What You Need to Know About Insulation When Selling Your Home | Clever Real Estate

As you get your home ready to sell, you’re probably encountering a variety of considerations that you didn’t think would be part of the sale. After all, can’t you just list the home, sell it, pack up, move out, and be done?

While that is the majority of the process, there are a lot of details to think about before you list the home. One of the most important is making sure it’s in great shape and that a buyer will find no problems during an inspection.

You also want to make repairs and improvements that will help you get more value for your home. One of the best improvements you can make is to boost your insulation.

Here’s what you need to know about the impact insulation can have on your home sale!

Are There Problems With Insulation?

Take a look at your attic and crawlspace and see if you can find obvious problems with your insulation. Is there mold, signs of pests making nests in it, or has the insulation drifted and is no longer evenly spread out?

If so, take steps to repair the damage. Not all states require you to disclose problems with the insulation in the home, but even if you aren’t legally required the right thing to do is to get it in working order before your sale.

That doesn’t mean you have to get the most expensive insulation available, although doing so can have a great return on investment.

If you’ve had a pest inspection and removed all pests, or have thoroughly checked for moisture and found nothing, make that a part of the marketing of the home. A buyer will love the comfort of knowing there’s no rats or mold in the attic.

Insulation Improvements Can Add Significant Value

Wondering if it’s worth your time to add insulation to your home? It is, especially in the attic. An improvement in attic insulation alone can get you almost 108% back on your investment.

If you have to repair your home insulation due to pests or mold, spin that in your favor. Be sure the realtor markets your home as having “all-new insulation” in the attic or crawlspace.

If you really want to get bang for your buck, consider replacing your existing insulation with spray foam, a high-quality product that keeps out moisture, pests, and significantly improves energy efficiency. Making that a selling point can get you a much higher sales price.

Whether you want to insulate beyond your attic and crawlspace is up to you. An insulation contractor can certainly blow additional insulation into walls without major construction, and it will lower energy bills for the future buyer. However, you want to make sure you’ll get a good return.

This is one reason it’s so important to work with an experienced local realtor. They will know what improvements will matter most in your specific area. If you live in an area with harsh winters or very hot summers, the insulation may sell well. On the other hand, in a temperate area, you might want to just stick with the attic.

What if There’s No Insulation in the Walls?

Some very old homes — such as those over 100 years old — were built at a time when houses were not routinely insulated. If this is the case in your home and you haven’t made any updates, you’re probably struggling with high energy costs and cold (or hot) spots throughout the house.

You don’t have an obligation to insulate the walls in an older home, nor do you have to disclose the lack of insulation in most states. Most buyers of older homes are aware of the various charms and pitfalls of owning this type of property.

However, that doesn’t mean that adding insulation has no value. If you can do it — especially since an older home might not have fire blocks in the framing so filling the walls might be easy — you can add a lot of value to the property.

Selling a quaint old home that isn’t drafty and expensive to heat and cool is a big deal, and you’ll certainly see the added value in the sale price.