Eco-Friendly Homes are Buyer-Friendly Homes

Every week, we invite local real estate agents to give insight on the housing market in Golden Valley, ways to increase the value of your home or ideas for easy home improvements that have a nice return on investment.  If you're a local realtor and would like to contribute to Golden Valley Patch, just email our editor.

This week's column comes from Golden Valley Realtor and Coldwell Banker Burnet agent Christine Hazel.

Many home owners in Golden Valley moved here in their young adult lives and have chosen to stay here.  It makes for a grounded and established communities, but when it comes time to sell, it often means playing catch-up with current thinking about maintenance and home updates.   

While maintenance includes the everyday mundane items like insuring faucets and plumbing are in good working order or all outlets, switches and light fixtures are in working condition, it also means understanding the role of new technology or efficiencies needed to keep up with buyers' requirements of a home. 

In the last couple of years we have all been hearing about things like high efficiency furnaces, added insulation or new windows to reduce our energy use.  And because these items have been in the news, buyers searching for homes will consider those items enhancements to a home.  Buyers may even consider that a home may not be well cared for if those items are not included as features of the home.  

The good news is that these efforts not only can put some green back into your pocket, they can actually increase the appeal of your property when presented as cost-saving features. Best of all, many of the changes are easy and inexpensive to implement.

      Here are several steps towards green living: 

• Pay attention to your insulation. By simply upgrading your insulation to a higher R-value, or thermal resistance, you can lower your energy costs dramatically. Begin by tackling the attic and unheated crawl spaces, then bolster energy savings further by sealing ducts, caulking, and weather-stripping.
• Cool off those costs. Ceiling fans increase your comfort level, but they can also reduce air conditioning costs by as much as 40 percent during the summer season. Fans also come in handy in the winter season, when they can be reversed in direction, saving up to 10 percent in heating costs by circulating warm air from the ceiling to the floor.  
• Balance your water flow. Placing an aerator on all of the faucets in your home can cut your annual water consumption in half. Installing a low-flow toilet is also beneficial; low-flow models use just 1.6 gallons per flush, compared to 3.5 gallons per flush for pre-1994 models.
• Make wise investments. Double-pane windows can reduce your utility bill by as much as 10 percent, making upfront replacement costs a worthwhile investment.

Because we live in such a well established community our homes are not as young as they used to be.  We think buyers want to live here too -- just for that sense of community.  And while they look forward to living in a home with great neighbors, buyers today are well-read about current trends in both home decor and energy efficiency. 

Golden Valley sellers compete for a buyers purchase with many other homes and communities.  It may seem like a lot to do to get ready to sell a home, however, an experienced Realtor who has understands the market can work with a home seller to establish project priorities for the sale.

***

To contact Christine Hazel:

ChristineHazel.com
Coldwell Banker Burnet - Minneapolis Lakes Office
612-915-2585
chazel@cbburnet.com