A few years back a client of mine that we were doing some home performance work for told me that she was a green real estate agent, “the first in GA.” I was intrigued. She asked for us to come do an energy audit on her house and to give her pointers on how to make it greener. Her name is Janet Gure and still practices green real estate. She was also able to see a savings of over 20% on her energy bills as well through the improvements that she made to her house. She was the first and many more agent in the area have gone through the same program to become more knowledgeable in green real estate.
Which leads is to the question- What is a EcoBroker? It is a Real Estate agent that is trained in the ways of green building. They go through a multiple day course that covers all of the basics of the green components in a house and teaches them how to market and sell green homes.
If you live in ATL, I believe that you are surrounded by some of the most talented EcoBrokers out there. Harry Norman realtors dedicated time and resources to get over 100 of their agents trained in green Real Estate. Jennifer Spivey, who was already green, is a local agent who takes time out to teach the EcoBroker class to her fellow brokers. Burke Sisco, our “Eco Home Guy,” blogs about green building in Atlanta and promotes smart building.
These are just a few of the talented EcoBrokers that we get to work with in ATL. We hosted an event at our office for one of their monthly meetings and the reception was very good. They are positive even though home sales are down, because they have found a new niche in which they can be proud of.
To find an Ecobroker in your area visit www.ecobroker.com, or click on one resource links listed to the side of my blog for ones that we work with directly.
The Hoots Group is a proud Platinum level sponsor of the Ecobroker program because they are what the market needs right now. An educated real estate agent is good for us all. When they have green resources and tools at their disposal it is good for the environment, the consumer and the economy. Ask you agent if they are green and if not, encourage them to go through this EcoBroker training.
I encourage you to pick from the existing brokers on the list since they have taken the initiate to go out get the training and promote green building in a market where no one is making a lot of money. They are doing it for other reasons. Support the early adopters for paving the way for the rest of us.
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