Cost of going green may add up for Austin homeowners

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- The cost of going green in Austin is starting to add up for homeowners.

The city intends to cut energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions through housing mandates, but groups argued Thursday that the changes come at the expense of taxpayers.

Imagine having to pay thousands of dollars to upgrade your home before you even put it on the market. The Austin Board of Realtors said the move could be a reality in the city by the end of the year.

Homeowner Mike Sevilla bought his Austin home in 2004, the same year it was built. Yet at just four years old, his house might still require thousands of dollars in energy-efficient upgrades before he can sell it.

"It would make it tough, very tough, because like I said money doesn't grow on trees, and for them to just do something like that, they're not considering the voters, the taxpayers," Sevilla said.

As it is proposed now, the city's energy-efficiency ordinance would require homeowners to make the upgrades at the point of sale. That's the sticking point for the realtors board.

"Writing a check right before you put your home on the market, most people aren't going to be able to do that," said Socar Chatmon-Thomas, chairman of the realtors board. "This could mean upwards of $7,000, $8,000, $10,000, changing out their A.C. unit, changing out their hot water heater, going to tankless, making sure that all of their insulation is updated, weather stripping, possibly new windows."

Yet Richard Morgan and other city leaders said critics are jumping the gun.

"There really haven't been any decisions made about what the requirements are, what the process is or any of the other things that have been discussed," said Morgan, a manager for Austin Energy Green Building.

A City Council-appointed task force made up of realtors, mortgage brokers, homeowners and others will decide over the next several months how the ordinance will be worded. The ordinance will then be presented to council members in late summer.

"Everybody who is involved in the business has a say in this task force and will be involved in developing what comes out in the end," Morgan said.

If the wording requires any retrofits before a homeowner is allowed by the city to sell, there could be serious opposition.