Homes By Taber
Award-winning Oklahoma home builder, Homes By Taber, was founded in 2000. In the first year, they built three homes. Since that time, Homes by Taber has built 3,200 homes in over 80 neighborhoods in Deer Creek/Oklahoma City, Edmond, Moore, Mustang, Norman, Piedmont, and Yukon.
In this month’s feature, we asked Lindsay Haltom, Marketing Director at Homes By Taber, to share some insight on building HERS® homes for their customers.
Q: What is special about a HERS® Rated home?
A: Lindsay: Purchasing a home that has been issued a HERS® rating certificate gives homebuyers confidence that their home is truly energy efficient. Because of regulations placed on home builders, builders can technically all say that their homes are “energy efficient.” However, if their homes are not energy rated with a RESNET HERS® index score, customers will never be confident that their home was built to the highest standards.
Q: Why should consumers ask for the HERS® Index Score on homes they are shopping for?
A: Lindsay: Consumers should always ask for the HERS® Index score, so they know they are getting a quality, energy-efficient home from a quality builder that cares enough to take these extra steps to acquire a HERS® certificate. A homebuilder’s response to that question should be a major indicator of whether they have selected the right builder. At Homes by Taber, we work to be very transparent and provide HERS® scores to our customers, so they know they are getting what they paid for.
When home shoppers are searching for a home, asking for the HERS® rating is an easy question that can help to quickly narrow down their search. It can also allow them to properly budget for their future expenses by knowing their HERS® rating. Our HERS® ratings save our homeowners around $1,500 per year in energy bills, which for our customers typically equates to a mortgage payment a year. If customers buy a home that has a high HERS® score, they are going to be wasting money on energy bills and they will have a home that is not as comfortable or well-constructed.
Q: Why does Homes By Taber choose to have their homes HERS® Rated?
A: Lindsay: Using a third party to rate our homes allows us to know how well we are performing and allows us to have metrics to measure our successes. If we don’t have metrics, we can’t improve our performance and, in this case, improve our energy efficiencies. Having these HERS® ratings also allows our customers to have an additional level of comfort knowing that they are not just taking our word for how well our homes are constructed, but rather they are receiving their certification with a score for their home to know how well it is constructed from a third party.
Q: Why consumers should expect energy-efficient homes?
A: Lindsay: The technologies and materials that are available in new homes are what can set new construction apart from used homes. When a home is built with energy-efficient materials homeowners will experience increased comfort levels and lower utility bills while also knowing that they are decreasing their carbon footprint in the world. At Homes by Taber, we believe that it is our customer’s right to have a well-constructed, energy-efficient home that is energy rated.
Q: How many homes does Homes By Taber build with HERS® per year?
A: Lindsay: Every home that Homes by Taber builds is HERS® rated. In 2020, we built 889 homes and every one of them received an official HERS® score at completion. We’ve observed that some home builders will obtain a rating for a floor plan that they will use for every home. However, we disagree with that method and chose to rate every house so that homeowners receive proper documentation with a score for their address, not just their floor plan.
Q: How do you market HERS® Rated homes?
A: Lindsay: Homes by Taber proudly markets our HERS® scores whenever and wherever possible. To start, HERS® score certificates are posted on the entryway wall of every model home to showcase how the floor plans scores on the index. When construction on a home gets completed, we provide the HERS® rating certificates to our homeowners, so they know the score of their specific home. This certificate and score also come in handy when customers may decide to sell their homes in the future. Future homeowners should find this as a selling feature and helps with resale.
Inside the model home sales arenas, Homes by Taber has large signage that breaks down how the HERS® scale works and why that is important information to look for when shopping for a home. HERS® information is posted in various spots on our website to make sure homeowners understand the impact and how each of our floor plans is impacted by the score. Every floor plan on our site has a HERS® score posted and breaks down the annual savings that score brings, based on the data RESNET provides. Homes by Taber has a dedicated web page that explains energy efficiency and what a HERS® score is. We also have many videos and blog articles to help explain topics, such as how much energy efficiency is needed.
Q: How do your customers feel about HERS® Rated homes?
A: Lindsay: Not all home shoppers know to ask about a HERS® rating so we work hard to help educate them on the benefits. Knowing that our homes are energy efficient and energy rated helps ease their minds, knowing they made the best choice for their biggest investment.
