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Hurricane Ike was only a Category 2 Storm.  Yes it caused a lot of damage, I’m not downplaying that.  But it could have been a lot worse.  To date there are still nearly 500,000 people without power in the Houston area, a full 2 Weeks after the Storm.

On top of that Centerpoint Energy, the company that owns and maintains a Majority of the Lines in and around Houston announced that they were going to charge Homeowners, Renters, anyone who has Electricity $3.50 per 1,000 kwh a month to repair what was broken.

That is not bad.  I will not feel that $3.50 a month as most Homeowners won’t.  BUT that is for 15 years! Let that soak in for a minute.  15 Years.  It was just 3 years ago that we had this SAME problem with Hurricane Rita that was not even as Big of a Storm as Ike was.  So what happens when another storm rolls through? What then?

I think this is absurd.  Why?  Why are we going to pay to repair and have MORE overhead power lines surrounded by trees that fall in the wind and storms, get struck by lightning and take Power Lines down with them. WE ARE IN A HURRICANE PRONE AREA!

Here is the Math behind the Rate Hike:

Everyone pays a MINIMUM of $3.50 a month

Atleast 2.58 Million Customers affected according to recent numbers released in the media

Equals a MINIMUM of atleast $9,030,000 each month

Which over 15 years Equals, well, too much money

So here is my request to Centerpoint Energy.  I think it makes sense.

Dear Centerpoint Energy,  please- instead of adding a measley $3.50 per 1,000 kwh used to my bill every month please add $10.  Heck, make it $20! But here is what I ask that you do with it.

Go ahead and repair what is broken.  However please do not build more poor infrastructure that is so incredibly susceptible to Hurricane and Tropical Storm weather.  Instead offer incentives for Homeowners to go Solar.  A simple 2kw system on a Rooftop would run almost everything in an average home.  It would run a Refrigerator, Fans, Lights, Television….everything but your HVAC system.  Oh, WOW!  That is what people are paying $50-$60 a day right now to run on a Generator!?! By the time you pay $500 for a generator, add $60 a day for gas to run it Homeowners have incurred Well over $1,000 already because of our lines to be taken out.  The residents in and around Houston are the ones that pay you to be in business.  Without us, you would not exist.  Not that it is really relevant, just a reminder.

If you need more reasons why this should be a no brainer, here ya go:

• Solar power is produced MOST when your Grid is the weakest.  Smack in the middle of the day.  That is when Houstonians crank down their A/C to stay cool, Refrigerators work harder to stay at temperature, etc.  You would likely not have to build MORE Grids.
• From the looks of the media right now, your Customer Complaints are at an all time HIGH.  Just imagine what it would be like with a little Solar on every roof.  A whole heck of a lot less.
• Solar Panels sustain Hurricane Force winds, unlike overhead power lines.
• With Solar Thermal Hot Water we could still have Hot Water during outages.
• I could even install a Solar Power HVAC system!
• Rates are still going….UP Power is NOT getting CHEAPER- That means your costs also.

Why would we charge everyone, including renters, $10 a month per 1,000 kwh used?  Don’t.  Keep the hike at $3.50 for Renters and make it $10 a month for Homeowners.  You already ask whether or not people rent or own, right?  That’s reasonable.  Atleast in my mind.

My point is, Hurricane Ike could have been a Category 5 and it is likely that we would still have 1.5 million people without power right now.  How does atleast $9 Million a month justify putting us back in that same, highly vulnerable position?

Incentives for us to go Solar, this really should be a No Brainer.  Thanks.

Typically most homebuyers have only a certain amount of money when they start looking for a home.  Whether it be that they are going to pay cash or get a mortgage, there is only so much that a typical homebuyer can do.  I touched on the topic of minimal options available when buying Green in Houston right now and how many of the ‘Green’ built homes inside the loop, or outside for that matter, are townhomes and condos.  Well, that doesn’t appeal to everyone.

For the sake of this part of the Series let’s say that the homebuyer does not want to go over $400,000 and wants to stay around 2300 sq ft or so.

I have had clients that want room for Gardens, Composting Pits- Others just may not physically be able to buy a home with an extensive amount of stairs for one reason or another.  Then some decide to build Green.  Why not LEED?

Well, unless you have a lot already to use this can add up.  I am sticking with near Downtown because location seems to be an issue with many buyers today.  Let’s say that you purchase a lot in an area/location that you like with an existing home on it.  It’s an older home, possibly built in 1920 or so, and selling for lot value only.  This will likely still run you a minimum of about $125,000 in many areas.  You Demolish the home (or deconstruct if you want to be a darker shade of Green) and design your 2300 sq ft home- The home can then cost, if built LEED, over $415,000.  By the time it is all said and done the realistic cost of building with land included could cost about $600,000.  Depending on the area it could be over $700,000.

