Hey Yaz,
I saw your post while conducting a search for "green building" within Biggerpockets. Sadly, from what I see and read, little effort is made by the Biggerpockets community and RE investors at-large to go "green" unless there's a payback.
Well, I can tell you as a Green Builder and Educator, building or remodeling in an environmentally conscious way, adds more benefits than mere dollars. I have built and remodeled hundreds of homes utilizing green materials, energy efficient products, and high-performance building techniques that most builders have never heard of simply because the practices I utilize are ABOVE code. That's right, you can build above code if you so desire. Contractors will sometimes tell me how proud they are that they "build to code". I tell them, "congratulations, you just earned a "C" on your report card.
When the code doesn't demand something it's a hard sell “green” to most clients/investors who have a limited budget and need every dollar for their projects. When I'm invited to consult on a project or build a home for a client, they know I'm a high-performance builder and with that comes a higher price tag. For almost every project we’re involved with we can value-engineer the design and or materials selection so there is NO increase in budget for the project which will ultimately be: safer, healthier, more energy efficient (net-zero being the goal), easier to maintain and insure, and feel more comfortable.
Investors, in my opinion, are missing an opportunity by not embracing green. I have seen everything from single-family homes, apartments, and large multi-family buildings go green/near-net-zero and at the same time: increase revenue, decrease warranty issues, decrease turnover, and have happier renters who take better care of their units.
Just because a tenant is the one paying the utility bill should not stop a conscientious investor from "greening" their properties.
I always cringe when all folks do is complain about low-flow shower heads and their disappointments with unattractive LED lighting. These are the folks who didn't do their homework. There are virtually replacements for every appliance, plumbing fixture, and lighting fixture that is much more energy/water efficient than their predecessors that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. It’s finding the right educated/experienced contractor to pull it all together is the trick.
Take care and good luck!
