When you’re selling your home, whether it’s a home in Alys Beach, a condo in Destin, or a home on a large parcel of land in Santa Rosa Beach, you want to increase its value as much as you can—and you want to increase its appeal to potential buyers while you’re at it.
One way to do that is to make sure your house is as energy-efficient as possible. That doesn’t mean buying all new appliances or adding solar panels, though; it just means making minor improvements where they really count.
What Buyers Want From Energy-Efficient Homes
Anything that improves energy efficiency (and lowers utility bills) can add value in a buyer’s eyes, so some of the best uses of your resources as a seller could include making minor improvements around windows and doors, in your attic, and throughout your HVAC system.
Leaky Windows and Doors
Small cracks let cold air escape, and they’re most common in the weather stripping around doors and in the seals around windows. Replacing weather stripping is a simple project that should only take an hour or two per door, and caulking around windows takes about the same amount of time.
Attic Insulation
About half the homes in the U.S. are under-insulated, according to Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy. Remember, insulation works both ways; it keeps the heat out when you’re cooling your house by trapping cool air, and it keeps the heat in when temperatures drop.
HVAC Systems and Ducts
If you’re like most homeowners, you have a forced-air heating and cooling system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 20 percent of the air running through a forced-air HVAC unit escapes through leaks—but you can stop some (or all) of the air’s escape by using duct sealant.
ARE YOU SELLING A HOME ALONG 30A?
If you’re seling a home in Grayton Beach, Panama City Beach, Destin, or any of the surrounding communities, we’d love to help you do so quickly and at the right price.
Call us at 850-213-3048 or get in touch with us online to find out how we can help. Our expert 30A real estate agents will begin your comparative market analysis so you know exactly how much your house is worth on today’s market.