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It Isn't Easy Buying Green
EcoBrokers' May Help But Are Hard To Find
By THERESA SULLIVAN BARGER | Special To The Courant
Essex residents Rick and Kathy Pianka have been looking to buy an energy-efficient home with the help of their environmentally minded real estate agent for a year. So far, no luck.
But, as hard as it is to find a green home in their area, it could be worse. They could be doing it without the help of an agent who knows the ins and outs of the ever-changing green housing industry.
"One of the things I like about Mick [Marsden], he understands it and believes in it. He's not going to run me around looking at something he knows isn't even close," Rick Pianka said.
How To Do Your Part
As rising prices move mainstream Americans to conserve energy, the demand for homes with energy-efficient appliances, windows, heating systems and other features is expected to swell. And as consumer demand grows, some predict that real estate agents who can help buyers find and identify green homes will be as sought after as shovels before the season's first snowstorm.
The problem is, there's no obvious, direct way for consumers seeking a green real estate agent to find one. And consumers need to be wary of those who market themselves as green agents because there is not yet an independent definition of what makes someone a green agent or what makes a home green.
Suzy and Dave Enos have made nearly every green and energy-saving improvement to their Canton home that they can, but they want to sell their house and buy another that's within walking distance to a rail-trail. Trouble is, they're having difficulty finding an agent who can help them market their house to its fullest potential and help them locate an energy-efficient house.
"We've left our name with a few Realtors in the area, but we haven't gotten any callbacks. They looked at us funny as we described what we were looking for," Enos said in an e-mail. "We have been looking for a green home for a while and have really given up. We're now down to looking for 'green land' — where a house can be built with the proper solar PV angles" and other eco-friendly features.
Certified 'EcoBrokers'
There are agents who are "Certified EcoBrokers," but unless consumers know where to look, they're not going to find them. The "Certified EcoBroker" course, which agents take online, recently was approved by the state of Connecticut. Of the five Connecticut agents listed on the EcoBroker website as "Certified EcoBrokers," two are real estate instructors and don't work directly with buyers and sellers. More than a dozen others are working toward their designations, said Kim Young, marketing director of EcoBroker.com.
If consumers go to the Connecticut Association of Realtors and click on the "Find a Realtor" option, they can search for agents who have 19 different designations and certifications — but not one of those designations relates to green expertise.
That's because the statewide association for real estate agents has not yet endorsed the EcoBroker course or any similar course. CAR is "promoting" the Certified EcoBroker program, which is the first step toward endorsing it, but it has not yet been fully vetted by the National Association of Realtors, said Ken DelVecchio, president of CAR.
"I think that's because this is in its infancy," DelVecchio said. "We may be a year away before this really starts to kick in. I do think that because everyone is becoming so green-conscious, this is going to be a big thing."
The EcoBroker course has received a stamp of approval from the state Real Estate Commission, he said, so it's only a matter of time before the national and state Realtor associations endorse it. Once that happens, he predicted, more agents will take the course.
Christopher Ashe, co-owner of Fair Choice Realty in Litchfield and a real estate instructor, took the course to deepen and broaden his knowledge.
"I was already pretty green before I took the course," Ashe said. "[But] I was surprised at how much new stuff I picked up."
Deborah Battista, owner of Domus Realtors & Associates in North Haven, has already put what she learned in the EcoBroker course to use in her own home.
"Being a mother of three and an ex-educator, I've been really in tune to the environment and nature. With the cost of heating oil going up, I had to try to find better ways to do the same job," she said. "Whatever I can do to avoid contributing to the degradation of nature and the need for war overseas, I want to do it."
She learned, for example, how to read an energy guide label, the labels for energy ratings on windows, when to take a radon test, and distinguishing between harmless mold and mold that creates a "sick" house. Whether she's representing buyers or sellers, she said, this knowledge helps her highlight potential negatives and positives of a house — just as she would point out the need to install a fence around a pool.
Gap In The Listings
But what if you want to buy an energy-efficient or green house? You can't just type the words "energy efficient" or "green" into your search the way you can screen for 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
In an effort to find a green home for the Piankas, Michael "Mick" Marsden has been scanning through the agents' comment section on listings for the past year in search of energy-saving features.
"The statewide MLS [Multiple Listing Service] is where the change has to occur," he said. "The rules are changing so slowly that the management of the statewide MLS is our own worst enemy." Cameron Paine, CEO of Connecticut MLS, said the topic of creating a place on the MLS listing form to note energy efficiency and/or a green home hadn't come up, but after inquiries from a reporter, directors agreed to talk about it.
"The MLS is very interested in finding ways to make sure homes reflect the value that clients put on them and the value to the marketplace," he said. "Since the issue has been raised, it will be discussed at the next board meeting."
While Battista is the only "Certified EcoBroker" who works with buyers and sellers, there are self-taught agents like Marsden who have a passion for green homes. The challenge for consumers is finding them.
How To Do Your Part
Annette Roberts — who is selling her green home just six months after completing a year-long renovation to make it healthy, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient — found her EcoBroker by coincidence. Battista was involved when Roberts and her husband purchased the North Haven home and they went back to Battista when a job offer meant moving out of state. While Roberts said the fact that Battista has completed the course is a bonus, they would have selected her as their agent in any case, because they liked their previous experience with her.
Financial Benefits?
Just as "greenwashing" has hit the consumer products industry, buyers and sellers need to be wary of green home claims and of assertions about the financial benefits of such homes.
While having an energy-efficient house lowers energy bills, last year Fannie Mae terminated its energy-efficient mortgage program, said Carl Bulgini, owner of Fenwick Mortgage in Old Saybrook. However, he added, if buyers can demonstrate that a home's energy-saving features lower the bills expected for a house of a given size, there are some lenders who will "actually bump up the mortgage and increase your purchasing power."
Similarly, real estate appraisers said, consumers should be skeptical about claims that energy-efficient houses promise higher market values.
"I would not adjust for it," said Kim DiGirolamo, owner of Absolute Appraisals in Killingworth. "It does go to the condition issue."
All things being equal, "a home that costs less to maintain would be a good selling point," but it's impossible to say that making a home energy-efficient would automatically increase its market value, said appraiser Robert Ficks of Robert Ficks LLC in Canton.
But those involved in all aspects of the real estate business predict an increase in consumer interest in energy-efficient homes.
Krystal Wade, an agent with Monarch Realty in Uncasville, has started to learn more about what makes a home energy-efficient in response to customer demand: Buyers are expressing concern about "healthy homes" and about reducing their energy bills.
"I think what's driving green building is that people are interested in saving money and making their families healthy," Wade said. "If it's great for the environment, that's just a bonus."
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