state agency such as the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, whereby the landowner VOLUNTARILY relinquishes his or her property development rights IN PERPETUITY (this means no one, not even future landowners, can develop the property for dense residential or commercial use).  In this situation, the property typically has significant special characteristics such as farm use, watershed management, view-shed protection, or wildlife habitat - values that, if protected, also would benefit the public.  These protected properties also tend to be large in size - 50 to 100 acres or more, depending on their location and the significance of their resources.

Some important things to note:  When the landowner relinquishes his development rights, that generally means that no one can build dense residential or commercial buildings on the property.  Very often, however, if the landowner wishes, he can retain the right to build one or more houses on the property (depending on its size), as well as accessory structures like barns.  The details of what can be built on the property are tailored to fit the landowner's needs and are outlined specifically in the conservation easement document.  Another thing to point out is that, while the owner gives up development rights are given up, he may retain the option to timber, farm, or mine the land as he chooses.  Again, these are details that are tailored to fit the needs of the landowner while fitting into the spirit of the conservation easement framework.

DIMINISHING THE VALUE OF LAND THROUGH CONSERVATION EASEMENTS
Some people think that restricting development FOREVER on a large piece of land really ties the hands of current and future landowners.  Well, I guess it does, but this the conservation easement is a way to ensure that the natural, scenic, and culture characteristics of a place are protected for future generations.  You can imagine, however, that when a landowner gives up development rights (and therefore the opportunity for future development income) through a conservation easement, the dollar value of the property is diminished.  This might be considered the big downside to conservation easements.  For instance, let's say for the sake of argument that Mr. Farmer's 200 acres is worth $1 million today with the development rights intact.  The land is very fertile and has more than a half-mile of frontage on the New River.  Mr. Farmer would like to protect the river front from large-scale development and maintain the natural character of the property, so he decides to relinquish the property's development rights by donating a conservation easement to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.  Following a lengthy and extensive appraisal process, he discovers that the value of the property, after donating the easement, is only $500,000.  He decides to go through with the conservation easement, because he knows there are additional financial incentives to compensate him for the loss in value.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS FOR CONSERVATION EASEMENT DONORS
There are several financial benefits available for conservation easement donors, including federal charitable gift deductions, Virginia income tax credits, federal estate tax benefits, and possibly local tax benefits.  I'm going to concentrate on the Virginia income tax credits here, because that concept is complicated enough to grasp.  As I mentioned earlier, placing a conservation easement on property diminishes its future financial/development value.  Mr. Farmer lost $500,000 in the example above (I won't attempt to itemize, however, the environmental, cultural, and other intangible benefits the conservation easement adds).  To compensate him for his "loss," the Commonwealth of Virginia would provide income tax credits to Mr. Farmer for 40% of the forfeited value (which equals $200,000 in this example).  These credits are called land preservation tax credits.  The tax credits are great, right?  The landowner doesn't even have to use all of those credits in one year - he can spread their use over 10 years.

The "catch" is, that like Mr. Farmer, many large landowners in Virginia are "land rich and cash poor," which means that they may not make enough money and owe enough taxes to use all of the tax credits they receive for their conservation easement donations.  Even if he were to spread it out over 10 years, Mr. Farmer may not owe as much as $200,000 in Virginia income taxes over that time.  The great thing in Virginia is, however, that the landowners like Mr. Farmer can sell their tax credits to any Virginia taxpayer (usually at at discounted price) and receive cash income for the credits they can't use.

SELLING LAND PRESERVATION TAX CREDITS
Let's assume that Mr. Farmer's income tax liability remains very predictable each year, and that he consistently owes $10,000 in Virginia income tax annually.  Over ten years, he estimates that he will owe $100,000 in Virginia income tax.  Therefore, he'd only be able to use $100,000 in land preservation tax credits for himself - the remaining $100,000 worth of credits would be wasted.

