Green Home Defined  

A Phoenix green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living in it! A home can be built green, or you can make it eco friendly later. A green home makeover can happen all at once, or it can be a gradual process. But what it all comes down to is a new way of thinking – and a new way of living. From a more energy-efficient kitchen to a tree-filled backyard paradise, your home can be green top to bottom.

FHA 203K FINANCING

Rehabilitate Arizona Distressed Properties to Green Real Estate

One of the biggest misconceptions by real estate buyers today is that the FHA 203K loan process is time consuming and hard to obtain. This is only true if your loan officer/mortgage broker is inexperienced. Contact us and get started on your 203K financing today.

How the FHA 203K Streamline can help you convert to Green living:

The easiest and quickest version to go green is the FHA 203K Streamline. This loan is for property repairs under $35,000. This type of financing must not involve any kind of structural renovations to the home. For Streamline FHA 203K’s you will have two draws. Generally, the lender will release 50% upfront and 50% when the work is completed. On most of these the lender will require a final inspection of property to make sure the work is complete. In some cases of the simpler 203K rehabs you can provide receipts showing materials have been purchased and that will be sufficient.

How the full FHA 203K Financing can help you convert to Green living:

Loans exceeding $35,000 or involving structural repairs, the process becomes slightly more complicated. When your soon to be Arizona green home requires more extensive repairs you will need to involve an architect and get architectural drawings so the contractor bids and appraisal are accurate. You will also be required to have a HUD approved 203K consultant that will help determine repairs and administer draws. On the full FHA 203K loans the process often looks like this:

1. Contact our lender for pre-approval

2. Allow RealVision Investment Group to locate the ideal Greater Phoenix property for converting to Green Real Estate

3. Inspect the future Green Home

4. FHA 203K consultancy

5. Consult Architect and obtain drawings

6. Consult our Green Approved contractor and obtain bid

7. Appraise the property

8. Loan submission & underwriting

9. Loan closing

10. Rehab and Green conversion begins

11. Final inspection / Title Closeout

End Result of the 203K Process

When done correctly, a 203K purchase loan with our experienced mortgage broker and knowledgeable Phoenix Green Realtors, home buyers can successfully use a 203K financing to create a custom designed Phoenix Green Home. They can use this loan, especially in this market, to solidify their future and create personal wealth. If done correctly FHA 203K loans are one of the absolute best and most useful loan products on the market to convert an ordinary home to a LEED certified Green Home in Phoenix. Contact RealVision Investment Group for more information on FHA 203K and Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation financing! FHA does not have declining market restrictions anywhere!

How to convert a Bank Owned or Distressed home to a Eco Friendly Green Home in Arizona:

You don’t necessarily have to become certified as Green by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to go green in Arizona. Going green can be as simple as changing the cleaning products you are using to non-toxic or using recycled paper for everyday consumption. However, for those interested in having a LEED certified home, here are ideas that will send you on your way to Arizona Green Living:

Ø Location of Home

Ø Size of Home

Ø Building Design and Exposure

Ø Renewable Energy (solar in Arizona)

Ø Water Efficiency (low water Landscape)

Building materials that help to certify a home as a LEED Green home:

Ø Low E-windows

Ø Non-Toxic Paints

Ø Non-Toxic insulation and more of it

Ø Recycled Fiber Carpets

Ø Bamboo flooring or cork flooring (as opposed to wood)

Ø Recycled glass and concrete countertops

Ø Solar panels (to heat/cool and illuminate home)

Ø Skylights and natural light

Ø Energy efficient kitchen appliances

Ø Energy efficient lights and bulbs

Ø Eco Friendly water filters

Ø Economic plumbing fixtures

 The Benefits of a Phoenix Green Home 

There are many very real benefits to living in a green home, and every day, more and more Americans are discovering those benefits. Green homes are healthier, more durable, more cost-effective and best of all eco friendly.

Green homes are expected to make up 10% of new home construction by 2010, up from 2% in 2005, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report. Owning or renting a green home is good for your health, your wallet and our environment.

