<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Speaking as a Real Estate Broker my opinion is that these upgrades are worth a lot. The appraiser won't factor them in for the bank, just like he does not value differently a garden beautifully landscaped vs. a cement slab. So that will effect things for many people if the bank wont account for the upgrades in the loan.</div>
<div>There is a financial reason developers build the way they do. They build for what the bank will finance and for what the average (uneducated in eco) person cares about. Thus you get buildings without insulation and kitchens that look great for a couple years.</div>
<div>But by putting in the upgrades you are selling to a different market, a much smaller one for sure, but the click through rate is much higher. If you market and price it for these people, instead of showing the house 100 times over two months you may only show it 50 times. But you won't be wasting your time.<br>
<br>Gennaro Brooks-Church<div><a href="http://EcoBrooklyn.com">EcoBrooklyn.com</a></div><div>347-244-3016</div><div>22 2nd St., Brooklyn.</div><div>This email was sent from my phone.</div></div><div><br>On Nov 28, 2012, at 6:37 PM, Steve Houlihan <<a href="mailto:sho11@comcast.net">sho11@comcast.net</a>> wrote:<br>
<br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
When you go to sell your, the answer is "not much". I was reading
the recent blog by Roger Normand at GBA and thought I would share my
recent experience.<br>
<br>
I am in the process of buying a new house closer to town. I found a
nice house that met all our needs and it was the recent recipient of
a few costly upgrades. The owners had installed a $35,000 Photo
Voltaic system and a gray water recovery system that automatically
waters a very large garden as well as all the landscaping around the
house. These projects are less than 2 years old. When my realtors
told me what they thought the house was worth they compared it with
other 4 bdrm, three bath houses in the area. That was just about
the only criteria. I told them I was willing to pay more for all
the work that had been done but they were adamant about the worth of
the house. They even admitted that they understood the value of
such things but it doesn't change the price. Wow!<br>
<br>
Now I wonder about my present house. I have spent well over $100K
upgrading this house. High efficiency furnace and water heater, <b>lots</b>
of insulation and air sealing. Blower door tests to find the leaks.
I guess I'll find out soon enough what they are worth to the
"market".<br>
<br>
Steve in Santa Cruz, California<br>
</div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Greenbuilding mailing list</span><br><span>to Send a Message to the list, use the email address</span><br>
<span><a href="mailto:Greenbuilding@bioenergylists.org">Greenbuilding@bioenergylists.org</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page</span><br><span><a href="http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org">http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org</a></span></div>
</blockquote></body></html>