Montgomery County homeowners should be aware of the new Energy Efficiency Disclosure law that went into effect on January 1, 2009. With a few exceptions all home sellers are required to comply with this new law. It applies to all sales contracts signed after that date. Even if your home was listed for sale prior to January 1, 2009, you will still have to comply with the law.
The bill as passed specifies that “before” signing a contract for a single family home the seller must provide the buyer with:
1. General educational information on energy-efficiency improvements and energy audits approved by the Department of Environmental Protection.
2. Copies of the electric, gas, and heating oil bills OR cost and usage history for the single family home for the immediate prior 12 months.
Although a bit of a nuisance and a little vague, I think the law is a good idea. As the seller of a home you are required to provide information about the utility costs and any energy efficient upgrades that have been done to your home. As a Realtor, I can tell you that more of my clients are concerned about the efficiency of the homes in which they have taken an interest..
Take note! This law is a reflection of a growing trend in real estate. You can expect the demand for energy efficiency in homes to grow in the coming years. It was a close call, but the bill that was just passed almost had a provision calling for energy audits to take place with each transaction involving a single family home. Somebody would have had to pay for this audit. In this current buyer’s market the burden for costs such as this are falling on the seller.
Although energy audits are not required at this date, you can expect to see purchasers requesting such an audit as part of the home inspection contingency portion of their purchase bids. This only makes sense as the gas and electric bills constitute a major portion of any homeowner’s monthly expenses and homebuyers want to know what they are getting into.
What does this mean for you? If your home has an older heating or cooling system, poor insulation, or older windows that have not been updated, there is a good chance that these factors will affect the value of your home. More important, a home with low energy efficiency might not attract any offers at all considering the large number of competing homes currently on the market. If you think you will be a home seller in the next few years, perhaps now is the time to have an energy audit done on your property. This way you will know in advance what the energy weak points are with your home and can lay out a plan for gradual improvements before you place your home on the market. Of course, making improvements now will allow you to gain the benefits of the lower utility costs while you are still living in your home.
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