Let’s Separate Fact From Fiction Regarding Credit Scores & Home Mortgages

By JIM SMITH, Realtor

The ink may barely be dry on your 2020 financial resolutions, and already there is great news for those of you who have resolved to become first time homeowners or to increase your real estate holdings in 2020. Both the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association predict that interest rates will remain at record lows (at or below 4.0%) for most of 2020. 

Of course, interest rates directly affect your home buying power, and you are probably aware that credit scores also directly impact the interest rates offered to you by mortgage lenders. What we don’t always know, however, are the specific actions that will hurt or improve our credit scores. 

So, let’s separate fact from fiction. I thank Jaxzann Riggs of The Mortgage Network for helping me with debunking the following fictions.

Fiction: Shopping for a mortgage lender and allowing more than one lender to review your credit report will hurt your credit score.

Not true. When multiple inquiries appear on your report from mortgage lenders, the scoring models assume that you are shopping for a home loan. Most scoring models consider inquiries from mortgage lenders that occur within a 15 to 45-day period to be one inquiry, having little or no impact on your score. Regularly monitoring your own credit score online prior to applying for a home loan is an effective way to identify any errors contained in your credit file and to obtain a sense of the score that lenders will be using when preparing credit offers for you. It is important to note however, that there are in excess of 20 different scoring models and that online “consumer” reports typically have a higher score than your mortgage lender sees when pulling a “tri-merged residential mortgage” report. Most lenders are willing to start the prequalifying process with a copy of your online report but will require their own report prior to issuing a preliminary loan commitment which is normally required at the time that you write an offer to purchase a property.

Fiction: Opening a new credit card account will increase your score.

The average age of your open accounts impacts your score, and since opening one or more new accounts brings the average age of your total credit profile down, opening new accounts is normally not wise. The exception to this is the prospective first-time buyer who has little or no credit. Obtaining a retail or major credit card helps to build credit “depth.”

Fiction: Carrying a balance helps to boost your score.

Maintaining a balance on your cards does not improve your score, it simply costs you more in interest fees. Utilization of available credit is an important factor in determining your score. If you are unable to pay your credit cards in full each month, keeping the balance on the card below 30% of the credit limit is best. Another strategy to improve “utilization” is to request that your card issuer increase your credit limit. By increasing your available credit line but not your balance, you instantly lower your utilization.

Fiction: Closing accounts that you don’t use will boost your score.

Rather than closing a high interest rate card that you no longer use, request that the creditor reduce the rate and/or occasionally use and then promptly repay the card in full. Closing accounts reduces the overage credit available to you, which negatively impacts both “utilization” and “duration” of your credit profile.

    Questions? Just call Jaxzann Riggs of The Mortgage Network at 303-990-2992.

In Colorado, Real Estate Brokers Are Granted the Limited Practice of Law

Colorado is a great state to buy and sell real estate — and to be a real estate broker. In other states, as many as four lawyers must be retained in the typical real estate transaction — one by each party to the contract, and one by the broker for each side. This can make the cost of buying and selling real estate in such states unduly expensive.

Although I have only been a licensed real estate broker in Colorado, I have bought and sold real estate in New York, Virginia and Hawaii.  Colorado is definitely the best.

In Colorado, the only costs of selling real estate are the 1) title insurance, 2) real estate commissions, and 3) the fee charged by the title company for closing the transaction, although there may be additional costs charged by your HOA or its management company, when applicable. There are no state transfer fees or taxes. Since the above fees are typically paid by the seller, a buyer who does not require a mortgage to purchase real estate pays only his share of the title company’s closing fee ($100 to $400 typically), plus the cost of recording the transaction with the county, which is 1/10th of 1% of the sales price. Buyers who take out a mortgage loan to finance their purchase are the only ones with significant additional costs when purchasing real estate in Colorado.

In 1957, the Colorado Bar Association sued to require lawyers’ involvement in real estate transactions, but the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in the Conway Bogue decision that real estate licensees could provide the limited legal service of interpreting and completing state-approved forms for buyers and sellers.

Among the arguments in support of that decision, the court cited the lack or shortage of lawyers in many Colorado counties and the fact that real estate licensees had been performing that function for 50 or more years with no evidence that the public — or lawyers — had been harmed.

