SPECIAL SECTION HOME IMPROVEMENT
LIGHTEN UP
Have you been wondering if there’s a
way you can cut your energy bills while
helping to contribute to a greener
environment? Though Pennsylvania
may not immediately spring to mind as
a sunny locale, solar power is readily
available and already being used in
hundreds of area homes successfully.
A FEW KEY UPGRADES THAT CAN REALLY PAY OFF
It’s time to stop thinking of Millennials as totally uninterested in owning anything
just because they were early adopters of Uber. The newly released U.S. home
ownership rate rose in 2018 for the first time in 13 years—it now stands at 64.2
percent—driven mainly by a shift toward owning over renting by the under-35
crowd who’d been wary of committing for both financial and personal reasons.
“This is happening because young households are buying homes,” Ralph
McLaughlin, chief economist at home listings provider Trulia, told the Wall Street
Journal. They’re not the only purchasers, of course. But if you’re looking to sell
your house now or in the not-too-distant future, you might want to check out
this generational roadmap of four upgrades experts say are worth it to help attract
potential buyers.
*Cross-generational: a new steel door. The only thing that beat it on
Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report was loose-fill attic insulation,
but this project—with a 90.7 percent return on investment—speaks directly to
the report’s main takeaway: “Curb appeal projects, by and large, generated higher
returns on investment than work done inside the home.”
Plus, as far as Millennials go, while their ideal interiors may differ from older
generations—for example, they prefer open floor plans and hardwood floors—
Architectural Digest says they’re still into “traditional” exteriors.
*Millennials: Smart-home tech. Yes, there are Boomers and
Gen Xers who are super tech-savvy, but Millennials
especially crave homes that allow them to
control their heating, air-conditioning, home
security, and lighting systems from their
phones. They want to use their brains
for other things, not for remembering
whether they adjusted the heat or
closed the garage door.
*Cross-generational: A new
roof. It’s the ultimate curb appeal
enhancer and buyers pay a premium for
one already in place. So if the first thing
prospects notice even before exiting their
cars looks like something out of the movie
“Twister,” you’ve got a problem.
*Millennials: All-new appliances. Realtors
will tell you that major kitchen (and bath) upgrades
aren’t generally worth their high costs, in terms of return on investment, since
prospective buyers’ tastes can clash with yours. However, Millennials love, love, love
all-new stainless steel appliances. So much so that what RealtyTimes.com called “an
astonishing majority of 75 percent” of respondents in a recent survey chose to spend
their hypothetical home buying budgets on them.
Think of it like this: If there were a river
flowing by your house and you only had
a five-gallon bucket to collect the water,
you would only be able to use five
gallons. But if you had 20 five-gallon
buckets, you could have all the water
you needed. Solar energy functions in
a similar way. If you live in an area that
does not get a lot of sun, by adding more
solar panels you can collect more sun.
According to lead designer Ian Smith
of Energy Independent Solutions, the
Pittsburgh area is able to produce about
80% of the solar power that Miami,
Florida, does! There are also attractive
options for installing the panels, such
as all-black panels and solar shingle
products that blend the panels in with
your roof. Solar awnings can be installed
on a pergola or carport. And with flat
roofs, the panels are generally not
visible at all. There are also ground-
mounted systems that are separate
from your home.
Smith adds that the initial cost for an
average-size home of 2,000 sq. ft. might
range from about $15,000 to $25,000,
which is recouped over a few years.
Some areas may also offer incentives or
tax benefits for switching to solar.
Continued on next page >
MOON TOWNSHIP
❘
SPRING 2019
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