Green Remodeling Tips and Tricks for Selling Your Home Quickly

Petra Norris is the Broker/Owner with Lakeland Real Estate Group, Inc. With over 20 years experience in residential real estate, she enjoys helping buyers and sellers in Lakeland, Florida and the surrounding cities with all of their home buying and selling needs. Petra is considered one of the first real estate bloggers in Central Florida educating sellers and buyers with her articles.

Posted on Monday 29th April 2019
Green Remodeling Tips and Tricks for Selling Your Home Quickly

Do you want to do your part when it comes to helping preserve this planet for you, your kids, your grandkids and beyond?

This is a hot (and heated) topic; however, most people would agree that something has to be done.

Going green is no longer an option, it's a necessity—if we all want to be able to breathe going forward. Then there's that little issue of global warming.

Yeah...we know—that's not such a little issue at all—that's our future whether we like it or not!

And even if you don't believe in global warming, you would probably agree that the air we breathe is becoming more toxic by the day.

So what are we going to do about it?

Are we just going to sit back and think that just one person couldn't possibly make a difference?

Nope!

That's not what we are going to do. Just imagine if everyone thought that. Now think about how effective this effort could be if everyone did their part to reduce their carbon footprint.

Yep! That's how it's done. 

Green Remodeling Tips and Tricks for Selling Your Home Quickly

Now go ahead and take the first step by doing your part. Start that green remodeling project now that will help you sell your home more quickly and for more money. It will also make you feel good because you did your part in helping save the environment plus improving the value of your home with green features.

Still not convinced whether or not you want to do a green remodel if you're just going to turn around and sell your home?

Keep reading...

Green Home Remodeling Sells Homes

According to HGTV, every remodeling project that is not green is a missed opportunity with implications that will last through generations. And further research shows a green home, more often than not, sells quicker than a house without green features. 

But...of course there's a but—only if you do it right. That means there are several steps you should consider if you want to get the best possible results from your efforts.

Here are three ways to market your new green home for a quick, top-dollar sale.

1. Hire a Green Real Estate Agent...So to Speak

Finding a real estate agent who is well-versed in selling homes with green features is paramount to your success. Ask him/her about their experience and/or special training in selling green homes. How many green homes they've sold in the last year? Do they keep a list of buyers looking for green homes? Inquire about how they market a green home differently than they market any other home, etc.

2. Highlight the Home's Green Features

When preparing your home's marketing materials, list every green feature your house has. Has your house been officially certified as being a green home? Does your home have any special designations? For example, everything that is Energy Star rated, LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, National Green Building Standard, etc.

3. Pump up Your MLS Listing

Make sure you boast about and highlight anything and everything green about your home, especially in your MLS listing. This can be done several ways which includes using the additional remarks section to draw attention to all your home's green features. Then, explaining how those features add to your home's energy efficiency, as well as how much healthier of an environment those same green features create.

Another great way to pump up your MLS listing to bring attention to your home's green features is to include them in the MLS searchable fields. That means if you had solar panels installed, ask your real estate agent to be sure to check every field that applies. This will help buyers who are looking specifically for a green home's features because they can use the search function to find them.

The Benefits of Performing a Green Remodel

There are numerous benefits to performing a green remodel.

  • Doing your part to save the planet.
  • It creates a healthier environment for everyone within.
  • Green features make your home more energy efficient, and, therefore, more marketable.
  • The benefit of reduced energy billsindefinitely.
  • It creates a more comfortable environment for you and your family and the new owner's family.

The Top Six Features Recommended for Turning Your Home into a "Green" Home

If you are thinking about selling your home, there's one thing you could do to help the process move along a little more quickly—a green remodel!

Here are six green home remodeling ideas to help get you started.

