Green tip: warm weather househunting
Why is spring such a great time to sell a house? Because everything looks better after the leaves, grass and flowers come out. From an energy conservation point of view, it is also easier to avoid demonstrating the cold spots in a house.
Buyers, watch for these things when house hunting in the spring and summer:
1. Attic insulation – if the insulation is good, chances are it will be so hot in the attic that you can’t stay there.
2. Floor insulation – watch out for finished porches with no foundations, and rooms over garages. Are they sufficiently insulated?
3. Is one part of the house much hotter than the rest of the house? Chances are, it will be much colder in winter, too.
Home owners, what did you find the first winter in your house?
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I'd love to show some houses today.... but I have to call my buyers back and tell them we can't go out today... see MLS PIN has been down since Sunday Evening due to "emergency maintenance." This is the third day in a row that they've had problems. On Friday & Saturday it was an internet worm.
Are you sure about the hot attic? My understanding is that an excessively hot attic means that it is improperly vented. It being well insulated wouldn't necessarily make it very hot.
Interesting, J Faherty, I used MLSPIN all weekend, Thursday through Sunday, with no problems. Wonder what was going on? There are a lot of outages.
John Keith quotes the following notice from MLSPIN on his blog at bostonreb.com:
"Emergency Notice
"The H3MLS service has been continually attacked this weekend and, in the interest of preserving the safety of our customers’ data, has been taken offline to prevent further assault.
"The system will be restored once the attacking sources have been isolated and there is no further threat to the system.
"Thank you for your continued patience and we apologize for the interruption."
Being well insulated should actually prevent it from becoming excessively hot, if the attic is used as a living space. If it is used as a storage space, there is probably no need to insulate the attic, other than to insulate the floor. It should of course be well ventilated (through soffits, ridge vent,etc). Good ventilation may also extend the roof life.
About the insulation:
I was told that insulating an unfinished attic on the floor is the best way to cut heating costs. The attic should also be ventilated, so it breathes. An attic that is insulated properly will gather a lot of heat in the warm weather. Venting does not usually keep up in the summer.
Finished attics should be the same as other living space, and not hotter, if they are properly insulated.
I hope this clarifies.
About the MLS:
Why are we talking about this??
The MLS had problems, on and off, all weekend. However, I have very little trouble showing property this weekend. I showed plenty!
Rona
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