Incentives

Beyond the health and environmental benefits of living in a green home, many local and state governments, utility companies and other entities across the country offer rebates, tax breaks and other incentives for adding a eco friendly home to your life and the community.

Phoenix Green Home or Eco Friendly Home Checklist:

Whether you’re a homebuyer or a renter looking for a green home, how do you know if a home is truly green? What should you look for? This checklist will help you identify a truly green home and ensure you get a healthier, high-performance green home that costs less to operate and has fewer environmental impacts:

• Location: New green homes and neighborhoods must not be built on environmentally sensitive sites like prime farmland, wetlands and endangered species habitats. The greenest development sites are “in-fill” properties like former parking lots, rail yards, shopping malls and factories. Look for compact development where the average housing density is at least six units per acre. Your Arizona eco friendly home should also be within easy walking distance of public transportation – like bus lines, light rail, and subway systems – so you can leave your car at home. An Arizona green home should also be within walking distance of parks, schools, and stores. See how many errands you can carry out on a bicycle. That’s healthier for you, your wallet, and the environment.
• Size: No matter how many green building elements go into your home, a 5,000-square-foot green home still consumes many more natural resources than a 2,000-square-foot green home. The larger eco friendly home will also require more heating, air conditioning and lighting. If you really want a sustainable home, you must consider a smaller lay out.
• Building Design: The eco friendly home should be oriented on its site to bring abundant natural daylight into the interior to reduce lighting requirements and to take advantage of any prevailing breezes. Windows, clerestories, skylights, light monitors, light shelves and other strategies should be used to bring daylight to the interior of the house. The exterior should have shading devices (sunshades, canopies, green screens and – best of all – trees), particularly on the southern and western facades and over windows and doors, to block that Arizona hot summer sun. Dual-glaze windows reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss during cold winter months. The roof should be a light-colored, heat-reflecting Energy Star roof, or a green (landscaped) roof, to reduce heat absorption.
• Green Building Materials: An Arizona green home will have been constructed or renovated with healthy, non-toxic building materials and furnishings, like low- and zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants and non-toxic materials like strawboard for the sub-flooring. Wood-based features should come from rapidly renewable sources like bamboo, but if tropical hardwoods are used, they must be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. A green home uses salvaged materials like kitchen tiles and materials with significant recycled content.
• Insulation: A non-toxic insulation, derived from materials like soybean or cotton, with a high R (heat resistance) factor in a home’s walls and roof will help prevent cool air leakage in the summer and warm air leakage in the winter.
• Windows and Doors: Windows and exterior doors should have ENERGY STAR® ratings, and they should seal their openings tightly to avoid heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.
• Energy Efficiency: Arizona green homes have energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling and water-heating systems. Appliances should have ENERGY STAR® ratings.
• Renewable Energy: The home should generate some of its own energy with technologies like photovoltaic systems.
• Water Efficiency: A Phoenix green home has a water-conserving irrigation system and water-efficient kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Look for a rainwater collection and storage system, particularly in drier regions where water is increasingly scarce and expensive.
• Indoor Environmental Quality: Natural daylight should reach at least 75% of the eco home’s interior. Natural ventilation (via building orientation, operable windows, fans, wind chimneys and other strategies) should bring plentiful fresh air inside the house. The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system should filter all incoming air and vent stale air outside. The garage should not have any air handling equipment or return ducts, and it should have an exhaust fan.
• Landscaping: Vine-covered green screens, large canopy trees and other landscaping should shade exterior walls, the driveway, patios and other “hardscape” to minimize heat islands. Yards should be landscaped with drought-tolerant plants rather than water-guzzling plants and grass in most regions.

Owners of green eco friendly homes tend to be happier than when they lived in more conventional homes, according to a recent NAHB/McGraw-Hill Construction survey. Perhaps another telling sign of the green homes shift in the building trades is the fact that almost 40 percent of Americans who recently renovated their dwellings (homes) did so with at least some green eco friendly products.