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Sometimes the idea of getting your home ready to sell can seem daunting, and you might be tempted to sell it “as is” instead. Adding a little curb appeal, however, will help your home sell faster and for more money. There are many improvements that add that visible first impression value without taking weeks of labor, or breaking the bank.

We can discuss specific ideas with you when we inspect your home, but here are some ideas to freshen up your home’s exterior that you can complete on your own for less than a hundred dollars, on a weekend:

Start With the Front Door

Whatever your tradition, a bright, freshly painted front door gives a sense of welcome and vitality to your home. So, make sure your front door is clear of grime and clutter, and give it a fresh coat of a deeply hued paint that blends or contrasts with the rest of the exterior. If you have time, refresh the paint on the shutters as well. Even vinyl doors and shutters accept the correct paint, so check with your local DIY store for advice on the best paint for your door and shutters. Be sure to clean the paint off the doorknobs, knockers and hinges.

House Numbers

Buyers often drive through neighborhoods that interest them, looking for the perfect opportunity. New, bright, clearly readable house numbers can put your home on the map. So, brighten up that brass, repaint the numerals, or replace them with decorative ones available at most hardware stores.

Planters and Flowers

Seasonal flowers in window boxes, pots, container gardens or hanging baskets make an eye-catching addition to any house. Make sure the pots, planters and baskets are in keeping with the house’s architectural elements. Keep an eye on the blooms, and remove any that are past their prime. To simplify upkeep, install a simple drip or micro-irrigation system (available at most DIY stores). According to the EPA, micro-irrigation systems save water and are more efficient than sprinklers.

Exterior Lighting

Clean up or replace an old porch light. Make sure the bulbs in the fixture cast an attractive glow over your entryway. Enhance your evening curb appeal with easy to set up solar LED landscape lighting along the walkway or driveway, or to highlight a particularly beautiful plant or garden statue. Solar LED lights are easy to install, have no wires, don’t use any electricity from the power grid, rarely require maintenance and come in dozens of styles and colors. Properly placed landscape lighting adds dramatic interest to your home. The expert landscape lighting design in Bucks County, PA can help you with your exterior lighting.

Clean Up Your Landscaping

Spend the weekend doing lawn maintenance, removing dead plants and shrubbery, bush and tree trimming, mowing the lawn and removing weeds. A cared-for lawn has automatic attraction for prospective buyers. It gives them the impression that your home is well cared-for and well loved. It might make them want to love it too. If you are planning to change your current landscaping design, then you may consider getting help from an expert in Residential Property Landscape Design Installation.

If you’re considering selling now that the housing market outlook is improving, take a few moments to consider how buyers have changed what they look for in the home buying process. During the past six years, changes in how buyers communicate, share information, research, and decide what they’re looking for, mean that you need to provide them with the information and buying experience they seek. We can guide you in each of these areas because we know the strategies that are working best in your home’s neighborhood.

Today’s younger homebuyers have survived the housing turbulence just as you have. They have watched prices go up and down and up again, foreclosures rise, interest rates drop, rules and requirements from mortgage lenders change, and the availability of information increase. According to USA Today, they are beginning to buy, but they are both smart and cautious. Most of all, they are used to waiting. Research supports the idea that Gen X and Y homebuyers begin investigating as much as a year and a half ahead of when they’re ready to buy. That indicates you won’t find a sense of desperation: instead, you’ll find that they will research, compare and make careful offers. Since we are professionals with inside information on the local market, we can help you navigate the new terrain.

Set the Right Price

A wrong price can derail a home sale, adding days to its time on the market and making it less desirable to savvy buyers. The mistake many sellers make is setting the price too high. Of course, you want to get the most from your home that you can, but if you choose too high a price at first, a potential buyers’ online search criteria might exclude it. Assuming buyers will make a lower offer from which you can negotiate does not take into account the vast amount of data now available to buyers. These days, homebuyers can see what the home originally sold for, what price all the houses in the area most recently sold at, if the home was ever a rental, and a vast amount of information about both the property and the neighborhood.

