Real Estate Agents Go Green

If you're one of the lucky few planning to buy a home next year and trying to live environmentally friendly, now you can find a house through a "green" real estate agent.

Not to be confused with one who's just earned his or her license, a so-called eco-broker is a real estate pro who has passed a certification course on energy efficiency, indoor air quality and "green" mortgages, among other topics.

"It's a growing area of study for Realtors," says Brad Sandler, an agent in Denver. "In the past, you counted on your real estate agent to know about home values, not energy values. But now the energy footprint of the house is critical to its value." ...