Energy Efficient & Disaster Resilient Homes | Robert Klob on Real Estate Investing Pros Show”

Robert Klob (00:00)
you know, short of that big cold snap that hit Dallas a few years ago when things just went crazy and everything shut down and everything was frozen in place.

Short of that week there, that month that that occurred, their highest electric bill hasn’t been over $300 for a 10,000 square foot home. Very few people can say that in the country. Now, the reason I preface by saying that one month is because Texas has the surge pricing like Uber does.

Dylan Silver (00:14)
Man.

with electricity.

Robert Klob (00:24)
Yeah, so that must have got a little

bit crazy. But outside of that, outside of the crazy things, outside of the control of my client, yeah, it’s a retirement home that they’re really able to afford.

Dylan Silver (02:05)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest is based in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area and specializes in custom ultra energy efficient and disaster resilient homes. Please welcome Robert Klob. Robert, welcome to the show.

Robert Klob (02:22)
Thank you for having me.

Dylan Silver (02:23)
So interesting space to be in. think these are two separate areas and I mentioned before hopping on here that I’m in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. So we definitely need to have disaster resilient out here. Energy efficient, I don’t know if they’ve reached out here but I’m curious how you got into this space. It’s really a very interesting, much needed space in two different worlds, right?

Robert Klob (02:43)
Two different worlds. And I came across a product about a little over 20 years ago that kind of the best of both worlds. It’s a building material that’s been around since the 60s, but it gives that ultra energy efficiency, but at the same time gives you the disaster, essentially disaster proof construction. built numerous homes that have taken on down the keys in Florida and throughout the Gulf Coast.

that have taken direct hits from some of the big hurricanes we’ve had in the last 10 years with zero to no damage. you know, it’s really one of those things that it just, it’s a one size fits all. Whatever your challenge is, whatever you’re trying to solve, you know, these building products really, you know, really do, know, they’re the only ones in the market that hit the mark.

Dylan Silver (03:26)
want to get a little granular about this and ask you some questions. Maybe give away some of the gold, but not all of it. I think ⁓ one of the interesting things that I’ve seen from being out here, I mean, we talk about Dominican Republic, mean, where I am, Santo Domingo, there’s, of course, can’t drink the water, right? Electrical grid goes down all the time. It goes down practically daily. I had to get a backup battery inverter, which literally looks like two car batteries, DC car batteries that then have an inverter that connects to the electrical panel.

So it gets AC current But at the same point in time these buildings are like indestructible like and I don’t know I’m not I’m not in the building world, but they have to withstand you know hurricane force winds regularly and In the US, know, mentioned Florida. I lived in Texas for years I lived in New Jersey for years New Jersey not so much but definitely parts of Texas and Florida for sure Most of the homes are still stick-built homes

Is there is there a reason for this is it just you know the power of the dollar and you know turn in these properties or is it harder you know to kind of change course in the U.S.

Robert Klob (04:30)
as they say D all the above, it’s, you know, it’s one of those things that kind of, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And that’s what everyone’s been doing forever. So why change? people, humans, typically we don’t like change. so, however, as these, you know, the storms come through the floods, the hurricanes, the tornadoes, the fires, ⁓ or even here in Phoenix, we don’t get all those things, but we get hot.

Dylan Silver (04:49)
Right.

Robert Klob (05:26)
You know, having something that essentially creates a disaster safe yeti cooler to live in, you know, it really gravitates for a lot of people that are now, you know, as energy prices are spiking, as these disasters are hitting billions and billions of dollars every year in recovery, that people are looking for alternative ways. You know, how can we build better so our house doesn’t burn down or get blown down or our electric bill isn’t, you know,

800 bucks a month. And that’s where the general public is now becoming a lot more educated on how they want to live. they’re kind of forcing the market.

Dylan Silver (05:55)
Right.

No question, no question. I think about cities in Texas, which is of course where I’m licensed. You’ve got Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio are the major four. And when you look at the home prices, Houston’s home prices are so much, so much lower. And it’s almost unbelievable. You’re like, is this the same state? What’s going on here? It’s Houston, Texas, big metropolis. Why is it so much lower? And that’s because the insurance is so high and in many cases difficult, right?

