This is a great article on some ideas on attracting Green Buyers as well as doing some easy eco-friendly improvements to a home.
Making eco-friendly home features pay off
Buyers prefer eco-friendly upgrades that save them money
By Alyson McNutt English, Cyberhomes Contributor
Published: September 23, 2009
When it comes to dollars and cents, energy-efficient, low-E windows and high-performance insulation are a better bang for the home buyer's buck than shiny hardwood floors. Fortunately, the real estate market is beginning to recognize this: A survey of "green" home sales by Earth Advantage, a non-profit green building organization in the Pacific Northwest, found homes in the eco-conscious Portland area sold for 4.8 percent more and stayed on the market 24 percent fewer days than comparable homes without earth-friendly improvements.
If you've made green renovations to your home and are getting ready to sell - or if you're thinking of making eco-friendly home improvements and have an eye on return on investment - check out these tips for making sure your earth-sensitive changes get you all the "green" you deserve.
Focus on eyes ... and wallets
Buyers are more likely to pay a premium for green improvements they can see, touch or feel in their wallet, says Andrew Jay Gross, chairman of The Green Committee in the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors. "Buyers clearly look for visible green features, like lighting, floors, appliances and garden features that use indigenous plants to conserve water," he says.
Energy-saving lighting systems that use watt-sipping compact fluorescent or LED lights can really turn buyers on to a property, he explains, because they can see the system and know they'll feel the difference in their wallet. And if you think these lights are all big classroom-style tubes or huge twisted coils, think again. More and more energy-saving bulbs are coming on the market in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit into even the most sophisticated décor.
And while they appreciate the good karma of saving and sustaining the earth, most buyers are likely to flock to the improvements that will save them money in the long run. Energy savings are really one of the driving forces pushing green into the mainstream of home buyers' consciousness, says Jeff Ammons, president of LiveGreen Inc., a company that specializes in helping homeowners make marketable green improvements to their homes. "Most homeowners care about sustainability, but when it comes to money, energy savings is the big seller," he says. "Sustainability requires more effort and longer payback periods than energy savings."
Ammons says many buyers he's seen are looking up and down for improvements ... literally. They seem to care most about the insulation and sealing in the attic and crawl spaces, and love upgraded, energy-efficient HVAC systems, he says.
Choose a real estate agent who understands ‘green'
A lot of buyers who aren't searching specifically for an eco-friendly home can still be drawn to one if it's marketed properly. "Each marketing effort is an education to most buyers," says Jan Green, a Realtor and certified EcoBroker in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Green says she can't just say, "Low-VOC paint" and expect it to sell a home, because most buyers don't understand the term. "But even when I explain that it means there are no volatile organic compounds in the paint, I have to explain what that means." So if your real estate agent doesn't completely understand what the green features in your home do or why they add value, neither will potential buyers.
But as green homes become more common, professional certifications are emerging to meet the needs of sellers. The best-known green real estate agent certification is probably the EcoBroker designation, which is administered and awarded by the Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals (AEEREP).
For the rest of the article , go to this site: http://www.cyberhomes.com/content/news/09-09-23/eco-friendly-home.aspx
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