A License Required for your house

- A look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and trade bill)

Yep,more Political Madness! If you own a home and want to sell it,you better hurry up and do it!

I don't think this needs much of an introduction.

Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the "Cap & Trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced.

The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year.
No one is excluded.
However, once the lower classes feel the pinch in their wallets, you can be sure these voters get a tax refund (even if they pay no taxes at all) to offset this new cost. Thus, you Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class America will have to pay even more since additional tax dollars will be needed to bail out everyone else.


But wait. This awful bill (that no one in Congress has actually read) has many more surprises in it. Probably the worst one is this:

A year from now you won't be able to sell your house. Yes, you read that right.
The caveat is (there always is a caveat) that if you have enough money to make required major upgrades to your home, then you can sell it. But, if not, then forget it. Even pre-fabricated homes ("mobile homes") are included.
In effect, this bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator.
To get this permission, you will have to have the energy efficiency of your home measured.
Then the government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is and you will be forced to make modifications to your home under the retrofit provisions of this Act to comply with the new energy and water efficiency requirements.
Then you will have to get your home measured again and get a license (called a "label" in the Act) that must be posted on your property to show what your efficiency rating is; sort of like the Energy Star efficiency rating label on your refrigerator or air conditioner.
If you don't get a high enough rating, you can't sell. And, the EPA administrator is authorized to raise the standards every year, even above the automatic energy efficiency increases built into the Act.
The EPA administrator, appointed by the President, will run the Cap & Trade program (AKA the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009") and is authorized to make any future changes to the regulations and standards he alone determines to be in the government's best interest. Requirements are set low initial y so the bill will pass Congress; then the Administrator can set much tougher new standards every year.
The Act itself contains annual required increases in energy efficiency for private and commercial residences and buildings.
However, the EPA administrator can set higher standards at any time.

Sect. 202:
Building Retrofit Program mandates a national retrofit program to increase the energy efficiency of all existing homes across America .

Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act.

Continue reading at www.nachi.org...


[edit on 8-4-2010 by On the Edge]

Energy Star is just another scam also!

The report also finds that once a company is EnergyStar certified, it can download the logo and slap it on just about anything, even if they never submitted the product itself for certification. As for products that do get submitted, generally speaking the government just takes the manufacturer’s word for its energy consumption stats. For instance, according to a report on the Today Show, a refrigerator that carried the EnergyStar label used “twice as much energy as claimed.” They don’t do much, if any, independent testing.

So the whole thing is a sham. Are some products that carry the EnergyStar designation really more energy efficient? Sure. Just like some products that don’t carry the EnergyStar designation might really be more energy efficient than ones that do. Good luck figuring out which ones. It’s a crapshoot, which obviously defeats the purpose of having the designation at all. Naturally, instead of simply shutting down the operation (like they would if it were a private company), they’re going to “reform” it and “strengthen the program.”

peoriachronicle.com...

Was just about to call it a night,but thought I'd include this at the last moment!

I'm sorry,there were probably better articles I could have chosen,but it points in the right direction!

I had heard rumors of this.

WTF is wrong with these people in D.C. They just want to ensure we the people get upset and react.

Then Martial Law and.......the end of USA as we know it.

Right.. so we have to pay energy taxes with the money we will need to make the changes to make our home's 'energy efficient.'

Right.. makes perfect sense.

Tax revolt anyone?

Back to the black market I guess

DO NOT ADVOCATE A VIOLENT REVOLT. That will give them an excuse to attack us.

Get a hold of your State Representatives and tell them to draft legislation to protect citizens from this.

[edit on 8-4-2010 by Scarcer]

Cool, folks have been warned of this since long ago, as usual people say Hogwash because it isnt Law yet, but dont understand once it is law, it is to late to act.. Hard concept : Before the Fact...

If you dont want Tax increase, stop listening to the Co2 propeganda, all the taxes that are coming is based on that SCAM, the C o 2 SCAM!

I think you americans are getting exactly what you deserve, you aint Doing anything when you have the oppertunity, no, as usaull, you start to cry and whine about it when it is TOO LATE !! Always...

And the taxes increase will continiue until you are flat broke, that is the Plan, make you poor, because then you spend less money and consume less resources. Wake Up !!

[edit on 8/4/2010 by ChemBreather]

People should also realize that this bill will help the government's real estate numbers which makes it even more likely to pass. By creating a system that makes it more expensive to sell your house, less people will. Not having as many houses for sale will reduce the number that are simply sitting and not selling.

