FLGreenLiving

We Americans are spoiled compared to our ancestors.  No matter what season it is, we expect meat, grain and produce to be readily available to us - and prepackaged so we don’t have to work too hard to turn it into edible cuisine.

Many of the fruits and veggies we consume, have an “off” season, and therefore do not grow year around.  Unless you are cautious, the produce in your fridge right now has traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to arrive in your kitchen.  This increases your carbon footprint, consumes fossil fuels, and increases the profit dollars of the large conglomerates– instead of our own local farmers.

In Miami, we are lucky - we don’t have snow or frozen soil in the winter that would prevent our farmers from growing food.  In fact, Florida soil is great for growing a large variety of produce.  Purchasing local not only decreases your carbon footprint, but supports our small, local farmers.  You know- those guys that actually are in business for the LOVE of the profession, not for the $. It also helps uplift OUR economy here in Florida, which will have the long term benefit of creating local jobs and supporting local charities as our small businesses prosper and donate to them.

Did you know buying local produce instead of mass produced food is healthier too?  Mass produced food is stripped of many nutrients in the rush to grow more of it.  Local farmers use less dangerous chemicals to produce food and usually allow it to ripen naturally, instead of in storage sheds while being bombarded with gases to accelerate ripening. And the taste?  If you haven’t done a taste test already, RUN, don’t walk to your nearest local market and try something.  I bet you will realize how much you forgot how our produce is supposed to taste!

This argument can easily be extended beyond the idea of buying food locally.  EVERYTHING you buy from a local merchant that is created locally helps to save the environment by reducing fossil fuel consumption while putting money back into your local economy.  A recent study showed that for every $100 spent in a chain store, $14 went back into the local economy.  For every $100 spent with a local business, $45 went back into the local economy.

Where do you want YOUR money to go?

LOCAL FARMER’S MARKETS

[ Photo Credit:  Flickr- D.Sharon Pruitt under a Creative Commons License]

Are you working on being a socially conscious homeowner who goes beyond simply using rags instead of paper towels and calling it a day?  A great way of going green while actually increasing the comfort and convenience of your home is to get rid of your old dinosaur of a water heater and opt for a new, tankless one.  Not only does it provide the convenience of giving you hot water instantly, whenever you want it - which means you don’t have to worry about taking a cold shower anymore after your teen is done - it also uses much less energy.

Tankless means exactly what it says: no tank attached, so you don’t have to wait for gallons of water to heat up AND you don’t suffer the energy-wasting heat losses associated with the old style water heaters.  A heating unit, either gas or electric, is located close to where the water is used and the water is only heated when it is needed.   You can install multiple smaller tankless heaters where water is used (near the bathroom or laundry room), or you can opt for one of the newer whole house models.

Gas powered tankless heaters have higher throughput rates than electric ones, but can be a bit more costly to operate.  If you use 41 gallons of hot water daily or less, you can see 24-34% more energy efficiency from making this switch.  If you use more than that per day, your efficiencies will be less.  The green secret is to install a tankless water heater while taking measures (such as using a timer while you are in the shower) to cut your overall hot water use.

According to the Energy Star site, installing a tankless water heater can save a typical family roughly 30% of their usual water heating costs.  These units do tend to be a bit pricey ($600-900), but they last about 20 years and usually require lower maintenance. (A traditional water heater runs about $200 and lasts about  10 years.)  As you can see, the payback period is much shorter on the tankless rather than the tank version because your saving so much more on your electricity bill!  Being green and saving green; what more could you ask for?!

Home designers and builders speaking at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas say that buyers are seeking cost-effective features and rejecting things that don’t have lasting value.

“It’s all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio.

Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid Ratings, which conducts an annual survey of buyer preferences, identified these must-haves in new homes:

1. Large kitchens with islands
2. Energy efficiency, including energy-efficient appliances, super insulation, and high-efficiency windows.
3. Home offices
4. Main-floor master suite
5. Outdoor living space
6. Ceiling fans
7. Soaking tub in the master suite and/or an oversize shower with a seating area
8. Stone and brick exteriors rather than stucco or vinyl
9. Community walking paths and playgrounds
10. Two-car garages, but three-car garages are even more desirable

Republished with permission from Realtor.com

Green remodeling and building practices don’t stop with energy efficiency - there are many different ways to go green from the basement to the roof of your home.

