What is Sustainable Real Estate

Many people ask me to explain my career, sustainable real estate. What is it and how is it different than any other real estate?

Sustainability consists of 3 elements; social, economic and environmental.  How we live and the homes we choose to inhabit can have a major impact on our lives and the lives of those around us.  When purchasing or designing real estate there is a lot more to consider than just the price and location, if you want your home to sustain you, your community and your planet for years to come.

In an ideal world, every buyer, seller and agent would be thinking about the values of sustainability in all their transactions, but we know they are not.  Having someone on your side who understands what a sustainable home is and how to find a home that matches your personal values, is a huge asset in making the most important purchase of your life.

Elements of sustainable real estate include
Many of these categories overlap. Fortunately, home purchasing is one of the categories where doing the right thing economically, socially and environmentally usual line up.

Social
Proximity to entertainment, community resources, parks and playgrounds, community centres, religious institutions, communities of personal interest, etc.
Neighbourhood collaboration and cooperation
Shared space, shared responsibility

Economic
Cooperative purchase and/or development
Rental suites / mortgage helpers
Making a sound investment in a volatile economy
Using real estate, renters, etc. to create wealth

Environmental
Proximity to amenities, shopping, entertainment, employment, parks, etc., ideally walking distance
Proximity to bike and transit routes
Rental suites / higher density living
Home energy efficiency
Green technologies such as heat pumps and heat reclamation, solar and on-demand hot water, etc.

How a House in Vancouver is Cheaper than a Condo, and a much better investment too!

When I bought my first property in Vancouver, people asked  me, why are you buying a house, shouldn’t you first buy a condo? My response was simple but confused everyone.

“I can’t afford a condo, I can only afford a house.”

For me, the issue was not down payment, fortunately I had that, the problem was that I had just moved back to Vancouver and had no job.

The great trick in the Vancouver housing market, especially for first time home owners and young families, is to skip condos, townhouses and 1/2 duplexes, and look for single family homes with 3 suites in them.  Forget mortgage helpers, think mortgage payers.

And the math is simple: (Numbers based on East Vancouver)
Rent – 2 bedroom condo = approx. $1500/ month, $0 Saved on mortgage
Own – 2 bedroom condo = approx $1900/ month, $600 Saved on mortgage
Own – 3 bedroom Home with 2 rental units
         = approx $1400*/ month, $1000 saved on mortgage
         (*$3400/ month - $2000/month rental income)

Pay less, save more, get more!

Owning a home, you will pay less month to month, you will save more when your mortgage is up for renewal, you can get more space, plus of course more independence, more potential for appreciation…

Of course, you do need that pesky down payment!

Contact Noam for help making your next home work for you.

Are their really investment properties left in Vancouver?

Yes, especially now, but you have to look carefully.

A careful examination of the Vancouver housing market shows tremendous opportunity for the investor.  A buyers market has forced prices down and left a large stock of available homes. Unfortunately, not all these homes are created equal and sorting through the myriad of single family homes to find the investment jewel can be tough.

Fortunately, good investment homes do exist that can bring CAP rates of 5-6% and ROIs of 15%+. Let Noam find you one of these homes, usually 3 suites with 6+ bedrooms, solid structures but often in need of cosmetic repair and better management. Some one will snap up these investors Jewels, it might as well be you.

That Old Green House

There are a number of certifications for ‘green’ homes available in Vancouver. Strangely,  these certifications are only available on new construction, no certification currently exists for older homes. But older homes are by their nature ‘greener’ since they already exist, and numerous techniques are available to upgrade and/or restore them sustainably.

Currently in Vancouver hundreds of old homes are being demolished every year for new construction.  What if we could save some of those homes, restore them with locally sourced materials, and materials reclaimed from the other demolitions.  Convert basements into affordable rental housing. What if we went further, insulating the homes, installing heat pumps and other energy saving technologies.  Shouldn’t these homes be certified ‘green’.

There is a lot of good that comes out of LEED, BuiltGreen, and the other current certification processes, but they alone do not dictate if a building is green. Consider an old fix-er upper or a restored home, they can often be the greenest choice.

