By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau for the National Association of Relators

With demand rising for green home features, it’s no surprise that home stagers are starting to style sustainably to help prospective buyers see green when they’re shopping for property.

“Thus far, I haven’t seen a house sell just because it is green,” comments Michelle Minch, of Pasadena, Calif.-based Moving Mountains Design and Staging. “However, I think a house with green credentials could help tip an on-the-fence buyer in favor of a home.”

And though it’s beneficial to convey the impression that a home is environmentally friendly, it’s more important to address the substantive issues that affect overall performance.

Here are eight staging tips to make your listings stand out: 

1. Verify environmental friendliness: Conduct an energy audit of a home and outline the green changes and upgrades that have been made as a result of the audit’s findings. That can include basic changes, such as new caulking, insulation and lighting packages. It also can entail more substantial upgrades, such as new appliances with the Energy Star® label and the installation of a tankless water heater or an efficient HVAC system. Show prospects the potential savings and long-term benefits of all the green modifications that have been made.

2. Highlight green features: Offer buyers a checklist of a property’s green features, along with the benefits that each offers. Norma Lehmeier Hartie of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.-based Harmonious Environments and an interior designer specializing in green staging and feng shui has developed a chart for staged homes that details everything from CFLs to solar panels. And Minch suggests creating a notebook made of recycled paper or bamboo or something with a green image on its cover that illustrates a home’s green aspects. Her books include notes about energy efficient appliances, water filtration systems, bamboo floors, and so forth. She also includes documentation, such as information from the paint store or the paint company’s website, about the low toxicity of the paint used or proof that the floor covering is made of sustainable wood.

3. Incorporate green products: Any cleaning supplies in cabinets should be green, and food on display in pantries should be labeled organic, if possible, according to Minch.

4. Include a recycling center: The aesthetics of recycling bins have evolved beyond basic blue, so it’s possible to make separating bins a sleek design element in a house.

5. Eliminate odor: That freshly cleaned pine smell that comes from commercial cleaners or that new paint smell often signals air that is teeming with unhealthy chemicals. It’s why Lehmeier Hartie aims for an odor-neutral environment. She suggests using green cleaning products and avoiding any items, such as vinyl shower curtain liners that emit an aroma.

6. Go natural: Use living, not silk or plastic, plants. They have a more natural look and can improve indoor air quality. See a list of plants that can filter out toxins.

7. Upgrade sustainably: Lehmeier Hartie routinely suggests green, efficient replacements to homeowners who are considering upgrades. She comments, “If carpet should be replaced, I recommend renewable wood flooring, for example.” The same goes for curtains, bathroom fixtures and so forth.

8. Enhance curb appeal: Don’t neglect the outdoor space. If homeowners are revamping the exterior, suggest swapping a lush lawn that demands huge resources for something more eco-friendly, such as vegetable gardens or native grasses. For more on lawn alternatives, see www.lawnreform.org. Plants, shrubs and vines that are native to a given area can thrive well without excessive watering or additives and they require less maintenance. Play up other green outdoor features, like composting bins and rainwater barrels. And chemical additives, such as Miracle-Gro, sitting in the garden shed are a no-no.

Shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama launched the Home Affordable Modification Program. This federal program offers financial incentives to encourage mortgage lenders to lower the monthly mortgage payments of struggling homeowners. Lenders can do this in a number of ways. They can choose to lower the interest rates on homeowners’ loans. They can reduce the principal balance of their customers’ mortgage loans. They can extend the terms of these loans. All of these actions will reduce homeowners’ monthly mortgage bills.

Not everyone qualifies for a loan modification through the program. Homeowners must owe $729,750 or less on their first mortgage loan. They must have taken out their mortgage loan before January 1, 2009. And the payment on their first mortgage loan must be more than 31 percent of their current gross monthly income. If you meet these requirements, you should call your mortgage lender–at the number listed on your most recent mortgage statement–and ask to speak to someone about a Home Affordable Modification Program loan modification.
Working Directly with Your Lender

If you don’t qualify for the Home Affordable Modification Program, or if your mortgage lender is not participating in the federal effort, you might still be able to get financial relief from your mortgage lender. Lenders can modify your loan at their own discretion. The best way to convince lenders that you need a modification is to write them a hardship letter. This letter should explain that you lost your job and, because of this, can no longer make your mortgage payments. Mortgage lenders don’t want you to lose your home to foreclosure. They don’t want to be in the business of selling homes. It’s in their best interest to work with homeowners to keep them from falling into foreclosure.

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“We honor those who serve our country and are glad that this bill acknowledges the unique circumstances they face,” said Benjamin Clark, 2010 President of NAEBA (www.naeba.org). “This bill ensures that members of the military have equal opportunity to participate in the homebuyer tax credit and offers relief to struggling military families by making the mortgage payment tax deductible.”

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 provides a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence and a tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The tax credit is available for eligible purchasers who have a binding sales contract in place by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010. However, realizing that members of the military, the Foreign Service and Intelligence Community have unique circumstances the bill has special provisions for this group:

– Tax credit extended for one year for military personnel serving outside the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning December 31, 2008 and ending May 1, 2010.
– Eliminates the 36-month recapture requirement for military personnel, including members of the Foreign Service and intelligence community, forced to sell or move from a tax credit home as a result of an official extended duty of service.

Visit www.irs.gov for more information on qualifying and claiming the tax credit. To learn more about NAEBA and the benefits of using an exclusive buyer agent, visit www.naeba.org.

Home buyers unable to tap into a federal tax credit before it expired on April 30 are finding a consolation prize in mortgage rates, which dropped again this week to near-record lows.  More . . .