We had a sold-out crowd of REALTORS® come to KCRAR’s first ever Green Certification Course & Mini Expo on April 22.

The course offered the 120 REALTORS® in attendance a strong understanding and introduction to what green building is and how the term relates to their profession. With just a three-hour time investment for the course at a cost of $89 per person, we hope going green helped them keep more “green” in their wallets, too.

Those completing the course should now be able to define green building concepts and materials, define and locate local/federal tax incentives, write ads and market green property, and much, much more!

REALTORS® in attendance learned these fun facts:

• Eighty-six percent of Americans would choose one home over another based on energy efficiency.
• Some examples of “green” building materials are: sidewalks from recycled tires; tile made from recycled glass and paints/adhesives with low or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
• Using energy-efficient products and materials to build homes can result in reduced utility bills by as much as 65%!

The course overall offered an excellent overview of what real estate professionals may see as clients begin to show interest in these types of renovations. The 120 REALTORS® should be proud, we hope, to display their new certification on all their marketing materials!

Louise Regenstein from Reece and Nichols in Atchison, KS had this to say about the course: “I think it was excellent. We are doing buyer seminars at my office and we’ll be doing a green one; I’ll be able to use what I learned here for that seminar! Some of the statistics surprised me, like how much water we use every year. I think every REALTOR®  should attend this.”

Many REALTORS® stayed following the course to take a look at the exhibitor booths. Companies and organizations such as The Insulating Professionals, Bridging the Gap and Solar Solutions were available to show what they have to offer in the movement to “go green.”

“It was a great class and provided excellent training. I got lots of terrific ideas on how to assist in ‘green’ education and enforcement to protect our world as well as our real estate business,” said JoAnne Doughty from Glad Heart Realty.

For more information about the GCREP-GL, Green Leadership certification, visit www.greenrealestateeducation.com.

Thanks to our coffee and donut sponsor: First American Title.