Did You Know? Green Features Your REALTOR® Can Help You Find In A Home

Did you know it is possible to search for homes with very specific green features? Features like Geothermal heating and cooling, active or passive solar systems just to name a few! Well...your REALTOR® can do just that for you. Perhaps you are looking to buy a home and one of your main criteria is solar panels or a geothermal heating/cooling system.

Of course you can invest and upgrade many features to optimize efficiency after your purchase, but some buyers want a home move-in ready with these features. A newer feature to most multiple listing services is the ability to highlight a home with these valuable features. This will ideally fetch a better price for sellers who have made the investment. It is also a great idea for buyers as well. Often times severely reduced recurring utility bills which is a fantastic bonus when looking for a new home. 

Currently there are not a vast number of homes that come with ALL green features buyers may be looking for. But they are out there. If you are interested a REALTOR® with a GREEN designation or your REALTOR®

  can help you find them. 

In Salt Lake County there are homes available on both the North and South ends of the valley. Downtown Salt Lake has Westgate Lofts developed by ClearWater Homes, equipped with Geothermal heating and cooling pumps. In South Jordan at Daybreak there are multiple homes, townhomes, and condominiums with energy efficient features designed to appeal to environmentally conscious buyers, or anyone just wanting to save money on utilities for money's sake. Garbett Homes has built homes in Daybreak and several other communities in Utah with these features, and they certainly aren't the only builders doing this! 

There is nothing wrong with having your primary motivation be saving yourself a dollar!

I felt like I was yelling there, I assure you I wasn't meaning to. It is also great to think about the environment as well. We all have to live here, if you have kids they are probably going to live here as well. So why not seek out a few extra benefits when you are making the largest investment/purchase of your life? 

I also know these green features are not without their controversies. There are pros and cons to everything. Geothermal heating and cooling has its naysayers and there are legitimate items to consider with any green feature. So all I'm really getting at is just consider them. 

See if they work for you. If they are in your budget and available in your area. Which you may be surprised to find that they are. 

Green features are becoming more and more popular among consumers. And legitimately helpful money saving products are the ones that will hold their value and be around for the long haul. 

I personally think utility bills are playing a larger role in consumer decision making than they ever have before. People do not want (did they ever really?) $200-$300 utility bills in the summer and winter. Solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling are not the only options. We have discussed very simple money saving options on the blog before and that is just a tip of the iceberg. 

I see people being more aware of what they are consuming and using than they have in very recent decades. That is a good thing. Hopefully we all can save a little green and continue to impact the environment more positively in the coming years. 

So long story short if you desire energy efficient or green features in your future home let your REALTOR® know! 

Have a great week everyone! 

Until the next time...