Congratulations to J-P Peron who is now one of the first REALTORs on the Outer Banks to have earned the NAR Green designation!

Green Tip #6 Turn off lights when exiting a room, office, or conference room

Green tip #5 Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.

Green Tip #4 - Use a power strip for appliances and office equipment and turn off when not in use

Green Tip #3 Using cold water can save up to 80 percent of the energy required to wash clothes.

Living Green Tip #2 - Use a timer for taking showers & cut down on energy use.

Morgan Mason just listed - Corolla NC Whalehead Beach 4 BDR/2.5 BA $550,000 http://ping.fm/6X9rv

Energy Star Fact Sheet

The Environmental Protection Agency is launching a year-long "Change the World: Start with Energy Star" campaign. The EPA is asking consumers to pledge to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and combat climate change. These steps include replacing at least one light with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light and choosing Energy Star-rated products when replacing appliances. Individuals can take the pledge online at: www.energystar.gov/changetheworld.To celebrate the launch of the campaign ENERGY STAR sent over some facts to help you reduce your footprint:

• If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR, we would prevent 9.3 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year. (6 billion kWh, $642 million, 773,000 cars)

• If every American household added insulation to their attic, we would prevent 24 billion lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions per year. (12.6 billion kWh, $1.8 billion, 2 million cars)

• If every American household serviced their heating and cooling systems, inspected their ducts for leaks and programmed their thermostat to save energy while they’re away or asleep, we would prevent 169 billion lbs of greenhouse gas emissions per year. (78 billion kWh, $14 billion, 14 million cars)

• If each desktop and monitor in U.S. homes was to sleep when not in use, we would prevent more than 16 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year (10.7 billion kWh, $1.1 billion, 1.4 million cars)

• If each TV, DVD, and home theatre system purchased in the U.S. this year was ENERGY STAR qualified, we would prevent more than 3 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year (2.5 billion kWh, $269 million, 324,000 cars)

• If every home office product purchased in the US this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would prevent 2.9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year (1.8 billion kWh, $200 million, 240,000 cars).

• If every refrigerator, dishwasher and clothes washer purchased in the US this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would prevent 4.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year (2.6 billion kWh, $663 million, 380,000 cars)

• If every decorative light string purchased in the US this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would prevent 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year. (2.6 billion kWh, $ 277 million, 330,000 cars)

• If every American household took part in the pledge, we would save more than 110 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars.
  

Courtsey of Energy Star

Home Inspections: Why?

This post asks a serious question:  What is the purpose of the home inspection?  

I ask this because in my last two transactions where I represented the buyer, the home inspections turned out to be worse than worthless. 

For example one home had non functioning HVAC on the day the new owners moved in.  Subsequent service evaluations proved it was impossible the system was working at the time of inspection.  The inspection report specifically noted that all HVAC units were functioning properly. That is a $6000 repair bill before the furniture is even delivered!  On this same property, there was a serious water leak in one bedroom after a storm.  The service person found, after crawling up to the very top of the attic, a series of pans the sellers had apparently been using for quite some time to collect the water coming from poor flashing around the badly constructed chimney plus other structural defects.  Currently the chimney is being rebuilt, dry wall & carpet replaced; another costly repair.  Of course, there is no way these problems were non existent at the time of inspection, less than 45 days prior to the rain. 

Before the closing I asked the seller's agent explicitly if there were any leaks or roof damage known to the sellers and was told there were none.  The buyer commented, "Even if we had known about these problems we would have still bought the house.  If they had been honest with us, at least we would have known what we needed to budget to fix this mess." 

Another property also required repairs that should have been noted in the home inspector's report.
Thank goodness I included home warranty insurance in the contract so some of the repair costs were covered! 

Lately in my world, home inspections seem to be a formality rather than a tool guiding the buyers and sellers during negotiations.  So, why do we rely on home inspections at all?  Are they of any use?  Is there another way to insure the property is not in need of such major repair?  What recourse does the buyer have for remedy?

Your thoughts and experience on this topic please!  HELP!

Five Earth Saving Actions You Can Take Right NOW

Cleaning up the environment does not have to be complicated.  One does not need a grand plan to make a difference.  Just look for what you can do right now; no community meetings to attend, no organizations to join, no fancy science to understand.  Just taking these five action steps will help save the planet.

1.  Pick Up The Poop 

Stormwater runoff pollution is created mainly by toxins from animal feces.  While the birds do their part, canine feces comprises the largest percentage of these.  So pick up the poop using biodegradable bags only. 

2.  Recycle ALL Plastic And Glass 

If your community does not have recycle pick up, find the local recycle center.  Take ALL your hard plastic items and glass there for recycle.  The numbers on the bottom of the bottles are resin numbers to help the recycle folks separate the plastic, not indicators of whether or not they should be recycled.  ALL hard plastic and glass can be recycled.

3.  Recycle Plastic Bags

Most supermarkets have bins for the collection of plastic bags, making this a simple task.  And it keeps our beaches clean too.

4.  Use Organic Fertilizers And Pesticides

Everything we put on the ground remains in the environment for a long time.  Chemicals we use enter our food supply to poison us as well as the insects!  Today, alternatives are readily available and effective.

5.  Pick Up The Trash And Improve Your Health

On your street, in your neighborhood, at the beach and in parking lots you will find opportunities to help clean up your community daily.  Bending over to pick up trash, bottles and discarded cigarette butts is great exercise too!

Morgan Mason has a new, mostly humorous blog post. See it at http://ping.fm/ENiUx

5 Myths About A Sick Real Estate Agent

Today I emerged from 10 days of a flu that exceeded my worse fears, that pain can actually cause death.

For 5 days I was unable to move. For 2 days I moved a little, then a little more. For all 10 days I could not put together a sentence, answer the phone, let the dog out or sleep. And yet, from the messages I received from other agents, I realized that there are at least 5 Myths circulating the Outer Banks about an idle, ill real estate agent.

Myth #1

You must be bored and anxious to do something! Good thing you have that new listing to write up.

Myth #2

You will feel better if you get productive. This isn’t a vacation, you know.

Myth #3

This is a good time to catch up on those marketing phone calls since you have time to really chat them up.

Myth #4

How nice that you have quiet time to whip out that Business Plan for 2010.

Myth #5

And isn’t it thrilling that you have time to write all those blogs you talk about! Lucky you!

All I can say is, ARE YOU INSANE!

Oh, and thanks for calling, it will be nice to return to work tomorrow to see all of you and begin again.