Not in Virginia!  In Virginia, Mr. Farmer can sell those tax credits to another Virginia taxpayer for cash!  This is where you, a Virginia taxpayer, come in.  Let's say you expect your Virginia income tax liability for 2007 to be $18,000.  You would love to save some money on your tax bill, even if it's only 15-20%.  You learn about this land preservation tax credit program and enlist some help from various resources to make it work from you.  You discover that Mr. Farmer is willing to sell some of his tax credits to you at a discounted rate.  You need $18,000 worth of tax credits to offset your entire tax liability for the year, but you're obviously not willing to pay $18,000 for the credits - what would be the point?  You would, however, be willing to purchase those credits for a discount - at, say, 80 cents on the dollar.  So, you offer to pay Mr. Farmer $14,400 for $18,000 worth of tax credits.  He wasn't using the credits anyway, so he accepts your offer and benefits from the $14,400 in cash.  You benefit because your $18,000 in taxes are paid, and you saved $3,600 for the year.

This is a rather simplified example, as the transaction would have to include some official contracts and Virginia Department of Taxation paperwork, but I hope you get the concept.  Yes, Virginia, you CAN save 15-20% on your tax bill EVERY YEAR if you know how to contact the right people and fill out the right paperwork.  Why am I letting you in on this "secret"?  Because there are plenty of tax credits to go around and the transferability of the credits ultimately supports land conservation.

HOW TO MAKE THE LAND PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT PROGRAM WORK FOR YOU
First of all, you have to be a Virginia taxpayer for Virginia's program to work for you.  If you pay taxes in another state, do some research to find out if a similar program is available to you.

I recently attended a workshop put on by a couple who have donated two conservation easements for their waterfront properties located on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County.  They have established a small business called Full Circle, whereby they facilitate the transfer of land preservation tax credits.  They actually locate other landowners who have extra land preservation tax credits, purchase tax credits from them, then resell the tax credits to other Virginia taxpayers.  Obviously, they make their money by reselling the tax credits for a little more than they paid for them.  They deal only with landowners whose conservation easements are held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (to ensure they easements are legitimate), and they do extensive research on the easement itself to make sure there's no reason for the easement to be revoked in the future.  They also indemnify their tax credit purchasers, in writing, from responsibility or harm should the conservation easement have problems in the future that would influence the use of the tax credits.  Full Circle can work directly with your accountant to make sure you purchase an appropriate amount of tax credits, based on your expected tax liability for the year.  It's important to note that, if you want to purchase any tax credits, you'd need to reserve them early in the year (say, in the spring or summer of 2007 for the 2007 tax year) and you'd need to pay for them by December of that year...so no waiting until April 14, 2008 to purchase credits for the 2007 tax year.  That's why you'd want to work with both your accountant and a good facilitator to make sure you purchase the right amount of credits.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Literally millions of dollars in Virginia land preservation tax credits swap hands each year, and there are resources available to make it easy for you to take advantage of the program.  For more information on conservation easements, the associated land preservation tax credits, and how the system can benefit you, feel free to contact me (I'll put you in touch with the right people).  Or, you can contact the New River Land Trust, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, or your local land trust (just Google "land trust").

Do as I say, not as I do: Part 1, Septic system maintenance

If you browse through my blog entries, you will find lots of advice from multiple sources not only on small things you can do not only to save energy in your home, but also to make the home more comfortable and healthier to occupy.  I have been taking my own advice lately and hiring contractors to address some of the deferred maintenance items in the house.  My husband and I live in the “country,” approximately 15 minutes from Blacksburg, in a small cottage with a private well and septic.  The home also has a heat pump, so (theoretically) we have central heating and air conditioning.  The following stories deal with “routine” maintenance on our septic system and heat pump.

Let’s start with the septic – you can learn more about the heat pump in Part 2.  If you live in a home serviced by a private septic system, the Health Department and septic companies recommend that you have the septic tank pumped every five years or so, even if you’re not experiencing any system failures.  We have lived in our home for almost four years (just the two of us) and haven’t had any problems with the septic system (no raw sewage in the yard, no back-ups inside the house, no smell of sewer gases).  We had never had the tank pumped, and felt pretty confident that the previous owners had not pumped it prior to selling us the house.  About a year ago, I thought it would be a good idea to get the routine maintenance done on our septic tank, and I made an appointment with a local septic company.  We had only a general idea of where the tank was located (I obtained a rough sketch from our county’s Health Department), but knew very little about the system beyond that.  The technicians visited the house and searched for the tank (which involves hammering a piece of rebar into the ground), finding it approximately where we thought it would be.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that the tank was buried at least 3.5 feet below ground, far too deep for the crew to dig up by hand – they would have to return at another time with a backhoe to dig up the tank.

