5 of the World's Greenest Homes

In this series I'll be looking at 5 of the worlds GREENEST homes. As most of you know now, there are a wide variety of ways that you can create sustainability in all kinds of real estate. There’s also as many reasons that people choose this way of keeping their global footprint small. All over the world, so many are looking for innovative and cost effective ways of saving energy and costs while at the same time reducing their waste and carbon emissions. BELLWETHER OF BELVEDERE

Pretty fancy name for a pretty cool house located just north of San Francisco in Belvedere.  Jordan Harris is a sustainability consultant who works hard to convert anyone to hybrid, particularly in their buildings.  He and his wife Julie wanted to exemplify their passion for sustainability and successfully created a modern home that seamlessly integrates all kinds of sustainable building technology. The best feature however, according to the Harris's, is that they have an electric meter that runs backwards and since 2006 hundreds of kilowatts of power has gone back into the grid! Their remodelled home has so many amazing features and the first order of business for them was to re-connect it to the natural surroundings.  Instead of facing directly into the lagoon and looking out to their neighbor, the residence was rotated 30 degrees which allows the eye to wander over the water to the mountain peak of Mt. Tamalpais.

The house is extremely energy efficient with the following items: 1) Photovoltaic solar cells 2) High-efficiency boiler 3) Radiant in-floor heating 4) Insulated glazing and low-e coatings on all windows and doors 5) Insulated solar shades to allow as much or as little solar gain as needed 6) High-efficiency household appliances 7) Ultra Touch cotton insulation (a treatment added to walls for added R factor)

Ninety five percent of the timber was salvaged or sustainably harvested.  Low VOC paint wNinety five percent of the timber was salvaged or sustainably harvested.  Low VOC paint was used on all vertical surfaces including a brick wall that was hidden behind some drywall.  An interesting feature is the large wall in the living area that was coated with an aluminum laminate (applied to recycled substrate) that captures and reflects light.  The floors are bamboo - a sustainable product that's easy to grow and harvest.  The garage floor and the underlay for paving stones outside were made from 30% fly-ash concrete. (Concrete use and manufacture is responsible for 8% of the worlds carbon emissions. Fly-ash concrete mixes waste from coal-burning plants with concrete to make stronger, less ecologically damaging material).  Original elements such as plumbing fixtures and cabinetry were re-cycled where possible.  Old doors and windows were donated to a building resources organization (we have RE-store in West Kelowna.  Remember to donate your gently used building products, appliances, home improvement items and furniture!)  and the old concrete was re-purposed and/or re-cycled.

Besides being one of the worlds most environmentally friendly homes, this house is a thing of beauty.  Transparent glass walls allowing an abundance of natural light and a spectacular waterfront garden creates a sensation of continuous space between the indoors and out.  With clean lines and aesthetic beauty this home sets itself apart while at the same time there is little visually about the house that hints at it's tree-hugging soul!

We can all do our part for the planet.  In Kelowna there are many resources and companies available to help guide you through a GREEN build or reno project for your real estate.  Call Paige Guernsey on her direct line at 250-862-6464 for your green housing questions today! Talk to you soon... Paige

"The way we live in our house is not the way we sell our house"

I met a home stager the other day who was full of great ideas. Her name is Tammy Cunningham and she owns "In Your Place" staging.
As a realtor, it's sometimes tough to tell people that some things in their homes need to be changed. Also as a realtor, I know that staged homes sell quicker and often for more money than their competitors. Home stagers can transform homes into smartly wrapped packages. This can really attract the buyers' attention, often enough to make an offer. From simply moving around furniture and adding a few choice decorations to a full-on transformation with furniture and accessories moved into a vacant house, a home stager offers a variety of services at a variety of prices. With the Kelowna real estate market maintaining its healthy and balanced qualities, home staging can make the difference between your house sitting on the market or selling for top dollar quickly. Try it... it really works!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Saved by my fellow REALTOR®

Today I was on MLS® tour with my fellow REALTOR® Grant Wiebe. (Tour is where the realtors get a chance to view new product on the market). Grant is a great guy and very creative in his marketing. I was asking him about his Youtube videos where he speaks about real estate using a webcam located in his vehicle. I was wondering if it distracts him while driving. At that VERY moment a lady pulled into traffic at ramming speed. Grant pulled off a spectacular maneuver... swerving out of her path (by the way, we were also at ramming speed!), narrowly but safely missing a light pole, and all the while speaking very calmly about the question I had asked him.
Way to go Grant... you're the BEST!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

When buying real estate, it's usually women who make the final decision

It's been a crazy busy summer... work, company and then our house flooded... wow a lot of "non-fun" with that!
Working with buyers lately has been really fun. The biggest challenge is to come up with Plan A & B for purchasing that will ensure the buyer gets the lowest possible purchase price for the property they love.
One of my favorite clients recently decided to downsize. We sold their townhouse and started looking! Plan A was to find a couple properties that they loved and then, starting with the #1 choice, make an offer with the idea that if the seller didn't take it, we'd move to choice #2. We found 2 properties that would fit this plan. The were almost identical in price, amenities, condition, and location. One seller was very motivated and one was not motivated at all.
We sat and discussed the pros and cons. The husband had his heart set on one (super motivated seller), the wife another (not so motivated seller). We went back and forth with no decision on which to offer on. The husband's first choice was logistically the better one for them... had a family room for grandchildren, enough parking for 2 vehicles and, 2 bathrooms. They decided to sleep on it. The next morning I got the call... the wife won out the decision on which to make an offer on first... the not so motivated seller!
The next step was to carefully plan our strategy and offer just enough to entice the sellers but low enough to be a good deal. Everyone committed to walking away to choice #2 if the seller didn't bite. And away we went with our offer...
Tick tock tick tock tick tock
The seller doesn't bite. Back I got to the buyers to proceed with offering on choice #2. The wife however, has a different plan. She must have house #1.
In the end, they ended up paying more than they would have for the other very comparable unit... but they have the house they love.
Sometimes it's good to remember that it's not all about the best deal. If you really love something, it's not necessarily best to settle. The roof over your head is a home... the buyers are very happy! :)

Didn't I say so?

So it would seem that my prediction that the real estate "freeze frame" that we've just experienced would turn out to be a positive thing. Not to be one to blow my own horn, but I've certainly had a number of people saying to me "I wish I had listened to you sooner!"
Prices are down for sure and will probably be there for a while. The gush of inventory we had been expecting in the spring didn't happen and as those first buyers started to emerge, they were the lucky ones with the pick of the crop. A few more listings came on-stream but inventory was being well picked over. In fact some sellers that were not getting any action started to see their overpriced homes get shown. Sometimes the buyers braved an overpriced home and a reasonable offer was made and for the most part accepted.
In January we were up 62% in inventory.... very much a buyers market. That gradually turned around over the next month or two and now total listings now sits at a healthy 1650+ where last year in July we had 2000 active listings! (This by the way includes all listings, not just residential)This has created a very healthy stable and balanced market. Buyers can still get a good deal but not like they could a few months back and sellers are seeing reasonable prices for their homes now. Home sales in Kelowna for July were up a WHOPPING 59% over July of 2008 and Vancouver's sales in July were the highest in history! Yayyyy!
I keep reminding myself that Kelowna is the most beautiful part of the world and that everyone wants to live and/or play here. More and more people have been arriving this summer from areas close by (Vancouver, Alberta, etc.) with their vacation dollar being pinched and I've found the people that I've talked to are WOWED with Kelowna and will be coming back again soon! Who wouldn't....
Long Live Kelowna Real Estate!!!
Talk to you soon.
Paige