But this homebuyer can not go over $400,000.

This is where I personally would recommend to one of my clients to consider an older home to fix up but it can be hard to have the vision of the home being ‘Green’.  So let’s consider this: (location only for example)

How about a great area near I-10 and Kirkwood that is really close to work?  About 10 minutes away.  We find a nice single story home on a large lot that has great solar orientation for both Solar if you want it and an Organic Garden.  Wonderful Trees, nice Community feel, It’s the size you want- 2300 sq. ft. and the list price is about $326,600!  Well under your mark of where you want to be.  The kitchen is updated, gorgeous actually, with Stainless Steel Appliances (all Energy Star).   It has double pane windows already, great bedroom sizes, the flooring is beautiful and what you want.  But the Master Bathroom is way too small, somewhat outdated and the home is not Energy Efficient.

That’s ok!

The sold comparable properties in this neighborhood for this size could sell anywhere from $275,000 to $450,000 depending on the condition and how much updating has been done.  With the home we are considering at $326,600 is far from being at the top of the comparables.  How much would that LEED ReGreen Bathroom Remodel cost?  How about a ReGreen Energy Remodel to finish it up?

With this scanario you would have $75,000 to play with to make this home Green and stay within your budget or atleast $125,000 to play with to stay within the comparable prices for the community. That is a whole lot of work that could be done, and some nice work at that.

The only other question right now you may be asking is “Do I have to have that kind of cash to make this happen?”

No. Not at all.  What if you could do the work that you want done to the home before you move in or shortly there after, still have your Conventional Loan with 5% down and a somewhat competitive interest rate along with that?

The rest of this series will walk us through how to get a Mortgage WITH the Green Remodel calculated in to it, bidding the work out, getting the design done AND how to have this work done PRIOR to moving in or very shortly there after.  Part 3 will discuss the mortgage product that has been around for many years…and is still out there today.

How does it sound so far?

The misconception is that one must purchase a ‘new’ home or one that has been all decked out Green..to be Green.  When you think about it, how Green is it to tear down a home and send the debris to a landfill?  How about the Reuse side of Green?  Why not take a nice home in a great location and make it Green?

Buying a home as a tear down to build is a great option but unfortunately it can take the price of a home well outside of the price range for some buyers or maybe one needs to move quickly.  To buy a new Green home inside the loop may limit you to a 3 story townhome which some may not be physically able to buy or want.

Are there options to buy an existing home to make it Green? Absolutely.  You do not have to have thousands of dollars in cash or sacrifice living in the home when it is not up to par.

The Hypothetical Remodel Series is about just this topic.  It is about opening doors for Homebuyers to go Green in Houston and to point out all of the tools available to you.  This will likely be an ongoing and never ending series of posts, but here is what we will go over:

• Energy Audits- How they can help you buy the right home
• Mortgages-  How to find the right home and have your GREEN Improvements rolled in to it so that you can move in to your GREEN home ASAP
• ASID and USGBC ReGreen Program-  LEED Remodeling guidelines that can take the most Environmentally UnFriendly and Unhealthy home to a dark shade of Green at LEED guidelines and what the process entails
• Different Products-  What products can help get your older home GREEN
• Pricing-  There will be information on how I look at the price of a property to make sure that you do not over improve and what improvements will likely improve your property value
• Cost vs. Value- What GREEN improvements in Houston are likely to get the biggest bang for your buck on Resale

I have gathered the top GREEN Experts around town to help out with this.  We are using real homes, real comps and real designs to use as an example.  Some of the examples will not actually have any work done but it will show how to find the home, what the process is to figure out what improvements you want to make and what the mortgage would be afterwards.  The first one lined up will be a Bathroom Remodel with Energy Efficiency in mind as well.

All of the details for this home will be tagged under ‘Nottingham‘ so that you can follow up in the future and we will start posting the details and findings this week!

What made me think about this?  Well, that would be the sobering thought of all the trees that would likely be in people’s homes by the end of the night, the water damage or mold that is brought out by the storm, roofing and siding that may not be there in the morning, etc.

But what makes that Green?  Driving down the streets in any community right now in Houston and surrounding areas there are heaps of Carpeting, Sheetrock, Tree Debris, Roof Shingles, you name it.  All of that ends up in the landfill.  It fills up our limited space to ‘dump’ and then promotes the off gassing methane as most dumps do.

