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Green Building

  • marylove
  • Green Building
  • November 8, 2022

Be the Change Agent

Right now, Realtors have a golden opportunity to make a positive impact regarding sustainability.   We are on the front lines of conversations about housing and talk to people who are buying, selling, and renting homes.  We work with builders, remodeling companies and investors.  The majority of our vendors are within the building industry, and we network with governments and nonprofits concerning affordable housing.   

Imagine if energy efficiency, water savings, and high-performance building techniques were more important than square footage and floor plans.  That would have a huge impact on climate change and sustainability in general!

We have the power to make that happen!  We can shift public awareness and create a demand for “green” homes, but education is the key.  Once you are aware of best practices then you can start marketing these concepts.   I have always seen marketing as an effective educational tool.  It really is easy for us to make this type of shift since we are excellent at marketing homes.

Now is the time to focus on “green” home features.  The Shelton Group conducted a survey that found 57% of the people polled were concerned about the environment; we have crossed the halfway mark!  Today, the majority is concerned about sustainability and climate change.  

The following National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2019 study about buyer and seller trends clearly shows that clients consider energy efficiency very important.

This isn’t new information, though. In 2018, NAR’s sustainability study reported that Realtors thought 61% of their clients were concerned about sustainability.

What are we waiting for?  Why hasn’t every Realtor gotten the NAR GREEN Designation?  Why hasn’t every Realtor’s Association greened their MLS?  

I started my real estate focus on “green” homes in 2004. Back then it was a fringe concept, but by finding Green Champions and education builders and clients, I had a thriving niche in just a few years. Now in 2022, the demand is here. In fact, if you don’t have some type of green, sustainable focus, you are probably losing clients!

Today we have so many resources and opportunities available to us as Realtors. Perhaps that is one of the issues; information overload can create anxiety.  I have had several Realtors tell me they are confused about what is really sustainable and what is just greenwash.

I have been teaching Realtors about sustainability and creating a green niche for years.  My motto has been, “a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.” Now, I feel an urgency to get the word out to more Realtors.   I am passionate about the fact that Realtors can change the world and its view on sustainability.  We have to do something and do it now!

This need is why I have created a series of online courses for Realtors and builders.  The first course, “Start Your Green Niche/Business” is fast-paced and will help you create a sound foundation to speak the sustainability language of your clients. 

The second course, “Scale Your Green Niche/Business” is for those who feel comfortable with general green, sustainable conversations and have already been marketing to clients.  This course will push you into making your own business sustainable and creating a network of vendors who truly care about sustainability. 

The third course, “Love the Green” is to train the trainer.  It is for coaches, consultants, and realty companies who wish to promote sustainability.

To learn more, email mary@lovethegreen.org 

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  • marylove
  • Green Building
  • January 14, 2020

Connecting the Dots for 2020

For so many people, January 1st is a time to set goals and think about the New Year.  The first few weeks are full of starting new habits and vows to change, but before the end of the month, most are back to old habits and behaviors.  What causes us to want to change in the first place, especially if we have had past experiences of not being able to obtain these goals?  Why do we give up so easily?

I believe that everything is connected, that life is interwoven with all seen and unseen matter.  There is something deep inside humanity that needs to grow. Just as a seed must sprout, so must we.  One issue of accomplishing goals is that often, they are so big that we don’t know how to break them into small accomplishments.  When we do make them manageable, we don’t see the results as fast as we want. 

Today, global warming, zero waste, social justice, eco trends, alternative energy and others fall in to the larger concept of sustainability.  It’s easy to get all riled up and declare new behaviors at a rally or after watching an inspiring movie, yet after a few weeks of carrying those mason jars to the food co-op, many people become discouraged and whine that the problem is just too big to do alone.  

Therein lies the problem. When we think we are alone, singular actions rarely make a difference to our mind. Yet, when we feel a part of something greater – something bigger than just me – courage and power rises within us.  Today, more than ever through social media, we all have the opportunity to be connected with some group.  Even then, we can easily get distracted and forgot what our original goals were.

For me, the best way to create change is to feel connected.  I need the big picture and the small steps to get to that point.  I need to feel the energy that flows as the dots are connected.  This is what has kept me honoring the planet and humanity.  Knowing that I am greater than myself, and believing that my small actions make a difference because I recognize the oneness of everything, encourages me to move forward through the hard times. It also allows me to start all over again when the current plan doesn’t work.

Finally, we are starting to see how action, as well as inaction concerning environmental issues, not only affect the planet, but also humans living on the planet.  I grew up on a farm, so I learned at an early age that crops needed to be rotated in order to improve the soil.  I also learned that many plants and animals were symbiotic and needed each other to thrive.  That meant we had food to eat, so I understood the connection of my actions on Earth. 

One of the reasons I promote “Green Building” is because building science looks at the building as a whole system. It takes into consideration everything from the site to the people living in the home.  The guiding question is “how does everything work together to create the best home ever?”

We have spent the past century breaking everything into parts in order to understand how it all works. Vast improvements have been made in industry, medicine, transportation, social welfare and food production. America had high goals and effectively created steps and processes that allowed us to rapidly obtain those goals – our school system was divided into time frames much like assembly line workers; doctors focused on singular cures and specialties; individual cars created convenient mobility; vast amounts of food were created in mono systems.  All of this elevated the overall quality of life for most Americans.  Somewhere in all of the objectives and mini-goals, we forgot the big picture.  We forgot that most things work in tandem and everything is connected to something larger. 

Quantum physics and string theory are changing the way humanity sees itself.  Science is now stating the words of ancient mystics and agreeing that, indeed, everything is connected and our awareness of our universe and ourselves depends on those connections.  It means that what I do and what you do really does matter!  It also means that “a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing!”  It means when individual actions are recognized and intended to create change, then they will.   This is why we start with those lofty New Year goals and break them down into smaller objectives that we can accomplish.

2020 is a new decade and an excellent time to create personal goals and objects. The key to keeping those goals and actually creating change for yourself is to believe that little steps matter, and as long as you don’t give up, change will occur.  It is also important to recognize that when you make a better version of yourself, you are in fact creating a better version of the world you live in.

Let’s create a world that works for all!

Happy New Year!

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  • marylove
  • Green Building
  • November 27, 2019

Net Zero Green Built Home

Tour of Platinum Net Zero Green Built Home in Asheville's Olivette Riverside Community and Farm

Join Mary Love as she talks about this new home in the Agrihood Community of Olivette in Asheville, North Carolina.

This house is the winner of:

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About Mary Love

Mary Love has been living and teaching the Green Life for so long she is affectionately called the “Grandmother of Green”. Her love for nature and sustainability naturally developed from growing up on a farm.

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  • 828-279-6723
  • E-mail: mary@lovethegreen.org

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