In a time where ‘going green’ is an increasingly salient issue, house prices are becoming ever more reliant on the energy efficiency of the property. Last year, a report by the DECC estimated that improvements to a property’s energy efficiency will increase the value by an average of 14%. To put this in perspective, this is roughly the same as a new kitchen. But not everyone will appreciate your taste in worktops and cupboards. On the other hand, saving money is something that everyone can get excited about.
Getting an EPC Assessment
Before you come to sell your home, you’ll need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that shows its energy rating. In certain cases, you can be fined if you fail to produce this during the process. However, it can be helpful to contact a domestic energy assessor during the preliminary stages of making improvements, to find out the current rating of your property and how it can be strengthened. You can then have a clear idea of where the best investments can be made, and the likely outcome of these works.
Seeking Financial Assistance
When making energy efficiency improvements to your home, you could be entitled to assistance from the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund have a look here. With up to £7600 available for homeowners wanting to install energy saving features to their home to make them more efficient, it can offset the costs of these projects whilst adding value to your property when you come to sell.
Certain companies also run schemes providing free loft and cavity wall insulation to homeowners, so if you do your research you could be entitled to these benefits too.
Ways To Improve Your Energy Efficiency
Alterations can range from the very minor and inexpensive to the rather more expensive major improvements, so it’s important to bear in mind the likely return that you’ll get from these when you eventually put your home on the property market. Replacing your bulbs with energy saving substitutes is a simple first step, whilst insulation isn’t wildly expensive either.
However if you have a very poor energy rating, you may want to consider more significant projects such as replacing an old boiler, investing in double glazed windows, and changing and upgrading your heating system. It can be worth inviting an estate agent round to assess the value of your property before deciding on these major commitments, to get an idea of how much your house will fetch currently on the market without them.
Whilst there are many other factors that determine the value of a property, you can no longer afford to ignore the ‘green’ issue when preparing to sell your house. Depending on the current rating of your property, you may decide to make minor or major alterations to bring your home’s efficiency up to scratch. But by doing so you can usually claim back the cost of this investment with a higher asking price.
This article is written by Kelly Gilmour Grassam, a freelance copywriter from Yorkshire. You can follow her on Twitter at @KellygGrassam. This article has been written with helpful information from ADM Residential