Here Comes the Sun: Boulder Is One of the Best Places to Go Solar

Guest post from Flatiron Solar, a Boulder solar installation company

Our air, our water, our own Planet Earth: with energy sources all around us, scientists continue to search for new, efficient means of energy production. This search has led many countries to make a solid commitment to increase efforts to harness the sun’s unlimited energy in the form of solar energy.

The United States is among the top producers in the world when it comes to solar energy. This shift toward solar has largely been a residential effort rather than a commercial one, with more than half a million homes utilizing some form of solar energy equipment. Among the top game-changing cities is Boulder, one of the best places in the nation to turn to solar, where city and county efforts have led to drafting legislation committed to renewable energy.

According to the City of Boulder, there are between 14 and 15 megawatts of solar energy produced within the city (you can view a map of solar installations here). The city was also recognized as a SolSmart City, being awarded the highest designation for its commitment to renewable energy last year. The city has an online solar tool that can help you estimate efficiency and cost.

Aside from its unyielding commitment to the creation and sustainability of renewable energy, what makes Boulder such a great location for solar?

Sunny days

To be effective, solar power relies on good old fashioned sunshine. Boulder has roughly 300 sunny days per year, which means it’s a great location to gather energy through solar panels. And snow? What snow? Even during the fall and winter months, Boulder gets enough sunshine to still be a productive generator of solar energy.

City grants and rebates

If you’re thinking of installing a solar electrical system or solar hot water system on your property, the City of Boulder has a number of grants and rebates available, primarily for non-profit organizations and low-to-moderate-income housing.

To receive funding, you must submit an application to the city. Your local solar contractor should be familiar with the rebate and grant programs available to you, and will help walk you through the process. Click here to find out more about local funding programs.

Home value

It’s no secret that property value in Boulder is a hot topic right now. Real estate is moving at a record pace in our area, and as a seller, solar panels may be a boon for your home’s resale value (ergo, your bank account). 

According to a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, buyers are willing to pay on average $15,000 more for a home that has solar panels than for a similar home without a renewable energy system. This means that you can recoup most—if not all—your installation costs through the added value to your home, in addition to lowering your monthly bills and enjoying the pride that comes with owning an energy-efficient home.

Should I switch?

Superior sunshine, city incentives, and increased value aside, it all boils down to this primary question: as a Boulder County resident, should you be switching to solar? For preliminary research into the best option for you, use the tools the city provides on its website and talk to a local solar contractor about the costs and benefits of installing solar in your home.

The Hewes House: Own a Piece of Mid-Mod History

Fire stations, churches, shopping centers, and schools: if you’ve spent any time in Boulder, you’ve likely spent time in and around the work of architect Hobart Wagener. 

Cresting Highway 36 before your final descent into Boulder, one of Wagener’s most (in)famous designs is the first thing you’ll see. Williams Village towers (aka “Will Vill” and even “Chill Vill” to CU’s students) is Wagener’s most controversial project: two commanding monoliths that spring up from Boulder’s sweeping valley landscape, proudly welcoming both residents and visitors alike.  

In 1995, Williams Village received an award as “the most outstanding building built in Colorado in the past 25 years.” In fact, sixteen of Wagener’s designs were featured in architectural and professional publications, with ten designs receiving national or regional honor awards.

Wagener’s best-known structures, the Community Plaza Shopping Center and adjacent North Broadway Shopping Center, are true Boulder icons that channel the low-slung look and linear feel of mid-century modern architecture. With Community Plaza’s curvilinear roof and North Broadway’s folded plates, these well-preserved shopping centers offer modern-day businesses like Ideal Market, Pekoe Sip House, Vic’s Coffee, and Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage an opportunity to celebrate a well-preserved throwback to the neon-forward mid-mod style. 

In addition to his commercial work, Wagener designed more than ninety private residences. One of his more recognizable works is the Labrot House at 819 6th St. Fitted with an eye-catching butterfly roof, Labrot is of those homes that cranes the necks of admiring looky-loos as they putter past its wondrous wingspan. (What’s most surprising is the lack of fender benders in front of the house.) Wagener was a mere thirty-three years old when the house was completed in 1954.

Six years after honing his craft with the Labrot house, Wagener was hired by Boulder residents Gordon and Minna Hewes to design their new home. Just returning from a year’s stay in Japan, the Heweses had fallen in love with Asian architectural style, wanting a home with a serene, cool, and uncluttered feel. One caveat: Mr. Hewes, a well-read professor and researcher, had volumes upon volumes of books, research papers, and other scholarly materials. Wagener accepted this design challenge and created a living room library with an open balcony study as a solution to the scholarly clutter, creating an intriguing home that’s airy and unburdened yet able to house Mr. Hewes' prized volumes.