The court did require that this service only be performed by licensees who were retained to represent one or both parties in the transaction and that no separate fee be charged for completing the forms beyond the compensation already being earned by the licensee for the transaction.

Sixty-three years later, the Conway Bogue decision is still the law in Colorado, allowing the limited practice of law by real estate brokers, and we can all be glad for it. Imagine if you had to pay $100 or more per hour to a lawyer to counsel you through every step of a real estate sale or purchase!

As I said, we licensees only have the ability to interpret and complete state-approved forms, such as listing agreements, buyer agency agreements, purchase contracts, counterproposals, amendments, disclosures, inspection objections, post-closing occupancy agreements, and the numerous other forms approved by the Colorado Real Estate Commission.

Any seller is allowed to replace those state-approved forms with ones created by an attorney, and home builders routinely use their own contracts. While we can and do represent buyers of new homes, we may not counsel our buyers regarding those documents, since that would constitute practicing law without a license. Instead, we must recommend that buyers hire a real estate lawyer to review them,  Of course, we only recommend legal advice (just as we recommend getting tax advice), but the buyer is free to ignore that recommendation, which many of them do, opting instead to study the documents by themselves and ask questions of the builder’s sales personnel.

Do You Really Need a Buyer’s Agent?

Like most real estate professionals, my broker associates and I make a living representing both sellers and buyers of real estate.  Occasionally I encounter a buyer who doesn’t want to have an agent of his own, preferring to deal directly with the listing agent.

The most common reason given is that the buyer thinks he can negotiate a better deal by saving the seller the 2.8% commission typically paid to a buyer’s agent.  In fact, doing so usually saves the seller nothing since the buyer’s agent is paid by the listing agent, not by the seller. Al-though our policy at Golden Real Estate is to reduce the listing commission if we don’t have to share it with the buyer’s agent, that’s not the practice among the majority of listing brokerages.

Also, there’s the issue of representation. If you deal directly with the listing agent, the best you can expect is that the agent will be a neutral party, but in most cases that agent will continue to work in the seller’s best interest and treat you as a “customer.”  As a buyer, you should really want someone on your side, negotiating in your best interest, not just regarding the contract price but later when it comes to inspection and other issues.  In the case of buying from a builder, such representation is even more important.

Real Estate Agents Have a Responsibility to Report Wrongdoing

As with many professions, we real estate professionals are largely, though not completely, self-policing. Indeed, in a recent continuing education class, we were taught that we have an “affirmative responsibility” to report wrongdoing by our colleagues, whether the offense is illegal, contrary to real estate commission or MLS rules, or, in the case of Realtors, is unethical.

(Many real estate agents belong to brokerages where membership in the Realtor association is not required, and only Realtors are bound by the Realtor Code of Ethics and can be disciplined for violating it. Ask if your broker is a Realtor.)

Of course, the public can also file complaints against licensees. You can do it online here or you can mail a complaint to the Division at 1560 Broadway, Suite 925, Denver CO 80202. You can ask to remain anonymous, but an investigator will call to interview you.

Unless a broker is independent, you can also complain to his brokerage. Ask to speak with the managing broker. If he’s a Realtor, you can file an ethics complaint with his Realtor association. Here’s a link for doing so online.

I have filed complaints about illegal behavior with the Division. I have also sent numerous emails to our MLS about violations of MLS rules and regulations — including last week when a listing agent listed himself instead of one of our broker associates as the selling agent for his listing. (Email compliance@REcolorado.com.) I have also filed ethics complaints against a fellow Realtor through my Realtor association.

By accepting that “affirmative responsibility” to report wrongdoing of any kind by fellow licensees and fellow Realtors, we protect and advance the reputation of our industry and of the Realtor brand. As managing broker at Golden Real Estate, I promote this responsibility, as I did at our weekly office meeting earlier this month.

Although some people like to demean real estate licensees and even Realtors, I have found that the vast majority of us are true professionals who put our clients’ interests above our own, as required by both law and ethics, and I am proud to be a member of this profession.

January Is National Radon Action Month. Here’s What You Need to Know:

Here in Colorado, about half our homes have elevated levels of radon, a naturally occurring gas created by the decay of radioactive radium in our soils. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Here’s a link for an excellent YouTube video explaining radon and how it’s mitigated.

