Stephanie Edwards-Musa, Realtor ® Spring/Woodlands, TX Real Estate

The most commonly asked question when someone is consider moving to the Houston area is where they should purchase.  It's a huge City so narrowing it down to area is the first thing to consider.

When looking at a map of the City it appears that so many things can be nearby.  It's only about 15-20 miles from one place to another.  But its important to keep in mind the traffic flow on different freeways.  With over 5 Million people in the Houston Metro area, traffic time can really add up -

The other day I went to a Social Media Breakfast Downtown during Rush Hour.  I thought I would take the opportunity to make a short video of what Houston traffic can be like.

If you would like a Packet on Relocating to Houston with Tips on area and what to expect, I'd be happy to provide the information for you.  Steph@TurningHoustonGreen.com

Have you heard the BIG news? Tomorrow is Take Your Mug to Work Day sponsored by International Delight. I am very proud to be working with them on this project in Houston and wanted to bring it to your attention as you will see it in the news. Over the past couple years down here in Houston we have heard more and more about Recycling, the need to bypass materials from entering the landfills and so on. Often times what we do not realize are the small things that we can help with.

In fact, a recent study shows that 67% of Americans that go to their local coffeehouse to get their favorite cup of joe admit to throwing their paper cup in to the regular trash instead of recycling it. All of this, multiplied across the Nation equates to approximately 28 Billion Cups (with a B) or 100 million pounds annually that get sent to the landfill. This not only affects us Environmentally but Economically as well.

In an effort to raise Awareness International Delight has made tomorrow - October 15th, 2009 - Take Your Mug to Work Day. Instead of stopping at your local coffeehouse, brew your coffee at home and take it with you in a reusable coffee mug. They have also taken this opportunity to roll out 3 New favorite Coffeehouse Inspiration flavors. Caramel Macchiato, Vanilla Latte and White Chocolate Mocha making it easier for you to turn your home in to your own Coffeehouse.

Need an incentive? If you visit the International Delight website you can enter their contest - Upload your 'mugshot' (you and your favorite mug) for a chance to win a Coffee Pack Prize! Simple! While you are their, use their new Coffee Footprint Calculator to see exactly how much YOU could save by brewing your coffee at home. If you take out one White Chocolate Mocha a week, you can save approximately $160.68 over the year. How much could you save? Companies and Offices across the Nation are joining this cause, I hope that you choose to as well.

Let's save some paper from being sent to the landfill and save some money at the same time. Oh, while I'm not entering the contest, here is my "MugShot" - So come on Houston! Get in those Mug Shots! Feel free to share them here as well!

Before you comment on this post you may want to read it all the way through first. Chances are, you will either strongly agree or strongly disagree. But if you are in Real Estate you need to consider all of the different sides before you make your decision on exactly how you feel about all of this.

First, if you read Katerina's post regarding Cap and Trade - Or if you are reading any other article for that matter - I want you to do me a favor for the sake of this post. Completely take out the words Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, Carbon Footprint and any other word that can be related to Environmental Topics.

What you have left is verbiage regarding creating jobs, energy efficiency and Building Code. As a Certified EcoBroker and CGP - I have closely followed proposed Legislation regarding these same exact topics regardless of where they have been proposed.

These topics are not new by any stretch. State and City Legislation have been battling these very topics heavily for a few years now. Everything from Energy Ratings, requiring homes to be X% more efficient by X year, raising the Building Code, etc.

Certain areas, for example, Texas (specifically Houston) that thrive on Affordable Housing have expressed their concern over strict guidelines because it raises the cost of construction. Some people can not afford to make these changes. For every $1,000 that you raise the cost of a home, it takes X number of buyers completely out of the equation in being able to afford the home.

It's all been talked about time and time again.

However, I am a little concerned about the people that are adamantly against making homes more affordable to LIVE in.

