Keep Austin Affordable
The Austin Board of REALTORS® needs you to answer this Call for Action to allow your voice to be heard to protect your business and Austin homeowners.
Mayor Will Wynn is pushing the Austin City Council to consider a proposal that would require homeowners to upgrade or retrofit their homes with energy efficient features before they can sell it. We support energy efficiency, but we oppose the draft ordinance being developed because it will limit homeownership opportunities for many Austinites.
Please click on send this message to let Austin Mayor Will Wynn know that you support the Austin Board of REALTORS®' alternative solutions for achieving energy efficiency. ABOR proposes the following measures as a more efficient and effective solution to energy efficiency:
- Support free energy audits in all Austin homes and include that information in ABOR's Seller's Disclosure Notice to allow the market to adapt to the "value" of energy efficiency in homes.
- Expand the incentives for homeowners who voluntarily make upgrades to their homes by offering annual homestead exemptions and sales tax relief on items related to those upgrades.
- Allow the 9000+ members of ABOR to act as educators who encourage homeowners to take advantage of the many programs Austin Energy already has in place.
Let your voice be heard at City Hall, click now on send this message to tell Mayor Will Wynn there is a more efficient and effective solution to make Austin homes energy efficiency!
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Talking Points
What's this about?
In early 2007, Austin Mayor Will Wynn released the Climate Protection Plan with the goal of making Austin the “greenest” city in the country. One tenant of that plan involves the “Proposed Point of Sale Ordinance”, which would establish mandatory energy efficiency standards for existing homes. The city’s proposal would require that homeowners upgrade their homes and obtain a “Certificate of Compliance” from the city before they’re able to sell it. We oppose this plan for several reasons:
- Affordability – As currently proposed, these upgrades are estimated to cost Austin homeowners thousands of dollars. This type of out-of-pocket expense will prevent many homeowners from having the option to sell their home, particularly if they need to sell due to a difficult financial situation. In addition, the cost will inevitably be passed on to homebuyers, making it even more difficult to afford a home in Austin.
- Extended sales process – Arranging the additional inspections needed to obtain a Certificate of Compliance (not to mention actually making the upgrades to properties) would draw out the time required to sell homes substantially. Further, Austin doesn’t currently have enough home inspectors in our city to fill the anticipated demand, promising even further delays.
- Do we want to require a “license” for homeowners to sell? – As it’s proposed now, this ordinance would essentially require that homeowners apply to the city for a “license” to sell their home (i.e. Certificate of Compliance). Do we want to spend our city’s resources on this activity and add this complication to the real estate process? Austinites buy and sell more than 25,000 homes each year, so one can imagine the cost and bureaucracy that would be required to manage that type of volume through the city.
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Subject:
Support Incentives for Energy Efficiency
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Dear [ Decision Maker ],
Please consider adopting the Austin Board of REALTORS' alternative solutions to energy efficiency. Their goal of full disclosure and annual incentives will lead Austin to achieve high energy efficiency. Rather than a costly point-of-sale mandate, I believe in strong, annual incentives and full disclosure of energy efficiency. These mechanisms are more efficient than a point of sale ordinance based on their ability to deeply penetrate the market in a more effective way.
I support initiatives to promote energy efficiency in Austin, but the mandates under consideration are the wrong approach. Instead, I believe that a voluntary program that rewards Austinites in a meaningful way and appropriate disclosure is the right way to build long-lasting support.
Please know that I care deeply about our city, and I'm watching this with great interest.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Organization]
[Your address]
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Send this message to: Mayor Will Wynn and Austin City Council
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