1. Airtight, Long-Lasting, Aluminum-Clad Windows

Replacing your old windows that are leaking your cold/warm air will raise the value of your home. And, there's more than one reason to install quality airtight windows. Airtight aluminum-clad windows will not only significantly reduce energy costs, but they will also raise the value of your home. Additionally, they will allow you to advertise that your house has impact-resistant windows that will withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and/or blizzards. The experts state that aluminum is the best cladding for harsh environments because it's difficult, if not impossible, to be dented or damaged by high winds. Additionally, impact resistant windows also look good and require little to no maintenance, which is another great feature you can add to your home's list of green, energy and money-saving qualities.

2. Radiant-Heat Flooring

There are several types of radiant heating systems that will supply heat to the floors and some that even supply that same heat using wall panels. Radiant-heat flooring is more efficient than any other type of heating system including baseboard heating. Additionally, radiant heating is perfect for those with allergies because it does not distribute allergens as a forced-air system does. Therefore, radiant-heat flooring is a great green feature that will help sell your home. Because radiant-heat flooring is more efficient than any other heating system, so it's better for the environment, and it's the ideal heating solution for allergy sufferers. It's a win-win!

3. Zero-VOC Paint

Nothing will boost your home's value more than a new coat of paint. However, if you want to advertise your home as being a "green" home, then everything you use when remodeling it has to also be a "green" product and that includes the paint.

The term VOC stands for volatile organic compound. And those VOCs are what you smell when you paint if you didn't use a zero-VOC paint product. The VOCs found in paint will significantly buildup in a home, and when inhaled over any given period of time, can cause a wide variety of minor to severe health problems. These health issues include everything from irritated airways, headaches, nausea, and even damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Therefore, using a zero-VOC paint is one of the best ways to turn your home green for the health of you and your family, as well as the buyer's family.

4. Add Insulation

Adding insulation to your home is like the gift that keeps on giving. New insulation added to your attic and your wall cavities is a simple and relatively inexpensive green project that will save a significant amount on your energy bills every month for years to come. Cellulose can be blown over the existing insulation and many states have energy rebate programs that will help with the expense as well.

Adding new insulation might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a green remodel; however, adding insulation is the one feature that has the biggest return on your investment. And, adding insulation is a great selling feature, especially if you can show potential buyers the reduced energy bills you are now receiving because of that new insulation.

5. Replace Old Appliances

If you're doing a green remodel with the intent of using that as a selling feature for your home, then replacing your old, dated, inefficient appliances just makes sense. Nothing is a bigger energy suck than old appliances. Energy Star is a great resource you can use to see how much money and energy you can save with an appliance that is Energy Star certified. You can also use this resource to apply for additional rebates and more. Not to mention, you can refer your potential buyers to this site to show them proof positive when it comes to the significant savings of the Energy Star appliances you had installed.

6. Install a Smart Thermostat

Home automation is not only smart, but it creates a more energy-efficient environment that is more easily managed, especially when it comes to installing a smart thermostat. There are plenty of people who want home automation, but they don't have the time or the know-how to install it. So why not go ahead and do that for them so when they move into their new home, it's already done?

Installing a smart thermostat is a great way to add to the green features in your home. A smart thermostat will enable the homeowner to control their home's environment automatically and/or remotely. If you (or your kids and eventually the buyer's kids) leave the house and realize they have forgotten to adjust the thermostat, you can adjust it remotely using your mobile device. Alternatively, you can program your smart thermostat to adjust the temperature in your home according to a schedule, which, in turn, will help reduce your energy bill. And, yep, you guessed it—this is another great green feature you can advertise when it comes to selling a home more quickly and for top dollar.

The Bottom Line

Once you have completed your green remodeling projects, you will have a whole laundry list of green features you can use to market your home to potential buyers. The fact that you have a truly "green home" is guaranteed to stick in every potential buyer's mind because you have given them solid proof that they will save a significant amount of money for years to come.

And who doesn't want that! 

Your green remodeled home could be the one thing that makes your home stand out above the competition and could easily cause a bidding war. Because it is highly likely that most of the other homes in your area don't include many, if any, green features at all. Features that will save that buyer money every single month for as long as they own that home.

And that's BIG MONEY—REEEALLY BIG MONEY! 

So what are you waiting for?

Let's get this green remodeling project started!

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