It’s a familiar scenario: You’re walking through a property with a client and the client begins to visualize it as if it were theirs..

While cosmetic improvements are always on the wish list, more homebuyers these days are placing an emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability. After all, it’s not only the environmentally responsible thing to do, but a green home translates to monetary savings for the homeowner.

As a real estate agent, you can strengthen client relations by serving as a voice of reason when your clients begin listing off their grand ideas for greener living. According to “Green Your Home: Healthy, Money-Smart, and Sustainable Living Begins at Home,” there are six things a homeowner should consider before investing in green improvements:

Continue reading ‘Six things to think about before you suggest green improvements’

Just in time for Green Week, Keller Williams Realty, International is proud to announce that one of the nation’s first brokerages with the mission to improve the livability and sustainability of its community has joined the Seattle Metrocenter West market center. The move is in perfect alignment with Keller Williams Realty’s long-term and ever-growing commitment to healthy, money-smart, sustainable living!

“As a broker for the last decade who has focused expressly on making communities more livable, KW represents a natural fit,” says Ben Kaufman, GreenWorks Realty’s owner and founder. “This is a place where my focus on sustainability and its impact on growing the real estate brokerage of the future can flourish.”

Kaufman is well-known not only in his Seattle community, but nation-wide as a respected and knowledgeable leader in Green living. He has been invited to carry his message of healthy, money-smart, and sustainable homes across the country, and share his vision to educate and empower real estate professionals at Keller Williams’ Family Reunion and Mega Camp.

While less than 1 percent of all agents in the United States have had training related to green homes, more than 60 percent of buyers surveyed by the National Association of Homebuilders state their next home must possess some green elements. In response and in cooperation with Keller Williams Realty’s MAPS Coaching, GreenWorks will soon be delivering green-specific education and a designation on the Fast Track coaching platform–slated to launch at Family Reunion 2012. “We searched extensively for the right place to launch a major educational initiative for real estate agents and, because Keller Williams is committed to sustainability at the highest level, it made perfect sense for GreenWorks Realty to join forces with the fastest growing real estate enterprise in the country,” says Mark Fiebig, president of GreenWorks Realty. The overarching objective of the GreenWorks program is to position Keller Williams associates to have validity in this growing market, and to educate buyers and sellers—ultimately sell more homes.

Continue reading ‘GreenWorks Realty of Seattle joins Keller Williams with plans for Green education and training through KW MAPS Coaching’

In celebration of KW Green Week, we are excited share the first chapter of Green Your Home. Please click here to download. To purchase Green Your Home click here.

By Danny Thompson, director of Keller Williams Publishing

Some said being “green” was a fad that would pass, just like bell-bottoms and MySpace. We all witnessed organizations jump on the bandwagon and proclaim green-ness, attempting to leverage the opportunity for profits. Due to some “green-washing” (the term adopted for those who exaggerated their commitment to environmental conservatism) businesses that were truly committed to making a difference were not taken seriously. Personally, I believe the tide has turned, and our sensitivities to our environment have simply become a way of life. At Keller Williams Realty we do not have a green department because our values are green.

I remember hearing the phrase, “God, family, then business” for the first time as Mega Camp 2001. Gary Keller, in stating the Keller Williams values, articulated in four words something I had wrestled with for years: how to balance my faith with my work. These values have helped me stay focused on what matters most.

I believe the call to a healthy, money-smart, and sustainable living in Green Your Home, our second addition to the Keller Williams Realty Guide series, is in perfect alignment with “God, family, then business.” You need only read the book to see what I mean. Let’s look at the three green priorities of the GYH model in light of these values. Continue reading ‘Red Is Green!’