Thursday, April 26, 2018

Going Green: Eco-Friendly Home Improvement Options


The last RealSmart Fund Fixer Mixer was a special “50 Shades of Green” event, to which we invited a few of our trusted vendors to provide information on eco-friendly home improvement options. From solar panels to fireplace inserts, there are many ways to upgrade your home’s energy efficiency, at various levels of affordability. Below is an overview of our vendors and some of the green home improvement options they offer.  If you’d like details on options not listed, feel free to give us a call and we will point you in the right direction.
Mr. Roofing - Green Roof Options
This family owned and operated business based in South San Francisco has fully embraced green roofing practices. They can install building-integrated and conventional photovalic solar systems (solar paneled roofs), solar tunnel skylights, green live roofs, and more. Mr. Roofing is a Diamond Certified company, and having used their services many times ourselves we can attest to the quality and relliability of their work.
If you’d like to explore green roofing options for your home, give Mr. Roofing a call, ask for Carlos, and tell him RealSmart sent you.
(650) 605-3927
Ask for: Carlos Rodriguez
info@mrroofing.net
www.mrroofing.net
SDI Insulation - Energy Efficient Insulation Upgrades
While most people overlook the quality of insulation when buying a home, it does play a key role in how much energy you use when running the heater or A/C. If your insulation is old or of poor quality, chances are you are spending more on your monthly energy bill than needed. The team at SDI Insulation will test your home’s energy efficiency, identify area’s of weakness, and upgrade them in order to decrease your monthly energy usage. If you’d like to test your home’s energy efficiency and explore your options for upgrading, we highly recommend you call the experts at SDI Insulation for a free estimate:
(650) 685-5500
Ask for: Joran Stromberg
info@sdi-insulation.com
www.sdi-insulation.com
Carpeteria - Green Flooring Options
Our friends at Carpeteria offer a number of fantastic envronmentally concious flooring options. Among them are Mohawk carpets, some of which are made with up to 100% recycled material. Mohawk recycles around 3 billion plastic bottles annually for use in over 500 of their products. They even recycle old carpet fibers for use in other industries.
Carpeteria also carries Shaw’s Epic engineered hardwood floors, which are made from 50% less newly harvested wood than conventional engineered wood flooring. Their Scuffresist Platinum coating also makes them remarkably durable.
For more information call:
(650) 965-9600
Ask for: Vick Balian
vick@carpeteria.com

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Shelly's Top Green(ish) Paint Colors

We recently held a “50 Shades of Green” themes St. Patty’s Day party, to which we invited several of our trusted vendors to showcase eco-friendly home improvement options. In keeping with the theme of going green, we also had our resident interior designer, Shelly, select 6 of her favorite shades of green paint colors (all from Benjamin Moore’s selection). Admittedly, these colors are only vaguely green (the subtle green hues don’t show well online), but if you’re going to paint part of your home green, you’re better off going with an earthy understated tone rather than full on shamrock green. But hey! It’s your home, and if you feel like celebrating St. Patrick’s Day year-round then that’s your prerogative.

With Spring officially upon us, now is as good a time as any for a new look in your home. If you think any of these colors would look good in one of your bedrooms, as an accent wall in the living room, or anywhere else, stop by the RealSmart office (50 Edgewood Road, Redwood City) and pick up a sample!

We have plenty of each of the 6 colors shown. Please note – the images below are computer generated conceptual renderings pulled from Benjamin Moore’s website.

Cloud Nine: 2144-60 (walls)

Silken Pine: 2144-50 (Fireplace Wall) 

White Marigold: 2149-60 (walls) 

Mellowed Ivory: 2149-50 (walls) 

Old Prairie: 2143-50 (walls) 

Camouflage: 2143-40 (walls) 

Thursday, April 5, 2018

What Does Legal Marijuana Mean for CA Real Estate?


Thanks to a yes vote on Prop 64 in 2016, recreational marijuana became legal on January 1 of this year. While local governments grapple with how to regulate the once illicit industry, and community leaders struggle to reconcile their disdain for the devil’s lettuce with its status as a revenue generating crop... some real estate investors are licking their chops at the opportunity they feel is headed their way.
Luckily for investors in California, the precedent for legalization has already been set. Colorado voted for legalization 4 years ahead of us, and since that time the real estate market has been thriving. The most obvious growth has been in industrial real estate, where growers look for warehouses to set up shop. According to DCT Industrial Trust, a company specializing in industrial real estate investment, marijuana legalization drove up the cost of warehouse space in the Denver Area by 60% in 2015, and lease renewal rates by 25%. Of course, here in the Bay Area where industrial space already comes at such a premium, growth will not likely be as dramatic. Less impacted markets just outside the Bay Area might offer more alluring opportunities.
The residential market stands to benefit as well, though in a less quantifiable way. The job growth created by legalization in warehouses and dispensaries, but also in auxiliary industries like HVAC and security, can increase the demand for housing. It’s much like how the tech boom in the Bay Area led to dramatic growth in trades like plumbing, electrical, and carpentry. This isn’t to say a weed boom could impact the market to the same degree the tech boom has, but it could have similar effects on a much smaller scale. However, investors need to be aware of local regulations around the industry, as they vary from city to city, and could limit or even prohibit the use of land for cultivation or sale of marijuana.