Helpful Tips to Do Your Due Diligence When Buying an Eco-Friendly Property

We are finally turning a corner in the sustainability movement. More people are starting to appreciate the need to live eco-friendly lifestyles to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change and minimize waste.

One of the ways more people are embracing sustainability is by purchasing environmentally friendly homes. Many polls have found that up to 80% of the population would like to purchase a sustainable property. Many of them are even putting their money where their mouth is. Nearly 39% of homeowners purchased an eco-friendly house in 2019.

There are a lot of wonderful benefits of buying a property that is eco-friendly. However, it can be difficult to navigate the process if you don’t know what to look for. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to make things easier. You can start by using a property owner search and then ranking the property on its sustainability ratings.

What steps can you take to find the right eco-friendly home?

Sustainability is the future of real estate, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to find eco-friendly homes. You need to do your due diligence when you are trying to purchase a property. Here are some guidelines to find the right one.

Look for homes with LEED certification

Some homes will have an LEED certificate. These homes must have at least 30% less energy than regular homes. It is hard to get this certificate, so you should appreciate homes that have received it.

Know what features to look for when purchasing a sustainable property

There are a lot of different factors that differentiate traditional homes from eco-friendly ones. You will need to know what variables to look for. Plenty of homes sellers will falsely claim that their property is sustainable, when it really is not. You need to be able to tell the difference.

The easiest way to identify sustainable homes is by looking at the appliances in them. Here are some things to look for:

• Programmable thermostats. Programmable thermostats are important features of environmentally friendly homes. They are designed to keep the home at the right temperature at all times. This keeps the house from using too much energy on heating, which obviously lowers the carbon footprint.
• Solar panels. Solar panels are also important amenities for any eco-friendly home. You should look for a home that already has solar panels installed. One of the nice things about buying an eco-friendly home with existing solar panels is that the value has depreciated, so you will be technically getting them at a discount. Of course, you still have to make sure that they are in good condition and recognize that you will have to replace them earlier than if you bought them new. However, you should still get a better deal on them all things considered.
• Low-flow showerheads and toilets. You want to buy a home that is going to waste as little water as possible. The majority of the nearly 10,000 gallons of water that the average family wastes each year originates from the bathroom. You are going to want to buy a property that has low-flush toilets and showerheads. This is one of the best ways to reduce water waste.

Your home won’t be eco-friendly without the right amenities. Make sure that they are included.

Know what resources to use when looking for a home

You obviously need to know what features to look for in an eco-friendly property. However, that skill won’t do you much good if you can’t identify prospective properties in the first place.

You will need to take advantage of the right resources to find a home. There are certain websites that specialize in identifying eco-friendly properties. You might want to take a look at them. Some of them are regional, so you will want to see if there are any specific to your community.

You should also find out if there are any real estate agents that are familiar with eco-friendly properties. Your local Chamber of Commerce might be of assistance. They might know which real estate agents are most likely to specialize in the type of listing that you want.

You might also want to find out which local cities or neighborhoods have reputations for sustainability. You’ll have an easier time finding the right property if you focus on browsing listings in those areas.