LEAP provides energy assistance to lower home heating costs.
LEAP proporciona asistencia de energía para bajar los gastos de calefacción.
LEAP helps eligible Coloradans pay a portion of their winter home heating costs.
LEAP ayuda a los residentes elegibles de Colorado a pagar una parte de sus gastos de calefacción de invierno.
For many years, Colorado, like California, has pursued its own “green new deal,” with its Democratic Governor and General Assembly passing one law after another that promotes everything that is now anathema to the current national administration.
Colorado sends a lot of tax dollars to the federal government and gets lots of tax dollars in return, especially for road projects such as the rebuilding of Interstate 70 through Denver. The current administration is using the leverage of withholding funds to pressure localities to fall in line with its immigration policies. It could just as easily withhold funds unless the state reverses its own green initiatives, such as incentivizing the purchase of new or used electric vehicles with bigger tax credits than any other state.
structed under laws passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor.
The CEO’s website describes several laws it is implementing that address the issue of building efficiency, both residential and commercial. Primarily, it is requiring all jurisdictions in the state of Colorado that create or amend building codes to adopt the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which was adopted by the International Code Council, Inc., a non-governmental organization. It also requires all jurisdictions to adopt the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code upon updating any other building code.
“Cities and counties with building codes must adopt the 2021 IECC along with the model electric ready and solar ready code when adopting or updating any building code between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.”
This isn’t a political column. Coloradans need to know whether its movement toward a “green” economy will be halted or reversed by the new administration. My intent in this column is merely to describe the programs and policies that may be in jeopardy.
The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) is the arm of state government which develops and implements “green policies,” including in the real estate domain, as authorized and in-
According to the CEO, jurisdictions are encouraged to amend their building codes every three years and to incrementally move in the direction of the model codes, and they are prohibited from making amendments to their code which “decrease the effectiveness or efficiency” of the code.
The more liberal jurisdictions, such as Aspen, Denver and Jefferson County, have moved quickly to adopt those model codes, which include requiring new construction to include conduits and pre-wiring to facilitate future installation of EV charging stations and solar panels. According to the CEO website,
Also being developed, according to the website, is The Model Low Energy and Carbon Code, consisting of the 2024 IECC, as amended by Colorado’s Energy Code Board. To the White House and DOGE, the names alone suggest they’ll be targeted by the new administration. Let’s just say they’re “woke.”
A Model Green Code, currently in draft form at the CEO, “will address building attributes such as energy and water use efficiency, electrification, low carbon building materials, and other strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings. Local governments may voluntarily adopt this code in addition to the required energy code,” according to the website.
The state of Colorado has no statewide building code, but it does require any jurisdiction (i.e., counties or home-rule cities) which
Yes, the seller’s market of the Covid years is over, but there are still listings which sell right away, and too many sellers accept a fullprice or better offer on the first or second day, when they might get a better price if they just waited a few days.
This January, the average days on the MLS for listings within 25 miles of downtown Denver peaked at 60, compared to 22 days in January 2022. The median days on the MLS peaked at 44 this January compared to only 5 days in January 2022.
However, of the 2,396 listings in that area which closed this January, 63 went under contract the first day they were on the MLS and another 44 listings sold without even being entered on the MLS so that other buyers could know about them. 47 more went under contract the second day they were on the market, and 57 went under contract on the third day. I tell my sellers that if someone makes an
offer that quickly, and there are lots of showings, there are probably other buyers who might have paid more. It is my job as a listing agent to help my sellers get the highest price for their home, and I’m not doing that if I don’t convince them not to go under contract in less than four days.
This topic was inspired by a broker associate who said that twice in the past couple of months his buyer had lost out on a new listing that he showed the first or second day it was on the market because the seller had accepted a quick offer that our buyer would have beaten, given the chance.
In conclusion, just because the market has
Interested in a Different Take on Politics?
I have my own political blog called “Talking Turkey.” You can find it online at http://TalkingTurkey.substack.com
slowed down, sellers who price their home wisely and get a quick full-price offer should at least look at how many showings have been set, inform those other agents about the offer, and give them a chance to submit.
has a building code to follow state laws regarding building codes, and it’s common to adopt one of the codes created every few years by the International Code Council, amended as appropriate to their local needs.
The above map from the CEO website, shows the extent to which each county has adopted the IECC codes by year. The lightest colors are counties which have adopted (likely with amendments) the 2021 IECC, and the darkest counties have no building codes. The other colors have building codes based on IECC years 2006, 2009, 2015 and 2018. It’s a interactive map, and can be changed to display home-rule cities and their codes, or you can search a county or city and it will display the details of its code requirements and IECC year.
As usual, I have the links for all this at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com
$669,000
If you’re looking for an updated, move-in ready home in a quiet neighborhood, backing to a park, with no HOA and an RV parking space, this home at 7761 Everett Way may be what you have been looking for. Built in 1973, you'd swear this home is at least 20 years newer. The floors are hickory hardwood throughout, except for in the basement and the beautifully tiled bathrooms. Mature evergreens in the backyard provide afternoon shade for the large open deck, but there’s also an 8'x16' covered and screened deck. Tennis anyone? See the court in the picture above. Do you like to garden? There are two raised beds plus a larger ground level garden that is sprinklered. Do you have lots of stuff? There are two sheds! Do you like a wood-burning fireplace? This home comes with lots of cut firewood and kindling for the fireplace in the family room. Visit www.GRElistings.com to view a video walk-through narrated by the listing agent, then come to the open house this Saturday, Mar. 13th, 11am to 1pm, or call your agent (or me at 303525-1851) to arrange a showing. You may find that this home checks all your boxes!
1. TELEVISION: Which 1960s sitcom was about a TV comedy writer, his job and his family?
2. AD SLOGANS: Which candy slogan urges consumers to “Taste the rainbow”?
3. COMICS: Which superhero gets his power from a ring?
4. GEOGRAPHY: Which country has the most islands?
5. MEASUREMENTS: How many cups are in a pint?
6. MOVIES: Which scary 1980 movie contained the phrase “red rum” and what does it mean?
7. ANATOMY: What is the outermost layer of human skin called?
8. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the rst president to ride in a car to his inauguration?
9. HISTORY: When did India gain its independence from Great Britain?
10. CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: Who lives at 32 Windsor Gardens?
Answers
1. “ e Dick Van Dyke Show.”
2. Skittles.
3. e Green Lantern.
4. Sweden.
5. Two.
6. “ e Shining.” It’s the word “murder” spelled backward.
7. Epidermis.
8. Warren Harding (1921).
9. 1947.
10. Paddington Bear and the Brown family.
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