EcoSmart RE™ is a brokerage and property consulting firm providing professional real estate services including home sale and purchase, property analysis, energy evaluation, loan advisory, and new development.
With 25+ years of combined experience across sustainable technology and real estate, we assess and package homes to realize their true value for home buyers and sellers.
Enabling an eco-friendly future.
Whether you're looking to buy/sell a home with or without solar PV, we’ll guide you with the right data and expertise to better understand the market. We assess your real estate needs for top-value while protecting you from any pitfalls you might encounter during the transaction process.
We're committed to helping increase efficiency in the housing market. We evaluate and manage Accessory Dwelling Unit development for home expansion and rent.
We help surface how packaging your home properly will earn top-dollar. From energy and expansion analysis to available financing and incentives, we help make the home transaction and improvement process more transparent.
Full-service packaging that makes sense.
Pre-listing inspections designed to realize improvements that increase home value.
Analysis of loan/lease contract, including Solar System Production.
Loan/lease payoff negotiations and cost effective finance solutions for lowering your payment.
Collecting and organizing all essential documents with tax credit guidance from solar educated CPAs.
Are you lost in the complexity of a solar-equipped home or have thoughts of going eco-friendly?
Owning a solar-equipped home can contribute to increasing values by 3-4%. In states with a more mature solar market, such as California, real estate agents, lenders, and appraisers are more likely to understand the value of solar, and there are plenty of comparable home sales that can guide accurate pricing decisions.
Prospective home buyers have two big concerns: Is there documentation that the installation was done properly (information any solar dealer will provide); and is there proof that the system is saving money on energy costs.
Real estate prices are often tied to the neighborhood and comparable homes, which can sometimes limit the value that renovations and additions add to the property. Much like an expensive addition, like a swimming pool, to an average home in a middle-class neighborhood, adding solar panels in certain areas may be unusual that they do not increase value as expected. Few buyers looking in the same middle-class neighborhood will be willing to pay more for an addition that is out of place, and you may run into the same issue with solar panel systems. Note, appraisers cannot increase the value of something that is not permanent to the structure.
EcoSmart RE is capable of analyzing your data and consolidating all documentation to garner the highest market value for your home. We focus on educational management to help make the transaction process easy for all parties.
With nearly one million solar energy systems installed on residential homes across the country, buying or selling a solar home is getting more common. Just like a renovated kitchen increases a home’s value, solar has shown to boost home valuation, and shorten a home’s time on the market.
New borrowing tools give solar-interested homeowners access to financing programs that can lower the cost of capital and unlock new ways to go solar. The real estate market is embracing solar, making it vital that realtors, appraisers, and homeowners increase their solar knowledge and leverage the premium-boosting power of a solar system to sell or refinance their homes.
Various housing markets react to solar panel systems differently. A home with a solar panel system in environmentally-friendly Portland, OR, will appeal to a wide range of buyers. Buyers in the Portland area tend to desire eco additions like solar. In contrast, a home in Odessa, TX, with a solar panel system may be far less appealing to the average local buyer. Odessa is an oil town, not known for its attachment to environmental issues.
The decision about how to finance your solar power system depends on your particular financial goals.
The main practical distinction between buying and leasing a solar PV system is in ownership. If you buy a solar panel system, you own the system, either outright (if purchasing with cash) or after repaying your solar loan. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement (PPA), a third party owns the solar panel system. This distinction impacts the cost, maintenance, terms, financial offsets, and savings/returns on investment of your solar panel system. A leased system cannot be included in the appraisal of a home, and may not be something that buyers want to be saddled with.
In addition, not all companies offer solar leases and/or PPAs—confirm that your chosen provider offers the financing option that you want most. Note that PPAs are not legally permitted in many areas.
While you may be extremely proud of your commitment to the environment and your energy savings, not every buyer is going to share your values. Solar panels installed on the front side of the house, in particular, can negatively impact the curb appeal of the home. Depending on how concerned potential buyers are with the aesthetics of the property – such as if you are in a highly desirable neighborhood – you may find that they steer clear based on looks alone.
Solar panel technology continues to advance, producing more efficient systems that are naturally more desirable than older systems.
Age is related to size and efficiency. Modern panels make more electricity than older systems. Panel manufacturers have found ways to improve cell efficiency over time. Even if your older system is still fully functional, buyers may not consider it as desirable as a newer system. The less desirable it is, the less value you can expect it to add to your home.
If you are considering buying a home with solar, make sure you get clear, accurate information on the system involved. As a buyer you want to know all the relevant facts about the system you are considering – including when it was installed, by which company, how much power it produces, what percentage of the home’s power does it provide, maintenance history and more.
As a seller, you should have all solar-related documentation on hand to discuss with realtors and potential buyers. Accurate records and information will make everyone more comfortable and educated in the decision-making process.
Project Type
Rebuild
Kitchen built completely from the ground up.
Project Type
Rebuild
Value-based upgrade by complete redesign and build of home.
Project Type
Rebuild & Interior Design
Full transformation of living room including flooring and interior design.
Project Type
Rebuild
Refreshing take on a complete bathroom redo.
Our realtor listened to our needs and made recommendations that helped increase our home's value. Very impressed how firm in dealing with offers and negotiations during the sale process. We're pleased with the results.
Home Sale
The EcoSmart team was recommended to me from a friend. I was blown away with their authenticity and intelligence, and saw how capable and willing they were to take care of all details. They handled everything in-house, including the contracting we needed. Overall really incredible experience.
Home Sale
