Nominees must be a member in good standing of Built Green Colorado. All homes nominated for any Built Green Home of the Year category must have been registered with Built Green Colorado during the judging period September 1, 2007 - August 31, 2008 and must comply with the appropriate year’s Built Green Checklist.

Click here to download the Call for Entries Form.

The Built Green University offers tips and resources to help you add value to your homes and profits to your business. You’ll receive essential information on:

• Cost-effective methods to improve home performance, reduce common problems and callbacks, and gain a competitive edge.
• How to comply with the 2008 Built Green Checklist (and how it benefits you).
• Tips on marketing your Built Green home to interested buyers, and more.

Click here to register for the 2008 Built Green University in Loveland, Colorado

Join Built Green® Colorado in supporting this nationally acclaimed building science training. The training will also feature a brief speaking engagement by Sam Rashkin, National Director, ENERGY STAR© for New Homes, to kick off Built Green’s new partnership with the ENERGY STAR for New Homes Program. Visit www.eeba.org/housesthatwork for information and registration. Please contact Nancy Bakeman for ALL Houses That Work questions, @ (952) 345-8008 or nancy@eeba.org.

Please click here to register for this event: www.eeba.org/housesthatwork/workshops/Denver.asp

Please see: www.builderconference.com, for more information and details.

Green Building Certification Class and/or the Business Management Certification Class

• Please click here for the Green Building Course Registration
• Please click here for the Business Management Certification Registration
• Please click here for sponsorship info for both courses

Beginning with all homes permitted on or after October 1st, 2008, all Built Green registered homes must fully comply with the ENERGY STAR® for New Homes energy efficiency criteria and testing requirements. The ENERGY STAR® for New Homes energy efficiency standards and testing requirements will be the sole method of energy efficiency compliance with the Built Green program. Please see the Guide to the Built Green Checklist, the EnergyStar.gov website, or consult with your Energy Rater for further details on the requirements of the Energy Star® for New Homes program.

Be aware that this change requires ENERGY STAR for New Homes energy efficiency criteria only, and does not include their other programs such the ENERGY STAR Indoor Air Package, or Advanced Lighting Package (however, you may still receive points for the ALP through the Checklist). As the program moves towards the effective date of this change, we expect to work closely with the ENERGY STAR for New Homes program regarding co-branding, marketing and other pertinent issues and opportunities. Watch for continued program correspondence through eNews and other modes of communication. We also anticipate working through the Governor’s Energy Office to notify our members of upcoming ENERGY STAR trainings around the state, and to offer similar trainings through Built Green.

If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns, please contact Traci D’Alessio, Assistant Director @ 719-339-9639 or tdalessio@earthlink.net

To become an Energy Star Partner, please click here: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.nh_join

If you have had changes in staff please email new contact information, including email addresses and any contact deletions, to enews@builtgreen.org.

It wasn’t that long ago that people were wondering aloud if gas would hit $4 a gallon. Today, regular un-leaded in Colorado is averaging that mark. Frankly, it’s scary from any number of angles. But it’s particularly troublesome when your business relies on vehicles to function. Fuel costs represent the second highest cost of doing business after labor costs. There are, however, ways to trim those costs without replacing the entire fleet with hybrid vehicles.

At the next staff meeting, remind your field folks of driving techniques that increase mileage. Hard acceleration, idling, and speeding are the prime fuel wasters. For a great list of driving tips to share with employees, visit www.wikhow.com/save-money-on-gas. (A word of caution: there are numerous bogus techniques and devices out there. Searching Google with “gas-savings myths” will help you track down the difference between fact and fiction.)

To read the entire article by Doug Seiter, click here, or see the June 2008 issue of Home Builder Magazine.

To subscribe to Home Builder Magazine, please click here.

The new Built Green ads will run the whole month of August, taking full advantage of the increased exposure they will get during the Democratic National Convention and the Parade of Homes. You will see these ads strategically placed on the sides of RTD busses, in bus shelters and on billboards around high-traffic areas.

Please click here to see the ads.

No one in the industry would be surprised to know that asking for the sale is the one area in which salespeople often score the lowest when they are being professionally shopped, even though it is critical to our personal success and to the success of our companies.

They also wouldn’t be surprised to know that the secret to success in selling houses has not changed over the years - nor has asking for the sale.

There was a time early in my career when I didn’t see any value in sales training. Frankly, I didn’t like getting up and going to work on Monday mornings and I rarely practiced my craft.

I was an experienced salesperson, I thought. I was good at talking to people. I was good at influencing them. Plus, I had that salesperson’s intuition. That was all I needed to be successful. How wrong I was then.

How wrong those thoughts are now.

Role Playing and Practice Help Make the Sale
When I was a sales rep for a major home builder, we had a very specific sales process to present to our customers. During Monday morning meetings, we would role play and practice to make sure we had it right.

I dreaded those Monday morning meetings. I couldn’t sleep the night before, and when it was my time to role play, I’d get sick to my stomach and stutter.

But, to make my sales manager happy, I memorized everything and practiced my presentations - just the way they were designed. I was a good student, and persistence and training paid off, as much as I didn’t want to admit it at the time.

Please click here to read the entire article from the August 25th issue of Nation’s Building News.

Builders:
Bussing Construction, Inc. - Salida, CO
Flatgrass, LLC - Denver, CO
Nicholas Custom Homes - Denver, CO
Park Vista Builders, Inc. - Colorado Springs, CO
Viaggio, Ltd. - Littleton, CO

The number of home registrations so far for 2008 is 619.

Remember: Built Green home registration submittals are no longer accepted on a quarterly basis. Builders must submit and pay for home registrations at the time they pull each permit or on a monthly basis. The fee per home is $40. Built Green yard signs and brochures are available at an additional cost. Builders – take every opportunity to promote your Built Green status! To order promotional materials, please email enews@builtgreen.org.

Click here to download the Built Green home registration template.

This month’s sales tip features item #41 from the 2008 Built Green Checklist

41. Whole house fan installed with a minimum R-19 insulated seasonal cover and instructions provided to homeowner on safe operation of unit. 5 pts.

Sales Tip: Whole house fans can quickly purge warm indoor air during the cooling season by drawing in cooler air after outdoor temperatures drop below indoor air temperatures in the early evening. Operating a whole house fan for 60 minutes upon returning to a hot house in the summer can significantly reduce the load on an air conditioner, and in some instances, can eliminate the need for air conditioning altogether.

• WEBMASTER: If you are experiencing difficulty viewing your weekly email or accessing the hbadenver.com website, please send an e-mail to enews@builtgreen.org

If you feel this newsletter was delivered to you in error, or that you may have been included in an unsolicited mailing, please report this incident immediately to enews@builtgreen.org

© 2007 Home Builders Association of Metro Denver