One of the most important parts of Green Building is using products that last a long time with low maintenance required to help prevent this from happening and protect the homeowner and your investment.

So this brings up the idea that right now is the PERFECT time to make GREEN upgrades to your home.  Item by Item I will post about some of these, but for now here are some things that will help your home stand up to Hurricanes in the future.

• If you are rebuilding completely in the Coastal Areas, consider using Insulated Concrete Forms.  Not only do they sustain over 200 mph winds, they are energy efficient like you wouldn’t believe.  The rumor of a 2/3 discount on Wind Coverage because of it is a bonus too.
• Windows- Double Pane, Low E- we are getting used to hearing those terms.  For a little more you can upgrade to a stronger window that will not only help with winds, but baseballs if you have kids.
• Weather Stripping around doors and windows- This helps your home to be energy efficient as well by keeping air from going in and out but it also helps to keep out water when the yard is not draining well.
• Products that do not promote mold- Consider using products in your home that don’t soak up water.  Maybe an alternative to sheetrock?
• Roofing-  Composition Shingles are common but there are other options that not only have an insulated value but stand up to mother nature, not to mention that they last longer in this hot and humid climate.
• Carpet- Get rid of it.  Use a flooring that promotes healthier indoor air quality and is easier to get water off/out of.  Don’t forget to buy local.
• Permeable areas outdoors-  Decking and Concrete can look nice outside, but it prevents water from draining well.  Try some permeable pavement or some of those cool new pavers that not only look neat but help get the water in the ground quicker.
• How about Solar?  Being without power for 8 days has seriously made me consider it.
• Fencing-  I have no idea.  But if anyone has another option, please share. 

As mentioned, I will be posting about all of these and what other GREEN options there are.  If you need to know now, shoot me an email steph@turninghoustongreen.com and I will try to help you out and lead you in the right direction.

If I left anything out and you have an idea of something that can help out, let us know.  If you are doing extensive remodeling or rebuilding you may also want to consider the ASID and USGBC ReGreen Guidelines.  Information on that is coming soon also.

Now that things are somewhat starting to get back to normal in the Houston area I wanted to put out a couple of helpful resources.  Insurance adjusters are cutting checks, homeowners are trying to get their homes back to normal as quick as possible but be careful of who you choose to get it all done!  You may need the repairs done quickly, but be careful none the less.

Here are a few suggestions:

• If you hire someone to do repairs to your home, make sure that you have a contract that specifically states the work that is expected to be done.  Don’t leave any room for misunderstandings.
• Personally, I question the contractor when they ask for all money BEFORE starting the work.  It gives them the opportunity to take it and run, quickly!
• Take time to research the contractor.  Ask for references.
• Check out the Texas Residential Construction Commission Website.  -TRCC- They have great information on Contractors
• Try the Greater Houston Builders Association website also.  -GHBA- For information on local Houston Contractors and other repair people.
• If you are having extensive work done, you may want to make sure that the contractor puts the home back in ‘building code’ condition.  Older homes are not to code, but for the sake of selling later and safety it should be put back to current code if possible.
• Ask a lot of questions if you need to.  Make sure you understand the work that is being done and what to expect afterwards.  Again, make sure you are all on the same page.
• Try to find contractors that are insured with their work, just in case.

Although these are just a few tips, try to take as much in to consideration as possible when getting your home repaired.

If you have a couple of questions that you would like to ask that may help you, feel free to use the ‘Ask the Expert’ tab at the top of the page.  Myself or one of the other experts around town will do our best to help answer your question.

Well, I went on the Houston Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors website and noticed an updated link.  Actually it was a feature that I have had my eye on for about a month now because it was coming out.  It says “Get a FREE Property and Environmental Profile on any domestic property“.   Well, I hopped over and put in a random address to see what came up and sure enough.

A small report similar to the one that I thought was too pricey is now available for FREE on the Prudential Gary Greene Website!  The address I put in found nothing of interest within 1/3 of a mile but it does give you the option to purchase a more extensive one that goes further away.  Want to check it out?

Here is how you do it.  First go to www.GaryGreene.com and on the right of the page you will see what I quoted above.  For the rest of it, here is a screen shot.  Oh, and to go directly to the page, just click here.

Here is the screenshot for the page that comes up, and how to get the report.  It is instant, no waiting:  Below the first picture is what it looks like after you hit the submit button.  This one, as I said, has nothing in the immediate area.

If you decide to check it out, let me know how it goes.  Need some help with it?  Shoot me an email and I’d be more than happy to walk you through it or help out with anything else you may need.

