the green energy act

[EBLAIR]

Home-owners will be facing some big changes on the home selling process, if Ontario’s new Green Energy Act is passed through and fully implemented. One of the stipulations of the new Act, is that anyone who is selling their home, will be required to have an Energy Audit on their home.

I wrote about this home Energy Audit process, in a December 6th, 2008 blog entry, not knowing at that time, that this type of Energy Audit would make its way, right into a new Ontario government Act. While the Act has not been implemented yet, there is discussion in the news, that this proposed legislation, will march right through to full approval taking many homeowners by surprise as new requirements are forced on them.

As a homeowner, you might be asking, so what exactly is an Energy Audit anyway?

An Energy Audit is conducted via a visit to your home, by a trained and experienced advisor. The advisor would conduct tests and then document their recommendations on where energy efficiency can be optimized in your home. The advisor would then prepare a final detailed report to the homeowner that would give a detailed list of what changes or upgrades are recommended to make the home more “energy efficient”. The homeowner would then use this report to carefully consider their options. Some examples might be, a recommendation to change older windows and doors, install new improved heating and cooling systems, upgrade insulation, etc. The homeowner could then decide what upgrades they would like to do, based on the report provided.

As this new Act roles in, I am quite sure two things will happen: 1) homeowners will be unhappy about having to disclose energy efficiency reports to interested buyers and will not likely to be happy about facing expensive upgrade costs before they can sell their homes. Even though grants are available, homeowners must still come up with the money to complete the upgrades. In a housing market where home values are decreasing and homeowners are facing shrinking home equity plus a rise in household debt-loads, this will be a new cost that homeowners will not be able to easily absorb. I do believe some realtors will not like it either as interested buyers walk away from listed homes that just are not up to energy standards in listings where homeowners are unable to invest into needed upgrades to the home.

This notice was written by Elizabeth Blair, a Licensed Mortgage Agent with Mortgage Edge in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Elizabeth services mortgage clients in Mississauga and all over the Greater Toronto area.

You can contact Elizabeth directly by phone at (905) 510-5785
by email at eblair@mortgageedge.ca
or you visit her website at: www.missmortgage.ca
Elizabeth is licensed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and is also a Member of IMBA (the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario) www.imba.ca
Lic # M08005880
Brokerage Lic # 10680
Head office is located at: 15 Wertheim Court, Suite 210, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

[klmrobinson]

Originally Posted by EBLAIR

As this new Act roles in, I am quite sure two things will happen: 1) homeowners will be unhappy about having to disclose energy efficiency reports to interested buyers and will not likely to be happy about facing expensive upgrade costs before they can sell their homes. Even though grants are available, homeowners must still come up with the money to complete the upgrades. In a housing market where home values are decreasing and homeowners are facing shrinking home equity plus a rise in household debt-loads, this will be a new cost that homeowners will not be able to easily absorb. I do believe some realtors will not like it either as interested buyers walk away from listed homes that just are not up to energy standards in listings where homeowners are unable to invest into needed upgrades to the home.

Can the same arguments not also be said about a home inspection? Yet everyone accepts them. I bet when they were first introduced people said sellers “will be unhappy about having to disclose reports to interested buyers and will not likely to be happy about facing expensive upgrade costs before they can sell their homes” . People don’t like when they get an unfavourable home inspection either.

Change is hard and upsets a lot of people but I personally think an energy audit is a great idea. In this day and age it helps people understand what they are purchasing more than the pretty granite counters and pot lights that everyone focus’s on these days. In the past energy audits cost thousands to do, but are finally much more affordable so why not use them to evaluate your house. Why not give homeowners info on what they will be spending tens of thousands on over the years, your heating, water and electricity systems and bills? Its just more information about your house, just like a home inspection is, IMO.

Mike