A wide variety of green flooring choices now exist - no more high pile, dirt collecting, VoC emitting carpeting!   One great green choice that is becoming trendy is cork flooring.  Cork can be harvested every nine years from the same tree, which makes it a renewable resource.  It is a good choice for a kitchen area, or anywhere you plan on spending a lot of time on your feet because it is cushy and comfortable.   You can now get cork in a wide variety of colors - and also in tile form so you can create custom patterns and designs.

Cork Floor Tile

Another idea for green flooring also simplifies the construction process - just refinish the concrete slab into a nicely colored and textured surface.  This also helps with energy efficiency as concrete absorbs heat during the day, and releases it during the night.

Bamboo is becoming another highly popular flooring material, as it matures in three years, adds an exotic touch to a home, regenerates without replanting, and doesn’t require a lot of nasty pesticides or fertilizers to grow well.  It is usually transported from Asia, which does mean homeowners need to take into account the environmental impact of shipping.

The Green Label and Green Label Plus carpeting designations are used to clearly show carpet products that don’t have a lot of VoCs (volatile organic compounds), are created with green methods, and even use some recycled materials such as PET.  If you just can’t live without the feeling of warm carpeting under your feet, look for these labels when shopping.

[Photo Credit:  www.corkdirect.com]

While we know the building industry had a rough year in 2009, not all of the industry has been in the doldrums. Green building has been a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster year, and the Northwest design and building communities have been at the forefront.

Consider the collaboration on the Oregon Sustainability Center, which may be one of the first “living” office buildings. On the residential side, according to Multiple Listing Service data, the market share for certified sustainable new homes has actually risen this past year in greater Portland and Seattle.

So what can we expect to see in the coming year in green building? Here are our picks for emerging trends of 2010, in no particular order.

1. The smart grid and connected home. While utilities will continue to make upgrades to the grid for more effective generation, storage and distribution of power, the big news is in the home. The development of custom and web-based display panels that show real-time home energy use, and even real-time energy use broken out by individual appliance, will go a long way towards helping change homeowners’ energy behavior and drive energy conservation. In the same way that the Toyota Prius miles-per-gallon indicator has motivated some owners to modify driving habits, these home “dashboards” may create “extreme energy” buffs intent on reaching individual energy goals specified for the home by rating systems such as the Energy Performance Score.

2. Energy labeling for homes and office buildings. The advent of more accurate energy rating systems for homes and office spaces – similar to the miles-per-gallon sticker on your car – has caught the attention of energy agencies and legislators around the country. Not only can it make a building-to-building or home-to-home comparison easier, but a publicly available score on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) could galvanize owners to make needed energy improvements while adding value to their building. A post-improvement audit can also measure the effectiveness of upgrades, a useful tool for gauging results of stimulus funding for retrofits. In Oregon and Washington, the Energy Performance Score has been written into recent bills to explore mandatory energy labeling at the time of any transaction.

3. Building information modeling (BIM) software. The continued evolution of CAD software for building design has produced new add-on tools with increasingly accurate algorithms for energy modeling as well as embedded energy properties for many materials and features. This will prove instrumental in predicting building performance. BIM developers will soon be offeringmore affordable packages aimed at smaller firms and individual builders. Contractors are predicted to show the greatest increase in usage of BIM compared with any other group, according to market research firm McGraw Hill Construction.

4. Buy-in to green building by the financial community. Lenders and insurers have come to see green homes and buildings as better for their bottom line and are working to get new reduced- rate loan products, insurance packages, and metrics into place. Lenders and insurers are realizing that green home owners are more responsible, place higher value on maintenance, and are less likely to default due to lower operating costs of homes and office buildings.

5. “Rightsizing” of homes. As we’ve seen during the current downturn, a larger home no longer translates into greater equity. Given that the forecast for home valuation remains conservative, that energy prices are expected to rise over time, and the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates mid-year, homeowners will likely feel more comfortable building smaller homes and smaller add-ons.

