I believe the future of preparing a home for sale is going to change. As our market changes, needs and wants from buyers are changing as well.
We all have read many articles about staging the home, adding square footage, paint the home to fresh current colors.
Where all is this is still very good advice, and many are doing this.........how can you stand apart or be better then all of them?
What I am finding is 1st time home buyers are more aware and educated then ever. I have been selling for 10 years now, and the questions that are asked of me now about a home are so much more intelligent then they were 10 years ago. I credit this to the source of info you can get on the web.
Specifically in Grand Rapids, Michigan........they want to know what "green" features if any the home has. Is it safe, healthy and energy efficient?
How old are the windows is the #1 question I get. Questions to follow are:
- How old is furnace and is it energy star rated
- How old is the roof and was it properly insulated
- Is the electrical updated properly - up to code and inspected
I am changing things up a bit this year - and when interviewing my sellers for a listing - I will be sure to learn more about what Energy Star items they have and include them in my listing.
At this time our MLS does not offer fields in the data base to include this, we are hoping it will in the future. As these features are very important.......and from talking to an appraiser yesterday, he claims he would give the home more value if he knew about these items.
I personally think the meaning of "value" has changed for the 1st time home buyer. So if your house looks awesome, but needs a new roof and new furnace - it may not sell as quickly as the home that needs cosmetics but the home is 5 Star energy rated or has a high HERS Score.
If you would like to get your home inspected for things you can do to make your home more comfortable and efficient here is one source -
Ask the General.
If you want to learn more about HERS scores
click here.
I am not getting anything - payment or gift for linking these sites, just sharing some info I found useful to me. I hope you find it useful as well.
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