This is a win-win: More money in taxes for the government, more money being siphoned to "energy friendly" companies that lobby the White House constantly and will fulfill Obama's promise of creating a more "green" United States, and less houses on the market that aren't selling.

wow...
you all do realize that in most cities, this already happens right???

its just now going to be federal for everywhere...

when you sell your house, an inspector pays a visit...

you will usually get something back like replacing windows, doors to meet modern codes...
you must replace that carpet because it smells like cat piss, etc...

this changes absolutely nothing for MOST of the population...

consider it consumer protection...

a free market in a society that is riddled with greed DOES NOT WORK...
people and companies have to be FORCED to do whats right..

sad but true...

am I the only one who believes this besides the current administration, or is everyone who thinks like me being silent???

reply to post by ChemBreather


I agree with you. Americans love to live in denial. They don't worry about these things until its too late. They are too busy watching stupid TV shows like American Idol or updating their facebook page to care.

Very few Americans are even paying attention to what the government is doing.

I speak to people every day about these things. I ask people what they think about the government forcing people to purchase health insurance and most don't even know that this is going on and it is now law.

Cap and trade bill will pass and the American people won't even realize it until they try to sell their homes and it is too late. Then they will whine about it after it is law.

I give up trying to inform people, its no use. We deserve everything that is coming to us. We are a bunch a complacent fools that can't even realize that the federal government is taking away our freedom.

baphomet420 is right. Any time I've sold a house, I had to have it inspected and make repairs before it sold.

Now that the health care passed, they are moving on to attack the next Obama bill with fear, exaggerations, more fear and BS. Death Panels! Forced Abortion!

Here we go again! Another Obama promise in the works (Energy efficient homes, clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, etc.) and the right goes wild!

just wondering

is america even TRYING anymore

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
baphomet420 is right. Any time I've sold a house, I had to have it inspected and make repairs before it sold.

Now that the health care passed, they are moving on to attack the next Obama bill with fear, exaggerations, more fear and BS. Death Panels! Forced Abortion!

Here we go again!

Another Obama promise in the works (Energy efficient homes, clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, etc.) and the right goes wild!

Yea I can see the Fox News flash screen now.....Obama asks Military commanders to set up prison camps for anyone who will not make their home more energy compliant. Honestly these fanatical right need to relax before they explode like the head from the movie the scanners.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
baphomet420 is right. Any time I've sold a house, I had to have it inspected and make repairs before it sold.

Now that the health care passed, they are moving on to attack the next Obama bill with fear, exaggerations, more fear and BS. Death Panels! Forced Abortion!

Here we go again!

Another Obama promise in the works (Energy efficient homes, clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, etc.) and the right goes wild!

I have sold several houses, and bought several others. The inspection process for me was voluntary for the houses I bought and not required for any I sold. However, I am in Canada. Anyone buying a house would do well do get it inspected just to cover their butts. Even though I had the houses I bought inspected, there was no legal requirement for the person selling the house to bring it up to spec for me prior to purchase.

I have some clients in England, who were involved in the HIP (Home Inspection Pack) process over there, which seems very similar to what is being described here. They explained to me that the HIP process is being repealed but that's the only information I have on it.

..Ex

well, I am not to apt to be selling my home to anyone... but if i were forced into doing it ... I would cancel the insurance and burn it to the ground before i would comply with these ass holes...

If they want it... they can have the remains.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
baphomet420 is right. Any time I've sold a house, I had to have it inspected and make repairs before it sold.

Now that the health care passed, they are moving on to attack the next Obama bill with fear, exaggerations, more fear and BS. Death Panels! Forced Abortion!

Here we go again!

Another Obama promise in the works (Energy efficient homes, clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, etc.) and the right goes wild!

I have sold a few houses and nobody ever forced me to fix anything or make the home more energy efficient before I sold.

The buyer usually chooses to have the home inspected before buying and the inspector makes recommendations on what he thinks should be repaired before making the purchase. It is up to the two parties involved on how they want to handle it.

As the seller I can tell the buyer I am not making the repairs you want, the house is being sold as is, or I can negotiate a price reduction on the sale to cover any repairs the buyer wants to take care of after he buys the home.

The last house I purchased had a cracked floor joist in one of the rooms. I asked for it to be repaired or I was not going to buy. The seller offered 3 thousand dollars off the price of the house to cover the repair and I took it. I repaired the floor myself after I owned it. If somone wants to upgrade the home to make it more energy efficient after they buy it then that is up to them

This is not the same as having big brother government require thousands of dollars in upgrades on my house that I own before I sell it. You know its not the same but you just can't bring yourself to go against Obama.

