Massachusetts Builders Blog

This is a good informative post about the importance of water efficiency in green buildings. It talks about the benefits to owners and occupants when water use, the costs of heating water and treating waste are reduced. http://www.dodge.construction.com/Analytics/marketdynamics/2009/july_feature2.asp

There is so much going on in green construction right now that it is easy to get so caught up in the hoopla that we don't think things through. That is why I really like this post by Stephen Del Percio. He reminds us that we shouldn't just assume that a "green" development or trend is necessarily a good choice or the thing to do. http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/07/risks-of-green-roofs-case-study/ If it weren't for people like Chris Cheatham, Rich Cartilidge, Shari Shapiro, Christopher Hill or Stephen Del Percio, I would not be able to keep up with all of the issues arising in green construction. I would like to thank all of them for keeping me so well-informed. Their blogs are all excellent.

The following blog post, although brief, highlights how important it is to plan for possible problems that can occur in the construction business and how to prevent them: http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/blog/2009/04/managing-risk-in-construction/ Dare I say, but it is so true! "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." I understand business is tight right now. I know the last thing a business owner wants to do is spend money. However, the time to get your business in shape is now, when you are not busy. Make a list of your top twenty referral sources and see how they are doing. Review your insurance policies and make sure they are up to date and provide you with adequate coverage (even we lawyers hate doing that). When was the last time you updated your contract? Is it still in compliance with your state's laws? What if someone gets hurt on your job? If you have a homestead act in your state, you should file a homestead to protect your family's home....

http://www.constructionlawnews.com/BlogEntry.aspx?_entry=828353a0-931d-4628-a858-0378b5f63284&RSS=true This post is quite informative but not completely accurate for Massachusetts. It is quite dangerous to wait until the last minute to file a lien, as the article says, because a mistake in filing can be fatal. In MA, unlicensed contractors can file liens. They just have to have a written contract with the GC or owner. Suit has to be filed within 90 days after the filing of the lien, and an attested copy of the complaint has to be filed at the registry of deeds within 30 days after filing suit. I have never heard of a lien being invalidated because the amount owed was "too high." In any event, this is a good article with important information, particularly with regard to the ownership of the property.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/lira/lira-still-trending-down-but-is-the-bottom-near.aspx The report says that "phones are ringing more," but the jobs are smaller. Hopefully things are looking up!

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/july/202254.html This is a great article from Entrepreneur Magazine about how to get paid. Particularly in this economy, I think this is one of the biggest issues my clients are facing. One of the major mistakes that I see clients make is their failure to bill on a regular basis. Do not wait until the end of a project to hit a client with a major bill! First of all, there should be a clear payment schedule in every construction contract. Second, there should be a penalty for overdue payments. Every contractor or construction company should include a clause that entitles them to attorney's fees if they have to engage legal help to pursue payments. The article does not warn about businesses who are trying to collect from consumers. They have to be careful not to violate federal and state debt collection laws. Make sure that ALL change orders are in writing and clearly spell out how they affect the price and completion schedul...

This is a thoughtful post from Rich Cartlidge's blog: Green Building and Environmental Trends The Roof is on Fire! Potential Risks of Green Roofs http://www.greenbuildingenvirotrends.com/2009/07/articles/leed-buildings/the-roof-is-on-fire-potential-risks-of-green-roofs/ I don't know how Rich stays up on the most current issues in green construction, but he does. He also mentions Shari Shapiro and Chris Cheatham, to LEED-AP attorneys with excellent green construction blogs of their own. Part of what makes this interesting is the recent requirement in Toronto for green roofing: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/toronto-mulls-mandatory-green-roofs/ .

Green Leases: How to avoid the devastating consequences of decertification Posted on July 10, 2009 by Rich Cartlidge This past week Chris Cheatham of GBLU wrote an excellent blog post discussing LEED v.3.0 and the potential for a LEED certified building to be decertified. After reading the post and pondering the implicatitons for landlords and building owners one thing is abundantly clear to me, attorneys must advise owners of LEED certified buildings to begin using green leases . An article from 2006 by EDC Magazine states that the following ten requirements must be included in any green lease. 1. Gross lease format with appropriate escalation clause and expense stop clause to reward landlord for operating a high-performance building. 2. Appropriate operational procedures and building control/management systems for charging tenants for after hours/excess energy usage, supported by appropriate lease language. 3. A comprehensive and equitable definition of building operating costs in t...