Conversely, lowballing the price in hopes of a quick sale make turn off many prospective buyers. Their inherent skepticism will make them suspect potential problems that they have neither the time nor inclination to deal with. Since we deal with pricing information all day long, rely on us to help you set the right price to get your home sold.

Pay Attention to Images

Online shoppers make quick decisions based on the images they see. If the photos of your home are blurry, busy, cluttered, or dark, they may pass over them in search of home postings with better, brighter photos. Worse yet is a listing with no photos at all. Gen X and Gen Y homebuyers are skeptical of listings without images. We can guide you in how to prepare your home for a photo shoot. Remember, for many modern buyers, the online images are their version of an open house, so take time to put away personal objects, clean windows to make the inside brighter, and pay attention to curb appeal. When online images don’t satisfy homebuyers, you won’t get them to look further.

Staging Your Home

The information age and reality TV have changed younger buyer’s perceptions of how a home should look. Be sure your home looks it’s best before you put it on the market. You may consider contacting a power washing company for pressure washing services or having tree trimming services with the help of a professional tree service to enhance your curb appeal.

According to Money Smarts, savvy online shoppers may use older images via Google Street View or Bing 3D to check out curb appeal, nearby homes or businesses, and to see if the home shows improvements. Check out the street view yourself by searching on your address in Google or Bing and choosing the various views. If the street view is out of date—such as old fencing or exteriors, overgrown landscaping, or empty lots, make sure your description addresses the improvements and changes.

Put yourself behind the buyer’s computer screen. That is, make sure you know that the buyer is seeing before you put your property on the market. Remember that younger buyers’ caution means they arm themselves with information before they make an offer. We can help you address any issues relating to how your home shows up in searches, images, and other online locations, so give us a call and we can get started.

If you’ve lived in your home for some time, you notice when the neighborhood around you is changing to a younger demographic. Thinking this might be a good time to sell, you wonder what was so appealing about the house down the street to the young couple that just moved in.

The first thing you need to understand is that trying to put Gen Y’s—or so called “Millennials”—into a box may only lead to frustration when trying to sell your home. According to Forbes, the millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 2000, accounts for 4 in 10 of the US population. So before you run to the local DIY or call a contractor, talk to us first. We can help you determine the most important changes, upgrades or improvements to put your home on the Gen Y radar. Using recent comparables in your neighborhood, we can show you how your home stacks up, and recommend the appropriate fixes.

Functional Spaces

The most important prized priority in a home is functionality. Informality rules the day and a flexible layout strikes a positive chord with millennials that want room for a home theatre, game space, and home office rather than a formal living or dining room. So, even if you have formal spaces in your home, staging them so that a Gen Y buyer can see dual or multi-purpose can add appeal. They may not otherwise visualize an office in the corner of the dining room opposite a game table if your formal dining suite completely fills the space. Add shelving and a small desk area to a corner of the living or dining room, or even in a kitchen nook.

Entertainment Space

The second item a younger buyer looks for is entertainment space. For some, a patio with a hot tub and barbeque pit fills the bill, while others prize an open kitchen with room for guests to socialize over food preparation. Stage your kitchen with a mobile island and stools, if they’ll fit.

Bright Hues

Generation Y tends to lean toward brighter colors and signature pieces of art. If your home already has color, just refresh it with a new coat of paint. Conversely, if your home is mostly white, consider changing up the color to a warmer hue like these, or adding bright pops of color with pillows, strategically placed flowers, a bowl of apples or pomegranates.

Retro-Style

Many millennials are drawn to older styles in homes, decor and even vehicles. Many have adopted decor from the 60s and 70s in to their homes, and some even draw inspiration from the 50s. If your home is older and has original craftsmanship, detailing, or fixtures, don’t be afraid to highlight those when describing your home’s features. In fact, if you have covered over some of those architectural details, now might be the time to revisit that decision and bring them back out in the open.