6. Eco-districts. Portland is already on the bandwagon with this one, encouraging the creation of greener communities where residents have access to all most services and supplies within walking or biking distance. These areas would also incorporate green spaces and green certified buildings. While we have such neighborhoods in the cities, the creation of walkable, low impact communities in the suburban setting is also gaining steam.

7. Water conservation. Because indoor and outdoor residential water use accounts for more than half of the publicly supplied water in the United States, the EPA finalized the WaterSense specification for new homes in December of 2009, which reduces water use by about 20 percent less water compared to a conventional new home. Verification groups that certify single and multifamily homes will likely also train the same staff to verify WaterSense compliance when requested by builders or homeowners. Mandatory energy labeling in Europe already documents water efficiency in buildings — it may soon be incorporated into U.S. performance scores. Water will be the essential resource in the next decade.

8. Carbon Calculation. With buildings contributing roughly half the carbon emissions in the the environement, the progressive elements in the building industry are looking at ways to document, measure, and reduce greenhouse gas creation in building materials and processes. Lifecycle analysis (LCA) of building products is underway by third party technical teams, while others are working with federal and state building authorities to educate staff, create monetized carbon credits, and develop effective carbon offset policies. This effort will be heightened once a federal cap-and-trade mechanism is launched in this country.

9. Net Zero Buildings. A net zero building is a building that generates more energy than it uses over the course of a year, as a result of relatively small size, extreme efficiencies and onsite renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or geo-exchange systems. While the Architecture 2030 Challenge sets forth net zero as the goal for all buildings in 2030, we are already within striking distance on many fronts. Building extreme efficiency into a structure is highly cost effective, and achieves the bulk of the net zero effort. Oregon already has several net zero homes, and the planned Oregon Sustainability Center is an example of a net zero office building.

10. Sustainable building education. While the slowdown afforded many builders the opportunity to learn about green building and establish credentials, the momentum for green building is being supplied by homebuyers, homeowners and building owners. The continued demand, especially in progressive cities, will supply new learning opportunities, not just for designers and builders but for the entire chain of professionals involved in the building industry, from real estate to finance, and insurance. These peripheral professionals seek to know more about the features and benefits of sustainable construction in order to place an appropriate value on a green building. In this way they can be assured that there will not be a disconnect between the homeowner’s or builder’s perceived value and the appraiser’s perceived value, and all parties can benefit from the greening of the building industry.

By Sean Penrith

If your coming to Miami to check out some of our fabulous homes at fabulous prices, look no further that Hybrid Auto Rentals for all your rental car needs.

This local rental car company can have you in one of their hybrid rentals in no time– they even have airport pick up.

For more information, please call 305.785.4307 or check out their website at www.Hybrid-AutoRentals.com

Existing home sales surged in November, as buyers rushed in to close purchases ahead of what was thought to be the end of the first-time home buyers’ tax credit. Sales rose 7.4 percent to a 6.54 million unit annual rate.

________________________________________________________________________

Sales of existing homes surged 7.4 percent in November to a 6.54 million 7.5 unit annual rate. The increase was widely expected, as the pending home sales data and anecdotal reports from realtors suggested that a substantial 7.0 number of buyers rushed into the market to buy homes ahead of what was 6.5 thought to be the end of the first-time home buyers’ tax credit. The tax credit was subsequently extended through April 2010 and expanded to 6.0 bring in more trade-up buyers. Early reports for December suggest the 5.5 extension will have little immediate effect. Transactions were pulled forward into November which will likely lead to a payback in December and 5.0 January before another resurgence in sales ahead of the tax credit’s expiration in April.

The National Association of Realtors reported that 51 percent of existing home sales in November were first-time purchases. First-time purchases accounted for 50 percent of purchases in October. The fall months are typically a slower time for home buying, as schools have already begun 20% their new year and fewer families are likely to move. The tax credit, which required buyers to close by November 30, led to more activity during this slow period, which sent the annual sales rate soaring to its highest level since February 2007. In effect, sales did not fall as much as they usually do in November, which translated into a large seasonally-adjusted increase. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis sales actually declined 5.2 percent.

