Green Home Archives - Lotus Estate Properties

Solar Power – Part 1 – Lease or Buy?

We are sharing a multipart commentary on the idea of going with solar panels for your home.

The state of California has set new rules for compensating rooftop solar panel owners. Previously only those home owners with tens of thousands of dollars upfront could afford to buy and install solar panels on their roof. In recent years there has been an array of leasing and financing options.

So now what? Should you lease or purchase? Go solar now or later? First and foremost we will to educate you on the differences between buying vs leasing solar panels.

Buying and owning your solar panels:

1- You get all the advantages of the Renewable Energy Credits including the Federal Tax Credit for solar energy (up to a 30% rebate on your tax return for 2016)

2- All the collected energy from your solar panels goes to you and most home owners will end up paying very little to their electric utilities (except in cloudy weather).

3- You can legally sell the solar panels before or during the sale of your home, potentially receiving a higher green premium on a new appraised value. Many home buyers now recognize solar power as a justifiable premium and value when on the market for new property.

Leasing your rooftop solar panels:

1- You can’t claim ownership or get credit for a federal tax rebate.

2- The solar leasing company owns the power generated from the panels on your roof, and though you may get a slight reduction on your monthly bill, you are still paying the solar leasing company for the electricity used from the solar plans. In essence the solar leasing company becomes one of your electricity providers and may still have to pay your traditional utility when not enough solar electricity is generated for your home.

3- Transferring your property, such as in a home sale with a solar lease may be problematic. Solar leasing contracts often require the new owner to take over the lease terms and becomes unattractive to home buyers.

At the end of the day it may be beneficial to buy your solar panels through PACE financing and the HERO program.

Contact for any questions about leasing or buying solar panels for your home and how it affects the future sale of your property.

Go Metro FREE! Expo Line to Santa Monica – How will it affect West LA Real Estate?

Here at Lotus Estate Properties we firmly believe that every little bit helps, and we are committed to provide advice and services in support of a greener community before, during and after the purchase or sale of your home.

Real estate market prices will surely be affected on the Westside with the Metro’s completed expansion of the Expo line from Culver City to Santa Monica. The project, funded primarily with Proposition R (voted in 2008), will finally be open to the public beginning this Friday afternoon May 20th and connect Santa Monica to Culver City, Downtown LA and beyond. During this grand opening, all rides on the Expo line will be free!

FREE RIDES open to the public on the entire metro expo line for the following 2 days:

Friday, May 20 starting at 12pm
Saturday, May 21

The Expo expansion will relieve congestion on the 10 freeway for us Westsiders. But more importantly, will improve the traffic and air quality in our community, allowing more Angelenos to enjoy Santa Monica with environmental consciousness.

Expo-Line

More to Explore: 24 places to visit on the Expo Line to Santa Monica

There are many grand opening events along stops of the Expo line between Culver City and Santa Monica. Find out more about the upcoming festivities this weekend here.

AND to find out more about how the Expo line will affect the value of your home contact us soon!

Los Angeles, We’re Still in a Drought: Water Saving Applicances

This is a continuation in our series of articles on achieving a greener way of life in preservation of our community for our friends, family and children.

Jimmy reminds us that we are in the middle of a drought here in California.

While using gallons of water on practical jokes can be wasteful, the average American uses 19 gallons of toilet bowl water each day. Older toilets use 3.5 to 5 or more gallons of water per flush.

If you have an older home and older bathroom, an upgrade may be in the plans to modernize your home.

MODERN-DIY-Before-and-After-Bathroom-Renovation-Ideas

Updated bathroom adds value and modern charm

Modern toilets not only flush better with LESS water, they also add a modern aesthetic to your bathroom.

Los Angeles, We’re Still In A Drought!: Drought Tolerant Landscaping

This review will be the first in a series of articles on achieving a greener way of life in preservation of our community for our friends, family and children.

"The Actress" from McGann + Partners on Vimeo.

Despite El Nino giving Southern California a peppering of more precipitation this year, we are still in a drought here in Los Angeles since 2011 (according to the National Drought Mitigation Center). So don’t water your lawn stones, even if they are from the bottom of the Yangtze river!

Water Savings – Rebates for Lawn Upgrade

Last year, Governor Jerry Brown called for the removal of 50 million square feet of water consuming lawns in both residential and commercial properties. The Municipal Water District of Southern California immediately began offering rebates for residents to remove their old dry lawn grass and turf to replace with drought tolerant lawns. The MWD & Department of Water Resources offers rebates per square foot of lawn removed, and over 2600 LA residents have taken advantage of the program. By the end of 2015, nearly half of Governor Brown’s goals have been achieved in California.

Drought Tolerant Landscaping for a Modern Upgrade

The advantages of drought free lawns go beyond water (and financial) savings in the long term. Modern landscaping without traditional grass and turf lawn will augment the value of an older home, making it look modern and fresh.

Traditional Spanish Colonial House – old dry grass

Modern Spanish Colonial – drought tolerant landscaping

With modern low-water landscaping a home will look refreshed while still maintaining it’s warm inviting front lawn. This upgrade will add long term value with both water savings and sale of your home. Contact us for more about drought tolerant landscaping upgrades for your dated lawn.

Stay tuned for our continuing discussion on Green upgrades and repairs for your home.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO A GREENER COMMUNITY

Every little bit helps and Lotus is committed to providing advice and services that bring a level of consciousness to environmental issues before, during and after the purchase or sale of your home. We train our agents to think about these issues, we make partnerships that can help you understand the impact of the energy footprint of your current or future home and we are committed to learning, sharing and educating as we ourselves evolve.

We have agreed with Zero Energy for them to provide a unique service to our clients, potential clients and community at large. In conjunction with Zero Energy, we offer a complementary energy audit of your home. The audit will analyze and outline the current energy footprint of your home and suggest upgrades as well as potential financial savings of those upgrades. We will examine these recommendations to determine if the upgrades will enhance the current value of the property or if the recommendation themselves will be useful in the sale or purchase of your property.

Lotus and Zero Energy have agreed to jointly sponsor this complementary audit. We are happy to be of service.

To request your free audit, please email us at info@lotusestateproperties.com