And so I think when you think about this, it would also have a huge impact if there could be maybe some wider market adoption of some of these disaster resilient structures you might have not as high of the insurance. And then to some of the setups for these types of structures are just totally, I would say totally completely different than where you might see elsewhere. Like I think of areas that I’ve seen lots of floods and you have the homes, especially in Florida, the homes that are like on stilts, right? On like a second story type of

of thing and you may have some of that in Santa Domingo or in Dominican Republic in general but I haven’t seen very much of it just because they’re just so strong. They’re literally built to like withstand these disasters. want to pivot a bit here Robert and ask you about this space in general, the kind of disaster resilient space. Is this in the vernacular of most builders and people who are investing in this space or is this really even fringe in that world as well?

Robert Klob (07:30)
I think it’s a little bit fringe in that world, it’s gaining popularity. I’m starting to get more and more clients that are requesting it for single-family, multi-family developments for a couple reasons. Number one, the disaster resistance, of course. If you can build a structure, whether it’s an investment as a rental property or even as an investment for sale property, how can you set yourself apart from the house being built next door?

or the apartment community being built across the street. One of those ways is a safer living environment. The second part is if you can say, our rent is the same price, but your electric bill is going to be half the price. That’s going to get the people are going to gravitate towards you versus the ⁓ place across the street. And it doesn’t cost you any more to do it. So, you know,

Dylan Silver (08:11)
Yeah.

Robert Klob (08:15)
It’s one those things that investors now are really starting to take a look at these types of products to set themselves apart.

it is one of those areas where that I’ve been able to show many times even on a custom home development or custom home design where yes, you’re paying, you might be paying a little bit more for your mortgage.

But the offset you’re getting from your utility bills is you’re actually coming out in that positive. And you mentioned Dallas earlier, one of the homes I designed in Dallas, 10,000 square foot home built out of concrete and foam system. It’s called ICF. We haven’t mentioned that yet. And,

you know, short of that big cold snap that hit Dallas a few years ago when things just went crazy and everything shut down and everything was frozen in place.

Short of that week there, that month that that occurred, their highest electric bill hasn’t been over $300 for a 10,000 square foot home. Very few people can say that in the country. Now, the reason I preface by saying that one month is because Texas has the surge pricing like Uber does.

Dylan Silver (09:06)
Man.

with electricity.

Robert Klob (09:16)
Yeah, so that must have got a little

bit crazy. But outside of that, outside of the crazy things, outside of the control of my client, yeah, it’s a retirement home that they’re really able to afford.

Dylan Silver (09:59)
I want to ask you about energy efficient strategies in general. think the general public is aware of solar panels, but in many cases there might not always be the type of synergy between people who are selling solar panels and the manufacturers and then the mass adoption. It can sometimes feel like poorly implemented or people got the wrong array. So solar isn’t the only way that people can make their homes efficient. What are some other ways that

you’ve seen that people are making their homes efficient.

Robert Klob (10:28)
Well, and the thing as a realtor, understand one of the challenges with solar is it can also put an encumbrance on the title. And so selling a property with solar, you’ve got to pay it off. Is there a lease? Is there a lien? I mean, there’s so many challenges that can come with it. With our homes, what we’re finding is, you know, unless you’re building off grid, there’s no real, it’s hard to pencil solar. And I’m in Phoenix. We’ve got 330 days of sunshine a year.

Dylan Silver (10:35)
Right.

Robert Klob (10:53)
We should have solar on every house as far as I’m concerned. But with these ultra-energy building materials and higher quality door and window systems, LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, things like that, that we’re putting in all these homes, that the amount you’re saving doesn’t allow, you’re saving more than the solar’s gonna save you.

Dylan Silver (11:12)
Yeah, it’s ⁓ a huge, I’d say added benefit that people aren’t necessarily thinking about. Another aspect that this makes me think about is kind of the smart home revolution, know, being able to dim your lights, know when you’re away, AC, this type of thing, smart bulbs. But it’s also a big investment, right? But at the same point in time, it just seems like such a no brainer.

Is there really any downside to this technology?

Robert Klob (11:37)
⁓ I mean, it depends on who you’re talking to on that. I guess there can be the more you connect to the grid, the more that, you know, someone could nefariously control your life in some way, shape or form. But outside of that, no, I mean, I, I, I’ve connected a lot of things in my personal life, in my home and, and, ⁓ there, without saying her name, cause she’ll go off here right next to me. ⁓ there’s a lady from Amazon that controls about every one of my lights and switches and

Everything else from my house right now.