Most real estate professionals, including the agents at Golden Real Estate, are well aware of this issue and will always advise the buyers we represent to have the home they are buying tested for the level of radon gas as part of the home inspection process.

Notice that I didn’t say to test for the presence of radon gas, but rather the level of radon gas.  That’s because radon gas is present even in “fresh” air. But it can concentrate when it seeps into your basement, crawl space and even your above-grade living areas.

Since a high level of this gas is considered a “health and safety” issue, a seller is essentially obligated to accept responsibility for having the radon level mitigated or to compensate the buyer for doing it after closing. 

At Golden Real Estate, we have a hand-held device smaller than a TV remote which we can lend to sellers prior to listing their home so they’ll know in advance what level of radon a buyer’s inspector is likely to discover. Ace Hardware has this same device for sale for $199.

There are less expensive mail-in radon tests that you can purchase at Home Depot or Lowe’s, but they’re also free at multiple locations — including from our office at 17695 S. Golden Road in Golden. These DIY kits should not be considered adequate for use in a real estate transaction.

During the home sale, it’s best to have a certified radon measurement contactor do the official test. You can find a list at www.ColoradoRadon.info. The test utilizes an electronic device which samples the air every hour over a 48-hour period. It can detect whether the device has been disturbed and whether there have been changes in atmospheric conditions which might suggest that windows or doors have been opened to allow fresh air into the house. Inspectors charge between $100 and $150 for this test, but it’s well worth the expense, especially if the results of the test show that the level of radon gas exceeds the EPA action level of of 4 picocuries per liter of air. If the test shows a level greater than that, the buyer can demand that the seller have radon mitigated. That typically costs about $1,000, so the testing is well worth the additional inspection cost.

Below is a diagram showing how radon is mitigated use sub-slab depressurization:

(from Wikipedia)

Learn the True Cost of Selling Your Home off-MLS to an iBuyer Like Zillow

Perhaps you’ve heard the pitch from an iBuyer firm such as Open Door, Zillow Offers, or another firm with the word “Offers” in their name.

These companies are promoting the convenience of selling your home quickly for cash, without putting it on the market or having buyers traipse through your home, or worrying that their financing might fall through.

But what is the cost of that convenience?

My column on Aug. 22nd reported on the “true cost of selling to an iBuyer,” but you can’t know that cost personally until it’s your home. So let’s talk about your home!

The next time you get a solicitation to buy your home direct for cash without putting it on the market, go ahead and ask them for a quote.  Then call us and we’ll analyze the offer for free, with no obligation whatsoever.

Here’s what you need to know about the offer you’ll receive.

1)   They will tell you that you won’t pay a commission, but the contract will deduct a “service fee” which, in the case of the Open Door contract I wrote about in August, is 7%.

2)    There will be an inspection contingency. They’ll tell you that you don’t have to make any repairs, but the company will do an “assess-ment” and come up with a dollar figure they will deduct from the purchase price to cover “necessary” repairs. It could amount to tens of thousands of dollars–$38,563 in the case of the Open Door contract I reviewed in August.

3)   The good news is that you as seller are given the right to terminate the contract at any time prior to closing — at least according to that Open Door contract I reviewed.

Most of all, you need to know that these iBuyer firms are only buying your home because they expect to make a profit when they resell it. They will entice you with an offer that is reasonable, but in the following weeks that offer will be eroded by other provisions such as I’ve mentioned above.

Perhaps the convenience of selling a home for cash to someone who will resell it at a higher price makes sense for some sellers. My point is that you should know how much that convenience is going to cost you.

An “iBuyer” is nothing more or less than an investor who makes money by buying low and selling high, with or without making any improvements. For years I’ve been advising homeowners who receive unsolicited offers for their home to treat such an offer as the “opening bid,” and to talk to me or another Realtor about seeing how much more they can get for their home once it is exposed to the full market. That is only accomplished by putting a home on the MLS.

It’s all about maximizing exposure. The more potential buyers who learn about your home, the more offers you are likely to receive. I’m saddened to see how many homes are sold with zero days on the MLS.  Those homes were sold without entering them on the MLS, and the listing agent only puts the home on the MLS after closing as a courtesy to other agents (for market analysis purposes) and/or to receive credit for the sale in terms of personal sales volume.

