Spring is here, and with it, the mixture of sunshine, showers and sprouting flowers is in the air. Optimism for the property market is renewed, as UK homeowners come out of hibernation and prepare to list their homes and make a sale. We want to support you, and help you make your sale a sustainable one that does minimal harm to the environment.
Here’s what you can do…
Get an EPC early…
Obtaining an energy performance certificate is mandatory in the UK for anyone looking to sell or rent out their property. This document is graded A-G, with ‘A’ being the highest rating, and ‘G’ the lowest.
As well as the rating, the Energy Performance Assessor will detail improvements to the property that would not only improve that rating, but would also increase the value of the listing. Naturally, this would require an investment, so the changes that are made should be strongly considered as to whether they balance out financially.
All of these changes, however, will benefit the environment and you will leave the house or offices more sustainable than when you first found them. This is why we recommend getting an EPC as soon as possible, so that you can make the recommended changes, increase the value of your home and do some environment-benefiting activities.
This could include:
* Eco-friendly insulation
* Double or triple-glazed windows
* Solar panels
* Draught-proofing
* Boiler repairs, improvements or jackets
* Reflective radiator strips
Next…
Preparing the house for market
As well as the home improvements listen above, there are common activities that many people do in order to improve their chances of selling a property.
These include:
* Putting a fresh coat of pain on the walls
* Cleaning all of the carpets
* Sprucing up the garden
* Getting rid of unnecessary clutter
All four of these activities can be done in a sustainable way, for example:
* Use eco-friendly paints, generally in a light colour, such as white, as this manages energy better. Black and dark paints absorb heat into the walls.
* Cleaning the carpets does not require a huge ordeal of chemicals, sprays and machines, it can be done in an environmentally friendly way with toxin-free solutions that you most likely have in your cupboard already.
* Use your green waste from cleaning up the garden to do some composting, and then use that fertile compost to make the soil more nutritious. Doing this, and then adding colourful flowers and plants will allow your property to appear more inviting, which is vital for the garden space if you are listing in the spring.
* Getting rid of clutter shouldn’t mean loading everything up and heading down to the local tip or landfill. In fact, there are charities in every town who would be delighted to take in some free and unwanted furniture. For anything that is reusable, or even ‘upcyclable’, meaning its component parts could be used to turn it into something else in the home, there’s no need to send it to the bin. Old paperwork can be shredded and recycled, and even old bedding can sometimes go to animal shelters or farms.
If you do still have loads of items that aren’t reusable or recyclable, like a broken old wardrobe, or rotten doors, you should consider hiring a small skip to take away this waste. The skip will save you from numerous trips to the tip, and will stay on your property until you are ready for it to be taken away.
Good luck
We wish you all of the best in your endeavours to sell your home, and hope that you will be able to apply some of these tips to hand over a more sustainable property to the new owners.