Low Maintenance Exteriors

When thinking about changes to the exterior of your home, consider reducing the amount of upkeep required. This generation is all about the experience of life, so while they may want to put in their own vegetable garden, they usually don’t want to have to worry about annually repainting the house. If you are thinking of replacing siding, for instance, consider fiber cement siding that mimics wood, brick or stone, but is impervious to termites and fire, doesn’t require painting, and won’t rot. Additionally, make sure not to forget about having roof repairs or roof replacement, you may consider hiring roofing experts for this. And if you want to improve your landscape, you may consider installing landscape lighting and bollard lights. Before making a change, though, talk to us about the best return on your investment, not just its appeal to one group of buyers.

We can help you put your home in the best light to appeal to Generation Y, Generation X and even Boomers, so give us a call and we can talk about what you need to do next to sell you home.

Compliments of Virtual Results

With NCAA Final Four Basketball finals coming up, basketball themed bedrooms, game rooms, theater rooms and garages stoke dreams of future champions. Give a makeover to a space in your house and score big time with March Madness fans and upgrade your home’s real estate value at the same time.

Put in an in-door basketball hoop like this mounted basketball hoop. Hoops come in various sizes and mounting options, so decide if you want your hoop on the wall, over the door, or on its own stand. Freestanding hoops typically adjust for height so your hoop can grow with your child.

Home value tip: An over-the-door hoop can damage the top of the door, so use thicker foam padding under the hoop’s bracket to protect the door. Be sure that the “basketball” is made of non-marking material. That way, you will have less repainting to do if you place your home on the real estate market.

If you are looking at a media or game room makeover, consider all the age groups that will use the room. Place your basketball hoop as far opposite of your television screen as possible. Your makeover will not seem as fun if a stray ball or elbow damages your big screen. If you do not have a media room, or separate room for a basketball retreat, I can help you find a home for sale that better meets your needs.

Home value tip: Adding a fully automated media room may not add value to a smaller home, especially if it takes away from essential living space. According to an article in Investopedia by former real estate agent and award-winning author Jean Folger, while luxury home buyers in certain areas and age groups look for the addition of IT and AV technologies when searching for a home, others homebuyers will not consider paying more for specialized spaces over more generic living space. I can help you decide if a home theatre is the best remodel option for your home when considering your home’s resale value.

Think about replacing carpet with hardwood or wood-look laminate like this home’s indoor court. Add basketball-themed peel-and-stick decals to flooring to make removal and changes simple. That way, when your budding WNBA-star decides to be a ballerina instead, you’re not worried about damaging your new flooring with hard to remove paint.

Home value tip: Hardwood may increase the value of your home, and choosing a sustainable or eco-friendly option may make your home more attractive to a potential home buyer. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America suggests replacing carpeting with hardwood, vinyl, linoleum tile or even slate, since carpeting often is home to dust mites and pollen and other allergens. I can help you find a qualified contractor to install your new flooring and help you determine the best choice of flooring for return on investment when you place your home for sale, so just give me a call.

Your extra garage space might be the optimal location for a basketball makeover. You can see a great example in this garage makeover. A three-car garage space can double as a half-court basketball area, complete with a scoreboard clock, painted-in lines and a larger hoop than you would use inside the house. Garage ceilings often are higher and can accommodate larger hoops, but most still are not high enough for a full-sized hoop at regulation height.

Home value tip: Finishing your garage floor with high-quality epoxy paint, if done right, can add value to your home. I can help you find a qualified professional to refinish your garage floors and help you determine if it will add value to your home.

Outdoor courts continue to be popular with families for the obvious advantages of keeping the noise outside and protecting the home’s interior from damage. Make sure to place your hoop in an area that avoids direct contact with windows and exterior surfaces on your home that are prone to damage—such as metal roofs, garage doors and gutters—and potential health hazards such as fragile asbestos siding. Consider a freestanding basketball hoop and place it far away from exterior surfaces that might sustain damage like the one on this patio or this fenced in one. If your exterior area is full of trees, you can hire a Crane Tree Removal service before you put a court.

