Fuel Type Affects Home Equity

Type of Fuel Affects Home Value
      In an age of high energy costs, the first question from buyers when viewing a house is "Is this house heated by oil or gas?"  The second question is " How well is the house insulated?".   Gas is now about one third of the cost of oil.  This can make a difference of several thousand dollars in yearly heating bills.  In many areas of Concord, gas is not available. The solution is to insulate, insulate, insulate.  Most houses in Concord that are older than 15 years old, (which is most of our housing inventory), are inadequately insulated.  In the following link, the Town of Concord provides a helpful Guide to Saving Energy in Your Home:
 http://www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_LightPlant/GuidetoSavingEnergyinYourHome_OilHeat.pdf

     A house that is well insulated can be marketed as an "energy efficient" house and the seller can boast about their low heating bills.  This will be an appealing selling feature for buyers.  Buyers are interested in saving money with lower energy costs but they also feel a responsibility to reduce their "carbon footprint", which is essentially the damage to the environment caused by each individual person .  Going "green" and being "sustainable" is a widespread trend. 

     I have just spent the last month interviewing insulation contractors to insulate my own house.  I have talked to 5 contractors and have received 5 different bids including a wide variety of opinions and advice on insulation methods.  I invite you to call me to talk about these contractors and their bids.

     The attached graphic, supplied by the EPA, will enable you to see where cold air enters a house and where heat escapes.

     Raise your property value by reducing your fuel bills.