We get a lot of clients say that they are buying or selling their home and aren't sure if they are ready for an energy audit.  These two instances are probably the best time to have an energy audit done!

When you are buying a home and you think you have found the perfect one, you will always have a general inspection done to make sure the home is free of problems, or to atleast bring any problems to light.  General inspections, however, do not include an evaluation of the energy efficiency.  An energy audit will look at insulation levels, duct leakage, the HVAC system, pressure balance within the home and the overall building envelope of the home to evaluate if there are any repairs to be made. 

One of the common questions that homebuyers will ask their seller is how much the energy bills are in the summer (or winter in colder climates).  What do you do when you hear the energy bill is a lot higher than you expected?  If it's your dream home, you will probably go ahead with the purchase.  Now there is a new option.  Now you can have REEis perform a low-cost energy audit to identify why those bills are so high, and make a list of repairs to solve the problem.  Armed with this information, you can make your dream home even more perfect.

The reasons for having an audit performed when you're the seller are along the same lines.  You know that prospective buyers will perform a general inspection, and you want your home to be in great shape.  Realtors will usually help you make a list of things to repair around the home before listing it on the market.  What about energy efficiency repairs?  By having an audit done before putting the home on the market, you can see what minor repairs can help you sell your home more quickly and at a higher price. 

Nowadays, most neighborhoods are competing with numerous other homes on the block when selling.  What if you could differentiate your home on the block by making it energy efficient and showing interested buyers that you have already done the work to ensure the home is efficient.  Again, one of the common questions buyers will ask is to see what the energy bills look like so they know what it costs to run the home.  What if you could tell them that it costs 25% or 30% less to run your home than it does to run the same model and size of home down the street?  That might just close the deal.

For just $99 you can see what needs to be fixed.  When buying or selling one of your most valuable assets, this is a cost worth while.  Plus, the typical recommended repairs are low cost and there are great utility rebates and tax credits to help pay for it.