Home value tip: If your home has asbestos siding, or you are considering purchasing a home with asbestos siding, I can advise you on regulations and ordinances regarding removing, repairing or covering your siding. A professional contractor with specialized training in asbestos removal is usually the best option, so call me for referrals. Any siding replacement may change the value of your home. According to Remodeling‘s annual Cost vs. Value trends, the siding you choose makes a difference when considering your return on investment (ROI). So contact me and I will help you decide what will increase your home’s value most.

If you are looking for a home for sale to host your March Madness parties, give me a call. I will help you find just the right property for you.

Extended families living in one home are more the norm these days. When looking for a home to share with your older parents, consider that while they may be completely mobile now, in the future they may need assistance to maintain balance, negotiate stairs, utilize a wheelchair or walker, or enter or exit the bath. If you inform your real estate agent and pay attention to these important requirements when house-hunting, you will save yourself costly remodeling in the future:

1. In addition to entry doors, doorways to bedrooms, bathrooms and all family rooms need to be at least 32 inches wide to accommodate walkers and wheelchairs, and 36 inches wide if the chair needs to turn to enter or exit the room. If the door’s maximum opening is 90 degrees (i.e. against a wall), be sure to use the larger door size.
2. At least one external entry door should include a threshold ramp, and be accessible without stairs. Even entryways with shallow steps should be capable of accommodating a wheelchair ramp if the need arises.
3. Hallways should be at least 42 inches wide to accommodate both wheelchairs and walker. Handrails should be on both sides of the hallway, if possible.
4. Look for a home with at least one bedroom on the ground floor. Adding elevators, chair lifts, and stairlifts are also possibilities, but add more expense to your home alterations.
5. Bathroom modifications can be expensive, so first, look for a home with a walk-in shower to simplify the bathing process. If a walk-in shower is not available, consider remodeling one bathroom to include a walk-in bath.
6. The bathroom should accommodate a comfort height or ADA compliant toilet, along with a grab bar (not a towel bar), to insure your family member can sit and stand with ease. Make even a small bathroom handicap accessible with the right remodel.
7. Consider electrical needs of an older relative. Easy access to power outlets for personal and medical devices, and easy to operate light switches are important considerations as well. Extension cords and trailing electrical cords are trip hazards, so the rooms they occupy need plenty of installed outlets at accessible heights. Have an electrician add an outlet above the nightstand, or consider getting a lamp with built-in outlets.
8. Pay attention to faucet, door, and cabinet knobs. Hard to operate knobs on lavatories and bath/shower stalls should be replaced with single handle or touchless options. Replace round doorknobs with lever-style knobs, and change out friction pull cabinet closers for soft-close or magnetic ones.

Property owners may need financial help to remodel or update their homes to accommodate the handicapped and elderly. Grants funded by several government agencies may cover the construction and renovation costs, including labor and administrative expenses. They may cover purchases of equipment and supplies necessary to make your home accessible for your loved one.

Most of all, be sure to inform your professional realtor about your needs from the beginning of your home search. Your real estate agent will focus on homes that consider all your requirements, including meeting the needs of all generations living in the home.

Which is which?

Although all are part of the common-interest housing category, condos, co-ops, townhouses, and apartments may mean different things to different buyers, so here is a breakdown of what each word means and the advantages or disadvantages of one over another for the homebuyer.

First, let’s get the low-down on what makes up the common-interest housing real estate category. Common-interest housing is composed of areas owned individually and areas shared by all owners. The shared or common areas typically include landscaping, pools, parking, and clubhouses, but may also include exteriors, fences, and roofs of certain types of properties. Any community development that has shared property, including individually separate homes in developments with shared playgrounds and pools, falls into this category. Often, a management service or homeowners’ association manages the common areas.

