Everything Must Green
Sustainable Living is a Must
A LEED home is the best-performing home on the block.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings. Designed and built for performance, every LEED home is third-party-inspected, tested and verified. LEED homes are gentler on the environment and on your wallet, delivering lower utility bills and requiring less maintenance. Simply put, LEED certified homes are higher quality.
LEED certification is available for both single family and multifamily buildings.
“Erecting sustainable, profitable green buildings will no longer be enough to stand out. Buildings will also be expected to directly contribute to the health and well-being of the people who live, work and learn inside them”
THE GUARDIAN
Homebuyers want Healthier Homes
As ongoing research exposes the negative impacts of modern day living, homeowner demand for wellness-focused homes and communities is on the rise. With wellness living concepts projected to drive future real estate development, DARWIN offers a key point of differentiation in the market while enabling developers to position themselves ahead of the curve.
What is a High-Performance Home?
A high-performance home, is a home designed to perform exceptionally well, providing optimal health and comfort for inhabitants, while utilizing minimal energy and water resources. More than just energy efficient, these homes are designed or renovated as a whole home approach.
The design creates a tight envelope, minimizes heat transfer, and maintains superior indoor air quality, all while offering a lower total cost of ownership. High-performance homes are monitored and certified throughout construction, tested and given a HERS rating and then given a whole home energy efficiency certificate.
Can Green Certifications Add Value to My Home?
Yes! In order to realize the value when selling or refinancing, you need to utilize green-competent real estate professionals. Homes with energy efficiency certifications, or high-performance homes, often sell quicker and for 3-5% more than comparable homes.
If you are buying or selling a high-performance home, you will need to utilize green-competent real estate agents, appraisers, and possibly lenders, to obtain value. A green-competent real estate agent will not only understand the value of your high-performance home, they have been trained and educated to effectively market and position energy efficient homes
Likewise, green-competent appraisers have completed training courses to understand and calculate the value of whole home energy efficiency certifications and will substantiate the corresponding value for your home. A green-competent appraiser has to be requested. If selling or buying a high performance home, your green-competent real estate agent should ensure a green-competent appraiser is required for the transaction. If refinancing, you will have to advocate for yourself, to your lender to utilize a green-competent appraiser. If the lender refuses, choose another lender.
National Association
of REALTORS ® & Appraisal institute resources and supporting articles.
Benefits of Owning a Solar Home
People
Cleaner air, easier breathing, healthier living.
Planet
Emission-free generation & non-toxic by-products
Profits
Power bill savings & energy independence
Does Solar Add Value?
The question every homeowner wants to know… “Can solar add value to my home?” The good news is, the answer is often, yes! In order to realize the value of solar when selling or refinancing, you need to be aware of two factors: leased vs. owned, and utilizing green-competent real estate professionals.
While owned solar panels are an asset and increase home value, leased solar panels do not add value, and are often a burden at time of sale. Luckily, leased solar panels on homes are not common in Georgia. If you have owned solar panels, you will also need to utilize green-competent real estate agents, appraisers, and possibly lenders, to obtain value from your solar array.
A green-competent real estate agent will not only understand the value of your solar array, they have been trained and educated to effectively market and position homes with solar. Likewise, green-competent appraisers have completed training courses to understand and calculate the value of solar arrays and will substantiate the corresponding value for your system. A green-competent appraiser has to be requested. If selling or buying a home with solar, your green-competent real estate agent should ensure a green-competent appraiser is required for the transaction. If refinancing, you will have to advocate for yourself, to your lender to utilize a green-competent appraiser. If the lenders refuses, choose another lender.