The exaggerated impact of the seasonal adjustment process means the housing market is nowhere near as healthy as it was the last time home sales were this strong. That finding should not surprise anyone. In -12% addition to generous incentives to first-time home buyers, a large -16% proportion of November’s sales were either foreclosure sales or short sales. -20% Distressed transactions accounted for one-third of sales in November. The high proportion of distressed sales and first-time purchases pulled down both the average and median sales prices. The median price of a home sold 12.0 in November was $172,600, down 4.3 percent from a year ago. The average price was down 3.0 percent to $216,400.

More Time Will Be Needed for the Housing Market to Heal While today’s numbers make it look like the housing market has made an incredible amount of progress there has been less healing than meets the eye. The inventory of unsold homes, for example, is reported to have fallen 7.0 to just 6.5 months, which is the lowest since December 2006. That seemingly normal level is primarily the result of the exaggerated sales pace for November. If you take the current level of inventory and compare it to the total sales for the year, which we estimate at 5.163 million units, you get a much more believable 8.2-month supply.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Source: National Association of Realtors and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

If you get a chance, drive by 1450 Brickell in Miami; it is a standing testimonial to our city’s committment to being GREEN! Pre-certified to the Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system, it is destined to become a Miami landmark. LEED certification is not easy to get, and has four levels; certified, silver, gold, and platinum. Credits are given in five areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. These credits are tallied, and used to determine the building’s rating. It goes without saying that gold is hard to get!

Rising 35 stories above the Brickell business district, the sleek design of this new class A corporate tower is already adding sophistication to the already upscale surrounding area. In fact, it looks a bit like San Francisco’s Transamerica building from the front- if not quite as tall. Safety and security have been built into every square inch of this building, including large missle resistant glass that covers the entire exterior of the building. The building also has controlled access via a security card, and the concierge screens every visitor who enters. Offering 582,817 square feet of rentable office space with floor plans of approximately 26,103 square feet, many new businesses will find it a prestigious and desirable home.

Additional amenities include 2 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, concierge services, valet parking, high speed elevators, and stunning water views of Biscayne Bay and the surrounding area. Wow - what a cool place to run a business! It sings of prosperity from every corner. It is also a great place to be when the weather acts up! Designed beyond current code requirements for power outages, 1450 Brickell has a “throw-over” vault with two primary feeds. In the event of a power outage, the vault automatically gets thrown over to the other feed - with a hefty generator to keep things running. The building is also designed to exceed all wind tunnel requirements to 149 mph, and features hurricane resistant glass throughout the building.

1450 Brickell Curtain Wall Test Video

It is a shining testimonial to our community commitment to more responsible construction and building. Let the good news spread!

If you or your clients needed a motivator to do some home winterizing projects, the IRS recently sweetened the deal.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), enacted earlier this year, expanded two home energy tax credits: the non-business energy property credit and the residential energy efficient property credit.

That means you can perform energy-saving home improvements and reduce your 2009 tax hit. The credit equals 30 percent of what you spend on eligible energy-saving improvements, up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500 for the combined 2009 and 2010 tax years. The IRS says that by spending as little as $5,000 before the end of this year on eligible upgrades, taxpayers can save as much as $1,500 on their federal tax return.

What included? The cost of certain high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters and stoves that burn biomass all qualify, along with labor costs for installing these items.

The cost of energy-efficient windows and skylights, energy-efficient doors, qualifying insulation and certain roofs also qualify for the credit, though the cost of installing these items does not count.

Before making any investments, be sure to check with your accountant or the IRS to be certain that your upgrades qualify for the credit. Some other low-cost home winterizing tips:

• Use a programmable thermostat. When installed and used correctly, you may be able to save $180 each year.
• Get a tune-up for your furnace and change your furnace filter monthly. Clean filters create better air flow, while dirty filters can hike energy usage.
• Reduce drafts by sealing air leaks and add insulation to keep precious heat from escaping. The EPA estimates that homeowners can typically save up to 20 percent of heating and cooling costs (or up to 10 percent of total energy costs) by air sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists.
• Get a window insulation kit from the hardware store to keep drafts at bay.

  CREDIT GIVEN TO THE GREENRESOURCECOUNCIL.ORG WEBSITE