How Expensive is Green?

I was just about to write a blog on how much more it costs to build a "green" structure than a typical-construction structure. Then I ran into a blog by Barry Katz at http://www.greenworks.typepad.com/
Check it out - he does a great job.

As the World Greens

It amazes me how quickly this country has turned from a majority of the people not believing that the world is warming to most everybody jumping on the green bandwagon. As my company is starting to concentrate on bringing recycling technologies and green building products to market we are finding so many interesting new products available, and a lot of interest in placing them in the market place. As a simple product, the jatropha berry bares a biodiesel from very little processing. In the Philippines there is a project where one million hectares of land is being converted to production of jatropha berries. This land will provide over 500 million gallons of biofuel every year. This is only a small step in quelling our need for fossil fuels, but it could be an important one. More new ideas later.

Green Building Products

Recently I ran into a fairly old technology that was perfected. Which, I guess, makes it a new technology. It is the simple building block. It was formerly made out of cement. This one is made out of cement and recycled polystyrene (you know those white disposable cups that are used a lot for office coffee). The ration is 15% cement to 85% polystyrene. You can imagine how light these blocks are, of course making construction time quite a bit quicker. It is also noteworthy that these blocks have a higher "R" value, and they are cheaper per square foot of wall than common cement blocks. So they are cheaper, construction is more rapid, and they save energy - now that is a good combination of factors that will make the inventors very successful. The company is risking its IPO even in these economic times, because "the product is good for the world". Right now an associate is in the Middle East gathering interest - and there is a lot of interest being gathered. There is also considerable interest in the US. Fully automated manufacturing plants will be sprouting up all of the country in the next year or so. Our future is becoming greener all the time. Isn't that nice?

Finally A Change

No matter one's political philosophy I think that all must admit that it was definitely time for a change in US leadership. To get a fresh and invigorated new beginning was important for all of us. Even I feel a little bit better now. The technologies so desperately needed to move forward a practical national agenda to promote renewable energies and avoid the environmental apocalypse are available. Our company has been active in promoting these technologies in various corners of the world. There is interest everywhere - except the United States where there seems to be a fear of stepping forward before someone else has tested them out. Now that is an odd way for Americans to act, wouldn't you agree? Hopefully, with a new national vitality our ability to risk success will re-emerge.

Strange Actions In Environmental Consulting

I was speaking with a client the other day. He had recently become the victim of what often happens in a down real estate economy. An environmental consultant conducted a Phase I for a client of his. The Phase I made recommendations. A larger than necessary Phase II was conducted, but was not well designed, so another Phase II was recommended. The consultant got a regulator involved and the work became mandatory. Then the regulator required a health risk assessment and 7 monitoring wells. The owner of the Property is now out almost $100,000 with closure no where in site. The Property is a marina in the Sacramento River delta. There is a loss of water from the delta to the island, meaning the continuing spills from boats refueling at the docks migrates to the soil and the non-usable groundwater. It is likely that a well worded Phase I could have solved the problem and saved the owner about $97,500. But the owner is still spending, because he will be monitoring this groundwater for a long time. Every time the country gets into these economic situations, consultants start bleeding their clients. It is how the environmental consulting industry got such a bad reputation in the early 90s, and it was deserved. So this is just a word to the wise, if you pay a consultant to have a Phase I conducted these days and recommendations are made for further work, make absolutely sure that those recommendations are necessary. If you have an issue like this and want to call me, I will give you an hour of my time for free - no matter where you are (888 875-4468). My industry does not need to further sully its reputation.

1031 Exchange

I just had a conversation with Wayne Gregori who has recently been experiencing great growth for his website 1031Exchange.net. I think that it would be very beneficial for many of those who read this blog to take a look at this site. If you are in the commercial real estate business you should check it out, it is a place to post your listings to help get momentum to make your sale. But the site is not just for commercial real estate brokers, it is for everyone who works in the commercial real estate industry in California. Wayne will help you set up a profile and promote your business. He did not even ask for money. And of course, if you need or know of somebody interested in a 1031 Exchange, Wayne's company (the 1031 Exchange and Services Group) has been doing that kind of work for a long time and they are the experts.

Can You Actually Buy or Not

The Federal government has infused the stable banks with some lending capital. So now there is money available to borrow. The selling market is get poised to sell, if only the buyers would be ready to buy. There a lot of strange issues at play in the commercial real estate market. But based on the environmental awareness of permitting agencies it is a really good time to consider buying distressed properties, especially if they are deeply discounted. There are grants, and low-interest loans galore from state and federal agencies that will help with the environmental cleanup of urban properties. The money is available to governments, non-profits, and for profit companies. We can help guide you through some potential sources of capital infusion.