Who We Are

The Eco Consultants Association is a division of the Asheville Board of Realtors and is comprised of Realtors™ from various companies who are working together to advance the sustainability of real estate in Western North Carolina.

ECO Consultant Association members are either ECO Consultant Certified or are in the process of becoming ECO Consultant Certified (ECO Consultant Designee) through a program that the Asheville Board of Realtors and the Clean Air Community Trust started in 2005. The ECO Consultant Certification process is a 36-hour program that educates Realtors about a variety of green building a development issues from indoor air quality to sustainable site design.

Mission

To unite buyers and sellers of sustainable real estate and connect our clients with green building and development experts for technical assistance in the real estate transaction.

What is "Green" Real Estate

Green building is a vague term that has no real definition but has gained widespread attention in the last couple of years. Marketing firms are branding the green concept in order to capitalize on consumers' desires to live in a environmentally and socially sustainable manner. "Green buildings" encompass a wide variety of real estate from conservation based subdivisions with homes that are off the grid to mixed-use buildings that have residential condos above ground floor retail. Your ECO Consultant can help you determine the type of green real estate that best fits your needs and she or he can also help you distinguish between true green real estate and real estate that is being Green Washed (e.g. homes that are not environmentally and socially sustainable but are being marketed as such.)

Why Choose an ECO Consultant

Our agents have an understanding of the technical issues that can arise with the transaction of green real estate (loans, home inspections, etc) and they can identify the right expert in the green building and development industry to help resolve potential problems.

ECO Consultants help buyers:

• Determine what features of green real estate are most important to them
  
• Find real estate that best suits their needs
  
• Obtain financing for green real estate
  

ECO Consultants help sellers:

• Communicate the value of "green" real estate to buyers, other real estate agents, and to the general market
  
• Market to the niche pool of "green" buyers
  

If you are interested in buying or selling green real estate in Western North Carolina, please check out our member directory and choose one of our agents for your next transaction!