Green Real Estate Investing Proves Profitable For Some, But What About You?
Every where you turn these days somebody is touting the goodness of going “green”.The most aggressive real estate investor/speculator out there, Frank McKinney, is building a $29 million, 15k square foot “green” mansion in West Palm, FL.Some will argue how “green” is it to build such a large home, but he retorts with “The kind of people that buy my homes would have bought a similar sized home anyway, so why not build green?” I agree with him.
Toyota, JPMorgan Chase, IBM, and Goldman Sachs are among some of the large corporations that have made the switch into “green” buildings and Bank of America has plans to build a 52 story “green” skyscraper close to Times Square.
While these investments will pay off from Mr. McKinney once he finds a buyer and for these corporations through better corporate image, will it prove profitable for the average real estate investor to go green?
The exact cost of building “green” depends on how “green” you go.Many sources estimate it usually costs about 10% more than traditional building to go “green”, so you will usually pay a higher price for your real estate investment.The upside is you can usually command higher rent because “green” buildings average a savings of 10% in utility costs per year (tenants usually pay utility costs).
It’s been my experience that most investors usually “lose” a little cashflow by investing “green”, but they feel great about their new real estate investment.
So…yes, it can make prove profitable for you to invest green….if you have a conscience.
Comments
One Response to “Green Real Estate Investing Proves Profitable For Some, But What About You?”
Leave a Reply
Very cool post. I guess that going “green” in investing is pretty overlooked. Definitely the future.
Jon Christopher of Short Sale Way