Selling an Environmentally Friendly Home? Here Are 3 Tips
Selling an Environmentally Friendly Home? If the home that you are selling is designed with the environment in mind, its eco-friendly features can help command a premium on the market among homebuyers who care for the environment. The benefits to the environment aside, eco-friendly homes come with the promise of smaller energy bills, something that can actually increase their value on the market.
Some studies have revealed that adding solar panels to the roof of a home can raise its value by as much as $20,000. In the state of California, for example, green-labeled homes sell at a premium of close to ten percent.
If you have a green home to sell, taking advantage of its environmental credentials requires that you know how to communicate its positives to potential buyers. Here are tips.
Advertise about how much value there is to a green home
The features of an environmentally friendly home will attract different buyers for different reasons. If you have solar panels installed on the roof, for instance, some might approve of them for their environmental friendliness, and others might be solely interested in the energy savings possible. Yet others may think only of how pre-installed solar panels save them the trouble of doing the work themselves. It's important that you include every possible angle when you advertise. It's an excellent way to appeal to the widest possible audience.
Be specific when you advertise
It isn't enough to simply advertise the benefits of an eco-friendly home in a general way. As much as you can, you need to advertise with specifics. If your solar panels helped save you eighty percent off your electric bill in the previous year, that's the number that you need to put in your advertising. If your energy-efficient HVAC and your insulation cut your heating bills by half, that is a number to include, as well.
There are independent certification programs in existence that you can apply to, to have your home be certified green. Names such as the LEED certification and the HERS Index are well known to environmentally conscious buyers. If you can obtain certification for your home, you can be sure to sell your home at a premium.
Make sure that your real estate agent understands the value of a green home
Green homes are beginning to sell at a premium. Since such homes are not yet the norm, however, not every real estate agent fully appreciates the fact that such a premium is commanded. It's important that you ask your agent how familiar he or she is with green home sales. If they are unfamiliar with them, it's important that you talk to them to make sure that they understand them well enough to promote your home the right way through effective communication and advertising.
It is also important to make sure that the home appraiser who values your home is familiar with the evaluation of a green home. An appraiser who is not sufficiently familiar with green homes may not value them correctly.
Selling a green home is often far easier than selling a regular home. There is a market for such homes, with dedicated buyers looking for them. You do need to make sure that you adequately communicate your home's true worth to them.
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