So, the required return trip gave us plenty of time to procrastinate.  My husband works for a landscape company and has access to digging equipment.  Part of me half-expected him to make arrangements for the septic excavation.  But you know what they say about the cobbler’s children, so we never got the septic tank dug up ourselves.  A year after the septic company’s initial visit, I set up a second appointment for the septic tank service, this time requesting that they bring their own excavating equipment.

Fortunately, one of the young men who came out the second time had been here previously, so he had a decent memory about the location of the tank.  His buddy began digging with the backhoe, and within a reasonable amount of time he uncovered the tank.  That was the only good news this time.  The bad news was/is that most of the sewer pipe coming from the house is Orangeburg pipe (which is made out of tar paper – I call it glorified cardboard).  At one time that was THE THING to use (probably because it was cheap, kind of like asbestos was THE THING to use in cigarette filters.  The upshot: all of the Orangeburg will need to be replaced.  That’s not so bad.  The additional bad news is that the tank is really old and decrepit.  The guys said they could pump it, but that it might collapse once the weight of the contents is removed.  They recommended a new tank altogether.

There’s more to this story, which will require some additional updates to the plumbing to keep us in the Health Department’s good graces, but I’ll save that for another time.  To make a long story not as long as it could be, we have a THIRD appointment with the septic company to replace the septic tank and the sewer pipe.  We’re praying that when they inspect the distribution box and drain lines (the other key parts of a septic system) they won’t find any additional things that need to be replaced.

What did I learn through this experience?  I learned that the average life expectancy of a septic system is 15-20 years.  Only 15-20 years!!!  We estimate that our house was built in the mid-1950s, and we’re guessing that the septic system is original.  That’s not bad performance from a system that old, I guess.  I also learned that ignorance is bliss.  Had we not uncovered the tank and had it examined, it might have lasted another 50 years without any problems.  We’ll never know, now…the risk of a possible failure (which may or may not ever happen) is enough for us to go ahead and get the tank replaced.

The Natural Resource Aspects of Real Estate

Shortly after the NRV's Green Home Seminar and Tour, Virginia Cooperative Extension's State Master Gardener Coordinator, Dave Close, invited me to participate in the annual Master Gardener College to be held at Virginia Tech next week.  He specifically asked me to deliver a seminar on how landscaping impacts real estate values, which I thought was a fabulous idea.  Then I got a little nervous, as I couldn't imagine how I would fill up an entire 1.5-hour time slot speaking about landscaping, even with a question-and-answer period thrown in.  Particularly since I'm not a landscaper by trade, nor, I must admit, am I an avid gardener (although I dream of being one someday).  I learned from Dave that the theme of the College this year is water resources.  I revealed that water is an important resource to homeowners in general, and that water quality (particularly private well water quality) is an issue we deal with frequently in real estate transactions.  As we discussed the idea further, we decided it would be appropriate for me to talk in general about natural resource issues related to real estate.

Natural resources in general - whether we as REALTORS care to acknowledge it or not - are important in real estate transactions.  In addition to drinking water quality, home buyers, sellers, and owners deal with septic systems (which can impact ground water and soil), indoor air quality, lawn and landscape maintenance, indoor moisture control, exterior water drainage, and a whole host of other natural resource issues.  My challenge over the next week or so will be to put together a presentation that addresses some of these topics in a manner that pertains to Master Gardeners’ interests and isn’t incredibly boring.

This year’s Master Gardener College at Virginia Tech runs from June 19-24 and covers everything from water resources, entomology, and flower arranging to Zen gardening, garden folklore, and food preservation.  I’ll be “performing” from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 23rd in Torgersen Hall.  To learn more about the Master Gardener program, visit http://www.hort.vt.edu/mastergardener/.