How Is The USGBC like Google? POSTED ON JULY 10, 2009 BY SHARI SHAPIRO Email This Print Comments (1) Trackbacks Share Link Over the past couple of weeks, the USGBC announced that it was incorporating energy and water usage reporting requirements as a precondition for acheiving LEED v3 and Google announced that it will debut a cloud-based operating system some time in the next 18 months. The answer to how these two entities are similar is simple: both entities announced good ideas perhaps before their time. Let's take a closer look at the reporting requirements for LEEDv3. Projects can comply with the performance requirement in one of three ways: 1. The building is recertified on a two-year cycle using LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. 2. The building provides energy and water usage data on an on-going basis annually. 3. The building owner signs a release that authorizes USGBC to access the building’s energy and water usage data directly from the buildi...

Homebuyers Need To Nail Best Offer Price Buzz Up Send Share Print RELATED QUOTES ^DJI 8,288.67 +142.15 ^GSPC 895.93 +16.80 ^IXIC 1,784.29 +28.26 Kathleen Doler – Thu Jul 9, 5:50 pm ET Bargains abound in today's real estate market , and buyers rule -- but not necessarily lowball offers. Real estate agents say steep price declines are driving a selling process now more like 2005's boom market than a bust. Priced-right properties at the lower end of the market get multiple offers and sell in days. So buyers must formulate offers that stand out. That means offering the right amount, sometimes above asking price. And it means getting pre-approved for a loan and not making nit-picky requests of the seller. The steep decline in home values is fueling the clamor. Prices fell 18.1% from April 2008 to April 2009, according to S&P/Case-Shiller's latest report, covering 20 major U.S. cities. That index is off roughly 33% from its peak in Q2 2006. In Phoenix and Las Vegas , prices...

Green Building Disputes Prompt Lawsuits Lawsuits and claims are emerging as businesses embrace “green” building and other sustainable processes, says Harvey Berman, a partner at the law firm of Bodman LLP, in an article for the Ann Arbor Business Review . Berman said the first reported lawsuit involving a green building is believed to be a case filed in Maryland by a contractor against a developer. The developer alleged that the contract which included the project manual and specifications required that the contractor construct an environmentally sound “green building” in conformance with a Silver Certification Level according to U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design ( LEED ) Rating System, said Berman. The contract documents attached to the developer’s counterclaim contained no provisions limiting the contractor’s liability relating to any “green building” aspects of the project, did not discuss the role of the developer or the design/construct...

What are the eligibility requirements for the LEED Green Associate exam? http://www.green-buildings.com/content/78626-what-are-eligibility-requirements-leed-green-associate-exam After March 31st, 2009, candidates for the LEED Green Associate (GA) credentials must fulfill eligibility requirements. LEED Green Associate candidates are required to do ONE (1) of the following: Option 1: You must be (or have previously been) employed in a sustainable field of work This is perhaps one of the more nebulous requirements posed by the GBCI, because no definition of a "sustainable field of work" is given. The USGBC does state that the company needs to "relate to environmentalism or the green building industry". If you are in any doubt that your profession would qualify, contact the GBCI at gbci.org or by calling 1-800-795-1746. Option 2: You must be (or have been) involved in a LEED Certification Project To prove eligibility by way of LEED project involvement, you must have bee...

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Chris Cheatham http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/2009/07/articles/legal-developments/usgbc-addresses-performance-gap/ USGBC Addresses Performance Gap Email This Print Comments (4) Trackbacks Share Link I'm impressed. In one fell swoop, the USGBC has stepped up to the plate to address the primary criticisms of the LEED rating system. Kudos to Scot Horst and the USGBC for acknowledging an issue that has bothered many users of the LEED rating system: “Today there is all too often a disconnect, or performance gap, between the energy modeling done during the design phase and what actually happens during daily operation after the building is constructed,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of LEED, U.S. Green Building Council. “We’re convinced that ongoing monitoring and reporting of data is the single best way to drive higher building performance because it will bring to light external issues such as occupant behavior or unanticipated building usa...