Our early years pushed us to make a name for ourselves and get involved with local sustainability efforts.  From the sponsoring the Piedmont Earth Day Fair to becoming carbon neutral to being nominated for our efforts at the North Carolina Technology Association (with the likes of IBM and SAS).  We tried to be everywhere and get involved as much as possible.  We even added some fantastic borkers in Sandee Hamrick and Katie Jo Icenhower!

Last year seemed to fly by…we continued to see positive sales growth and an increased presence in both Winston-Salem and Greensboro.  We tried some new avenues for marketing including WFDD radio, The North Carolina wine celebration – Salute!, and Go EXPO!  These proved to be positive events for us and we look forward to continue our relationship with the fine organizations.  As week look into our fourth year we have have developed a more refined marketing plan, one that will help make us a more recognized brand, but one that will also help our sellers differentiate their homes and our buyers confident that they are getting the most for their money.  We also added two agents last year, Patricia Whitaker and Lisa Duke…we really do have the most awesomest brokers! 

Oh yeah…and our office in downton Winston-Salem!  And how could I forget our latest addition…EnVision Home Performance!  EnVision was added to help existing homeowners, not interested in selling, make upgrades to their homes that focus on our core mission points…energy efficiency, water efficiency, and indoor air quality.  We have a certified RESNET energy auditor that can not only test your home to find problem areas, but we will also provide a detailed “roadmap” on what needs to be done.  We can also perform the improvements.  Our process starts with a simple phone interview and we guide you through the whole process to compeletion.  Please stop by our website, www.envisionhomeperformance.com , we are still completing the site, but it is going to be a great addition to the Leap family this year.

We have a lot to be thankful for, especially all of our customers.  We would not be able to have a third birthday without you, thank you.  We are humbled that you have chosen us to help you with one of the major purchases of your life.  Hopefully we can continue to be a resource for your and your friends, , in the future.  Thank you to all of our friends, supporters, and vendors with out your words of encouragement and Re- Tweets, we would not quite have the same motivation.  Thanks also to our family…you know who you are…

Happy Birthday to us…here’s to another year of growth, an improving housing market (fingers crossed!), and a better economy!  Now…let’s go sell some houses people!

Most sincerely,

Sarah and Jon

So we met in our garage, a little embarrassing since it was a disaster, but we were reassured that we weren’t the only ones!

John Anderson from Insulation Solutions and Danny Gough from Energy Solutions were on hand to discuss the benefits of energy efficiency, why we chose to foam insulate our house, and what happens at an energy audit.  We also had six neighbors in attendance that had some really great questions like:

What happens if there is a leak in my roof?

How does foam impact the life of my roof if there is no air circulation?

After insulation, does the foam shrink and create openings for air to penetrate?

All are very valid questions and concerns to consider before making the decision to use foam insulation.  Because once it is up…it isn’t coming down!  But also it is a significant investment, one that you want to be certain is not going to cost more in the long run…which is completely understandable.  But once questions like these are answered and you see an installation, it is easy to become a believer.

We  eventually migrated to the upstairs, where Danny  spoke about energy audits.  He also gave a demonstration of a blower door and talked about duct-blasters and infrared guns.  All high-tech, really cool toys that help to determine how much air is leaking in your house.  More information on energy audits can be found on the Energy Star website.

After that we moved on to the attic…and if it is anything like yours…it is not very exciting.  But there we were, ten of us sitting in my attic, surrounded by foam…87 degrees outside…and a cool 75-76 degrees in the attic.  After all the discussion and questions, it is easy to see how effective this type of insulation is in an environment such as your attic.  Not only has it made our house more comfortable, we have also saved about 25-30% on our energy bills.  And our payback is estimated at 6-7 years…at today’s energy prices.

So at the end of our time, I think we made a couple of believers in the group and if nothing else fueled a fire to try to do some things to improve their homes indoor environment.

If you would like to learn more on energy efficiency for your own home.  Please don’t hesitate to call John or Danny…and certainly Sarah or I (336-245-4294).