Green Home Improvements to Attract Homebuyers

People’s desire to make a smaller footprint on a vulnerable planet affects the real estate market worldwide. In part this is due to the Internet’s power to inform and inspire, and it is partly due to who is buying the most homes. Millennials have made up more than half of homebuyers over the last few years. And millennials, surveys have shown, are willing to pay more for sustainability and the greenest possible living.

They often opt for new construction with the highest eco-friendly standards, but not every buyer will purchase a new home. Some millennials are not ready to make that financial commitment, and some will not be buying in trending locations that have lots of new green construction. So to attract buyers to an existing home, green home improvements can be a big win. Not only will the homeowner be doing the right thing by the planet, but also homes can sell faster and for more.

Although making green changes to an existing home can be complicated and expensive, there are many levels of improvement that vary in cost and difficulty.

What Meets the Eye

Green home upgrades the buyer can see in an existing home make a difference. If you are upgrading, you can go more sustainable and energy-efficient in these areas:

  • Non-toxic paint: The volatile organic compounds (VOC) in some paint can damage air quality and lungs. Choose a low-VOC paint to get that fresh, neutral look buyers want.
  • Sustainable flooring: Replace worn-out floors with highly renewable bamboo, with responsibly grown and harvested hardwoods, or with natural linoleum products.
  • A cool roof: Renovate the roof with light-colored materials that reflect heat.
  • Energy-efficient appliances: Update the kitchen with appliances, and even faucets, that run on less energy and/or use less water.
  • Native plants: Refresh the landscape with plants native to the environment, that will need less specialty care products and that will support local ecology.

Energize

Green changes that make a home energy-efficient will attract buyers and also give sellers the ROI of an eco-friendly home. Because they save money, these improvements also make money and bring return on investment.

  • Update to a Smart Thermostat: A programmable thermostat ensures heating and cooling meet your needs without waste.
  • New windows: The U.S. Department of Energy reports that 25-30% of energy costs literally get sucked right out of old windows, where leaks in both directions waste resources and money. New windows also beautify a home.
  • Weather protection: If new windows are not an option, caulking and weather-stripping are also efficient.
  • Tankless water heater: Upgrade an old water heater that needs to go anyway with a tankless one, that heats water as needed. Why waste energy heating gallons of water all the time?
  • Recycled water: Systems for catching rainwater, or holding water from sinks and tubs (greywater) can save waste and money. This water can flush toilets and water gardens, among other uses.
  • Renewable energy sources: Depending on the climate, solar panels and/or wind turbines can provide energy in place of using other, non-renewing resources.

Before making eco-friendly home improvements, research is the seller’s best tool. Understand the options, costs, and benefits. An experienced real estate agent can advise on what green home improvements are most wanted and bring the best ROI in the local market. Also make sure the home is appraised by someone experienced with green features, to make sure their real value is represented in the appraisal.

Useful Resource: Benefits of Energy Quoting Software

5 Home Improvement Projects That Add Instant Value to Your Property

It’s no secret that home improvements add to your property’s value. You can get your house looking and performing better, and when you do, you can usually sell it for a higher price when you want to move on from it.

We’ll talk about a few home improvement projects you should consider right now before you start raising funds for your home improvement. If you haven’t done these yet, you may feel that they’re worth the price.

1. Eco-Friendly Upgrades

About 70% of homebuyers seek eco-friendly upgrades, so you should keep that in mind if you have money to spend on your house this year. You can probably think of dozens of eco-friendly home improvements if you put your mind to it.

mistakes when switching to solar energy

You’ll need to look at cost-effective ones. You’ll also need to consider whether you can do any of them yourself or whether you’ll need to hire a company to do them for you.

For instance, you might switch to solar energy. Many companies will now install solar panels on your roof. They don’t usually cost all that much, and they can reduce your electric bills.

You might add color with some eco-friendly paint, or you can start a compost pile in your backyard. You can hire a company that will do an energy audit for the property. They will identify anywhere you’re losing heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. Then, they can stop up all those cracks and crevices.

2. A New Roof

A roof can last you for twenty years or longer in some instances. At some point, though, you’ll likely need to do a total tear-off and put on a new one.

Unless you work professionally as a roofer, you probably can’t do this upgrade on your own. You will need to hire a company to do it. Make sure to talk to a few different roofers so you can get some estimates. You never know if one might give you a much better price than another.

You can pick a nice color for the shingles and get the company you choose to install the roof at a time of year when the weather’s not much of a factor. Once you have that new roof on there, you can point to it as a significant selling point when you’re ready to move.

3. You Can Get a Tankless Water Heater

You might get rid of your old, bulky water heater and install a new tankless one. You’ll probably want to find a plumber to do this, although you might try it as a DIY project if you feel ambitious.

Tankless water heaters are eco-friendly, and they don’t take up nearly as much space as an old-fashioned kind. You can stick them down in the basement, and you’ll barely notice they’re there.

They usually give you faster hot water when you run a bath or turn on the shower. Also, you can often get a government rebate when you install one, so the total expense should not come to more than a few hundred dollars.

4. You Can Install a New Deck

You might have a backyard with a deck overlooking it. An old deck isn’t very nice to look at, though, and it’s probably unsafe on top of that.

green-deck

If you’ve got kids that like to run all over your deck and play in your backyard, you want a sturdy structure that won’t collapse or stick out a rusty nail that ends up in a child’s foot. Installing a new deck isn’t cheap, but that’s another potential selling point when you get ready to move on.

You can enjoy your new deck once you install it. A new deck represents a commitment to the property, but you can also spend time out there during nice weather. The neighbors will want to come by, and you can have BBQs if you set up a grill. If you want to be the next master chef in your neighborhood, don’t forget to checkout our kamado joe buying guide.

5. You Can Install a New Fence

Maybe you have a front and backyard, but you don’t have a fence yet for either one. If so, you may think about installing one. If you put in a fence, you can allow the kids to play behind the house or in front of it, or you can let your dog out and know it won’t run out into the street.

You can look into different fence styles as well. A chain-link fence won’t cost you very much, but you might want to select a more elaborate option to improve your home’s aesthetic appeal.