-May-
17
Investing in Real Estate: Is it Worth the Green it Takes to Go Green? (Technorati) Technorati | (Del.icio.us) Del.icio.us | (Digg) Digg | (Blinklist) Blinklist | (Comment) Comments (2)

Typically the articles on this site address investing through stocks, bonds and mutual funds. However many people have made their fortunes, or at least a comfortable living, by investing in real estate. Whether we turn out to be real estate moguls like Donald Trump, or just need a roof over our heads, we all need to make real estate decisions at some point in our lives.

There are many choices that need to be made when you’re building, buying or remodeling a home. Certainly style is one of them – you want your home to look nice and serve as a representation of your personality. Comfort is another one high on most peoples’ lists – you want your home to be a place you can relax and unwind. Now what about the financially driven decisions you make with respect to your home?

Certainly when buying or building a house there are certain things we all look at, whether or not we want to. We all look at the price, how much money we have, how much the bank will loan us, and how much our monthly payments will be. But what about looking at our homes as an investment? We all buy houses hoping that the market will work to our advantage and make the value of the house increase each year.

However, rather than sitting idly, waiting for the market to decide how much our house will be worth in a few years, there are steps we can take to increase the values of our homes, and increase the chances of it selling at a much higher price than we paid. Lucy Maher of Forbes.com writes an article on this very topic, that provides some specific advice for people in this situation. Maher states that one way many people are increasing the value of their homes, old or new, is by adding environmentally friendly features. By using “green” materials, like using U.S. Forest Service-certified wood and chemical-free glues, you can add a lot of worth to your investment.

While some of these materials and extra environmentally friendly features might cost more in the beginning, the extra efficiency they bring will likely save you money throughout the time you own your home as well as increase its selling price. In the end it seems that the greater the investment, sometimes means the greater the reward, and that going green brings rewards on many fronts, both for the environment and for your bottom line.

22Dollars - Personal Wealth Management
Stock Quotes and Growing Personal Wealth by Managing Your Own Money! 22dollars is your online source for investment ideas, stocks analysis, business and other worldly issues. Geared towards the young professional, this site will be written by successful young professionals who are ambitious and driven to succeed in life, cause in the end - no body cares more about your money than you.

2 Comments - Post your comment below.


Real Estate Investor Gal
May. 18, 2007


I absolutely agree -- a lot of people are going into the real estate market business and are profiting from it. With a growing real estate market, it is imperative for investors to find the best deal and make the most of it. Whether it is making minor or major renovations, or "going green," homeowners should always invest in their home and think of ways their home can become an investment for them.


Matt
May. 29, 2007

Taking care of your investments, real estate in this case, is definitely a prudent decision. Though I agree that "going green" is a fabulous idea environmentally, I'm not sure if it will necessarily "make the value of the house increase each year" simply because house value is so relative to local house sales. It’s unfortunate but upgrades and home improvements rarely (if ever) have an increase in value comparable to what the renovation cost. Here in Southern CA, we have noticed that a $75,000 pool may only result in a max $23,000 value bump (about 30% of the pool’s cost).

"Going green" does however help with the competitive edge when trying to sell the home... it is more attractive to today’s more environmentally minded buyers.

Subscribe to 22Dollars RSS Feeds
Subscribe to 22Dollars via Email

Proud Member - 9Rules Network

SEARCH SITE

Nasdaq