This mid-century modern time capsule, on the market for the first time since its construction, could be yours. So rare is it these days to find a mid-mod home in its original state. Upon entering, you’re transported back in time, to an era when houses were customized to suit their owners’ lifestyles. Moving from room to room, you’ll feel the Heweses’ adoration of their home. Dubbed "The Little Asian House on the Hill" by the Denver Post in 1961, the Hewes House is just steps from Chautauqua's iconic Flatirons—a location and style that go head-to-head in a battle of Boulder's finest. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relive a bygone era—and perhaps call it your own. 

The L-Train Has Left the Station

There was a time in Boulder real estate history when just-out-of-reach buyers were ushered by reassuring real estate agents to the surrounding L-towns—Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont and Lyons—when Boulder’s astronomical real estate prices were beyond what the buyers could afford. With ever-increasing demand and tight inventory, those reassuring days are a sweet (and affordable) memory; Boulder’s surrounding L-towns have now joined the out-of-reach ranks. 

A recent Daily Camera article reported that the last L-town holdout, Longmont, has doubled its real estate value since 2008, moving the city’s average home price into the $400,000 notch as of September 2016. 

And the L-town increase doesn’t stop there. Louisville’s real estate value has gained sixty-two percent since 2008, and Lafayette’s almost fifty-seven percent since 2009.

The harsh reality is, if you don't have a truckload of cash or enough of a down payment to convince a lender to invest in you and your purchase, all of Boulder County is as much of a pipe dream as that beachfront Barbie Dreamhouse you pined away for as a kid. 

Perhaps this predicament reminds you of 2008’s mortgage crisis and the resulting housing bubble. Well, yes kinda—and no, not really. This time around, the dramatic upswing in real estate prices is primarily due to more people wanting in and less people willing to leave—if you weren’t sleeping in freshman business class, you’d know this as “supply and demand.” 

And the proverbial icing atop the cut-throat cake is that many of these new buyers mean serious business: boasting hefty down payments and making more cash purchases (even in the luxury market), these new, ambitious buyers leave nothing but bitter cake crumbs behind.

But hang on there, hasty homebuyer. Before you go packing your bags and posting your resume on LinkedIn (is that still a thing?), let me offer you some advice on how to strategically plant your longterm roots. What it all boils down to: expectations.

In order to be a competitive buyer in today’s hot market, it’s time to rework your real estate wishlist. You won't find your dream home with an affordable price tag, and that's OK. A lower-square-footage ranch or a cute condo is a great option for both young families and empty nesters, and it's also a fantastic longterm investment.

As a potential buyer, it's important to define what makes you tick. Location? School district? Walkability? Once you've set your sights, set your budget. Know what you can afford and get ready to compete with other buyers in a similar situation to yours. 

Last year was Boulder’s seventh consecutive year to see a decline in real estate inventory. This low inventory combined with a market that encourages fierce competition, cash offers and ruthless contingency opt-outs, means you've got yourself one tough cookie. Wait. One big pickle. No. One hot potato. You get my drift: it’s time to rework your real estate expectations in order to compete with your fellow buyers.

House-Rich? 4 Reasons Downsizing Helps You Cash In

Let’s set the scene: You’ve owned your home for a while now. With a few extra payments on your principal, you’ve paid your mortgage down into the five-figure category. (High fives!) In the meantime, real estate prices have risen because demand is high and inventory is low. What’s this mean? Your house is likely worth more than what you bought it for, and you’re sitting pretty on a tuffet of equity. (Yes, I really just said tuffet.) 

If you live in Boulder, this is most definitely the case. According to CoreLogic, the latest read on Boulder shows a thirty-one percent gain in home prices over the past two years—and there are clear signs that these prices are set to rise again. Here, you find yourself with an intriguing option: downsizing your home to cash in on your truckload of equity. (Tuffet-load? OK, I’ll stop.) 

On a national average, homeowners are twice as house-rich as they were five years ago. This means the amount of equity homeowners now have—the value possessed outside their mortgage debt—has doubled in the last five years. And with the American real estate market heating up again, the amount of house-richness for many homeowners is set to increase even more. 

Monetary boons aside, the physical size of American single-family homes has almost tripled since 1950. Coming in at nearly 2,700 square feet, the average newly built single-family home is three times the size of the average American home in 1950, which came in at a humble 1,000 square feet. If you think moving up in life means buying a bigger house, it’s time to rethink your logic. 

Moving into a smaller home to cash in on your equity may feel like a step in the wrong direction, but let’s take a closer look at the upsides. 

