Building Trust, LLC

Article by Todd Gamboa - President  - Building Trust, LLC

What Are You Driving?

How well do you know your new car? Does it live up to your expectations? How well does your new car perform? Is it faster, quiter, sexier, or more comfortable than you expected? Does it cost you more to operate it than you originally thought? And, if so, ... how do you know?

If you're like me, you rarely peer through the tinted glass to see the fancy "Corinthian" leather until you've studied the window sticker. Price is very important to me! As a father or four who is always watching a budget, I always struggle between what is affordable to buy, and what is affordable to own. And make no mistake, there is not always a direct correlation. Especially, when your young ones start driving your vehicles at your expense.

As much as I would prefer the shiny black sports car, I worry about packing the soccer team, football team, boy scout troop, musical instruments, and occassional bicycle into the back seat. Not to mention my almost daily trip to the local big box home improvement store. (In case you haven't noticed, they have rolling yellow carts bigger than the car I'm describing!) But regardless of the model, make, color, and payment, performance is still important to me. Question is, ... am I prepared to pay for it? Can I forsake the convenience of the family truckster for the hot rod, ... or better yet, the Hummer? Swallowing the idea of a big monthly payment seems to be status quo. But at what point do additional costs start to aggrevate you? With gas prices rising faster than helium ballons, the most immediate inconvenience that I experience seems to be at the pumps.

So I ask you, are miles per gallon important to you? Or, better yet, how many miles per gallon does your car get. If you weren't concerned when you purchased the car, you probably are now. Do you feel slighted if the car claims 25 miles per ggallon, and you're only getting 21? Well you're not alone. Automobile manufacturers and dealers claim that the MPG rating on the window sticker is one of the first things that consumers are looking at when shopping for new cars. Have you ever noticed that the better the MPG, the bigger the size of the number on the window sticker?.?.? Why is this? Do consumers actually care about how much fuel they're going to use? Isn't this the first indication of how much the vehicle is going to cost them to operate?

So are you more concerned about the payment, or about the monthly gas bill? With today's fuel prices, your tank may take more money than your bank every month! Ouch! Does this have any influence on your purchase decision now? Well it obviously does for some buyers. The Toyota Prius  and other high mileage hybrid vehicles are selling off the lots, and at a much higher price tag than their traditional counterparts. Hybrids bring in as much as $6,000 to $8,000 more for the extra 15 miles per gallon. Obviously someone's taking notice.

So let's compare this to the housing industry. (As a builder, that's what I always like to do....) Why don't you ever look under the hood or check the window sticker when purchasing a new home? Isn't this the most expensive purchase that you'll ever make? Don't you care about how well it performs? If you could reduce the amount of gas (natural gas that is...) going into your home wouldn't you? If you had to fill up and pay for your natural gas every week, don't you think that you might pay more attention. (You farmers on propane know what I'm talking about.)

What if I told you that you could reduce your monthly electric utility bills, ... would you care about this?  Or how about the water that you're using, or how often you have to repaint, or repair your home?  Do you want your home to withstand the elements, and retain it's value, or better yet, ... appreciate? Don't you have to spend time and money maintaining it? What if you could cut this in half? Most of us have an assumption that our homes will be more valuable as time goes by. Do you have this expectation about your car? In a new home, we spend thousands of dolars upgrading it's features... many of which add value to the home, and make it more attractive for re-sale.

So didn't you also upgrade your new car? Or did you have the expectation that your new car already has state-of-the-art features?

What about those safety performance features? Didn't you purchase the new car with air bags? ... or anti-lock brakes? Is this because you are concerned about your health and safety, or your family's health and safety? So then, what if your house could be safer or healthier? Wouldn't you purchase these types of options for your home?

If you've answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then keep reading. If not, just swipe your card, fill 'er up, and keep on going.

A new home built in compliance to the newest building and energy codes offers you some protection from unsafe and unhealthy houses. But what if you want performance? How do you check the window sticker?

Where do they even put the window sticker? Well good luck finding it.

Unfortunately, there is no obvious window sticker for you to reference to verify performance of your home. However, there are several programs available to builders and remodelers that require high performance, verification, and testing. Consumers, listen up! The Department of Energy has it's Building America program, and EnergySar. And, there's national programs sponsored by Environments for Living,  the National Associaton of HomeBulders, U.S. Green Building Council, and LEEDs. In addition, there are tons of locally managed city, state, and regional programs available to builders. Many have oustanding performance criteria, but not all are concerned with marrying 'Green" and energy efficency.

However, one program which has differentiated itself in the building industry by marrying the right mix of environment, energy, and economy is the Built Green Colorado program. A new home built to Built Green standards is the answer. Besides the obvious features of conserving water, being energy efficient, durable, comfortable, and resource conscious, it has requirements for health and safety. A Built Green home offers MPG, Airbags, and Anit-lock brakes, ... at least figuratively. When a builder enrolls in this program, their homes are built with the newest "High Performance" building techniques and products which deliver, .... MPG's. Built Green builders include hgh performance 90% or better furnaces or boilers, programmable thermostats, low-water consumption toilets and faucets, advanced insulation techniques, Low-E windows, advanced weatherization techniques, and verification methods through certified independent 3rd party inspectors called HERS (Home Energy Rating Service) raters. This is MPG!

If you care about your health and safety, consider that most Built Green Colorado builders use power-vented, sealed combustion furnaces and hot water heaters, and gas fireplaces. These appiances are designed to eliminate the occurence of any harmful emission gases from leaking back into your home, These are your airbags!

As builders are building houses tighter than ever before,  the need for proper ventiation and combustion safety is a high priority! "Build It Tight and Ventilate It Right" is the new credo in the building industry. Historically, houses leaked air consistently, which allowed some of the polluted indoor air to escape the house, while allowing new fresh air from the outdoors to leak in. As concerns with water infiltration, and MOLD growth in older homes became the #1 cause of construct defect litigation, builders found it necessary to build airtight houses. Although, many well built houses still leak some air, the amount of Air Changes per Hour (ACH's) is considerably smaller, requiring some forced or passive ventilation from the outside.  Now throw in top quality, durable building materials, such as composite exterior sidings and synthetic decking, engineered floor joists, and framing materials, recycled countertop and flooring products, EnergyStar appliances, top-quality construction techniques, and a verification process, and you've got the whole package! Wow! This is what I call Green! 

Well here's your window sticker. A new Built Green Colorado home is at least 15% more energy efficient than a home built to the newest codes. And, it's probably 25% more efficient than a home built just 3 or 4 years ago. Can your car do that? And, if you're driving a home built in the 90's, the new "Green" homes are probably closer to 40% more energy efficient, not to mention healthy, durable, and comfortable.

So here's the question. Are you Paying Equity or Paying for Energy? If you're paying Equity, then you are realizing true value in your home. If you 're paying for Energy, buckle up as gas, electricity, and water prices increase. If you're like me ... it's probably time to trade in, and upgrade.

So, what are you driving?

NEWS FLASH 

 To all HERS Raters and Builders!

Building Trust LLC has joined forces with Residential Science Resources LLC to manage Xcel Energy's ENERGY STAR New Homes Rebate Program.

 To find out how to enroll homes and receive rebates contact:

todd.gamboa@residentialscience.com

BUILDING GREEN Homes

Contact us to learn more about high-performance homes!

Email us today at:

todd@buildingtrustllc.org

call us at:

(303)404-0131

or write us at:

BuildingTrust LLC

555 Alter Street

Suite 19-E

Broomfield, CO   80020

One of our team members will contact you within 1 business day to start you down the path of becoming a "Green" and energy efficient builder!

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