Selling Your Home – Are You Green Compliant?

The Greening Law

In the April 16th’s Vancouver Sun, Brian Morton wrote:

Come Sept. 5, ultra-low-flow toilets and other water-saving plumbing fixtures will be mandatory in all new construction in B.C.

As well, houses, multi-family residential buildings under five storeys and small commercial and industrial buildings will have new insulation requirements under the B.C. Building Code.

“This is the first time in B.C. that every building constructed in the province will meet energy and water efficiency targets,” Housing Minister Rich Coleman said in a statement.

Walk the Talk

There’s a stampede to be a “Green-ite.” I expect that soon the I am greener than you or did you see how green your neighbour is, will replace Vancouver Real Estate as cocktail or Starbucks conversation. In reality, what may replace both conversations is something more disturbing.

Does the Story End

Following Morton’s piece one asks if this is the start of greening, is there an end? How far will we allow our governments to go in order to achieve green mandates. Ultimately, the soul seaching question is, how green do we really want to be?

In Austin, the topic of being green and it’s application is reaching into the bedrooms, kitchens, attics and pocketbooks of local real estate home owners. Lani Anglin-Rosales of Singlepoint Realty summed it up this way:

• Single family homeowners will be required to obtain a license from the city of Austin prior to selling their homes.
• Also, they’re proposing to mandate energy efficiency retrofits for all types of properties in Austin, including single family owner-occupied homes prior to the sale of any single family owner-occupied home, a certificate of compliance proving the required efficiency retrofits have been done must be done prior to closing.

Quoting the Austin Board of Realtors’ Government Affairs Department via Lani:

The task force is due to submit a completed draft ordinance for the City Council to vote on in June of this summer. The task force has been charged with determining how to implement a Point of Sale ordinance in order to reach fuller residential energy efficiency. Our member on the task force has reported that they are leaning heavily towards a point of sale ordinance that would require a home owner to obtain a certificate of compliance before being able to sell your home. There’s not a specific list of potential retrofits the homeowners would have to make, but the task force has discussed such items as weather stripping, window replacements, radiant barriers in the attic, and other things of this nature.

Well – How Green Are You?

So you have to ask yourself – How Green Am I? The affordability of homes in Vancouver is stretching the budgets of many.

As example, do you have enough green in your pocket to pay the price when a city bylaw requires the replacement all old windows, insulating the attic, installing a high efficiency furnace or removal of all the asbestos wrapping that exists around your heating pipes? Additonally, there is the needed compliance inspection – before you get approval to sell your home?

Are you green with wonder whether our city fathers might consider a vision similar to Austin’s? Will we have deep pocket acceptance?

What would Mahatma do?

Got a Vancouver Real Estate question? I’ll do my best to answer it. Call or send me an email.

Larry