In The News

EcoBrokers (A Story Featured in The November Issue of Radish Magazine)

Find a green home with help from the pros
By Steve Trainor

Looking to buy a green home, but not sure exactly where to look or what it should include? You might consider hiring an EcoBroker to help.

EcoBrokers are licensed real estate agents who have been certified byEcoBroker International of Evergreen, Colo. The program teaches agents how to best help buyers and sellers of houses with green features and provides extra instruction in various environmental areas relating to green home features and construction. Topics covered include radon, asbestos, lead, water, mold, indoor air quality, energy efficiency technologies, sustainable energy options and mortgage options that award up to $15,000 worth of energy efficiency improvements for a home.

“Green living is becoming more and more popular,” says EcoBroker Chris Kaufmann of Mel Foster Co. in Davenport, Iowa. “Combined with the high cost of everything, it helps people get the extra edge and more value for their money.”

Click here to read the rest of the story. P. 30
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'Green' building grows in Quad-Cities (An article in the 9/27/08 addition of the Quad City Times)

“What I see, it’s a generational thing. (For those) 35 years old and younger, it’s more of a concern for
the carbon footprint.”

Real estate and appliance salesmen are educating themselves about green, too. Agent Chris Kaufmann,
for example, completed online training this year to become a registered EcoBroker so he will be more
knowledgeable when it comes to answering clients’ questions about what is “green” and how to
achieve or recognize it in a home.

All agree that green building is a rapidly evolving field.

Click here to read the full story.
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Make change: Hypermiling helps real estate agent save money, fuel
(Posted 8/31/08 in the Quad City Times)

As gasoline prices have soared, drivers across the country began looking for ways to cut back on fuel usage.

Chris Kaufmann, a real estate agent with Mel Foster Co., turned to a new trend called hypermiling and found himself astonished by the results. “I started doing it within the last two to three months,” Kaufmann...

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