IF THEY CAN DO IT, WHY NOT NASHVILLE?

Check out this Wall Street Journal article about the city of Austin, Texas requiring home owners to conduct home energy audits prior to selling homes that are more than ten year old. This is certainly an interesting topic of conversation for home owners and Realtors. There are a lot of pros and cons for this law, and I could discuss them all day long. I am not sure yet what my stance is, but I do know that in Middle Tennessee, termite letters are required and are often paid for by the seller. So why not a energy audit?

Essentially, we are getting a miles per gallon rating on older homes. Some would say that even new homes should have a rating too. A home energy rating would give buyers another comparison point between houses and possibly make selling homes with a poor rating score difficult to sell. Of course as a buyer, it would be nice to know if your energy bills are going to be astronomical. Buyers in Middle Tennessee do have a right to conduct energy audits on their own during the inspection period, but I am not aware of it being a common practice in Nashville, nor a negotiating point. Austin is a very progressive city in terms of green construction and energy efficient homes. Perhaps, Nashville will follow the lead of Austin sometime in the future. Click here to read the article.