By SARI KRIEGER
For home buyers, green is fast becoming a priority-whether it's because they want to reduce their energy costs, minimize their carbon footprint or improve indoor air quality.

Here are 10 questions that prospective buyers or renters ought to ask to find out how green a house or apartment is.

1. How big is it?
The bigger the home, the more energy it uses. The U.S. Green Building Council considers a "neutral size" home-basically what most people need, without what might be considered luxury space-to be 900 square feet for a one-bedroom home, 1,400 square feet for two bedrooms and 1,900 square feet for three bedrooms. A 100% increase in the size of the home adds anywhere from...

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL by Joseph Dobrian
OPPORTUNITES IN REAL ESTATE Saturday/Sunday, June 27-28, 2009

Every downturn in real estate brings opportunities for investors, whether they're looking for commercial property or a new home.  The right choice depends on the individual appetite for risk, and the ability to put equity into the deal.  The reckless, over-leveraged, buy-and-flip days of the middle of this decade are gone, and today's investor must take a long-term view.

 
Dennis L. Ruben, managing director NRC Realty Advisors, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in accelerated sales of real estate, says today's opportunities lie in a buy-and-hold strategy, more in residential proper...