Porterworks Blog

Many developers and builders shy away from green development because they worry that it sets up too many red lights that slow the process and add to the cost.  Actually, many municipalities around the country are taking the opposite view.  Faced with shrinking budgets and rising utility and maintenance costs for city infrastructure, many cities see that advantages of green--i.e. Read more...

Of course, we know that green building is the right thing to do and green buildings are in fact a better economic investment but unless we turn some sacred cows into hamburger we'll never get past the red light of appraising them.  We need a different approach to appraising just as we needed a different view of what buildings do and what we should really be expecting of them.
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If you've taken our classes you'll have heard us say more than once that "green" is All-American.  What we mean is that if we, as Americans, truly embraced greenness in all its glory we could solve a multitude of problems and truly make America great again.  We need to go green because it will make us safer, bring more of our jobs home, give us a more competitive edge, and inspire a whole new generation of innovation.  Evan Smith makes a compelling case in his blog posting, "Kickstarting the Green Economy with Building Energy Efficiency Read more...

If the accurate appraising of green homes is ever going to gain momentum then something needs to be done about the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (endearingly referred to as "The 10-04").  The 1004 is grossly out-of-date when it comes to what's happening in the building industry, namely around green.  Where is the box that requests information on the energy efficiencies of the home, any certifications, other green upgrades?  Unfortunately we're stuck with a "2-line joke" that refers to "other." Read more...