I was recently interviewed by Providence Business News about my decision to become a Green Realtor and I thought I’d take this opportunity to share why I took the time to learn about green issues and become certified.

“Green” will be the way of home building and resale as we go forward.  As the cost of living goes up, people are looking for ways to save money.  Environmentally sensitive products may cost a bit more upfront, but provide consumers an opportunity to save on long-term costs. I wanted to get in on the ground floor of the Green trend.

Being Green certified enables me to better educate consumers.  I currently represent a development in South Kingstown – Ministerial Farms – which is five-star Energy Star-rated.  The developer is doing an indoor air-quality certification, and if someone wants it, they will put in geothermal heating.  I wanted to be knowledgeable about the ratings, certifications and products as well as retrofits and reselling.

The certification process made me better prepared to answer the questions that people are starting to ask, such as “What is a five-star rating and how much money can it save me?”.   I took a two-day course with the National Association of Realtors – NAR’s green designation core course. After that, I took a sustainable living elective class.  I was tested on both classes, which covered the different types of certifications, like the Energy Star and the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certifications (LEED).

Green is the way things are going. People are driving more energy-efficient cars and living in energy-efficient houses – it’s becoming a way of life.  People in the area are doing small things – putting in energy-efficient bulbs and adding insulation.  They are doing what they can to make their homes more energy efficient – just because the cost is so extreme to run a home.

The market for green certification is basically everywhere, any place there’s a home – Rhode Island, the United States and internationally.  We’re not going to go backwards toward a less-green future.

Visit Providence Business News to read the full article by Kevin Shalvey.

TOP 5 REASONS TO HIRE A REALTOR® TO HELP YOU FIND A TENANT!

Recent polls show average rents are down 20%-25%, and vacancies are up. Way up. Many landlords who say they’ve never had to use a realtor® in the past are signing with someone this season as competition is fierce for good tenants. It will cost you one month’s rent, but here is why it’s well worth it!

1. Time: Finding a tenant takes time, especially now. What is your time worth to you? Placing ads, taking calls, scheduling showings (and often ‘no-show’s), and following up w/prospects can fill up several hours across weeks and even months. If you break down the number of hours it will take, my guess is a realtor will work for less per hour than you will!
2. Web Exposure: Real estate companies have put in a lot of time and money to create polished, user-friendly websites to show up on search engines and attract people looking for apartments from around the country. Take advantage of this leverage! Some property owners create their own websites, which may receive little to no traffic.
3. ‘Cross Pollination’: When a company has many listings, often times a potential tenant will call on one apartment which either doesn’t suit them or has already been rented. This creates a wider pool of possibilities to draw from, rather than waiting for calls on your particular property.
4. Relocation: Most real estate companies have international relocation departments. People looking to buy in a given area commonly will rent for a year while they get acclimated to the town. How else can you achieve global reach?
5. Application: Realtors® generally have streamlined application processes already in place. They will check credit, speak with current and previous landlords, verify employment and check references. Let someone else do this tedious legwork.

These are just some of the benefits. For more details call me!

As you may already know, we hold a seasonal photo contest where our agents and staff grab their cameras and unleash their creativity! The winning photos are displayed on the home page slide show. Typically, we have three winning photos and two honorable mentions. This year we even had a tie! Winning Photographers are:

Laurie Fletcher: Photo – Gooseberry Café in Newport
Dawne Nordstrom: Photo – Café in Bristol
Nancy Weaver: Photo – Deer in Barrington
Kathleen Vaillancourt: Photo – The Pink Sky
Chris Whirlow: Photo – Del’s Lemonade

Here’s a slide show of the winning photo.

Did you know that there are 30 Islands in Narragansett Bay? That was my trivia question this week, and it got me thinking about all of the wonderful things that the Narragansett Bay offers our state.  The Bay’s three largest islands are Aquidneck (Newport), Conanicut (Jamestown), and Prudence, but there are also 30 smaller islands dotting the Bay.

The Bay provides a quality of life that attracts businesses, industries and more than 12 million visitors each year, generating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for the regional economy. For commercial fishermen, it is their livelihood, producing about 8 million pounds of quahogs annually, with a value of $6 million. Millions of people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts live, work and play around the Bay. More than 100,000 fishermen and over 32,000 recreational boats cruise the bay each year.

And this got me to thinking about my friend Jonathan Stone at Save The Bay. Founded in 1970, Save The Bay and its supporter’s work to protect, restore, and explore Narragansett Bay and its watershed. They have enjoyed remarkable success restoring the habitats of over 60 species of fish and shellfish, 200 bird species, and countless seals, dolphins and sea turtles.

As part of the new long-range plan, Save The Bay is addressing Massachusetts-based pollution with the Massachusetts Project. The project is led by Ira Magaziner and staffed by volunteers, their objective is to research pollution problems in the Blackstone River region and the Mount Hope Bay, Taunton River, and Fall River region.

Save the Bay is one of the great organizations in Rhode Island that really impact all of our residents, and is largely a grass roots organization and relies on volunteers. Save The Bay volunteers come from all ages and backgrounds yet all share a passion for the  Bay. To find out how you can help save the bay, contact Stephany at 401-272-3540 – x130

The cities of Warwick, RI and nearby Fall River, MA have recently launched new or redesigned websites.

WarwickRI.gov
The Warwick municipal website, WarwickRI.gov, features recent news, an events calendar, and access to information about the government, departments and services, and online resources including a bulletin board with posts from the various neighborhood associations and an “action center” which allows users to post complaints, praise and recommendations to City Hall.  In capitol red lettering in italics is the promise “coming soon” next to the “Share Your Memories” link, where users will be able to contribute to a pieced-together History of Warwick.  The bottom navigation has a link to the city’s Economic Development website.

FallRiverNow.com
Created to promote the city of Fall River’s waterfront revitalization, FallRiverNow.com features information about Fall River’s architecture, arts & culture, economic development and education.  Similar to the Warwick site, FallRiverNow.com features a calendar mashup and a news tab.  The site also utilizes sharing features including Facebook, Twitter and Delicious.

For more information about the two sites, visit Providence Business News to read Ted Nesi’s article.