For new and existing home buyers, the options to “green up” homes abound.
Green upgrades on homes offer two-fold benefits. They contribute to a healthier environment, both now and in the future, and they can save homeowners big when it comes to energy costs.
How much impact does a green home have on the environment, you ask? The government reports that Energy Star qualified homes built in 2009 are the equivalent of:
· Eliminating emissions from 51,645 vehicles
· Savings 312,399,672 lbs of coals
· Planting 85,372 acres of trees, and
· Saving in the environment 612,678,574 pounds of CO2.
Many homebuyers shy away from green construction and green upgrades because of the upfront cost. But while some estimates have put the construction cost difference at 17 percent, recent estimates from The World Business Council for Sustainable Development put the cost of green construction only 5 percent higher than traditional.
Green building means using recycled, renewable, and native building materials. It also means tapping into the energy sources that nature has to offer, including solar and wind.
Here are a few ideas of simple “going green” ideas to get you thinking.
Energy Star Appliances: Appliances are an easy way to make a home more friendly to the environment. One of the fastest ways to explore your options is to visit energystar.gov. At this government site you can find out more information on tax credits and rebates. As an example of Energy Star appliances and their efficiency, qualified washers use 30 percent less energy and over 50 percent less water.
Toxin-free Paint: Also known as “zero-voc, low-voc, and natural” paint, this is a good option for families that have asthma sufferers. According to the EPA, “Paints, stains, and varnishes release low level toxic emissions into the air for years after application.”
Renewable Flooring: Looking for a beautiful way to incorporate wood flooring into your home? Consider bamboo flooring. How is bamboo a green option? It grows and renews itself quickly, unlike most woods, making it an ideal and cost effective option for green flooring.
Passive Solar: In effect this option can cost you nothing, if you choose the right designed home. The goal is to design to take advantage of the sun’s positioning throughout the year.
Low Flow Toilets: Looking to keep utility costs down in your new home? Low flush toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush versus 3.5 in traditional toilets. That’s a lot of water saved. Worried about the efficiency of low flow? There have been major strides made in recent years in improving these toilets.
Hopefully, these items spur you to seek out your own ways to make your home as green as it can be.

Written by Carla L. Davis

With these beautiful warm, sunny days, it’s easy to realize Spring will soon be upon us and all that glorious snow we have a love/hate relationship with will be gone.

So let’s get out there and enjoy all the winter recreation while we can!

There’s over 50 km of groomed Nordic trails for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Pack a lunch and enjoy the quiet of nature.

Wolf Creek currently has phenominal conditions with a 110″ base for boarders and skiiers to carve out mountain fun.

Get those kiddos on a sled or intertube and create a memorable day sliding down the hill on the golf course. Even the people driving by love it!

Don’t forget the ever growing St Patrick’s Day Parade thru downtown on March 17th. Whether you’re in the parade or on the sidelines watching, don’t forget to wear your green. You might get pinched if you don’t!

Attention music lovers! Michael Martin Murphy will perform a concert on March 22nd at the EcoLuxe Hotel, at the Springs Resort at 7pm. Contact the Pagosa Springs Chamber at 970-264-2360 for more information.

Your mortgage is typically your largest monthly expense. Therefore, it offers perhaps the largest single source of savings.

Extra payments: Every time you make an extra principal payment, you shorten your loan by a month and save a month’s worth of interest.

Any formula works. One extra full principal and interest payment a year will cut a 30-year loan to about 17 years, and adding the next month’s principal payment to this month’s total payment will shear the loan almost exactly in half.

Here’s an example: On a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage at 6 percent, the monthly payment for principal and interest is $1,199.10. But if you up the ante by $100 a month, you’ll pay the loan off in 24 years and save $49,476.40 in interest. Throw another $100 at your loan every month, and you’ll pay it off in just under 21 years, saving nearly $80,000 in interest.

You can save big bucks even if you add just $25 or $50 a month to your house payment, because the balance will be that much lower. But the key to being truly successful is being consistent. You can always skip an extra payment without penalty. But you will see the greatest benefit by unfailingly digging into your wallet a little deeper each and every month.

Make sure that you tell the lender the extra money is to be credited to principal. Also, keep your own records and check once a year to be certain that the lender has followed your instructions.

• We will continue to see lots of volatility in the housing market thru 2010.
• Three major factors will contribute to the dropoff in the 2nd half of the year: Government intervention will disappear, shadow inventory will hit the market and mortgage rates will rise into the 6% range.
• The tax credit will not create significant new demand.
• When the April 3oth tax credit deadline expires for properties to be under contract, interest rates will creep up and more inventory will hit the market. Hence, prices will continue to drop another 5-10%.
• Sales volume will be flat versus 2009 (5 million to 5.5 million homes.

My purpose for this blog is to educate you in our complex real estate market. I welcome your inquires.

Cutting to the chase, I think I can safely say that any potential buyer will be kicking themselves 5 years from now if they don’t take advantage of this “unusual” economic situation we have come to find ourselves in. Waiting to buy will turn you into your grandfather. Remember when he would say, “I should have bought as much property as I could, while it was cheap.” As with the stock market, don’t try to time the real estate market.

Here’s an exercise that shows what waiting “for the bottom to hit” might do to a buyer who hasn’t done their homework.

Let’s make an assumption that the prices may still decline 5% more before they start appreciating again. If, while a buyer was waiting for the price on a $250,000 to go down 5% to $237,500, and the interest rate goes up one percent from 5.25% to 6.25%, which is entirely possible, the buyer’s monthly payments will increase almost $79 per month.

For most buyers, the monthly payment to control the cost of the home is much more important than the price paid or even the equity in the home.

Cost of Waiting to Buy…

You can see what a difference a rise in interest rates can do, even if the purchase price is lower.

Now…believe it or not, this is not all bad news. Real estate is still the safest investment you can have. Everyone needs a roof over his or her head. Why pass up such a great opportunity to live in “paradise” when real estate is priced at 2001 prices! Shares of Google won’t keep you warm and dry. Prices are low, interest rates are still good, and inventory is there. Diversification has always been the right way to invest. Real estate needs to be in your portfolio. If you love a property and can justify the price, buy it. I can help you with the justification part by assisting you with making the right financial decision. Are you getting a “deal”?  If you can’t get a deal in this economy, when can you?

I hope you will come away from this a little more informed. Of course if you have questions, I’m only a phone call away.

Kindest regards,

JoAnn Laird ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES
Broker Associate
Mobile: 970.  946.9700                             
Office: 970. 731.4065