Island Living Bahamas

If you’re in the market to sell your home you probably have a long to-do list to make your home as marketable as possible. Focusing on curb appeal, repairs and that perfect neutral wall color that will appeal to every potential buyer are all important aspects of making your house market ready, but don’t forget to take stock of your home’s energy health. A potential buyer can be turned off by decades-old a/c wall units, an outdated water heater or energy-guzzling kitchen appliances – and the high-energy costs that come with them. Research shows that replacing old cooling equipment with more energy efficient models could reduce your annual energy bill by a couple hundred dollars. The same goes for kitchen appliances and water heaters. And who doesn’t want to save money? An energy-efficient house is a great selling point in the face of high and climbing electricity costs, and who knows what impact the impending Value Added Tax — set to come on stream in January 2015, — will have on the cost of living. It adds value to your home. It’s a win-win — for the seller and the buyer.

• Install motion-sensitive or solar activated lighting.
• Replace appliances with energy efficient ones.
• Purchase A/C units with Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating of at least 13.
• Install a solar water heater, tankless water heater or a more energy efficient unit.
• Investigate alternative energy (solar) for your home.
• Install energy efficient windows.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs.
• Install low flow faucets and showerheads.