Comments on: Good Deal or Not?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:33:43 +0000

Love the kitchen. I also love the fact that the roof deck gets electricity! I’m all for outdoor space, but sometimes wonder how much I will actually use it. With the electricity, a laptop and a strong wireless signal, that roof deck could be my spring/fall outdoor office. I wish more people would think of little things like that when renovating.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:46:43 +0000

If they really wanted to call this thing a green build, they would have put a white TPO roof up rather than a standard black EPDM. That, and they would have gone with R-38 insulation.

The rest of it is nice, but hardly groundbreaking.

By: anonymouse

anonymouse — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:14:34 +0000

I appreciate Taylor’s insight. I hadn’t thought about the maintainence costs to upkeep the various systems. I wonder if the normal buyer and/or normal real estate agent would, or if they would be knowledgeable about the green claims. I guess it just speaks to Caveat Emptor and make sure you get a good inspector that can explain all these things to you before you commit to buy!

By: taylor

taylor — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:35:56 +0000

I live in a similar house, but I rent. It was completed earlier this year, and I do pay a premium. Our utility bills are very low most months (mostly thanks to solar panels) which makes up some of the difference. We have had quite a bit of work done to maintain the high-tech systems in the house, at the landlord’s expense, just in the last 6 months. If I was buying, I’d be very wary of that.

I’m also wary of the listing’s claims. “Large parking,” when the house is so close to metro? Radiant heating, which (although called “high efficiency”) is less efficient than standard heat? Walls and ceilings with insulation R-factors of 14 and 24?

You may think I’m a snob for saying so, but I’d call this “green-washing” rather than an actual environmentally friendly house.

By: RD

RD — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:11:40 +0000

$800k for 1400 sq ft is a tough pill to swallow. I imagine you could get an amazing condo of the same size for that price, which is inherently more “eco-friendly” because they use less energy to keep temperature controlled than a townhouse.

By: GforGood

GforGood — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:38:13 +0000

Exposed brick is so passe.. Otherwise looks pretty nice – not much of backyard though but not many houses in this area do (ours does – yeah!).

By: anonymouse

anonymouse — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:26:01 +0000

Its an interesting house to go look at. You can easily peer into the basement and see where all the systems are, etc., which is kind of interesting in a “green” house like this. You don’t have much of a view from the roof deck, and some things are placed a little funny (the washing machine and dryer is stacked super close to a toilet, one of the showers has doors that are a little cramped, etc.), but I think it will ultimately fetch something pretty close to this price. If you waited around, you might be able to find a similiar sized house in the immediate neighborhood without the same quality amenities (older systems, old kitchen, old bathrooms, no roof deck, no exposed brick, etc.) for $100-150k less, but I think all of these renovations and some of the practical “green” items (such as multizone a/c and heat) justify the premium. I don’t think many of the other “green” items (such as using wood from sustainable forests) will retain their resale value or cachet upon resale, but someone might be willing to pay a little extra for it now (and it does add to the uniqueness of the property right now).