One more expense for Austin homeowners

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The City of Austin is a leader in green living and was named Conservationist of the Year in 2006.

But now, some are asking: At whose expense?

Not many people criticize green living in Austin. But now, some are criticizing the mandatory "green spending" that in this economy, many in the real estate market cannot afford.

Starting June 1, it will be mandatory. If you want to sell your home in Austin, you will have to pay roughly $300 for a clean-energy audit.

Local Realtors call it bad business by Big Brother.

"Home prices are going down, the economy is not good and to enforce these kinds of guidelines, this is not the time to do it," said Robert Shaw, of Advocate Properties.

The City knows the economy is bad. Council members are upside down on the city budget by millions, and they are now talking about cutting services and jobs.

Mayor-elect Lee Leffingwell said, even in this economy, conservation-energy audits are a good idea because they will save homeowners a lot of money over time in home energy costs.

"Here is a time," said Leffingwell. "When we truly do have to think of the interests of the community as a whole."

So, what does that mean to you?

Before you can sell your house, an audit must be done by an auditor who is trained and approved by the City. Currently, there are 27 companies on Austin Energy's Web site.

Auditors will look at four criteria: windows, insulation, duct work and air filtration.

But even some of the auditors, who paid roughly $1,700 to take the training course, said while going green is a good concept, it is not a good plan for homeowners in this economy.

Joey Biddle, of Quality Home Inspections, has been doing traditional home inspections for more than a decade. He said to expand his business, he took the energy-audit training course, so he would not be left behind. And now, after about two weeks of doing preliminary audits, he said home sellers are not happy.

"You may be losing money already," said Biddle. "And now you're having to pony-up some extra money because this has basically been put on the seller."

Biddle said home sellers are not happy about having to pay an extra $300 to sell their home. He said they are frustrated because of the cost, and many home sellers are selling because they can no longer afford to live in their homes. Thus, an added cost makes it worse.

The conservation-energy audits are a million dollar business. There are currently 27 companies offering audits on the Austin Energy Web site. At an average cost of $250, each additional air conditioning unit can cost an extra $150. Austin Energy expects 4,000 homes to need an energy audit this year.

That equates to $1 million or roughly $37,000 per company. All of that money comes from home sellers. Austin Energy expects the list of approved auditors to increase.

The Austin Board of Realtors is behind the City's plan, saying full disclosure and transparency for buyers and sellers is always a good thing.

Jay Gohil is the chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors, he said these energy audits can cut electricity rates and their monthly bills.

"We feel very comfortable with what information the City is giving us we are working with the city on a weekly basis," said Gohil.

But with foreclosures up and home sales down, some Realtors said many Austinites in the current economy are selling their homes because they cannot afford them, and another expense will make matters worse.

"With the cost of the inspection, the buyers negotiating potentially reducing the value of the homes, eating into their incomes and the potential prosecution, I think that’s clearly an impact on people selling their homes," said Shaw.

Once these audits are done, the city does not require you to fix anything. They only require the audit is conducted.

And the audits can lead to big savings for homeowners on their electric bills over time.

There are rebates set-up to help home sellers pay for any improvements. Once you get the audit done it is good for 10 years.