There is an art to introducing Pearl Certification to homeowners without overwhelming them with information. You may already have your “Pearl Pitch” dialed in with leads becoming customers at every turn, and that’s great! That’s exactly where Pearl wants you to be, but what do you say when your homeowners ask, “So, how do I use this Pearl Certification thing to make sure I get the most out of my investment?”
That’s what we will discuss today. Pearl’s value propositions extend well beyond the simple talk tracks you use to explain Pearl to your customers, and Pearl wants you to have those sales points in your back pocket for when you need them.
The Pearl Home Certification Report captures the value that your work brings to your customers homes, and with it, your customers will receive: 1) Appraiser Letter, 2) Lender Letter, and 3) Homebuyer Letter. Each of these tools can be leveraged by your sales teams to promote additional validity and peace of mind to your customers.
1. Appraiser Letter
The Appraiser Letter is geared toward the appraiser responsible for valuing your client’s home. As you may know, appraisers are assigned by lenders, and as such, an appraiser may or may not be familiar with how to appropriately appraise homes with high-performing and energy-efficient assets.
In light of this, Pearl’s Appraiser Letter highlights Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guidelines, which require appraisers to take the energy-efficient features of a home into account in the appraisal process. For example, Freddie Mac guidelines state, “Properties with energy-efficient improvements…must be identified and any impact to market value must be recognized in the appraisal report.”
In addition, this letter provides appraisers with the basis for Pearl’s certification standards, the details of what’s included with the certification report, and other documents the homeowner should include when getting an appraisal. Pearl’s Appraiser Letter provides an extra level of security for homeowners to help ensure their appraisal accurately accounts for the higher value of their home’s high-performing features.
2. Lender Letter
As noted above, lenders assign appraisers to assess the value of a home. The lender is required to assign an appraiser who is competent to assess the value of the home needing appraising, especially its high-performing attributes, such as an energy-efficient HVAC system and solar panels. Within the Lender Letter, Pearl highlights the requirements for an appraiser that is competent to assess the high-performing features of a home in the local real estate market.
To take it one step further, the Lender Letter provides directions to the Valuation of Sustainable Buildings Professional Development Program Registry, where lenders can locate qualified appraisers. This letter is intended to ensure that the lender is not only aware of the home's high-performing features, but is also able to assign an appropriate appraiser to value the property. An inadequate appraisal could leave thousands of dollars on the table for the seller.
3. Homebuyer Letter
If Pearl hasn’t made enough of a splash at this point, we also provide your homeowners with a letter to the homebuyer. Although this letter is similar to the Lender Letter, its intent is to educate the incoming homeowner. The Homebuyer Letter highlights that the property being purchased is special and includes green and/or energy-efficient features that make the home high-performing. It further informs the incoming homeowner that the appraiser working on behalf of their selected lender is required to consider these assets to appropriately appraise the value of the property.
Each letter has its intended use and audience. However, these letters can also be used as sales tools not only to educate your customers, but also to further validate why they should choose an elite Pearl Network Contractor to improve their home’s performance.
Pearl Certification takes a multifaceted approach to ensuring homeowners, appraisers, lenders, and homebuyers are not only aware of the amazing work YOU do and how that work adds value to the home, but also how to leverage that value in a sale or refinance situation. Now, go save the high-performing residential industry — one Pearl Certification at a time!
Pearl Certification is transforming the housing market. We’re making a visible difference nationwide for homeowners and the businesses that serve them.