Attacking Your Debt

If you’re working hard to pay off student loans, a car note or your credit cards, reducing your monthly mortgage and putting that extra cash toward your other financial goals can help cut down your debt—and all that mounting interest—quickly, which could pull you out of the debt ditch for good.

Less Clutter

Ah, yes. The million-dollar question: “But where do I put all my stuff?” And therein lies the point of downsizing. By shrinking your square footage, you become more aware of what you own—ergo, what you can get rid of. Sure, a smaller home means less space, but it also means less stress and less things to dust. And while altruistic donations are always appreciated, eBay, Craigslist or a yard sale are ways to make a little more cash while you’re at it. 

Mortgage, Be Gone! 

The ultimate trade-in: Your mortgage for a paid-off home! If you’re downsizing in a big (and lucrative) way, use the proceeds from selling your current home to pay cash for your new, smaller home. Can’t make that work? Aim for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage and a big down payment up front to cut your new monthly payments even more. 

Boost Retirement Funds

There’s no sense in waiting for that nest egg to hatch on its own: give your retirement savings a boost with the proceeds from downsizing (after paying off debts and setting aside an emergency fund, of course). Even with $500, imagine its growth over the next three decades—you could be sitting pretty with over a cool million in the bank come the golden years! 

Ready to journey down the road of downsizing? The Mod Boulder team is glad to lend a hand in helping you find a smaller home with big potential. Contact us at hello@modboulder.com. 

Ready to Sell? Five Home Projects to Tackle First

You’ve lived in your home a long time. Long enough that the wobbly handrail on the staircase doesn’t faze you. The moldy caulk in the shower doesn’t get a second glance. The inch-wide gap under the front door looks normal. But it’s time to wake up, buttercup. If you’re thinking of selling your home, there are a few projects you should tackle before your listing goes live.

Your home is a major investment and potential buyers see it the same way. In order to make a good first impression and a good profit, here are five (relatively easy!) tasks to ensure the sale of your home brings in top dollar. 

Nice and Neutral

I know, I know, that deep maroon in your dining room brings back memories of Meemaw’s stately fried chicken dinners, but potential buyers have neither the sentiment nor the time to repaint. Many buyers don’t want to paint before moving in, and bold colors are a deeply personal choice. When putting your home on the market, think neutral shades on the walls—white, eggshell, tan, or a pleasant pewter. This gives your prospective buyers a better chance to connect with your home and imagine their own belongings in it.

Efficiency Upgrades 

Savvy buyers consider more than just aesthetics when purchasing a home; they consider ongoing expenses like upkeep and utility costs. To make your home more efficient and appealing, consider upgrading to appliances with Energy Star ratings and installing a new HVAC system. Don’t have the capital for such big upgrades? Consider improving your home’s energy efficiency by sealing and insulating. Cracks and gaps around doors and windows should be addressed, siding damage should be repaired, and insulation should be checked and bulked up where needed. An added bonus? Your county or local utility company may offer rebates or incentives for boosting your home’s efficiency. 

Clear the Clutter

Your Faberge egg collection? Sayonara. Caboodle of ceramic cats? Adios. Creepy doll wall? Bye now. Clutter makes a home look small and…well, cluttered. By clearing out the odds and ends, your home will look more like a showroom and less like a museum. It can be overwhelming to tackle such a project, so start small; simply box up your collections and stash them in unseen areas like under the bed. If you’ve got a lot of tchotchkes, consider renting a small storage space while you’re making your home more appealing to buyers. This includes cleaning out closets to show their capacity and emptying the garage. (Gulp.)

Curb Appeal

We all know it: first impressions are everything. Add to the age-old adage the fact that many prospective buyers do a drive-by before scheduling a viewing, and you’ve got yourself an appointment with your favorite landscaper. By keeping your yard nicely maintained—think tended flower beds, manicured shrubbery, a clutter-free yard—you’ll make a good first impression with prospective buyers. But don’t stop at the greenery; upgrading the mailbox, painting the front door, and repairing the walkway will also help to entice your buyers. 

Brush Up the Bathroom

Don’t panic: I’m not talking a complete remodel, here. Through small touches like recaulking the shower surround, reglazing the tub, dusting light fixtures and upgrading towel racks, you’ll give your bathroom a renewed, refreshed look. Whichever small touches you choose, be sure to leave the bathroom meticulously clean while your home is on the market. Sweep up stray hairs, keep the mirrors clean, and dust the top of the commode so things stay shiny.

A tidy, well-staged home draws more prospective buyers and encourages the spirited bidding war every seller wants. Present your home in its best light, and reap the major rewards.