Thank You!

Folks, this is a recent blog my business partner, Jeremy Hart, posted on his blog, NRVLiving Real Estate.  I'm not going to add anything, because I think he says it all so well.  Our thanks to all of you who follow our blogs!

*****

So it's been a little over three months since the first posts (here and here) the NRVLiving Real Estate and Living Green blogs, and I have to say that these things have really taken off faster than we ever thought.  We were concerned that people wouldn't care what we had to say about real estate - and that's likely still the case - but readership has continued to climb so whether you're taking to heart what I'm saying or just reading to pass the time, thanks for visiting!

I wanted to take a moment to talk about our blogs and where we'll see things head in the future, as well as changes to the New River Valley Real Estate team that are going to continue to make things better for you, our readers.  As with any business venture, our clients and customers really and truly tell us our next move - these blogs are examples of that.  With so much of our business coming from client referrals and online traffic, and Web 2.0 becoming such a buzzword, it was readily apparent that providing forums like these for real estate (where there previously were none) in the New River Valley was a great opportunity.   And you have certainly not disappointed!   On any given day,  dedicated  readership (those of you that get an email subscription or the feed delivered to your RSS Reader) ranges between 55-65 of you on the two sites, with another 50+ clicks from Roanoke.com and other sites where we're linked up.   Remember that anyone can sign up via email and - this is important - will not be contacted by anyone here at NRVLiving unless they contact us first.  We value the fact that you read  these blogs and will not use that information for any other purposes but to track where our readership is located.  Please feel free to share interesting posts you like with others, and encourage them to sign up as well.

But the blogs are not the catalyst for the transaction of buying or selling real estate, they're simply a piece of the puzzle we try to put together every day.  I was asked recently by a gentleman I had met minutes earlier, what separated the NRVLiving Real Estate team from all the other companies of the New River Valley and I thought "what a great question!"  Then I stared at the floor and started drooling ... no, seriously, what a great question to ask!  I immediately responded that I thought the biggest difference for us came down to technology.  Trust me - there are some really great real estate firms out there, and they all do a great job of communicating with the client and making sure everything is taken care of from start to finish.  I would wholeheartedly throw NRVLiving Real Estate into that bunch, but when push comes to shove if I don't have my seller client's home in front of that buyer at 11:50pm while they sit on the couch then I've missed the boat.  Buyers aren't likely cruising the streets at midnight looking for real estate signs, or flipping the pages of the classifieds before they go to bed and so I need to make sure I'm where they are right now. This blog, our web site, and plenty of other tools (which I can't share here because I know I have some REALTOR readers!) are invaluable in making sure we're reaching the right audience, right now.  And I personally think the use of technology shows clients - buyers and sellers alike - just how creative you can be in (a) marketing their most valuable asset or (b) finding them their most valuable asset before anyone else gets to it.

So where do we go from here?  You tell us!  I have some ideas, but those ideas will be fused with where the market and our clients take us.  Market activity in the first quarter was very strong for buyers, and sellers now have the opportunity to promote their listings in non-traditional ways.  But I don't believe we should be reactive only, but instead be proactive in staying ahead of the market and making changes to accomodate.  One of those ways we chose to respond to what we think will be stable rates and a gaining market was to bring on Steve Ayers, and we are thrilled to have him as part of the team.  Steve is a long-time resident of Blacksburg whose expertise lies in a number of different areas, and needless to say real estate transactions are not new to him.  Be on the lookout for more about Steve's addition in the coming weeks, but for now help us welcome Steve to the team!  (Apologies, I've been trying to insert Steve's mug shot in here but Typepad isn't letting me.  So much for using technology, huh?)  We'll also be making some much needed improvements and additions to NRVLiving.com, as well, to make the user's experience at the site much more intuitive and worthwhile.  But as much as we like the technology-side of things, we still need to focus on the details, which is why in the next several weeks you'll see significant changes in the transaction management piece of the puzzle.  No more work for you as a buyer or a seller - in fact, it'll mean much less on your part!  But it'll help us get you from Contract to Closing feeling that much better!  It's all part of making Real Estate. Simplified.  Sorry, had to throw that in there ...

