Two Giant Leaps in the "Green" Direction

This last month has been very productive on the green building homefront.  We've made two giant leaps in the right direction!

First, we're very happy to announce that we have solidified a program with the city of Johnson City that will allow a person to apply for a green building permit for residential or commercial construction at a discounted fee rate.  Then, upon satisfaction of green building requirements, a green Certificate of Occupancy will be issued.  The city manager, Pete Peterson, the head of the building department, Phil Pinzola, and Herman Marcom, the head building inspector, have been fantastic to work with and should be commended for their efforts in working with us to get this program in place.  The proposal will land on the agenda for city council's approval in the September meeting, and the program should be off and running by the end of year - pending some revisions to the current permit computer system.

Second, we've made a proposal to the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia Multiple Listing System to implement "green" input and search fields into the system, and their response was, "Let's do it!"  That all sounds like a mouthful, but it basically allows for three important things: (1) the Realtor will have the ability to input green features of a property into the system (including type of certification), and (2) it allows folks searching for property to search using green features if they have an interest in doing so. And, most importantly, (3) it allows appraisers to begin to see documented value in green attributes of real estate.  On a side note, if you're looking for property, visit TCLewisProperties.com and click your region, then "Property Search" to input your specific search criteria.  Anyway, we're working out the final details of the proposal now and Karen Randolph, who serves as chair of the MLS Board, is anxiously awaiting to implement our green initiative.

Things are looking more and more green in the Mountain South, and it's fantastic!  We appreciate all who have worked on making these two big steps possible, and I'm always available to answer any questions about green building or real estate.  So, until next month, have a great September!