Sustainable homes sound like a dream: solar panels on the roof, a private well for water, geothermal energy instead of a furnace. That's exactly what actress Susan Sarandon had in mind for her Vermont estate, but her case shows how often that dream runs into messy reality. A review of building construction cost research published in the journal Green Building & Construction Economics found that sustainable buildings have often been associated with higher initial costs and a greater risk of cost overruns than conventional construction. Sarandon's case appears to reflect that kind of budget risk.
Starting a retirement plan from scratch