Specifically, a condo—or more properly, a condominium—is a single housing unit within the shared property owned by the homeowner. This may be a unit in a tower building (also called an apartment) or a conjoined house with its own ground floor exterior entry (often called a townhouse, although a townhouse is not always a condominium), a single family home or a mobile home in a planned community. The term “condominium” is a legal term in the United States and so is governed by laws of real estate ownership.

In a condominium-style common-interest development (CID), the homeowner owns the interior space of the property independent of the other units and may buy or sell the real estate property as the sole owner of that specific unit.

A co-op—or cooperative housing development—differs in that “owners” own shares in the corporation that owns the real estate development rather than owning an actual unit. Each shareholder has a vote in the real estate corporation and share ownership authorizes the occupancy of a specific unit. Typically, shareholders pay a “share” of the monthly expenses of the real estate corporation. As with a condominium, cooperatives may be apartment-style units in a single building, townhomes or patio homes, single family homes, or even mobile homes. The legal term “cooperative” refers to the real estate ownership structure rather than the property type.

So, what is an apartment? Or a townhouse?

A townhome is a style of house connected on at least one side of the structure to another house. It may be individually owned real estate or part of a CID. A true townhome will have independent sidewalls even though they may touch the walls of another townhome. That being said, many condominium, cooperative, and rental unit designs mimic townhomes, with individual groundfloor entries, back patios or yards, and even differing faces and rooflines. These units may share a wall or roof, however, as part of a single structure.

An apartment is another matter. In common usage, “apartment” is a rental unit rather than privately owned real estate. The person occupying the unit does not own it, but leases it from the owner of the entire real estate development. But in legal terms, an apartment is a part of a residential structure occupied by one housing unit (family, roommates, etc.). An apartment, regardless if it is a studio apartment or a 2 bedroom luxury apartment, then, can be a rental, but it may also be a condominium unit (homeowner owns the interior space and shares the other spaces) or a cooperative unit (owner owns shares of the entire development equal to the unit being occupied) that can be designed just how to the tenant wants, it is also very recommended that if you plan on moving into an apartment to make sure you have everything you need to live a cozy lifestyle, an example would be apartment window shades, make sure to buy enough necessities for the size of your apartment, if you live in one of the 2 bedroom apartments then you’re going to need twice as many shades, light bulbs and even cleaning supplies that can be used up in no time with all the cleaning being done in all the rooms.

Consult your real estate professional to see which type of CID is the best fit for your circumstances in your local real estate market.

Originally called French Provincial, Country French Style evokes the casual simplicity and rustic elements of a country home in the South of France. By paying tribute the region’s sunny, warm landscape, Country French style adds cheerful vitality to a home’s design.

Typical elements in a Country French style home include high-pitched hipped rooflines, symmetrical multi-paned, divided light windows, exterior shutters, and French doors. Additional elements may include rounded turrets, multiple rooflines and doorways inset into stone or brick archways.

Exterior finishes in Country French style homes include brick, stone and stucco. Different areas of the country utilize different exterior, typically to withstand the weather elements in that locale, so finding a brick Country French home in Texas is more likely than in Southern California where stucco predominates. If you are planning to incorporate stucco for your home’s exterior or just need stucco repair services, then make sure to contact a Residential and Commercial Stucco Installation professional.

French Country décor is an easy blend of rustic, primitive and Old World textures and patterns with soft hues and bright accents. Drawing from nature, Country French base colors include the saturated spectrum of burgundies, wines and terra cottas as well as more delicate pastels drawn from the lavender, sage and buttery yellow-toned field flowers of the Provincial district.

Brightly printed cottons and French toile (pronounced twäl) prints dominate the look and can enhance your décor by the simple addition of cheery curtains, pillows and seat covers. Toile designs include depictions of the agricultural, pastoral, hunting, military or farm-life settings, floralscapes or a mixture of pastorals, florals and stripes. Historically, toile fabric is rougher, homespun muslin, but modern toile prints are available in an array of easy care blends and finishes.