So thanks for reading, subscribing, forwarding and sticking around. It means a lot that you care enough to read and respond, and your comments have been fantastic!  We look forward to having more time with you in the future; and to those of you who have recently referred friends and family to us, we extend a heartfelt *THANKS* one more time!

Jeremy, Steve, & Aaron
The NRVLiving Real Estate Team

Folks, this is a recent blog my business partner, Jeremy Hart, posted on his blog, NRVLiving Real Estate.  I'm not going to add anything, because I think he says it all so well.  Our thanks to all of you who follow our blogs!

*****

So it's been a little over three months since the first posts (here and here) the NRVLiving Real Estate and Living Green blogs, and I have to say that these things have really taken off faster than we ever thought.  We were concerned that people wouldn't care what we had to say about real estate - and that's likely still the case - but readership has continued to climb so whether you're taking to heart what I'm saying or just reading to pass the time, thanks for visiting!

I wanted to take a moment to talk about our blogs and where we'll see things head in the future, as well as changes to the New River Valley Real Estate team that are going to continue to make things better for you, our readers.  As with any business venture, our clients and customers really and truly tell us our next move - these blogs are examples of that.  With so much of our business coming from client referrals and online traffic, and Web 2.0 becoming such a buzzword, it was readily apparent that providing forums like these for real estate (where there previously were none) in the New River Valley was a great opportunity.   And you have certainly not disappointed!   On any given day,  dedicated  readership (those of you that get an email subscription or the feed delivered to your RSS Reader) ranges between 55-65 of you on the two sites, with another 50+ clicks from Roanoke.com and other sites where we're linked up.   Remember that anyone can sign up via email and - this is important - will not be contacted by anyone here at NRVLiving unless they contact us first.  We value the fact that you read  these blogs and will not use that information for any other purposes but to track where our readership is located.  Please feel free to share interesting posts you like with others, and encourage them to sign up as well.

But the blogs are not the catalyst for the transaction of buying or selling real estate, they're simply a piece of the puzzle we try to put together every day.  I was asked recently by a gentleman I had met minutes earlier, what separated the NRVLiving Real Estate team from all the other companies of the New River Valley and I thought "what a great question!"  Then I stared at the floor and started drooling ... no, seriously, what a great question to ask!  I immediately responded that I thought the biggest difference for us came down to technology.  Trust me - there are some really great real estate firms out there, and they all do a great job of communicating with the client and making sure everything is taken care of from start to finish.  I would wholeheartedly throw NRVLiving Real Estate into that bunch, but when push comes to shove if I don't have my seller client's home in front of that buyer at 11:50pm while they sit on the couch then I've missed the boat.  Buyers aren't likely cruising the streets at midnight looking for real estate signs, or flipping the pages of the classifieds before they go to bed and so I need to make sure I'm where they are right now. This blog, our web site, and plenty of other tools (which I can't share here because I know I have some REALTOR readers!) are invaluable in making sure we're reaching the right audience, right now.  And I personally think the use of technology shows clients - buyers and sellers alike - just how creative you can be in (a) marketing their most valuable asset or (b) finding them their most valuable asset before anyone else gets to it.

So where do we go from here?  You tell us!  I have some ideas, but those ideas will be fused with where the market and our clients take us.  Market activity in the first quarter was very strong for buyers, and sellers now have the opportunity to promote their listings in non-traditional ways.  But I don't believe we should be reactive only, but instead be proactive in staying ahead of the market and making changes to accomodate.  One of those ways we chose to respond to what we think will be stable rates and a gaining market was to bring on Steve Ayers, and we are thrilled to have him as part of the team.  Steve is a long-time resident of Blacksburg whose expertise lies in a number of different areas, and needless to say real estate transactions are not new to him.  Be on the lookout for more about Steve's addition in the coming weeks, but for now help us welcome Steve to the team!  (Apologies, I've been trying to insert Steve's mug shot in here but Typepad isn't letting me.  So much for using technology, huh?)  We'll also be making some much needed improvements and additions to NRVLiving.com, as well, to make the user's experience at the site much more intuitive and worthwhile.  But as much as we like the technology-side of things, we still need to focus on the details, which is why in the next several weeks you'll see significant changes in the transaction management piece of the puzzle.  No more work for you as a buyer or a seller - in fact, it'll mean much less on your part!  But it'll help us get you from Contract to Closing feeling that much better!  It's all part of making Real Estate. Simplified.  Sorry, had to throw that in there ...

