Some Decisions are Easy

Some Decisions are Easy

I’m sitting downstairs, having my “pre-cocktail” while I wait for my gorgeous wife to finish getting ready to go out to dinner with friends. Then the familiar call comes from up stairs.

“Honey!  Can you come up here a sec? I need your help,” shouts Gail.

When I I get to the top of the stairs I turn the corner to go in to our bedroom and Gail greets me with, “Which shoes look better, these or THESE?” 

She has on one shoe from each pair and is wearing a smart and sexy black outfit.  Keep in mind that ten minutes ago when I left her she was putting the final touches on her hair and was wearing a stunning white pants suit. No matter.

Little beads of sweat start to appear on my temples and I immediately know I’m in trouble.  I try for the out, “Which ones do you prefer?” (I think I’m brilliant)

“Well, I can’t decide, “ laments Gail.

There it is. I’m stuck. I, like most men, solve problems. I LIKE to solve problems.  So far I don’t recognize a problem except that we are late. Both shoes look great.  I vote on one pair. She chooses the other. I’m happy to get it over with just so we can go. I made a decision.

Decision making is easy for certain decisions and for certain people. Deciding between two alternatives that are pretty much identical is difficult.  The decision maker starts to look for differences – emotional, esthetic,  irrational – because logic is pretty much taken out of the process. I like the logical decisions, most people do.

Take a look at the familiar Maslow Pyramid:

 

If there were two new cars that you were comparing and they were equally appealing in size, style, comfort, and price, and they both met all your needs – all the way up  Maslow’s pyramid from basic  physiological transportation to self actualization BUT one of the cars got 100 miles to the gallon and one got 20 mpg – the decision is a no brainer – you buy the one that gets 100mpg. Simple right? You bet.

Earlier this week I sat through a 45 minute presentation on a relatively new housing concept that appealed to my logical decision making ability. It all boiled down to this: If you had a choice between two pretty much identical new homes – both homes meet all your requirements, and I do mean ALL – including the same PRICE, but one home has zero energy costs and one had what you have grown to expect as normal utility bills – say $3000/year – which would you choose?   No beads of sweat on the temples here – it’s a slam dunk.  You go with no utility bills.

You will be saving $250 per month. Money you could use for retirement, more house, heck – even more shoes!  What is exciting to me as a real estate guy is that this very real scenario applies to financing of housing. I can now qualify more people for a  $200,000 home – because less of their income needs to go to utilities.

What is exciting to me personally is the appeal it has to my Earth Day side, the side of me that walks around the house turning off the light switches, that recycles kitchen waste to compost, the side that makes me feel good when I economize.  (This is the side of me that bought a Smart Car three years ago). This is the side of most of us that makes us feel good when the logical part of the decision supports the emotional side of the decision. How cool is that?

You can have a home for life – what I would call a legacy purchase - one that you can pass on to your kids  and one that will cost you no more to operate in ten years than it does the day you buy it.  Fixed income?  No problem. Price of water doubling? Not in your home;  Electricity bills tripling in ten years?  Not in this home.

OK. I think we all agree that going green is smart. But most of us don’t do it. One of the reasons is the cost – we have to pay up front to save later. But thorough and intelligent design as well as a total commitment to energy efficiency at every step has made the price to build these homes the same as a conventional home. There are additional added benefits. These homes are healthier, more hurricane resistant, and more maintenance free than a conventional home.

Can you tell the difference in the home when you see it?  Not really. It will be quieter. It will be higher quality than you may be used to in new homes, but these homes can be as simple and as luxurious as any home built. Prices start at about $100/sf plus the land.

I toured two models this week. One waterfront, one city in-fill.

Here is a rendering of the city home I toured

Intrigued?  You should be.  Interest rates just dropped below 4% again.  If you want information on buying a home that will have zero energy costs, Click here to fill out an inquiry sheet. I will get you information that we are preparing.

Gregg Fous  www.marketamericarealty.com  800-439-1580