Are you prepared to meet increasing homebuyer demand for healthy, comfortable, efficient homes?

The Earth Advantage Broker accreditation serves as a comprehensive designation that provides real estate professionals with a competitive edge in communicating the benefits of green homes in their market. Through the Earth Advantage® Broker program, we are strengthening the network of real estate professionals equipped to advance the sustainable housing market.

This two-day course provides an overview of different green certification programs and offers participants a hands-on exploration of green building techniques and products through certified home site visits. This accreditation course will provide real estate professionals with an understanding of the green home consumer market segments and prepare them to market and sell a green home.

Please note that this two-day course takes place on both April 30th and May 1st. Up to 14 CE credits are available for attendees, and groups of three attendees or more can shave $20 off the registration price. Learn more or register for the Earth Advantage® Broker course in Portland.

The US Department of Energy just released a white paper (Capturing Energy Efficiency in Residential Real Estate Transactions) highlighting how residential energy efficiency programs can help make homes’ energy efficiency visible to appraisers, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, homebuyers, and sellers. Join the webinar to learn about the new white paper and hear about the actions that residential energy efficiency can take!

Read more and register for Capturing Energy Efficiency in Residential Real Estate Transactions.

RMLS™ brings its Broker Education Series to Pendleton and invites interested subscribers and non-subscribers to attend. In the morning, Fiona Douglas-Hamilton of SEEC will present High Performance Heating Trends for Home Upgrades. In the afternoon, Fiona Douglas-Hamilton and Energy Trust of Oregon will lead site visits to energy-efficient homes in the area. Attendees may earn up to 5CE credits.

Register for the Broker Education Series event on September 24th in Pendleton.

RMLS™ will host a free course in Hood River as part of its Broker Education Series. Fiona Douglas-Hamilton will present Energy Performance Scores: Valuing Energy Improvements from 8:30am-noon. This class is worth 3.5 CE credits in Oregon and/or Washington.

Participation is free, but attendees must be registered. Register for the Broker Education Series event in Hood River on April 8th.

What is the meaning of “green” in today’s market?

This Earth Advantage® course focuses on understanding the green and high-performance home market. An overview of the history of green and high performance building will be explored while evaluating current trends, common misunderstandings, and market data. The course will explain the use of EPS™, what features are associated with high performance, and how to talk about them in the market. If you’re new to the green/high performance market or want to better understand how you can translate your current involvement in this market sector into benefits for your business, this is the class for you.

The class will be taught by Erik Odin Cathcart of Earth Advantage®. Register for The Market for High Performance Homes

This course provides an overview of load reduction and an exploration of many design and product options for conditioning systems within a home. Just as performance testing is necessary to verify the envelope’s construction, testing and verification of mechanical systems are also key to creating high-performance sustainable homes.

Learn more or register on the Earth Advantage® website.

The concepts behind high performance wall and roof construction are now within the reach of all designers, architects, builders, and remodelers.

This course explores various high performance wall and roof assemblies, including continuous exterior insulation, truss walls, double-stud walls, SIPS, staggered stud framing, I-joist, and more. Participants learn principles that can be applied to existing homes and new construction projects, including durable wall design, insulation strategies and air sealing, product selection, and construction. The course addresses the importance of performance testing and diagnostics to verify the performance of installed equipment and the home’s envelope.

Learn more or register on the Earth Advantage® website.

Take the mystery out of tight homes and moisture management by gaining confidence in your energy-efficient design and construction practices while optimizing your investment and reducing liability through superior building performance.

This course explores how properly designing and constructing a building’s envelope, or thermal and moisture barrier, is essential for a comfortable, healthy, durable, and energy-efficient home. The course provides an exploration of the fundamental laws that govern the dynamic flows within a building in order to understand the interconnectedness of house systems. These fundamentals are necessary tools to use when making design, construction, and operation decisions that affect the sustainability of projects. Students will analyze best practices for managing thermal, air, and moisture flows to create a house that is healthy, safe, energy efficient, and durable.

Learn more about this course on the Earth Advantage® website.

Earth Advantage® invites you to learn about green features with Fiona Douglas-Hamilton! You’ll explore the MLS Green Features Guide, learn how to identify green features, develop custom searches, and translate green features into homeowner benefits that sell.

Multiple listing services across the country are ‘greening’ their listing input forms as they seek to provide fields that will enable accurate comparable searches for appraisers and expanded client searches/marketing for brokers. RMLS™ was one of the first in the country to introduce green fields. Their early innovation has provided a level of sales data/information unrivaled in the nation.

This course will step the broker and appraiser through the booklet, covering its essential role as a field guide to assist in correctly identifying green features, develop custom searches, and eliminate input errors and the associated liability.

UPDATED (September 23, 2014): FREE to RMLS™ brokers and appraisers! Register and use the discount code PROFIT for free registration.

Conference theme: “Real Estate Valuation of Home Performance”

In the main event hall, attendees will learn how to inform and work with partner professionals in the real estate, appraisal, and finance communities. This dialogue is necessary to ensure that performance improvements are reflected in a home’s market value. Presenters include leaders such as Earth Advantage, Taylor Watkins, and Fiona Douglas-Hamilton. Two additional session tracks will feature current business development and technical sessions primarily targeted to home performance contractors.

In 2013, the Home Performance Conference focused on cost effectiveness solutions. The discussions that took place in that forum have had lasting impact and influence. This year we are focusing on being proactive (rather than reactive, as was the case last year) by addressing the single most important issue facing our industry—getting homeowners to understand the value added by home performance contractors.

The 2014 conference aims to repeat and build on the successes of 2013 by bringing together a different but critically important set of industry stakeholders. We hope you’ll join us!

All event attendees receive breakfast, lunch, snack, and reception appetizers, and free parking. Up to 5CE credits are available! Register for the 2014 Home Performance Conference of Oregon.

Interested sponsors or exhibitors should contact Ann Griffin at (971) 275-6240.