Thinking Of Selling? Better Look To Your Utility Bills

The recent mortgage bust in the United States has had at least one positive effect – people are scrutinizing the cost of home ownership more closely than ever before. With a large number of homes on the market and tightening of mortgage lending regulations, more and more home buyers are looking at not just the carrying costs of lending rates, but also the complete cost of home ownership.

Last week we profiled a family in Charlotte who was regularly paying more than $500/month in the winter months for gas to heat their lovely but inefficient home. While new home buyers may be comfortable with high mortgage payments each month, how many home buyers are prepared to also take on several hundred dollars in heating and cooling costs? The answer is not many.

Talking to a real estate friend of mine in March, she mentioned something interesting – in the past few months, she’s seen a dramatic increase in the number of new home buyers requesting to see the utility bills of the house they’re considering. Clearly, home buyers are getting savvy, and more than one home sale has fallen through when the potential buyer weighed the charm of their potential new home vs high utility costs.

If you’re considering selling your home in the next 24 months, you might be considering different improvements you could make to improve your home for a quick and easy sale. Granite countertops are lovely and walk-in closets are always in demand, but ultimately a pitch to the homebuyers pocketbook might be what makes the sale. A modest investment in energy efficiency for your house, which lowers utility costs by 15-50%, has a great return on investment when you can present potential home buyers with proof that their new home will be easy on the family finances.