Country French furniture is not one period, but represents an eclectic mixture of furnishings from 18th-century designs inspired by the great halls of Versailles, rough-hewn, practical pieces of less ornate, sturdier composition, and wrought iron. Finishes include lime-washed pastels, unpolished natural woods and stenciled designs.

Mixing styles, eras, patterns and colors makes Country French decorating easy and fun. Charming accessories such as mixed-media candlestick holders, birdcages, stacked books and earthen bowls piled high with fruit complete the relaxed look.

Call or click here to connect with a local agent to help you find your own Country French style home.

Typically the end of the Holiday season and New Years signal the advent of Spring, so putting your home on the market around the time of the Spring Equinox might be the perfect option for you. Markets vary, so only your local professional real estate agent can advise you on what is best in your area, but there are some reasons you might want to put your home on the market BEFORE the first day of Spring.

Here are some reasons why you may want to consider selling now rather than waiting:

While some analysts tout Spring as the best time of year to sell a house, these same analysts advise buyers to make an offer on homes in January and February. With lower inventories available, homebuyers looking for a deal in the cold of winter may find what they are looking for in your home. Those with early tax refund checks may be ready sooner than others to snap up a good deal.

Homebuyers care about finding the right home in the right place for the right price at the right time for them. According to a National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) study, homebuyers want energy efficient appliances, windows and other features that permanently lower utility bills; extra storage and organizational features that include a laundry room, linen closet in the bathroom, a walk-in pantry and extra storage space in the garage.

To sell your home in midwinter, consider staging that takes weather into account.

• Make sure the walks and entryways are free of snow and debris. Take the time to clear off the patio too. You may not use it in winter, but your buyer needs to know it is there for the summer. Winter patio use is gaining popularity too!
• Keep your home warm and cozy. Now is not the time to worry about heat costs. If buyers are cold and uncomfortable, they will not stay long enough to experience your home’s special features.
• If you have a gas fireplace, light it. Consider placing a grouping of candles in a wood fireplace and lighting them while the house shows. (NOTE: some buyers may be allergic to smoke from wood-burning fires, so consider not a lighting wood fire unless it is integral to heating your home).
• If you have a Dyna Glo Heater, make sure to repair it beforehand and perform maintenance checks. If you need replacement Dyna Glo Heater Parts, then consider contacting your reliable heating company.

Since daylight is at a premium in winter, try to have your house shown during daylight hours. Make sure your windows are clear and free of winter grime and window treatments are clean and dust-free. If your house must show after dark, make sure to turn on every light in the house and yard so that your home is warm and inviting.

When staging your home for an open house, consider connecting to the season, holiday or local events to give your home that memorable “I see myself living here” quality. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, consider adding a vase of roses to the dining room. Even a single red rose or a spray of baby’s breath in a vase on the master bathroom vanity will make a subtle impression. A simple glass of red tulips can chase away the winter blues, giving a warm, inviting feel to your open house. Grow a red or pink amaryllis in the kitchen window. Its blooms will last for several weeks, adding a cheery, festive look to your kitchen’s décor. To add privacy, you may also consider installing window shades for your kitchen windows.

Place a decorative jar of bath salts on the edge of the tub to evoke a spa-like feeling and some decorative flower pedal soaps in a dish by the sink. According to US News, a subtle vanilla scent leaves a pleasant memory with your open house visitors and a single scent, rather than a complex mixture of scents, has been shown to assist in decision-making by a Washington State University study.

Consider setting the dining room or kitchen table with bright red or deep pink placemats or tablecloth and contrasting floral or geometric napkins. Set with a mix of whimsical red and white plates for a romantic touch. Adding a few romantic touches needn’t cost very much. Simple thrift store finds may give your house that extra something that says “home” to a young couple just starting life together or empty-nesters wanting to re-capture those youthful feelings as they downsize.