If you are looking to maximize the ‘green’ potential of your home, please be in touch for tips and guidance.

Noam Update 2012

Noam Update:

I am currently in the process of getting my real estate license to begin a career in green homes and sustainable living. My goal is to use my knowledge of socially and environmentally friendly living and building practices, as well as my economic, real estate and customer relations skills, to help people who care about social, economic and environmental sustainability acquire the ri
ght homes.

I am on schedule to be a licensed agent by early 2013, so:
a) Do you know anyone in BC who might be looking to buy or sell property in the near future? I will need clients!
b) Do you have any particular knowledge, interest or connection in the world of sustainable living that can help me as I begin my career? I need additional expertise!
c) Do you want to chat, either over the phone or in person to hear more about my life and my vision? I need my friends!

Thanks for your support!

I am not an Environmentalist

My name is Noam Dolgin.  I am environmental educator, activist, organizer, advocate, campaigner, crusader, agitator, professional, and I aspire to someday play the role of envrio-guru. But I am not an environmentalist!

I do not ascribe to a ‘distinct doctrine’ known as environmentalism.  It is not my ‘belief’ that I exist due my relationship with the Earth, I know it to be true.  The fact is, each of us breaths eats and drinks from the Earth. We utilize Earth’s minerals, fossil fuels, and land in every moment.  Our carbon footprint, our waste, and the resources we extract from Earth are not beliefs, they are an unfortunate reality (Someone else once called them an ‘inconvenient truth’). Teaching people about nurturing and sustaining that relationship for the betterment of the planet and human kind is not an ideology, it is a necessity. 

 

Over the years I have explored and taught many isms:  Judaism, Humanism, Zionism, Socialism, Libertarianism, and more.  One of the challenges in my work as a Jewish environmental educator is to simultaneously separate and integrate the beliefs of Judaism with the facts of environmental responsibility.  Fortunately, more often than not, the belief system of Judaism and the facts of environmental responsibility go hand in hand. Judaism is a belief that I hope will lead me to morally right behavior. Environmental responsibility is the reality of our generation if we hope to pass on a planet similar to the one we inherited. 

This is not just a matter of definition. In the United States and around the world, the Right has effectively branded environmental responsibility, and, by extension science, as an ‘ism’, where it has been debated as a matter of ideology and relegated to far left politics.  As a result, scientific discourse often holds equal weight to religious discourse in political and policy discussions, leading to endless debate and inaction, where action is imminently needed. 

As religious leaders we must lead the charge in separating fact from belief. We must work to place science and environmental responsibility on a separate plane from religious beliefs. This starts in our daily work, where we must effectively teach science AND religion to our students.  We also need to go beyond our students.    We need to take our message to the streets to politicians and religious leaders.  Religion and science, fact and belief, data and isms; Each are separate and important, but should not be confused with one another.

I work daily to protect people and the planet from human caused environmental degradation and I ask you to join me.  Not as an environmentalist, as a human being.

PotatOde

The 2nd in a series of poems about vegetable growing in my garden.  Enjoy!
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PotatOde

I’m growing potatoes it’s ever so sweet
They grow underground and taste good to eat

They take up much space as the plant it abounds
You pile up dirt over the tubers in mounds

The plants grow wild, a darkish green color
Purple and white comes the small gentle flower

I am forced to choose between beauty and function
Do I remove the flowers at this early junction?

Doing so now would hurt the aesthetic
But might make the harvest less pathetic

If I am lucky the plants last a while
And potatoes abound throughout the pile

The plants that die early, I now eat their fruit
White, red and purple potatoes as loot

And while I assert these spuds hold great appeal
I quickly tire out potatoes at every meal

So to the potato in all incarnations
And to the people of all different nations

Who eat the potato, fried, baked or boiled
And to the farmer who has worked hard and toiled

To bring us our sustenance, carbohydrates and all
To hold us through winter, spring, summer and fall

With thanks to my soil, the sun and the rain
The cycle will continue and all start again

For the potato itself is a full seed
With everything a new potato might need

To start a new plant and give off new spuds
Which we will enjoy with (veggie) burgers and suds