Dylan Silver (12:04)
That’s right. That’s right. And you know, I want to ask you about the the ability for people to maybe adopt some of these things that will tailor to their lifestyle, but also increase the value of their home. Because I think that that’s a big thing that people talk about. mean, solar panels is one thing. There’s this huge, I’d say, discrepancy between people who have solar and are big advocates of solar and then a lot of people who are realtors. I’ve actually been on both sides. I’ve actually worked in solar space and now I’m

a licensed realtor. So I kind of see both sides of it. You mentioned the encumbrance and that of course checks out with some of these other energy efficient strategies and things that you can add to the home. It just seems like a no brainer as far as from a value add perspective. You know we talk about sealing the home better bulbs AC knowing when you’re there versus versus not even like when you’re I’ve seen.

It can like geo track based on your position so that when you’re driving towards your property that it knows and it starts to lower the temperature of the home and this type of thing. Do these actually increase the value of the home or is it negligible?

Robert Klob (13:07)
I think it’s kind of the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. mean, if you have someone who’s really into that, the tech level, that yeah, that’s going to make that home or that building a lot more attractive to that person. I’ll pick on some of my older clients that, yeah, they don’t need all those little bells and whistles and buttons and they don’t know to do it anyway and don’t care. So maybe they’re not willing to pay a premium for that.

However, they are willing to pay a premium for some of the benefits that can come with it. In Phoenix, we have lot of, as we call them, snowbirds, or winter visitors. live here from November to April. And for them to be able to turn on their air conditioner when they leave North Dakota or something, ⁓ and by the time the plane lands here in Phoenix and they get to their home, they’re…

Dylan Silver (13:49)
you

Robert Klob (13:54)
their home was nice and cool and ready to move it, ready to live in. ⁓ Yeah, most definitely.

Dylan Silver (13:58)
Huge deal.

Robert Klob (14:00)
So, know, those are some of those things that I think, you know, there are added values in that technology space that are beneficial.

Dylan Silver (14:48)
I want to pivot a bit here and ask you about maybe the connection and the synergy between energy efficiency and then disaster resilient homes. Two different worlds, right? And when I think of rugged and tough, the first thing that comes to mind is not solar panels and energy bulbs and this type of thing. So was this something that progressed naturally or did you kind of know when you started doing both that, I’m going to pair these together?

Robert Klob (15:11)
Well, the product that I utilize, the Insulated Concrete Forms, they’re basically like Styrofoam Legos that get filled full of concrete. And that’s what the exterior walls of the house are. So the Styrofoam gives you the energy efficiency, the concrete gives you the structural rigidity. And so it’s just a product. There’s 42 brands in North America that manufacture different variations of this product. But they really are like Legos.

And then that little nubs on the top, we played with Lego as a kid. That’s, I play with them as an adult. It’s the same kind of concept. so that’s why I say, I’m not marrying two things together. It’s just coming natural with one product.

Dylan Silver (15:42)
Yeah.

this part the video.

I think people are shocked to hear this because they say, you can’t have something that’s ultra rugged and ultra efficient, you can. And I’m learning this myself now. Are there areas, of course, Florida, maybe Texas, the Gulf Coast in general, but you also mentioned Arizona, you an area where there’s high heat. What about some other areas of the country? You know, you mentioned California with the wildfires, but also

I’m thinking like Northeast as well where it gets brutally cold and people might have a large electric bill in the winter. Are we seeing any adoption in these areas of the country as well?

Robert Klob (16:18)
Most definitely. mean, the product was really honed. It was developed in Germany back in the 60s. But it was really honed in Canada and using it for basements and so on. And people just started going above ground from their basement walls to where we are today. We’re building multi-story homes. In Toronto, there was a 22-story dormitory that was built with this product.

I’ve been told there’s a 50 story building being built down in Mexico with it. So there’s really not a lot of limitations to it.

Dylan Silver (16:48)
It’s really nice to hear this kind of innovation is happening. And I think very much needed, especially juxtaposed with the traditional, which is very much energy inefficient, unfortunately. And we sorely need this kind of technology, especially when there’s not going to be going down the price of energy anytime soon. So Robert, are coming up on time here though. Where can folks go if maybe they’d like to reach out to you?

Maybe they have a home that they would like some feedback on, or maybe they’re looking at a new build and would like an energy efficient new build.

Robert Klob (17:19)
Yeah, probably the easiest way to get in touch with me is through my website, which is www.rkdzns.com. And they can fill out a form from there. My phone number’s on there. It goes right to my cell phone. So feel free to call and reach out. I’m happy to answer any questions people have.

Dylan Silver (17:39)
Robert, thank you so much for coming on the show here today.

Robert Klob (17:41)
Very good, thank you.