If your colors are neutral, a simple red pillow on a sofa or the master bed or a coffee table book with a red cover can give the atmosphere a lift. Red is an important feng shui color, so a touch of red in the south, southwest or northeast corners of a room or the home may generate feelings of happiness and joy. Give your kitchen a boost of healthful atmosphere with a simple bowl of heart-shaped red delicious apples or red bell peppers.

In any case, make sure not to overdo the decorations. Your understated additions should attract pleasant thoughts, not overwhelming ones. Your professional real estate agent can help you determine what works best in your market, so call today for a consultation.

Your budget dictates that you buy an older home, but your heart wants that home to be environmentally responsible, so what do you do? Here are some ideas for making any home greener. If you plan for these in advance of your purchase, you might just lower your bottom line.

Apply for an energy-efficient mortgage that includes the cost of energy efficient upgrades. You will be required to have an energy audit by an energy rater that reports recommendations for energy efficient upgrades. The potential upgrades include improved insulation levels, energy efficient windows, whole-home systems like heating and cooling, and air leakage. Qualifications for energy-efficient mortgages may include certification that after the improvements the home is more energy efficient and that the upgrades will save more money than is being borrowed to implement them over time.

Other energy-efficient upgrades that save both energy and money include both expensive, big-ticket items and simple DIY projects.

Big Ticket Items:

Add a geothermal heat pump, residential wind turbine, solar energy system, or fuel cell for and get a federal tax credit as well as ongoing savings.

Energy-efficient replacement windows dramatically mitigate the cost of heating and cooling. Not only do they reduce heating and cooling bills, they reduce power consumption during peak load times. Green windows improve personal comfort by reducing drafts and hot spots—areas that heat up due to direct sunlight.

Replace the roof with an energy efficient roof. New roofing materials, designed to drastically reduce household energy use, can minimize greenhouse gas emissions, lower utility bills, and beautify hour home. Some options are cool roofs made of materials that reflect sunlight and heat away from the home. In warmer climates, reflecting away 65 percent of the thermal heat helps keep your home cooler and puts less stress on your cooling system. Low-sloped roofs may benefit from the application of a cool coating or single-ply membrane, while steep-sloped roofs benefit from cool-colored tiles or metal that contains reflective pigments. A more extreme change is a green roof: a roof garden or mini-ecosystem covering an existing roof. Green roofs insulate in colder weather, absorb rainfall, which improves rainwater management, and reduces air pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen.

Energy star rated windows and roofing materials also may qualify for both federal tax rebates and state sales-tax exemptions, or credits or rebates through local energy providers.

Budget-Conscious Items:

Upgrade your appliances to more efficient models and qualify for a rebate through your local energy provider. Appliances that may qualify include refrigerators and dryers, pool pumps, portable room air conditioners, whole-house fans, evaporative coolers, and water heaters such as a tankless water heater installation. If you don’t have the budget to upgrade your water heater, have your unit serviced by a water heater repair technician regularly to improve its efficiency.

Projects that Won’t Break the Budget:

If you’re handy or willing to put in some hard work, there are energy efficient projects that are both inexpensive and simple to implement. DIY projects include installing aerators on faucets, replacing weatherstripping, changing out lightbulbs for energy efficient ones, or just simply cleaning your refrigerator’s coils.

If your home has can lights, consider getting a retrofit kit that seals the “can” and improves insulation. You can even change your can lights to more attractive pendants or LED versions to get the most bang for your buck. You can call experts like a licensed Residential electrician to install new fixtures.

Change out your existing ceiling light fixtures for a smart ceiling fan. A “smart” fan is not just well dressed and good-looking, it can reduce heating and cooling costs, sense unoccupied rooms and turn itself off when no one’s around. Just look for the Energy Star rating and install it as directed.

Install a programmable thermostat. For example, the Nest Learning Thermostat learns your schedule, can program itself, is controllable with your phone, and might lower heating and cooling bills as much as 20 percent. Other options include adding a tube-style skylight and putting a clothesline in the back yard to reduce dryer use.