Green Real Estate Appraiser

Solar Industry Employment Up in 20% in 2013

Posted on February 19, 2014 | Leave a comment

The number of jobs tied to the U.S. solar energy sector increased by nearly 20 percent in 2013, according to an annual survey by the Solar Foundation released Monday.

The foundation, a nonprofit educational and statistical arm of the industry, found an estimated 142,628 solar workers in the U.S. economy — defined as those who spend 50 percent or more of their time supporting solar-related activities — as of November 2013. It was the fastest job growth in the survey’s four-year history.

California’s booming solar market should figure prominently when state and local data are released next month.

Of 23,682 estimated new U.S. solar jobs, about half were devoted to the installation of solar equipment.

The average solar installer earned about $23 an hour, comparable to some skilled electricians and plumbers, and higher than the average rate for roofers and construction laborers.

Jobs in project development grew at the fastest rate, more than doubling to 12,169, followed by sales and distribution jobs that grew by about 24 percent to more than 22,500.

Jobs in solar equipment manufacturing were virtually unchanged, at 29,851.

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Mortgages Get New Rules

Posted on February 17, 2014 | Leave a comment

If you need a mortgage to buy a home this year, the government wants to make sure you can pay back your loan.

That’s why on Jan. 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau implemented new mortgage-lending rules that federal regulators say will protect against the risky lending practices that powered the housing bubble and caused a huge collapse in home prices that led to the Great Recession.

For most home loan borrowers, the new rules will have little or no impact on whether they can get a mortgage, experts say, because loan standards have already been tightened.

“They want to make sure lenders are giving loans to borrowers who can afford to pay back those loans,” said David Neylan, vice president of correspondent and wholesale lending at Guild Mortgage, which is based in San Diego.

Here’s a look at the new rules and what they do:

Q: What is new?

A: The big term you need to know is qualified mortgage, or QM. A qualified mortgage meets new guidelines, and consumers who get them are expected to meet ability-to-repay requirements. If lenders make qualified mortgages, they have more protections against lawsuits should the loans later go bad.

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Energy Audits (HERS) Can Offer Big Paybacks

Posted on February 16, 2014 | Leave a comment

Furnaces and boilers worked overtime this month, and the next set of energy bills to arrive in mailboxes will show just how expensive a brutal cold spell can be for homeowners, particularly in the older homes that populate the Chicago area.

An energy audit can help homeowners and owners of multifamily buildings determine how to better keep a property warm in the winter and cool in the summer by tightening the building’s envelope. The fixes typically cost a few thousand dollars, and area utility companies offer rebates tied to the work.

Can energy efficiency add value to your home? Can a HERS rating be used in a real estate appraisal? Contact the real estate appraisers at www.scappraisals.com ; they are forerunners in energy efficient and green appraisals.

From July 2012 to last September, CNT Energy, a division of the nonprofit, Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, helped almost 3,700 homeowners tackle energy-efficiency projects in their homes. Clarinda Valentine is one of them.

Valentine, who has owned a two-flat in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood for 30 years, already had undertaken several projects to make the building more energy efficient, such as installing new windows and exterior doors. She still felt a draft on certain days.

“I was still getting air,” Valentine said. “Depending on what direction the wind was coming from, I could feel air on my legs.”

Diagnostic test. After hearing about CNT Energy from a friend, she called the group, and an energy audit was performed on the building. The auditor tested the furnace and hot water heater, and performed a blower door test to see just how leaky her home was.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Solar Industry Employment Up in 20% in 2013

Mortgages Get New Rules

Energy Audits (HERS) Can Offer Big Paybacks

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