So thanks for reading, subscribing, forwarding and sticking around. It means a lot that you care enough to read and respond, and your comments have been fantastic!  We look forward to having more time with you in the future; and to those of you who have recently referred friends and family to us, we extend a heartfelt *THANKS* one more time!

Jeremy, Steve, & Aaron
The NRVLiving Real Estate Team

Find a green home for sale

Green seems to be all the rage lately, and web sites are cropping up all over cyberspace to help green homeowners sell their houses.  I am partial to home marketing on EcoBroker.com, not only because I'm an EcoBroker Certified REALTOR, but also for several other reasons: EcoBroker is gaining international market recognition (and driving traffic to its web site) and the EcoBroker database allows the user to search for specific home features (such as passive solar heating, recycling facilities nearby, or natural ventilation cooling).  Only licensed REALTORS can achieve the EcoBroker designation, so the listing information on EcoBroker is coming from qualified, professional real estate agents.  While the general public cannot post listings on EcoBroker, anyone can search the listings.  Because EcoBroker's listings are broken down by state, I could not calculate how many home listings appear on the site; however, if I had to guess, I would say there are between 150 and 200 homes listed through EcoBroker.

EcoBroker is not the only site where you can search for your next green home to purchase, though.  Here are a few others:

ListedGreen.com - Self-described as the "MLS for Green, Sustainable, Energy Efficient Homes and Developments Worldwide," this site appears to be building a clientele.  I found only one home for sale on that site - a listing in Taos, NM.  The cost to list on the site is $20/month, and the listings are personally reviewed for authenticity.

GreenHomesForSale.com - A large, fairly comprehensive site for green homes.  The user can search for homes by category - accessible, green, green pre-fab, healthy, small, solar, rammed earth, strawbale, adobe, and off-the-grid.  You can even search raw land listings.  I found 147 properties listed here, 4 of which are in Virginia (and one is in Copper Hill, about and hour from my office).  The site also features a directory of green REALTORS, builders, and architects.  A standard three-month listing costs $60.

GreenBuilder.com - A pretty simple web site, this site lists homes for sale or rent for $10 per listing.  I found 75 listings on this site, most of which were advertised for sale, not for rent.  This site also has a green professionals directory.

ModernGreenLiving.com - Sleek and contemporary, this web site advertises residential listings for sale or rent through professionals who pay an annual membership fee of $195/year.  There were 100 listings available when I visited today, 4 of which are in Virginia.  As do some of the other sites, ModernGreenLiving offers a directory of green professionals, plus green furnishings from Vivavi.

Natural Spaces Domes.com - Just for dome houses.  There are 24 listings so far, with one in Virginia.  This site charges a one-time listing fee of $25.

Domes.com/sale.html - Resales of Oregon Domes products - 13 listings right now.

These and several other green-homes-for-sale sites are listed at EcoBusinessLinks.  If you know of any other good sites, lemme know - I'd love to add them to this list!

Fellow EcoBroker with a rockin' blog

I would like to say I found a really cool blog out in cyberspace, but I have to admit, the really cool blog found me.  Thanks to Burke Sisco of Main Street Realty in Hampton, Georgia for commenting on my blog post about Hobbit houses at his web site, EcoHome Guy.  His comment inspired me to visit his site, where I found lots of neat posts about green homes and other green goings on in his area and around the globe.  I espcially like his mention of Hobbitats (TM) and his subscription to the Not So Big House concept.  He's on my blogroll now, so check him out!

Thanks, Burke - keep up the good work!