Rater Training and Business Details
Who is an ideal Rater candidate?
Professionals of the real estate evaluation/inspection industry should heavily consider a RESNET Rater certification as it is a complimentary service. The value to clients is ever increasing with the green movement. Your ability to market Rater services can range from mortgage requirements to home energy efficiency improvement proposals.
Professionals of the real estate construction and/or home improvement products/services industry also find synergy as a RESNET Rater.
Other persons connected to the real estate sector (brokers, lenders, etc) can also create alternative streams of income as Rater. Non-real estate industry persons are not disqualified or discouraged from considering the Rater business.
Who is American Green Homes?
American Green Homes (AGH) is an accredited RESNET provider and trainer. As an accredited provider we support certified raters with the required systems and services to ensure compliance and quality assurance.
What more does American Green Homes do for Raters?
AGH support system goes beyond training and oversight of Raters and HERs index energy audits. AGH Rater support includes sales, marketing, and strategic networking concepts to help you start or grow your business (Ex. How to approach a homeowner with education about taking advantage of tax incentives for home improvement upgrades).
How can I help my clients with this service?
Several value propositions exist for a typical homeowner to consider a formal energy evaluation. Ranging from a curious homeowners desire to know how efficient their home is, all the way to a committed contractor needing to satisfy the requirements to build an Energy Star™ approved house for marketability sake. Initially, the offer of tax credits will resonate with many homeowners wishing to upgrade their residence. Other clients are committed to the cause of living green and are seeking to improve their home's performance.
Additionally, many financing solutions require a formal energy evaluation, such as Energy Efficient Mortgages, Energy Improvement Mortgages, 203K and HUD financing of foreclosed houses.
How does the Cap and Trade Bill residential evalutions?
Cap and Trade has not been passed yet but does have significant political momentum; it appears some form of comparable legislation may be passed soon. Beyond Cap and Trade, the EPA recently classed CO2 as a toxin; if a bill is not passed, the EPA may likely begin to regulate the emission of CO2.
The TARP bill included language mandating improved efficiency of homes and automobiles. This bill has adopted Energy Star™ requirements as the government's benchmarks for home energy efficient standards in the future.
The largest source of energy use by the average American is their home, therefore, from a regulatory standpoint, residential energy use is likely to be an initial target.
What is the start up investment for a Rater?
*The necessary costs to become a Rater cover training, testing, certification, and equipment. The fees for training, testing, and certification total up to $1,550. Equipment costs range from $x,xxx to $y,yyy depending on acquiring only the most basic items up to the most sophisticated tools (additional equipment allows a Rater to perform more types of Ratings and bill correlating fees).
Ancillary costs for travel, marketing, and other overhead are not accounted for in the above quote. These items vary from Rater to Rater.
*All fees are subject to change. The only fee American Green Homes has control of is the Rater training fee. See the most current AGH training schedule for further details.
