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Real Estate & Finance News That Affects Your Home                                                         Page: 1 2 3 4

MARCH 2009 - Page 3

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SELLING THE GREEN Learn How To Market Your Property To Today's ‘Green' Home Buyers Increasingly, today's buyers are actively looking for "green" homes -- those designed, built or upgraded using environmentally conscious products and practices, including energy-efficient utilities. In fact, the market for true "green" homes is expected to rise from $2 billion to $20 billion over the next five years. That's a lot of "green" for home sellers who can show conscientious buyers their homes are environmentally friendly. Green Features That Sell Here is a "greenprint" of key selling features that make a home truly green: High energy-efficiency; low heating, cooling, electricity bills Low-flow water fixtures; water-conserving appliances Construction with sustainable or recycled materials Clean indoor air quality Low-maintenance, drought-resistant landscaping Easy access to mass transit and pedestrian amenities Get An 'Energy Audit' Consider having an energy audit done on your home (ask your utility company or state energy office) and follow the expert's advice. If your home meets the standards for an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) or Energy Improvement Mortgage (EIM), tell buyers the good news. The buyer can get a larger loan with the same income because an EEM or EIM allows more lenient qualifying rules. (We can put you in touch with a local lender for more details.) While you may be able to show potential buyers that your energy bills reflect before-and-after dollar savings, you'd be wise to spell out why that is. Have you replaced your existing heating and cooling equipment with a more energy-efficient system? Upgraded exterior windows and doors? Improved insulation in key locations? You can show buyers the money with a "green" handout. Buyers will also appreciate getting the schedules and locations of services such as curbside recycling pickups, landfills and special pickups for yard debris and solid waste. Every Drop Counts The average household spends as much as $500 per year on its water and sewer bill, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). By making a few simple changes to use water more efficiently, you could save about $170 annually and help reduce the energy required to supply and treat public water supplies. Thanks to the EPA's WaterSense program, homeowners can easily identify products such as toilets, sinks, showers and landscape irrigation systems that meet EPA standards for water efficiency. For a complete list of products and services that carry the WaterSense label, visit www.EPA.gov/watersense/pp/lists.htm. Enviroscaping Your Yard Green Living Ideas advocates "enviroscaping" -- using your landscape as a way to reduce energy use outside the home. Here are some tips: Plant deciduous trees on the south and east sides of the house to provide summer shade. Consider installing a drip irrigation system in some or all of your yard to provide water only where it is needed. Use organic fertilizers and natural pesticides. Buy a rain barrel to store runoff water from your downspouts to be used later to water plants. Use native plants in your garden, which are perfectly adapted to your climate and important as food and habitat for local wildlife.

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