Consistently over the past three years, between 60 and 160 homes per month in Denver & Jeffco have been entered on the MLS only after they sold. The majority of them sold at or below the listing price, because the home was not exposed to additional buyers, and a high percentage of them were “double-ended” by the listing agent, meaning that the agent doubled his commission by not giving other agents with willing buyers the opportunity to earn their half of the listing commission. 

Our policy at Golden Real Estate is to avoid selling a home before it has been on the MLS at least 3 or 4 days, during which all potential buyers have had a chance to see the home and consider making an offer. This is consistent with our responsibility under state law to put our sellers’ interest ahead of our own.

This policy is an expression of the value statement that appears on our yard signs — “Hometown service delivered with integrity.”

In my Aug. 22 column, I quoted a report on iBuyer transactions by Collateral Analytics. The final paragraph in their report is worth quoting again:

“In all, the typical cost to a seller appears to be in the range of 13% to 15% depending on the iBuyer vendor. For some sellers, needing to move or requiring quick extraction of equity, this is certainly worthwhile, but what percentage of the market will want this service remains to be seen.”

Call me or any of our broker associates at 303-302-3636 before accepting an off-market offer for your home. And remember: even if you are already under contract with an iBuyer, you may have the right to terminate the sales contract.

Your Car Battery Could One Day Be Your Home Backup Power

Perhaps you, like me, have considered investing in a home battery system — not to go “off grid” so much as to survive blackouts. Simply having solar does not give you such protection, because when the grid goes down, your solar panels do not generate electricity. That’s required by power companies, because they don’t want you pumping electricity into downed power lines as their technicians work to repair them.

Personally, I’m holding out for a future in which the energy stored in my EV batteries can be tapped to power my home during a blackout.  There’s a term for this called vehicle-to-grid, but a more accurate term would be vehicle-to-home, since it would be done in isolation from the grid.

Because I have two EVs with combined battery capacity of 170 kilowatt-hours, I have a lot of stored power available to me at any time, even if those cars are not fully charged.  For example, 100 kilowatt-hours can provide 5,000 watts of household electricity for 20 hours.

There are commercially available inverters for creating a 120-volt outlet in any car, either gas or electric, but inevitably some automaker — probably Tesla — will create an interface that allows for the electricity stored in one’s EV battery to be tapped for household use during a blackout.

Several electric trucks are going to hit the market in 2020 and beyond, and each will have 120 and possibly 240-volt outlets for field power, which is a good start. You could run an extension cord to power critical home appliances. 

It’s January — Time to Think Again About Losing Weight and Getting Fit

By JIM SMITH, Realtor®

It was four years ago this month that Rita and I made a decision that has changed our lives for the better — we enrolled in a program called “8 Weeks to Wellness” at Body In Balance Wellness Center, located near our home in Golden.

At the time, we were 68 years old and technically obese. I had a bit of a “beer belly” and weighed in the mid-240s. When the program ended in March 2016, I weighed under 220. At right are before and after pictures showing that much of my belly fat was gone.  As I write this, I weigh 206, because I have continued with the lifestyle which I learned during the 8-week program.

What is that program?  It’s a holistic program combining nutritional training, mindfulness, regular chiropractic adjustments and massages, and twice-weekly workouts with a trainer.

Since January is a time of year when we all think about shedding the weight we gained over the holidays and making other healthy resolutions, I thought it appropriate to share my personal story of making lifestyle changes that I know are leading to a longer, healthier life, and I invite you to learn about “8 Weeks to Wellness” and if it’s right for you — whether or not you’re a senior like us.

Let’s talk about nutrition first. Rita and I learned things we didn’t know from Drs. Leah and Scott Hahn during the program and at free lectures which they give each month. 

Dr. Leah’s class on sugar was particularly enlightening. We learned how much sugar is in processed foods and how bad it is for us.  Cancer feeds on sugar, and because so many foods contain sugar, Americans are consuming an average of 57 lbs. of added sugar per year.  That’s eleven 5-lb. bags of sugar per person! Our bodies can only metabolize between 1/2 and 1/3 that much sugar, so the rest of it has to be stored as fat — belly fat.