Green House Gallery:  This is one that I am really excited about.  A group of artists have joined to create a Green Art Gallery in the heart of Montrose on W. Alabama.  Their goal is to have a Gallery that will not only educate people on environmental topics, but support the Green Community in Houston and having a place for people to visit.  Their Gala will be in September and a ‘must attend’ event! The date will most definitely be added to the calendar on this site.

Commute Solutions:  They are a compilation of different companies and organizations that are raising awareness about Public Transportation in town and other communte solutions.  If you go to their website and make a non-monetary ‘pledge’ you will get a FREE Certificate for Jamba Juice!  I got mine in the mail today.  ;0)  Really cool site, check it out.

Houston Solar Tour:  Many of you are probably aware of this annual event, and it is really coming together for this year!  It will be Saturday October 4th with tons of great Solar Projects on the tour and a Picnic at Discovery Green at the end of the day that you won’t want to miss.  This event is on the Calendar as well, and will keep you updated as more information comes available.

The Woodlands Green Sustainable Speaking Series: Another fantastic Community oriented idea here!  The Woodlands Green, starting in September, will be doing monthly speaking events for residents in the area to learn more about Sustainability and other Green Topics.  On Monday, September 15th I will be speaking along with Ann Baker Ronn on Green Investing.  They have a few months of amazing topics lined up.  Check out their site and click ‘Going Green’ to find out what else will be out there.  And…it all speaking events will be on the Calendar.  Also, in November Michael Strong with Greenhaus Builders will be speaking about Green and LEED Homebuilding/Remodeling.  If you have not had the opportunity to hear him speak, you will defiinitely want to be there.

These are the topics that I have been meaning to post about for some time now.  I will keep you all updated on changes and other new events!  Very exciting GREEN things happenin’ in Houston over the next few months!  Don’t forget to subscribe to the Calendar feed if you want to stay up to date on items that I place in there.  Also, if you would like to subscribe by email or Text Message, I will be sending out reminders.

And sometimes, they help me with marketing and to keep builders and developers updated on what area residents are looking for.

First, I’ll share a poll I did about a year ago.  I was curious to know what would make people build green.  The way I worded the responses was also designed to help educate people on the benefits of homes and also see the driving factor to build green for the people, that were at the time, wanting to go Green in their homes.  The results were quite interesting.

Now, that poll was done on a website that gets visitors from around the globe.  This site is more designed for Houston so I would like to know what your thoughts are.  The topic of discussion in residential Real Estate around the area is: “Do Homebuyers see the benefit in buying a LEED Certified Home and exactly how much more would they be willing to spend?” Because LEED is quite costly right now because of materials that are needed and not so easy to find..and due to the custom aspect of construction some builders are not taking the dive to Go LEED.

Personally, I believe that a large handful of Homebuyers in the area would spend more to get a home Certified because the benefits of owning a LEED Certified home are so amazing, I thought I would put a poll out there to see if I was right! So, Would you spend more for a LEED Certified home?  If so, how much more would you spend?

I am leaving the option of Other so that you can explain why if your answer is No. I usually post the results in the format of a new blog post once I get to atleast 25 votes.

If any of my readers have a home, ideally built prior to 1985, and are curious as to what it would take to fix it up we would love to hear from you.  Here is a breakdown of what we will be looking at:

• What it would take to ‘green’ it up
• Cost to do so
• Loans available as though you were going to purchase it

Now, if you would like us to use your home we would like to take some pictures as examples and of course there is no obligation to do any work but it could be a good opportunity to find out how your home sizes up if you are considering something like this.  Maybe you are thinking about selling your home and would like to advertise it this way?

Here are some others that we are looking for also if your home is newer:

• Green Kitchen or Bath Remodels
• Whole House Rehab- basically to gut it almost to the frame
• Energy Remodels

We would love to use your home as an example, with no names or address included of course!

Again, this will all be hypothetical-no work will be done but an estimate of cost will be available.  Will any of you let us borrow your home for an hour?

One evening while on the computer doing some research I ran across an update from Michael Garfield about him doing a Hybrid Tour Across Texas with Dan Bryant and thought it sounded interesting so I clicked over to see what was going on.  It turns out that the two were going to drive around the State for an estimated total of 879 miles to see if they could do it on one tank of gas in a Toyota Prius.  What!? I’ve got to see this.

Watching the Tour, I personally found it interesting and amusing (if you watch some of the videos on his site) and thought I would share some of his tips with my readers.  When everything was wrapped up Michael Garfield, The Hybrid-Tech Texan himself, agreed to do an interview to talk about the tour to talk about the benefits of Hybrid Vehicles and what they found out.  During this entire tour they used Hypermiling Techniques to squeeze as much gas per gallon as possible.

