Healthy Homes Sell Faster

As both energy costs and environmental awareness rise, energy-efficient "green" homes are becoming more and more popular. A Green Home Assessment can help you and your family enter into this new market with an edge. To determine if your home qualifies, follow these simple instructions. Make a family project with it and add to it as you discover new sustainable solutions. Have Fun!

1) Download and print a copy of the Green Home Assessment Checklist (this may take a few moments to load- PDF format)

2) Go through the worksheet and attempt to answer each question listed in the OBSERVATION column to the best of your knowledge.  If you don't understand a question or are unsure about it, don't worry--this step is simply an initial assessment.

3) Some questions do not pertain to this geographic area, so just mark N/A and do not worry about them.

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Sell Your Green Features With A Pre-Listing Inspection

Contact me to come to your home and visually inspect it. This independent verification is a required part of the certification process.  The inspector will then submit an application on your behalf, and you will receive a printed certificate within 4-5 days.  You can use this certificate to advertise your home as Green Certified and retain with your homes permanent records.

Whether you perform this Green Home Assessment yourself or hire me, the important thing to remember is you now have a starting point to for your home to become more sustainable and energy efficient. Consider upgrading areas of your home; you can use the checklist as a reference guide.

Schedule a Green Certified Assessment.

Who is involved in the Green certification program?

The certification was created through the joint efforts of the International Association of Certified

What is the Green Home Assessment?

Although Green Certification is not the same as an energy audit it contains other important aspects relating to the health of the home and its occupants and even extends into the community and your transportation.

A Green Home Assessment, much like a physical examination from the doctor is a snapshot in time of where your home is when it comes to being sustainable and most importantly it provides you, the individual home owner, with reference and guidance that will assist in making the necessary improvements to your property and creating an individual sustainable management plan. The inspection form is about three pages of important questions designed to identify the homes energy and sustainability features or lack of them.

Where is this program being implemented?

There are over 6000 Residential and Commercial Inspectors participating in the program throughout the United States and Canada. Because of changing laws and standards of practice in the building industry, all home inspectors are currently being required to be certified in Green building construction or energy auditing by their trade associations or the local governing officials. These energy audits are required in order to attain funding from Green Retrofit and other government programs designed to jumpstart Green jobs to improve our homes and buildings. This national trend is occurring in an effort to power down and slowly changing our lifestyles toward a sustainable and healthier future.

Why Green Home Assessment?  

 Green Certified homes are healthier, environmentally friendlier, and economically smarter than average homes. Move In Green is a designation for homes that use design features, technologies and products that:

•  improve energy-efficiency
• reduce pollution
• provide healthier air
• increase comfort
• reduce water usage
• preserve natural resources
• increase durability
• make a home quieter
• reduce maintenance
• lower monthly costs
  
• improve resale value.
  

When will this green program start on Kauai? Right now!

• Anyone can Download the Green Home Assessment inspection form and carry out the inspection on their home. It is absolutely FREE and could possibly end up saving you some money. It only takes a short time to complete and I encourage people to make a family project with it and if you can add other sustainable questions to it that's even better.
• The Green Home Assessment is performed at the same time I perform a typical real estate home inspection and is included with the inspection report at no charge on request.
• I perform the Green Home Assessment for a fee to property management companies or for home owners requiring this service.

The Kauai Energy Sustainability Plan developed for the county of Kauai outlines numerous methods and combinations of solutions that will need to be implemented to achieve Kauai's energy sustainability. It is a springboard of information providing the community with a foundation to build on. What we do with this information as individuals will be up to us.

• "As small business owner, but more importantly, as a resident of the Garden Island of Kauai the Green Home Assessment is something I can offer the community in an effort to build awareness of what we can do as individuals and families in the area of creating sustainability at home and spread out from there to transportation alternatives, food supply and distribution."