BIG NEW WAY for InterNACHI members to make money! Thoughts please.

[Nick Gromicko]

Fixed! Thanks!

[Michael Walsh]

I'm wondering if there is (or will be) a yard sign offered advertising the Green certification. I'd like to offer that to my customers.

Michael

[Michael Walsh]

Will MoveInCertified provide a yard sign graphic for its Green Certification?

[Allen Cavdek]

looks like its going to be a good site....here in ontario, canada it will be a must by year 2012 that all new homes being build will be green certified
it is the future,and home inspectors should be educated on this
allen cavdek
inspect4u.ca

[ALLAN RICKETTS, Sr]

Just wondering how Green Advantage Certification stacks up?

http://www.greenadvantage.org/index.php

They have a good logo for that yard sign.

University of Florida , and across the nation Green Advantage Certification is avaliable, recognized by NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, LEED, etc.

[etrippe]

I signed up for the training last year here in MI and it was cancelled for lack of attendents. It came around again, signed up and this year the class was full. I am now Green Advantage Certified and a member of the USGBC. (When I can figure it out I will put those logos after my name) The class is a good basic training course for green building and the USGBC certification process. I whole idea about green building is DOING something positive towards sustainable buildings. Houses and buildings don't become green. They are built that way, and once built, they need to be maintained in a green way. It is the future and it is a different way to look at the building process. From recycling our construction waste, buying local products, (to keep transport at a minium), building close to public transportation, reducing water consumptation and many other new ideas. And once a building or home is built and occupied it is how the owners live their daily lives. It does little good to go thru the process of building green if then the same old way of living is continued. We as inspectors should be looking at each and every house we inspect and give the new owners a list of things they can do in a better way, change their lightbulbs, lower their water heater temp. install a set back t-stat and so on. That is why we need better training in what can be done. We first need to accecpt their is a problem and then care enough to make a change.That is where this board should step up. In the teaching as to why things like carpet color, wall color and tree placement ( too name a few) make a difference. It is not all about making money and putting out yard signs, it is first about accecpting and understanding a problem exists, then knowing what to do differently and then do it and keep doing it better. Just my thoughts.

[Grossett A. Taylor, Jr.]

Justo,

How is it going with the HERS certification. Can you tell me more about that. I have a mortgage company that have questions about it. I am HUD certified and this is a HUD program that give funds for green certification. I just did an inspection and they want the HERS report on this property.

Thanks in advance. Jay

[Philippe G. Heller]

We've been considering how to offer an efficiency evaluation of the house. The only problem I see is that the certification above would be good for sellers to use a a marketing piece.

We are more interested in evaluating a house for a buyer, and suggesting ways to improve efficiencies of the house they are buying. We already report on many of the materials in a house such as R-value of insulation, single/double pane windows, age of water heater, etc.

My thoughts are to create a report that uses that info to suggest ways to improve the house that our customers are actually buying. For example, how much money would they save by insulating an un-insulated 1950's house (yes we have a lot of those in San Diego). Or what are the industry estimates of savings when upgrading to double-paned windows.

I just don't think people will care about finger jointed or wood baseboards. The products that exist in a house are what they are. The question is how can someone improve the efficiency of the house to save money and reduce usage of electricity/gas.