This is more government intrusion into our lives.

Yeah, go ahead and burn your house down because of a rumor you read on ATS. That's really ... uh, Great!

OK, here's the scoop. For those of you who are willing to believe something just because it fits your agenda... The premise of this thread is NOT TRUE. These requirements are only for homes built AFTER the bill takes effect. So, unless you're living in a home that hasn't been built yet, this doesn't apply to you.

As for the emails claim that the bill would make it illegal to sell your home without an energy audit and an upgrade in energy efficiency, that is also a lie.
...
FactCheck.org says that the bill only sets requirements for buildings built after the bill becomes law. If you currently own a home, nothing would change for you. The National Association of Home Builders told the website, "if you are talking specifically about energy-efficiency checks, or an energy audit, it is not required for existing home."

Source
FactCheck

Q: Does the House energy bill subject owners of existing homes to an energy efficiency audit before they can sell?

A: Rep. Boehner and Rush Limbaugh got this wrong. The Realtors and home builders associations say there’s no such requirement in the bill, as do we.

Hmmm... Boehner and Limbaugh, huh? And they have such a good reputation for telling the truth... I don't get it. Why would they LIE?

Better Question: Why would you believe it without checking it?

Originally posted by baphomet420
wow...
you all do realize that in most cities, this already happens right???

its just now going to be federal for everywhere...

when you sell your house, an inspector pays a visit...

you will usually get something back like replacing windows, doors to meet modern codes...
you must replace that carpet because it smells like cat piss, etc...

this changes absolutely nothing for MOST of the population...

consider it consumer protection...

a free market in a society that is riddled with greed DOES NOT WORK...
people and companies have to be FORCED to do whats right..

sad but true...

am I the only one who believes this besides the current administration, or is everyone who thinks like me being silent???

People must be FORCED to do whats right??
Right according to who?

This is the problem with progressives, they are convinced they are right and everyone else that disagrees must be forced into compliance.

Does individual liberty mean anything to you or should be all be forced to do what YOU think is right?

Originally posted by Erasurehead
People must be FORCED to do whats right??
Right according to who?

This is the problem with progressives, they are convinced they are right and everyone else that disagrees must be forced into compliance.

Does individual liberty mean anything to you or should be all be forced to do what YOU think is right?

right according to me meaning the average citizen...
are people memories really this short???

without the government FORCING business to comply with laws, what happened in the past?
we had kids as young as 5 working in mines.. repairing dangerous machines because there hand were smaller, commonly loosing limbs in the process...
thats just one of many examples...

here is another quicky... what happened when factories were polluting rivers with their waste... GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION.. These companies would have never changed their practices by choice... Without the government intervention we would have pollution on par with china...

Does liberty to you mean that you have the right to screw people out of their hard earned money by selling them a lemon of a house, or factories have the right to pollute the world???

Originally posted by baphomet420

Originally posted by Erasurehead
People must be FORCED to do whats right??
Right according to who?

This is the problem with progressives, they are convinced they are right and everyone else that disagrees must be forced into compliance.

Does individual liberty mean anything to you or should be all be forced to do what YOU think is right?

right according to me

meaning the average citizen...
are people memories really this short???

without the government FORCING business to comply with laws, what happened in the past?
we had kids as young as 5 working in mines.. repairing dangerous machines because there hand were smaller, commonly loosing limbs in the process...
thats just one of many examples...

here is another quicky... what happened when factories were polluting rivers with their waste... GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION.. These companies would have never changed their practices by choice... Without the government intervention we would have pollution on par with china...

Does liberty to you mean that you have the right to screw people out of their hard earned money by selling them a lemon of a house, or factories have the right to pollute the world???

I am talking about individuals not business. If someone buys a home without getting it inspected and it ends up being a "lemon" as you put it then that's on them for being too stupid for not paying for an inspection before they signed the contract to buy the place. Its called individual responsibility.

I consider myself an average american citizen, does that mean I am right too?

Sorry BH, since I am in the construction trade, this bill is even worse than the HC Bill.

I have several memberships on the construction mags blogs and the land development sites.

The Cap and Destroy America bill will institute every township, village, town, city on a bunch of new inspectors. It will institute the same building codes that California has.

Sorry, your government is going into the fascist business and people think everything is going to be just great.

I give up on convincing the worshipers of huge government. Time to secede from this sinking ship.

ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP!

People probably think the new controls and power of the Federal Reserve are a good idea.

Frelling ignorance!

reply to post by endisnighe


Thanks EndisNigh...I appreciate the way you always "tell it like it is"!