So, first off  and to get everyone up to speed I wanted to know what exactly the Hybrid Tour was all about?

The Hybrid Tour Across Texas was to spread awareness about fuel efficiency and the effect that driving behavior has on it. I wanted to see how much money can be saved by driving a hybrid car around the state and at the same time compare mileage to a “hypermiler” driving the same type of car. Dan Bryant is a Houston-based hypermiler who uses certain techniques to maximize his MPG.

What was the number one thing you learned on your journey?

I learned there is a lot more interest in this topic than I’ve ever seen before. In the topic of what MPG you achieve in your car was generally about as exciting as discussing tax code. People seem much more tuned in with the price of gas.

What exactly is Hypermiling?

Each car (not truck) sold in the US has to pass an EPA inspection and rating system. As part of that each car is given an MPG rating for the city and highway. These numbers are on the window sticker of all new cars (not trucks). A hypermiler is simply someone who’s daily MPG is above the EPA rating for their car (window sticker).

Have you calculated an estimate of savings with the Hybrid Prius during the trip?

Best case vs worse case? I had a friend that claimed to get 15 mpg on the highway. So the difference between my friend driving their car and Dan driving his over the same 844 miles comes out to about 44 gallons (Dan used 12.3g, my friend would have used 56.3g). That’s $176 between driving the wrong car poorly and driving the right car correctly.

What was the main difference between the Mpg between you and Dan?

The main four factors were Driving style (about 15 mpg), Driving speed (about 9 mpg), Passenger weight (about 2 mpg), and Accessory Load (about 2 mpg). By far driving style and speed had the biggest effect. Hypermilers employee dozens of different techniques to increase efficiency, some for hills, some for windy days, and some for flat roads, but they all work. In the simplest since, what Dan concentrated on was keeping engine RPM and vehicle load constant. There are minor (very minor) inefficiencies involved with increasing or decreasing an engines RPM. Although minor, they are very frequent, so keeping a steady RPM helps significantly with efficiency. Keeping speeds in the 55-60 mph range is also significantly more efficient than 65-70 mph range due to the effects of wind resistance.

What is something that most people would not know about Hybrid vehicles?

In many studies Hybrids are projected to have a smaller repair bill than conventional cars. For example, there have been Prius drivers that have gone over 100,000 miles on the original brake pads since they Hybrid Synergy Drive does most of the braking. The transmission is also substantially simpler than a conventional car. There is no starter or alternator either, and since the car operates for extended periods without the gas engine, the wear on the gas engine is substantially less. Even starting and stopping the engine is less stressful in a hybrid since the control system primes the engine for each start and stop.

What is the biggest misconception of Hybrids?

Battery Life. A Prius has two batteries, not one. The 12v (car) battery that all cars have, the Prius has as well. It is used for certain start-up procedures. It is just like any other 12v battery and can be found under $100 and has a similar life span to any other 12v battery. The “other” battery is called the “traction” battery and it’s used to power the electric motors that assist in moving the car. The “traction” battery is designed to last longer than most conventional cars. In California it comes with a 100,000 mile warranty. Prius taxi cabs with over 300,000 miles still have no significant wear on their traction batteries. In actuality it is probably one of the least replaced components of any vehicle on the road today.

What do you feel the Future holds for Hybrid Vehicles?

If gas prices continue as they have for the last 5 years, it could be over $9 / gallon in 5 years or even over $20 / gallon in 10 years. I think most people are going to require cars that get at least 40 mpg, and right now most of those cars are Hybrids. The cars that are built and designed today will be the ones that are still in use in 10 years. So if gas prices continue to climb, I expect any car getting 40-50 mpg will be highly sought after. Hopefully there will be many models getting that mark, but most of them on the road will probably be the Hybrids being designed today.

I learned a lot by following the Hybrid Tour and reading through Michael’s Blog.  Did You?  A huge Thank You to The Hybrid-Tech Texan for taking some time to answer these questions for us.  All who stopped by, don’t forget to check out his site for more information on hypermiling (which by the way he says some can also work on Non-Hybrid cars) and just some fun videos about it.  Here’s one I thought I would share with you all.

If you are wanting to hear more from The Hybrid-Tech Texan make sure to tune on Saturdays from 11a-2p on 950am!

Hybrid Tour Dallas from Ray Cortez on Vimeo.
Pictures and Videos property of Michael Garfield The Hybrid-Tech Texan.