It's Easy To Be Green

...if you use this simple checklist on retrofitting your home from the U.S. Green Building Council.

As a passionate gardener, my favorite is using native plants for landscaping. I am fortunate to live on 10 beautiful acres in Cheatham Co. In spring, summer, and fall, my landscape is dotted with native Tennessee wildflowers and herbs, but also has an overgrowth of privet which is not native to this area and thus has a tendency to take over.

Even if you live on a small patch of urban ground, you can still create beautiful landscapes with native flowers and grasses. Gardens of Babylon, located at the Nashville Farmer's Market on Rosa Parks Blvd., is a great source for native plants and also has landscapers and horticulturists on hand to help you design a serene, beautiful greenscape in your yard, whatever its size.

My home is surrounded by trees, which do make it much cooler in summer.

And I also like the tip about using "homemade" cleaning products such as vinegar (works great!) and low or no VOC paint.

Here's the link for the full list:
http://www.greenhomeguide.org/guide_for_green_renovation/green_retrofit_checklist.html

Want to Sell A Home Quickly? Green It!

Last year, Seattle became the second city/region in the nation (behind Portland, Ore.) to offer green building criteria on its Multiple Listing Service.

One year later, research shows that the Seattle area's green homes are selling 18 % faster than their non-green counterparts, and for 28 %-38 % higher value, according to a July 1, 2008 article on Business Wire.

Ben Kaufman, founder of GreenWorks Realty in Seattle, noted that the new data clearly shows that buyers want green and that green homes have more value.

Prior data was mostly based on specualation, according to Aaron Adelstein of Built Green in the Seattle area, while Marni Kahn of the Cascadian Region Building Council says that green home certification "acts as a 'nutrition label' giving homeowners third-party verification that they are making the right decisions for their family's health and the environment, while saving money on energy, water and transportation bills."

From my perspective as a real estate investor (as well as an agent) this is great news for investors who use rehabbing as an exit strategy.

I think in the past, some rehabbers have been hesitant to add green materials because of perceived additional costs, but this data shows that by renovating green you definitely have a competitive advantage as well as the opportunity to benefit a homeowner's qualify of life, both health-wise and financially.

This creates a beautiful circle of win/win that I think is fantastic!