The key, I learned from the doctors, is to learn where that “added” sugar is hidden. They taught us about the glycemic index, which ranks carbohydrates according to how they affect blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates with a high glycemic index (such as in many snacks, bread and potatoes) raise blood glucose levels too quickly. The body needs time to absorb the sugar created by carbs, so you want to choose foods with a low glycemic index such as green vegetables. Also, sugar is literally addictive, creating appetite rather than satisfying it. It’s true — you can’t eat just one potato chip!

We also learned about “good fats” and “bad fats.” Did you know that the low-fat movement created by the government had the unintended consequence of increasing our sugar intake?  Since removing fat from foods makes them less tasty, food producers started adding sugar to low-fat products they sell us.

Obesity, we learned, is caused by all the excess sugar in our diets, and Type 2 diabetes is a natural biproduct of obesity caused by excess sugar intake.

So, in addition to reducing the granulated sugar we add to our foods, Rita and I have dramatically reduced our intake of added sugar by eliminating fast foods and soda beverages from our diet. We purchase only “real” foods, avoiding processed foods as much as possible, and we buy organic food, grass-fed beef and eggs from free-range chickens. (We shop at King Soopers, not at Whole Foods or Natural Grocers.)

It’s funny to think that we’re more concerned about the fuel we put in our cars than the fuel we put in our bodies. My handyman buys premium gasoline for his truck because he thinks it’s better for his engine, but you should see the food in his pantry!

Nutrition, however, is only one component of keeping our aging bodies healthy. We’ve all heard that we should exercise, but the doctors at Body in Balance have given Rita and me more context for its importance.

As we age, we all experience a loss of muscle mass. One evidence of muscle loss is the loose skin hanging from most old folks’ out-stretched biceps. That’s why I kept up my twice-weekly training sessions after the end of “8 Weeks to Wellness.”  And it’s working.

I used to think that hiring a personal trainer was a waste of money, but I was wrong. My Monday afternoon and Friday morning sessions last one-hour under the guidance of a certified personal trainer who creates a “workout of the day” that works all the different muscle groups in my body in a manner that never gets tedious or repetitive.  Through “bio-impedance analysis” I have seen the actual results of continuing this program — decreased fat and increased muscle mass in my body. Combined with my good nutrition and reduced weight, I will continue to age in good health and be less prone to falls and breaks. We should all strive for that as we age, and I urge you to consider the benefits.

Body In Balance Wellness Center, located in Golden, is a chiropractic office specializing in Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), which is more gentle than traditional chiropractic. In addition to their three chiropractors, they have two personal trainers in their fitness center, a functional medicine nutritionist, and two massage therapists on site. See www.BodyInBalanceChiropractic.com.

Because “8 Weeks to Wellness” made such a difference in Rita’s and my life, I encourage you to attend a free introduction to the program to be held at Body In Balance’s Golden facility, 755 Heritage Road, on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 6:15 p.m.

Call 303-215-0390 to reserve a seat. I’ll be there to share my story and answer questions.

Denver Post Series Uncovers the Corruption of Tax Districts Created by Developers

Four years ago, on Dec. 17, 2015, I devoted this weekly column to explaining why property tax rates vary so much around the metro area, mostly due to the creation by developers of “metropolitan  tax districts” to reimburse themselves for the cost of building the infrastructure for their subdivisions. A follow-up column on July 21, 2016, went into greater detail, giving examples of such tax districts created for Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch in Denver and Solterra and Candelas in Jefferson County. For example, in Candelas, adjacent to Rocky Flats, homeowners are paying a 70-mill tax levy on top of Arvada’s mill levy until the tax district infrastructure bonds are paid off. For a home valued at $500,000, that would be an additional property tax burden of nearly $3,000 per year, which would only increase based on rising property values for 30 years following construction. Below is an excerpt from that column, which quoted mill levies in effect that year:

You can read both columns at JimSmithColumns.com, where all my prior columns are archived – or simply click on the links provided above.

It was clear to me back then that homeowners would not recognize the special tax burden they would be facing as they purchased homes, since disclosure of that tax burden is buried in the flurry of documents buyers have to sign at closing.

Now, with more and more owners of homes in such subdivisions realizing what they got themselves into and how unfair it is, it was inevitable that some investigative reporter would dig into this topic in a way that I could not as a full-time Realtor. 

Earlier this month, investigative reporter David Migoya’s multi-part series on this important topic was published in the Denver Post following eight months of research. Perhaps you read that series.

