One of my favorite "downtime" tv shows is My House is Worth What?, hosted by former Apprentice winner and real estate professional Kendra Todd.
The show features homeowners throughout the country who call in a real estate professional to evaluate their home and tell them what it could sell for in the current market.
Last evening's show featured a couple from California who had spent $450,000 on "green" renovations to their home.
Needless to say, I was eager to see just what they had done for that amount of money.
Their real estate consultant had the "ecobroker" certification (same certification I am planning on obtaining next year) which qualifies her to recommend green renovations and upgrades.
Interestingly, it was what this couple didn't do that had an impact on their home and its "greenness".
They did use recycled roofing materials, and had Energy Star appliances.
However, the windows throughout the home were not energy efficient. They were not even double-paned. Windows are a huge expense when renovating a home, whether green or not, but they are a simple way of saving money and energy in a home. And it's something you definitely see a return on when you go to sell your home.
So one thing this couple didn't do was install, cost-effective, energy saving windows.
Another thing they didn't do was consult an ecobroker or other green consultant before spending money on renovations.
After the evaluation, it became clear that some of their money was misspent and did not do much in terms of really creating a healthy, money-saving green home environment.
Please visit my website at www.greenrecreations.com to see what services I can assist with.
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