'To LIVE in' - This is the part of all of this that in my opinion is completely overlooked. While I'm not a Fan of much of the recent Legislation for the most part - This particular one I think deserves a little more consideration from the Consumer side of things. I don't think we should rule it out as completely negative yet. Here are just a few of my reasons:

• Homes really DO need to be more Energy Efficient. How about the First Time Homebuyer that is excited to move in to their First Home - They spend money on getting some new furniture, lawn equipment, etc. THEN, they get their first electric bill to find that it is Quadruple the cost of what it was in an Apartment. The cost of actually LIVING in a home just became a realization.
• With the cost to LIVE in a home at top of mind, how about the home that put $100,000 in to putting Granite Countertops, a pool in the yard, Hardwood Floors and made it look pretty - Then went and sold it at the Top of Market Value for the new homeowners to realize that the home Sucks Energy like crazy. Was the home REALLY worth it?
• Over the past 2 years many have realized that we need to consider how much home we need vs. how much home we want. With disclosures on Utility Costs required, do you think that people would reconsider buying that home they can't afford?

Now, the part of the Bill that discusses existing homes being brought up to Today's Energy Codes - I have a question to propose. Are there even enough items manufactured to bring every single home on the market up to Today's Energy Code?

The next thing to consider is the Cost of Building a home vs. who can afford it. Most people believe that only the people who CAN afford it will get an Energy Efficient home. Is that right? It is the people who CAN'T afford it that need Energy Efficient homes the most. Would a stricter Energy Code - Regardless of it being passed at a Federal or State Level - Would that really be a bad thing?

Quite honestly, I am offended when I see 'Affordable Homes' that I know will have an extremely high Utility Bill. I personally think it is an injustice to the people that need it.

Truly Energy Efficient Products - There need to be more of them. Supply and Demand. Who makes the products? People. Jobs.

The Real Estate Industry, and I have mentioned this before, we need to Grasp these changes and accept them. It will not make our lives and jobs more difficult. It will help our clients choose what home is really the best for them. It will help them choose a home that is the most affordable for them.

As an industry we need to look in to learning more about Energy Efficient Mortgages, Renovation Loans, Energy Efficiency Legislation (not just at a Federal Level), Energy Audits and Ratings. We need to Network more with the Folks that do this as their chosen Profession.

The cost to make a home 30% more energy efficient can be as little as about $300 - That $300 could have a 500% return in a lot of homes over a year or two. Many States offer programs to do this to existing homes for FREE.

Let's take a different look at all of this. Without the words Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, Climate Initiative, Carbon Footprint. Oh, and sorry for not having any pictures. Just got a new laptop and have not transferred over any of my data.

I was in the middle of putting together a Class Presentation this morning for Lone Star College and thought it could be fun to put together a list of Daily Energy Saving Tips for a Week or Two.

With Summer time coming, get ready for those Electric Bills to skyrocket!!

In your home, there are a ton of Little Things to do (besides changing your light bulbs) that can help you reduce your bill. With this being the first day, let's start with something easy. It shouldn't even take 10 minutes to do.

Phantom Energy Loads - We have a bunch of little things plugged in all the time. Like our Coffee Pot. We can set it to automatically turn off if we forget but the truth is, even when it is off - It is still using Electricity. The majority of Electrical Devices pull what is called a phantom or vampire load when it's off.

Are you a Technology junkie? This will probably help you the most then. Let's take a look at some things we often forget about because these items can be as much as 5% of your Energy bill.

• Ipod Charger
• Laptop Charger
• Cell Phone Charger
• TV's in rooms that we don't use
• Cable Boxes
• Coffee Pots
• Toasters
• Chargers for Electric Drills or other tools
• Electric Toothbrushes or Razors

In an average family of 4 with Technology based items being popular, with 4 cell phones and 4 Ipods, it is pulling quite a bit of energy. Before you leave the house, just go unplug all of them.

If you have little kids, assign one to be the 'Energy Police' for the week. Let them be Mom or Dad's little helper and have them remind you about it.

To learn a little more about Phantom Energy Loads, here is a short article on Treehugger about it.

I was searching for HVAC tape earlier today and someone on Twitter asked why I needed it, what it was going to do to help my house.

Thought I would do a quick video explaining how it helps and why HVAC Tape is better than Duct Tape.  And for the record, I don't recommend doing this on your own.  :) But here is what I did with before and after video.

If you are in Texas, it is mandated by State Law that there be a company to offer this service for Free.  If you are in or around the Houston area that Company is FreeLightingCorp.com