Migoya provides an excellent summary of what these districts are: “Metro districts are taxing authorities created by subdivision developers, with the consent of the local government, for the sole purpose of selling government-like bonds to finance their projects. Repayment of the bonds is tied to future property taxes assessed to the homes that will eventually be built.”

Among the things I learned from Migoya’s multi-part series that I did not know or realize when I wrote about metropolitan tax districts in 2015 and 2016 was that this device of creating special tax districts for infrastructure investments began to be utilized because 1992’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) made it harder for cities or the county to invest in the infrastructure of new subdivisions, even though these subdivisions would ultimately pay for themselves through new property taxes. (I’m not fully convinced of that argument, since many newer subdivisions, including mine, were built without such tax districts.)

Migoya’s series went further to describe the scheming which kept property owners from being able to control the tax districts once the subdivisions were fully built out.

If you are in one of those newer subdivisions, you probably are subject to such a mill levy. If you didn’t read the series when it was published in the main section of this newspaper, I suggest you Google “Denver Post metropolitan tax districts” and read the full series. It should make your blood boil.

One could apply “scandalous” to how these tax districts were created and are run to profit developers at the expense of unwitting future homeowners, but the fact is that what the developers have done is legal, manipulating laws passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by previous Governors.

As Migoya explained so well in his opening installment on Dec. 5th, “Colorado law permits developers to elect themselves to serve on a district’s board of directors, then use that position to approve tens of millions of dollars in public financing for their businesses, and leverage the property taxes on homes they haven’t yet built. No regulations stop these developer-controlled boards from approving arrangements that are financially advantageous to their business, allowing them to finance overly ambitious plans without fear of liability, knowing future homeowners ultimately shoulder the burden.”

Surely the upcoming legislative session will feature hearings and legislation to address the worst abuses of this tax district tool, but the damage may be irreversible in the state’s 1,800 such existing tax districts, since they were created pursuant to existing laws.

Depending on how aware buyers and their agents become of these oversized tax burdens, the resale value of homes in those subdivisions should reflect the fact that they have a far greater tax burden than comparable homes in areas without such a developer-created tax district.  You can count on Golden Real Estate’s brokers being knowledgeable in this area.

The Value of Local Journalism

I have been concerned that the reduction in the reporting staff at the Denver Post would make investigate series like the one above a thing of the past. The “Afghanistan Papers” series by the Washington Post is another example. Subscribers make the investment in such journalism possible, so thank you for subscribing to the Denver Post.

By the way, please note that our “Real Estate Today” column in the Denver Post also needs your support. It is our primary marketing tool. You can assure this column’s continuation by coming to us with your real estate needs and recommending us to others. Thank you!

The Future of Heating is Heat Pumps, Not Gas Forced Air

Here in Colorado, as in much of the country, the typical home heating system is gas forced air. A gas flame heats up a plenum across which a fan blows air through ductwork into the various rooms of a house.  For cooling, the same ductwork and fan are used, but instead of the flame heating that plenum, the air passes over a set of coils beyond the plenum with super-chilled fluid created by an outdoor compressor.

Gas forced air, however, is relatively inefficient and is only common in the United States because of our exceptionally low cost of natural gas and other fossil fuels.

Elsewhere in the world, heating is done using heat pumps. What is a heat pump? Your central air unit is a heat pump, but it operates in only one direction—extracting heat from indoor air and dissipating it outdoors. A heat pump heating system simply reverses that process, creating heat by extracting heat from outdoor air and dissipating it in your home, either through your existing ductwork or through wall-mounted “mini-split” units. Unlike gas, a heat pump moves heat instead of creating it.

How a heat pump works to heat and cool a home using wall-mounted mini-split units heated and cooled by an exterior compressor.

Rita and I replaced our gas furnace in 2012 with a hybrid system by Carrier. It heats our home using the heat pump unless the outdoor temperature falls below freezing, at which point a gas burner kicks in. With our solar panels providing the electricity for the heat pump, our highest mid-winter Xcel bill is under $50. Meanwhile, at Golden Real Estate’s office, as described in my Jan. 4, 2018, newspaper column, we got rid of our furnace and ductwork and installed a ductless mini-split system (like in the above diagram), also powered by solar panels. As a result, our Xcel bill is under $11/month year-round.