by Laura Altomare, Director of Communications and Resource Development, Homewise
Homewise is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 with a mission to help create successful homeowners so that they improve their financial wellbeing and contribute to the vitality of our communities. Homewise offers a full range of homeownership services to empower and support clients on their path to successful homeownership. Each service is designed to bolster the other services, maximizing the benefits and achieving the ultimate goal of financial security for the client and the community. Homewise delivers services throughout New Mexico, including free financial education and coaching; non-commissioned real estate services; affordable mortgage lending and down payment assistance; and refinance and home improvement lending. Homewise also builds new homes in the Santa Fe, NM community to increase the inventory of affordably priced homes available for purchase in the City and County. Since the organization’s founding in 1986, over 13,100 households have attended their financial educational workshops. During that time, they’ve assisted over 3,600 people to purchase homes, helped over 2,000 make home improvements, refinanced more than 600 mortgages and built over 600 high-quality, energy efficient, affordable homes.
Homewise Homes are built to meet or exceed some of the highest green building standards in the Country, including the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Homes Gold certification and the Build Green New Mexico Gold Standard.
The standard green aspects of Homewise Homes can be broken into five general categories: energy efficiency, environmental impact, occupant health, durability, and education.
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is not only an important part of an environmentally responsible home but is also critical to reducing monthly and longer-term ownership costs. Homewise Homes use on average 40% less energy and 30% less water than a standard code-built home. Features such as solar hot water heating, upgraded insulation, high efficiency heating and cooling, upgraded windows and doors, and Energy Star appliances and lighting reduce homeownership costs without sacrificing comfort or convenience. Each Homewise Home is independently tested to ensure it is built to the highest quality and energy efficiency standards. Homewise anticipates that all homes will be evaluated by their energy efficiency in the near future, and by implementing energy efficiency measures now, is developing homes that will have an excellent return on investment upon resale. By reducing the costs of owning a home, Homewise Homes offer their owners more opportunity to invest their money back into their communities, their families’ education, and their general financial stability.
Environmental Impact
Homewise considers the impact on the local and global environment and designs homes to minimize that impact. By conserving and utilizing materials with high-recycled content and environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, Homewise actively reduces the environmental impact of their homes. Because Homewise Homes use on average 40 percent less electricity and 30 percent less water, the homes emit less greenhouse gas and help conserve the local water supply. Smart design and construction practices help reduce waste on the construction site, resulting in a cleaner building process. By choosing materials that are high in recycled content and low in dangerous chemicals, Homewise helps to protect the environment and homeowner health.
Occupant Health
Green building isn’t just about protecting the health of the environment; it’s also about protecting the health of homeowners. A healthy home can also increase financial security by reducing health care costs. Homewise Homes include features that reduce indoor air pollution to encourage occupant health. Health-conscious features such as passive Radon remediation systems, low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paint and low or no VOC flooring, no flooring adhesives, and a self-sealing door between the garage and residence are just some of the ways Homewise helps to create a healthy home environment.
Durability
Homewise Homes are designed with the goal of minimizing future maintenance costs. All Homewise Homes include a 10-year roof warranty and thoughtful details to keep future repair expenses down. And the high quality of the home’s major systems, like windows, doors, roof, heating/cooling, and stucco reduces the risk of unexpected major replacement costs. Through innovative design and efficiency measures, Homewise proves that low price doesn’t have to mean low quality. In-floor radiant heat, whole house fan cooling systems, instant hot water systems, efficient appliances, upgraded insulation and sound-proofing are just a few of the features that set a Homewise Home apart. High quality construction techniques and materials create a solid home that will look and feel great for years to come.
Education
Homewise believes that homeownership education is an important factor for the overall success of homebuyers. Studies show that on average, homeowners can reduce their energy consumption by an additional 20 percent through education and awareness alone. The Homewise homebuyer education program starts during construction with education regarding preventative maintenance and the materials that are used in the home. At the completion of each Homewise home purchase, the new homeowner receives an introduction and training on all of the systems within their new home, including all specifications and manufacturers recommended care instructions as well as a consumer’s guide to energy conservation.
It may seem that high-quality, energy efficient homes are incompatible with affordable housing, but Homewise proves that is not the case. Green building can be an integral part of affordable housing and is not just a luxury reserved for high-end homes. By placing a priority on green aspects of homebuilding including energy efficiency, environmental impact, occupant health, durability, and education, Homewise Homes further the organizational mission of helping people achieve financial security through homeownership.
For more information, visit the Homewise website at www.homewise.org or call 505-983-WISE (9473).
Article by Laura Altomare, Director of Communications and Resource Development for Homewise Inc. She is responsible for directing the organization’s grant procurement, fundraising, communication, and marketing strategies. Laura earned a B.A. in English Literature from Colorado State University and holds certifications from the Soul of Money “Fundraising from the Heart” Institute and the NeighborWorks America Training Institute. Her writing has been published in Mothering Magazine and will be featured in an upcoming book to be published by Neighborworks America in December 2016. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband and two children.